General Life, Amusements^ etc. 19 



distributor of unbounded charity to unworthy reci- 

 pients, hast produced ! " Seriously speaking, it is 

 often a great thing for one of the gentlemen present 

 at a gathering to be able to play even a few dances 

 to amuse the company. It enlivens the evening and 

 pleases many, besides giving the ladies and those who 

 are " dancing " gentlemen an opportunity for a dance, 

 to which the former, as a rule, never object. Even to 

 be able to play the Highland Fling well on a penny 

 whistle is an accomplishment, and a good accomplish- 

 ment too at a " meet ; " and to be able to knock out a 

 couple of jigs and a hornpipe t>r so on an old fiddle, 

 will often serve to enliven a dull evening in the rains 

 and set the flow of conversation going again. The 

 very squeak of a fiddle resembles Mr. Punch's well- 

 known call note of " R-r-r-r-r-r-rooooooo titoooit " 

 in its suggestion of fun. And in that dire calamity 

 which doth sometimes befall the male portion of the 

 human race, viz. t the absence of ladies and the piano, 

 much may be got out of gentlemen amateur perform- 

 ances. Even a periodical Christy Minstrel gather- 

 ing would not be impossible, did the district number 

 amongst its Assistants a " banjo," " fiddle,"" tambou- 

 rine " and the indispensable " bones ; " the corner- 

 joking-and-singing-and-conundrum " Massa Jonsons" 

 being also forthcoming. What dreadful and unchid- 

 den jokes might not one make on one's Manager, 



