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Thalia--the muse of Comedy

general humor, satire, parody, spoofs, jests
and just plain funny stuff.



        "It is a theory of mine, that those gifted with truly humorous genius are more
    useful as moralists, philosophers, and teachers, than whole legions of the gravest   
    preachers. They speak more effectually to the general ear and heart, even though
    they who hear are not aware of the fact that they are imbibing wisdom."            
    Joseph C. Neal.




Exhibits


(Torey's Favorite:)

A Poe-em of Passion
by
C. F. Lummis


The Rheumatism Movement-Cure
by
Robert J. Burdette


Ballad
by
Charles Godfrey Leland


Belphagor
by
Niccolo Machiavelli


By Frederic S. Cozzens:

The Sparrowgrass Papers
&
Sayings, Wise and Otherwise
which incorporates
The Sayings of Dr. Bushwhacker and other Learned Men

containing:
A Talk about Tea,
Journey Around a Tapioca Pudding,
The Radiant Dinner-Castor,
Chocolate and Cocoa,
Notables and Potables,
A Peep into a Salad Bowl,
Madame Follet,
Old Phrases,
Art,
Accidental Resemblances,
Sitka: Our New Acquisition,
Phrases and Filberts,
"Does Queen Victoria Speak English?",
The Noses of Eminent Men,
Bunkum Museum,
Up the Rhine,
The First Oyster-Eater,
A Literary Curiosity, by Col. Peter A. Porter
The Race of the Hare and the Hedgehog, on the Little Heath by Buxtehude, by Walcott
Gibbs  
What is the Cause of Thunder?,
A French Breakfast, by Paul Dinet
Dainty Hints for Epicurean Smokers, by Charles G. Leland
Was Champagne Known to the Ancients? by Julian Verplanck
German Wines, and a Wine Cellar, by Henry Leland
A Christmas Piece,
Oxyporian Wines, by Julian Verplanck
My First Drama,
Wives and Weathercocks,
Indian Summer -- When?
La Creche,
Gypsies,
Private Theatricals,
Trinity Church-yard,
Homes for Old Men



By Poggio Bracciolini:

The Facetiae of Poggio and Other Medieval Story-Tellers,
translated by Edward Storer
&
Facetia Erotica by Poggio Fiorentino
Anonymous Translator


The Height of the Ridiculous
by
Oliver Wendell Holmes


Brown Bread Cakes
by
Gail Hamilton


The Old Clock
by
James Nack


A Piano in Arkansas
by
Thomas B. Thorpe


Maidenly Culture
Anonymous


Essay on Animals
&
A Mormon Romance -- Reginald Gloverson
by
Charles Farrar Browne (Aretemus Ward)


Aunt Pen's Funeral
by
Harriet P. Spofford


The High-Road to Fame
by
Charles B. Locke ("Petroleum S. Nasby")


Aunt Anniky's Teeth
by
Katharine S. McDowell


Anonymous:
The Book-Canvasser
&
The Merchant and the Book-Agent


The Marriage of Baptiste
by
Timothy Flint


Pan in Wall Street. A.D. 1867.
by
Edmund Clarence Stedman


Epigrams


The Rheumatism Movement-Cure
by
Robert J. Burdette


Aunt Patience's Dough-Nuts
&
A Family Jar
by
Anonymous Authors


The Results of Phrenology
by
James K. Paulding


Darius Green and His Flying-Machine
by
. T. Trowbridge


That Man
by an
Anonymous Author


How Jube Waked the Elephant
by
Mrs. M. Sheffey Peters


Peter Funk
by
Asa Greene


The New Church Organ
by
Will Carleton


The Hospital for Liars
Anonymous


Greek Wit: Aristippus and Bias


Banging the Sensational Novelist


Monks and Giants
by
John Hookham Frere


Joe Miller's Jest Book
aka
Mark Lemon's Jest Book


Mother's Geese
by
George Barr Baker,
George C. Chappell
and
Oliver Herford,
Pictures by T. Gilbert White


The Bachelor's Thermometer
by
James Smith


Miseries of Human Life
by
James Beresford


The Famous Historie of Fryer Bacon


The Flu
&
The Stranger
&
That's a Gift
by
J.P. McEvoy


The Mischievous Ape
by
Matteo Bandello
translated by Thomas Roscoe


The Lover of Lies
by
Ortensio Lando
translated by Thomas Roscoe


The Oxford Solar Myth
by
R. F. Littledale


The Song of the Cynic


Early Rising
by
John Godfrey Saxe


On Cyclones
by Bill Nye
and
The Man and the Goose
by  Ambrose Bierce


The Villager and the Snake
by
George T. Lanigan


The End of the World
by
Oliver Herford


Boyhood in a New England Hotel
by
Simeon Ford


(Also Begun:)
The Repository of Wit and Humor; comprising more than One Thousand Anecdotes,
Odd Scraps, Off-Hand Hits, and Humorous Sketches; selected and arranged
by
M. Lafayette Byrn, M. D.


On Sneezes
by
William Mathews


The 'Best' from:
Hearty Jokes and
Drummers Yarns

_______________________________________________


From The Worlds Wit and Humor

____________

Volume I (complete)
American

Benjamin Franklin:
Poor Richard to the "Courteous Reader",
The Whistle,
Dialogue between Franklin and the Gout,
Friends and Acquaintances
Franklin as a Teetotaler,
Maxims,
The Ephemera
Model of a Letter, etc.
To Miss Georgiana Shipley
Franklin at Versailles
Epitaph for Himself


The Battle of the Kegs
by
Francis Hopkinson


The Revenge of St. Nicholas
by
James K. Paulding


Washington Irving:
Wouter Van Twiller
Wilhemus Kieft
Peter Stuyvesant
Antony Van Corlear
General Van Poffenburgh
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow


A Fragment
&
Domestic Happiness
by
Fitz-Greene Halleck


The Horse-Swap
&
Georgia Theatrics
by
Augustus B. Longstreet


My First Visit to Portland
by
Seba Smith


The Mosquito
by
William Cullen Bryant


A Monody
by
Robert C. Sands


Old Grimes
by
Albert Gorton Greene


Nathaniel Hawthorne:
The British Matron
Dr. Heidegger's Experiment
Mr. Higginbotham's Catastrophe


N. P. Willis:
Miss Albina McLush
Love in a Cottage
Tom Fane and I


Who Paid for the Prima Donna?
by
Edmund Quincy


Oliver Wendell Holmes:
An Aphorism and a Lecture
Foreign Correspondence
Music-Pounding
Dislikes
The Deacon's Masterpiece ("The Wonderful One Horse Shay")
My Aunt
The Ballad of the Oysterman
The Height of the Ridiculous
A Walk with the Schoolmistress


The Minister's Wooing
by
Harriet Beecher Stowe


A Proposal
&
Practical Jokes
by
William Tappan Thompson


Deacon Marble
&
The Deacon's Trout
by
Henry Ward Beecher


____________________

The Ass's Testament
by
Ruteboeuf

How a Peasant Won Paradise by Wit
by
Doun de Laverne

Advice to a Friend on Marriage
by
Eustache Deschamps


Ballad of Proverbs
&
All Things Except Myself I Know
by
Francois Villon


One Ducat for a Horse
&
A Lady's Passion for a Cordelier Cured with a Stick
&
The Miracle of the Lighted Candle
by
Margaret, Queen of Navarre
from
The Heptameron


Money
by
Jehan du Pontalais

The Usurer's Paternoster
by
An Unknown Author (15th Century)

How to Translate German  
&  
Odd Ideas  
&  
Solitude
by  
Lionel Strachey

Irish Bulls
Anonymous

Short Citations
of
George Meredith


Extracts from Some Experiences of an Irish R.M.
by
E. O. Somerville
and
Martin Ross


The Rabbit's Eye
A Legendary Tale from Korea


The One-Legged Crane
Three Girls and Their Talk
The Stolen Pig
by
Giovanni Boccaccio


The Making of Master Messerin
by
Rustico di Filippo


What I Should Like to Do
by
Cecco Angolieri


The Ridiculous End of Morgante and Margutte
by
Luigi Pulci


The Inheritance of a Library
&
The Silver Cup and the Lamprey
by
Masuccio di Salerno


Living in Bed
by
Francesco Berni


What Astolfo Saw in the Moon
by
Ludovico Ariosto


Of a Trick Played upon Some Monks by a Donkey
by
Matteo Bandello


A Lawsuit and Some Domestic Vicissitudes
A Compulsory Marriage at Sword's Point
Criticism of a Statue of Hercules
by
Benvenuto Cellini


Call Me Not John!
by
Giovanni Della Casa


Diatribe Against Water
by
Francesco Redi


Forcing a Match
A Female "Solicitor of Lawsuits."
by
Carlo Goldoni


In Praise of Small People
by
Carlo Frugoni


Uninvited Guests
by
Carlo Gozzi


On Reciting One's Own Compositions
Dialogue Between Fashion and Death
Dialogue Between the Earth and the Moon
The Academy of Syllographs
The Origin of Laughter
by
Giacomo Leopardi


The Purchase of a Greek Manuscript
by
Alberto Nota


Don Abbondio's Encounter with the Outlaws
by
Alessandro Manzoni


On Musical Instruments
by
Antonio Ghislanzoni


Methods of Making a Living
&
The Penalty for Deceived Husbands
by
Paolo Ferrari


The Pythagorean Problem
by
Enrico Castelnuovo


Edmondo d'Amicis:
The Conscript
Tooth for Tooth
Pride


The Cheese-Eating Snake
by
Hurtado de Mendoza


The Demoniac
by
Lope de Vega


Truth and Falsehood
by
Luis de Gongora


Sleep
by
Baltasar del Alcazar


Miguel Cervantes:
The Attack on the Windmills
Great Battle Against a Flock of Sheep
Rascalities of Rincon and Cortado
Doctor Glass-Case


To-Morrow
by
Tome Burguillos


José Morell:
Advice to an Innkeeper
To a Poet


The Mayor of Zalamea -- Act I
by
Calderon de la Barca


Tomas Yriarte:
The Musical Ass.
The Eggs.
The Bear, the Ape, and the Pig


Two Rival Lovers Gulled
by
Manuel de los Herreros


Minguillo's Kiss
by
An Anonyous Author


José de Larra:
Joys of Journalism
Don Candido Buenafé's Ambitious son


Antonio Ribot y Fontseré:
Maximum and Minimum
Eccentric Briton


The Friend that Sticketh Closer than a Brother
by
Juan M. Villergas


Pedro de Alarcon:
Courting by Invective,
Captain Veneno's Proposal of Marriage,
The Account Book


Doctor Pertinax
by
Leopoldo Alas


Founding a Provincial Newspaper
by
Palacio Valdés



The Hungry Englishwoman
(from "The King of the Mountains")
by
Edmond About

_____________________________________________


More Edmond About:

Brief Biography
Extracts from
:
The King of the Mountains
&
The Man with the Broken Ear.



The Novelle Antiche (Ancient Tales)
translated by
Thomas Roscoe


The Novels of Sacchetti
translated by
Thomas Roscoe


A Sublime Elopement
by
Benjamin Disraeli, Lord Beaconsfield


Happy December, Sad January?
by
Juno Wye


The Logical Vegetarian
by
G. K. Chesterton


The Undergraduate's Aunt
by
Francis Anstey


The Gridiron
by
Samuel Lover

________________________________________________


Tales from the Italian and Spanish,
Volume III,
Tales of Humor and Adventure:

Belphagor, by Niccolo Machiavelli,
Perfidious!, by Girolamo Rovetta,
The Patient With the Plague, by Giovanni Sabbadino,
The Wonderful Parrot, by Italo Mario Palmarini,
Ciacco Gets Even, by Giovanni Boccaccio,
The Return of the Corsair, by Giovanni Boccaccio,
Saving the Grapes, by Count Carlo Gozzi,
The Courier's Defense, by Ascanio Mori Da Ceno,
The Journey of the Monk, by Giovanni Bottari
A Resurrection, by Anton-Francesco Doni,
The Lost Bracelet, by Count Carlo Gozzi,
The Gentleman Baker, by Giovanni Boccaccio,
The One Who Broke the Pipe, by Emilio De Marchi,
The Pious Brigand, by Giovanni Boccaccio,
The Faithful Servant, by Marco Cademosto Da Lodi,
The Persian Peasant, Anonymous,
The Three Blind Beggars, by Franco Sacchetti,
The Dutiful Son, by Franco Sacchetti,
The Thief and the Cavalier, by Luigi Sanvitale,
The Interloper, by Girolamo Parabosco,
The Bandit Chief, by Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio,
The Teacher Taught, by Ser Giovanni Fiorentino,
The Fearsome Man, by Franco Sacchetti,
The Escape from the Tomb, by Giovanni Boccaccio,
Funeral Eulogies, by Eugenio De Marchi,
Calandrino's Mistake, by Giovanni Boccaccio,
Calandrino's Pig, by Giovanni Boccaccio,
Alimek, by Francesco Soave,
The Disguise, by Matteo Bandello,
Two Capons for Nothing, by Alessandro Sozzini,
Turlendana Returns, by Gabriele D'Annunzio,
The Gentle Art of Lying, by Ortenso Lando,
A Fifteenth Century Spiritualist, by Masuccio of Salerno,
Currado's Cook, by Giovanni Boccaccio,
The Gallow's Ghost, by Anton-Frencesco Grazzini,
Martellino Escapes, by Giovanni Boccaccio,
On the Housetop, by Neera,
His Beloved Wife, by  Masuccio of Salerno,
The Sorcerer, by Grazia Deledda,
The Lost Purse, by Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio,
The Woodcutter's Ass, by Michele Colombo,
R. Schumann: Op. 68, by Antonio Fogazzaro,
The Shouting Corpse, by Masuccio of Salerno,
The Fountain of Pietrarsa,  by Renato Fucini,
The Alchemist, by Celio Malespini,
A Provincial Family Feud, by Matilde Serao,
An Italian Lear, by Giovanni Brevio,
Making the Will, by Giovan-Francesco Straparola
Eden Anto, by Antonio Fogazzaro,
The Fat Ebony Carver, Anonymous,
The Colonel, by Renato Fucini,
The Instruction Bettered, by Girolamo Parabosco,
The Cares of Prosperity, by Luigi Capuana.

____________________________________________


From T
he Rise and Fall of the Mustache and Other Hawkeyetems:
by Robert Burdette:

The Rise and Fall of the Mustache
Getting Ready for the Train
Driving the Cow
Voices of the Night
The Demand for Light Labor
Infantile scintillations



A German Picture of the Scotch
from
Dickens's Household Words.


The Naughty Greek Girl
Anonymous


On Lending a Punch-Bowl
by
Oliver Wendell Holmes


Robert J. Burdette:
The Rise and Fall of the Mustache
Getting Ready for the Train
Driving the Cow
Voices of the Night
Infantile Scintillations


François Rabelais:
The Lost Hatchet
Astrological Predictions


Will Irwin:
Warrior the Untamed


Preface to 700 Limerick Lyrics
by
Stanton Vaughan



Cobb's Bill of Fare
by
Irvin S. Cobb
Illustrated by Peter Newell & James M.Preston