William Hogarth's Own Joe Miller Author:William Hogarth Subtitle: Or, Quips, Cranks, Jokes and Squibs of Every Clime and Every Time, Collected and Digested by Toby, Hogarth's Own Dog General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1854 Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the Gene... more »ral Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: WILLIAM HOGARTH'S OWN JOE MILLEE; OK, lQuigs, (Dranfis, mix Spte OF EVERY CLIME AND EVERY TIME. 1. PRECEDENCE. A Lawyer and a physician having a dispute about precedence, referred it to Diogenes, who gave it in favour of the lawyer, in these terms: " Let the thief go before, and the executionerybZ/OTW." 2. HANGING PREFERRED TO DROWNING. Two Irishmen about to be hanged during the rebellion of 1798, the gallows was erected over the margin of a river. When the first" man was drawn up the rope gave way, he fell into the stream, and escaped by swimming. The remaining culprit, looking up to the executioner, said, with genuine native simplicity, ami an earnestness that evinced his sincerity, " Do, good Mr. Ketch, if you please, tie me up tight, for, if the rope breaks, I'm sure to be drowned, for I can't swim a stroke." 3. HERALDIC AFFECTION. Furetiere says, " Precedence of rank has its charm?, certainly; though I cannot go so far as a lady of my acquaintance, who wished to die before her husband. I inquired of her the reason of her wishing so extraordinary a thing. ' Because,' said her ladyship, ' if my husband dies before me, I cannot put his arms on his tomb, because he is not a man of family; though should I die first, he can claim a right of placing my arms on my tomb, because I am a woman of quality by birth.'" 4. IMPROMPTU. On the Election of a Mr. William Evill to the Office of Cnjcr. Crying into this world he came, Evil he was -- they called him Bill; And to his g...« less