"I will not," said the magistrate, "if you do not term me to be the knave."
"Well," said the soldier, "the greatest knave that I know of is the constable that brought me here."
"I do not know," said the magistrate, "if he is the greatest knave, but I begin to think that he must have been a fool to arrest so devout a man."
"When I count the number of cards in a pack," continued the soldier, "I find there are fifty-two, the number of weeks in a year; and I find four suits, the number of weeks in a month. I find there are twelve picture cards in a pack, representing the number of months in a year; and on counting the tricks, I find thirteen, the number of weeks in a quarter. So, you see, a pack of cards serves for a Bible, almanac, and prayer-book."
The Rhythmical Lamentation of a British Tar On the Occasion of the Famous Victory of the Yankee Yacht America in English Waters.
In no branch of sport is there a trophy more valuable or highly cherished than that which is so dear to the hearts of American yachtsmen--the America's Cup. While the original cost of this celebrated piece of silverware was only about five hundred dollars, the expenses of fitting out challengers and defenders and maintaining them while in commission have aggregated many millions of dollars.
The cup was originally offered by the Royal Yacht Club and was won on August 22, 1851, by the American schooner-yacht America, which had as competitors no less than fourteen British yachts. The Yankee boat won by eighteen minutes, and her victory inspired a general feeling of chagrin among the owners and crews of the British boats who had regarded their nation as invincible in the yachting world. The following verses, published shortly after the America's victory, are said to have been written by a sailor on a British ship of war from which a view of the race had been obtained:
Oh, weep, ye British sailors true, Above or under hatches, Here's Yankee Doodle's been and come, And beat our crackest yatches! They started all to run a race, And wor well timed with watches; But oh! they never had no chance, Had any of our yatches.
The Yankee she delayed at first, Says they, "She'll never catch us," And flung up their tarpaulin hats-- The owners of the yatches! But presently she walked along; "Oh, dear," says they, "she'll match us!" And stuck on their tarpaulin hats, The builder of our yatches.