Excerpt from Jest and Earnest, Vol. 1 of 2: A Collection of Essays and Reviews In the two sketches or squibs written in 1850 and 1851, after the manner of Herodotus, mirth was made of some statesmen for whom the writer has always felt great respect. This too must be forgiven, if any one should feel hurt after so long time at such freedom of speech; on the principle that where no harm is meant, no offence should be taken, and that, in politics at least, it is only possible to raise a hearty laugh against a very great man. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.