Excerpt from A Thousand Flashes of French: Wit, Wisdom, and Wickedness Reader: As an amateur botanist, I have penetrated some avenues of the vast garden of literature, and I have gathered flowers of different species to compose a bouquet which I offer to you. Occasionally, I have allowed myself to insert some of my own thoughts among those of the great thinkers here represented, as one shelters timid violets by planting them at the foot of majestic oaks. In compiling this, book, I have carefully excluded everything that would seem objectionable to you, my liberal but virtuous reader, the English language being more austere than the French in its expressions; but, after having paid a legitimate tribute to your just susceptibilities, I have, without timorous scruples, preserved such piquant gems as could be enjoyed without endangering your morals. 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.