John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.
4230 Horae Walpole 1717-1797 John Bartlett
| NUMBER: | 4230 |
| AUTHOR: | Horace Walpole (1717–1797) |
| QUOTATION: | The whole [Scotch] nation hitherto has been void of wit and humour, and even incapable of relishing it. 1 |
| ATTRIBUTION: | Letter to Sir Horace Mann, 1778. |
| Note 1. It requires a surgical operation to get a joke well into a Scotch understanding.—Sydney Smith: Lady Holland’s Memoir, vol. i. p. 15. [back] |