When it's Browning.

What best describes and most impedes a Pilgrim's Progress? Bunyan
(bunion).

Why are Addison's works like a looking-glass? Because in them we see
the "Spectator."

Was Othello thinking of his wife when he killed her? No, 's mother.

What toe would you rather kiss than the Pope's? Mrs. Beecher S-towe.

Who was the first whistler, and what tune did he whistle? The
wind,--"Over the Hills and Far Away."

Who wrote most, Dickens or Bulwer? Dickens. He wrote "All the Year
Round," while Bulwer wrote "Night and Morning."

What countryman was Burns? A Scorchman.

What change of identity did the "Beggar's Opera" effect? It made Gay
rich, and Rich gay.

When was the greatest destruction of poultry? When King Claudius of
Denmark "did murder most foul."

Why are the abbreviations of degrees tacked on to a man's name? To
show that he is a man of letters.

"Why," asked Moore, the poet, "is love like a potato?" Because it
shoots from the eyes, "and," added Byron, "gets less by pairing."

If Falstaff had been musical what instrument would he have chosen
after dinner? The sackbut.

Why is it almost certain that Shakespeare was a broker? Because no
man has furnished so many stock quotations.

Why is a statistician like a writer of one of the Six Best Sellers?
Because he is the author of well-figured fiction.

Why are Parliamentary reports called "Blue Books?" Because they are
never re(a)d.

Why is an architect like a newspaper writer? Because he gets so much
"per column" for his work.

Why was Blackstone like an Irish vegetable? Because he was a common
tatur (commentator).

Is there any bird which can recite the "Lays of Ancient Rome?" Yes,
certainly, Macaw-lays.

Why cannot the Irish perform the play of "Hamlet?" Because they
cannot help making "Aphalia" (a failure) of the heroine.

What was Othello's occupation in Venice? That of a lawyer, because he
was attorney-general (a tawny general).

If you took off your boot and put your foot in the fire, what opera
of Verdi's would it instantly make you? Rigoletto (wriggle-a-toe).

Why are unsuccessful contestants for a prize like Shakespeare?
Because they have made "Much Ado About Nothing."

What is the difference between living "in marble halls" and aboard
ship? In the former you have "vassals and serfs at your side," and in
the latter you have vessels and surfs at your side.

Why is it quite reasonable that Dickens' later plots should be