The Merry-Thought: or the Glass-Window and Bog-House Miscellany. Part 1

HurlothrumboProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.6
Word count
49K words
Chapters
5

Tags

English Originals Essays and Miscellany Street MiscellanyEnglish SocietyAnonymous JestHumorous SatireFolk HumorFragmentary FormEighteenth CenturyGraffiti Culture

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Merry-Thought: or the Glass-Window and Bog-House Miscellany. Part 1Author: Hurlothrumbo,Language: English, Class: GT: Geography, Anthropology, Recreation: Manners and customs, Release Date: Feb 11, 2007

Editor's review

This is a rather curious eighteenth-century miscellany, collecting short sayings, rhymes, and humorous scribblings inscribed on glass windows, privy walls, and similar places, attributed to "Hurlothrumbo." Its value lies not in literary distinction but in preserving a form of popular expression easily overlooked by official history: impromptu writing in taverns, inns, and public spaces, reflecting the humor, grievances, and sociability of ordinary people of the time. For readers studying eighteenth-century English customs, popular literature, and public-space culture, it is a vivid and rare source. There is no need to read for continuity; dipping in at random suits the book's miscellaneous character. At the same time, much of the content carries period prejudices and coarse elements, which should be viewed historically rather than simply consumed as today's light reading.

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Reading tips

  1. No need to read straight through; treat it as a sourcebook and browse entries at random according to interest.
  2. Jot down striking entries as you read and note the social settings they may reflect.
  3. Read alongside background on eighteenth-century English social customs to understand the context.
  4. When encountering coarse or prejudiced entries, first analyze their historical context, then judge their value as historical material.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
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FAQ

What does this book mainly collect? This is an eighteenth-century miscellany collecting short sayings, rhymes, and humorous scribblings inscribed on glass windows, privy walls, and other public spaces. It is a compilation of impromptu popular writing, reflecting the humor, grievances, and sociability of ordinary people of the time rather than systematic argument or literary creation.
Why does the title include the phrase "Merry-Thought"? "Merry-Thought" can roughly be understood as a facetious, witty notion; the title itself carries a light, teasing tone, pointing to the impromptu sayings and joking texts collected in the book. It signals that this is an entertaining miscellany rather than a serious treatise, and readers should adjust their expectations accordingly.
Is the content suitable for modern readers to enjoy directly? Some content carries eighteenth-century prejudices and coarse expressions that modern readers may not readily accept. It is best approached as a historical document, focusing on the social attitudes and public-space culture it reflects, rather than simply consuming it as today's light reading.
What use is this book for research? It provides samples of popular expression beyond official history and classic literature, helping researchers observe impromptu writing, social humor, and everyday moods in eighteenth-century English public spaces. It has reference value for the study of customs, popular literature, and reading culture, but should be used in conjunction with other historical sources.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Hurlothrumbo Author

Hurlothrumbo is an English author about whom very little is known: no reliable record survives of his real name, nationality, dates of birth and death, or other personal details. Public information is therefore limited. The works confirmed so far are The Merry-Thought: or the Glass-Window and Bog-House Miscellany. Part 1 and a related compilation in the same series, two titles in all. Such works belong to the eighteenth-century English miscellany tradition, gathering scattered couplets, doggerel, and jesting inscriptions found on window panes, privy walls, and similar places, and they carry a distinctly street-level, satirical flavor. The odd pen name Hurlothrumbo itself echoes the noisy, coarse, yet witty tone of this material; the compiler's method preserved a great deal of everyday writing that might otherwise have been lost, giving the books some value for understanding the popular humor and cheap print culture of the period.