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The mother of William Penn came from Rotterdam, in Holland. She was the daughter of John Jasper, a merchant of that city. The lively Mr. Pepys, who met her in 1664, when William was twenty years of age, describes her as a "fat, short, old Dutchwoman," and says that she was "mighty homely." He records a tattling neighbor's gossip that she was not a good housekeeper.
The other fellows, less conscientious, passed their lives in tippling and tattling, discussing the "Oxford Toasts," and drinking other toasts to the king over the water. "Some duties," says Gibbon, "may possibly have been imposed on the poor scholars," but "the velvet cap was the cap of liberty," and the gentleman commoner consulted only his own pleasure.
"What I have to say is more important than dinner. I hope what I have been hearing isn't true." "That depends upon what it was," I retorted, disguising my pertness with a smile. "Don't think I've been tattling," said Sally. "Whatever my faults may be, I haven't a Rubber Neck."
I answered that I had too great a respect for him to be offended at anything he should do, and that I would go to her immediately, and do as much for her as if she were a child of my own. I advised him, in the meantime, to go out and hunt, by which means he would draw away all his people, and prevent tattling.
Office, salesroom and storehouse would be better without it; proprietor, clerk and purchaser would thrive better if rid of it. The lie of gossip. If by some power, human or divine, the gossiping tongue could be silenced and the tattling mouth effectually closed, half of the evil of this world would already be stopped, and the other would commence to languish for want of patronage.
For, as we all know, it is from this idle, tattling, rambling old Gascon it is from this outlandish looker-on of human affairs, that our Spectators and Ramblers and Idlers and Tattlers, trace their descent; and the Times, and the Examiners, and the Observers, and the Spectators, and the Tribunes, and Independents, and all the Monthlies, and all the Quarterlies, that exercise so large a sway in human affairs to-day, are only following his lead; and the best of them have not been able as yet to leave him in the rear.
Women who had no scruples about drinking as much beer, and sometimes stronger drinks, as they could absorb, and some of the men said that the women drank more than men, and under the besotting influence of beer and even stronger drinks, a fearful amount of gossiping, news-carrying and tattling went on, which often resulted in quarrels and contentions, which, while it never resulted in blood, sadly lowered the tone of social life.
In our tattling world of small things he had extraordinary opportunities of learning how I behaved when I was away from home; I did not realize this, and I used to think his acquaintance with my deeds and words savoured almost of wizardry.
All the hunters in the village were getting ready to go there to hunt. "Man-e-do was very angry. He caught the dog, and gave him the worst whipping any dog ever had. 'I'll stop your tattling, said he. And he caught the dog by the tongue and pulled it nearly out of his mouth. Then he shoved a round stick back into his mouth and tied his mouth shut over it.
It's 'cause he runs around so much on his feet " "You're better," said Miss Royle. She turned her paper inside out. "But one day you said he was all ears, and " "Gwendolyn!" Miss Royle stared down over her glasses. "Never repeat what you hear me say, love. It's tattling, and tattling is ill-bred. Now, what can I give you?" Gwendolyn wanted a drink of water.
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