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Updated: July 3, 2025
It was conspicuous, it was cheap, it pointed us out to laughter we, who were old soldiers, used to arms, and some of us showing noble scars, like a set of lugubrious zanies at a fair.
"Why, bless thy gentle heart, good man, I want to turn his farthings into round gold crowns if thou and thine infernal hot shoe do not make zanies of us all! Why, Master Smith, 'tis to London town I'd take him, and fill his hands with more silver shillings than there be cast-off shoes in thy whole shop." "La, now, hearken till him!" gaped the smith, staring in amazement.
All told, there were not more than fifty on hand and accounted for by ten o'clock. A good many had come in costume as zanies, Pantaloons, witches, Pierrots, Columbines, clowns and simples. For those who wore evening dress the hostess had provided a store of dunce caps and dominos of gay colours. Nearly everybody present already knew nearly everybody else.
The writer is not an exclusive admirer of everything English; he does not advise his country people never to go abroad, never to study foreign languages, and he does not wish to persuade them that there is nothing beautiful or valuable in foreign literature; he only wishes that they would not make themselves fools with respect to foreign people, foreign languages or reading; that if they chance to have been in Spain, and have picked up a little Spanish, they would not affect the airs of Spaniards; that if males they would not make Tomfools of themselves by sticking cigars into their mouths, dressing themselves in zamarras, and saying, carajo! and if females that they would not make zanies of themselves by sticking cigars into their mouths, flinging mantillas over their heads, and by saying carai, and perhaps carajo too; or if they have been in France or Italy, and have picked up a little French or Italian, they would not affect to be French or Italians; and particularly, after having been a month or two in Germany, or picked up a little German in England, they would not make themselves foolish about everything German, as the Anglo-German in the book does a real character, the founder of the Anglo- German school in England, and the cleverest Englishman who ever talked or wrote encomiastic nonsense about Germany and the Germans.
It is supposed that you have learned your letters, and how to make them. It is supposed that you have written the school copies, from Apes and Amazons aim at Art down to Zanies and Zodiacs are the zest of Zoroaster
"Clowns, or zanies," he resumes, after fresh inspection, "appear in great troupes, dancing extravagantly and scampering wildly; everybody seems to do whatever folly comes into his head; and yet, if you consider the matter, you see that all this apparent license is kept under courteous restraint.
One sees the spirit in which these immunities were granted; and how they were but the natural consequence of that awe for courts and kings that made the last writer tell us, with simple wonder, how Catherine de Medici would "laugh her fill just like another" over the humours of pantaloons and zanies.
There was no doubt as to the meaning of the hood, but they who saw in the symbol more resemblance to the jester's cap, recalled certain biting expressions which Granvelle had been accustomed to use. He had been wont, in the days of his greatest insolence, to speak of the most eminent nobles as zanies, lunatics, and buffoons.
Nay, even when the Hungarian Diet assembled at Pressburg in 1823, and Master Jock, with great reluctance, forsook his dogs, his cronies, his zanies, his heydukes, and peasant-wenches, in order to attend to his legislative duties, he could not find it in his heart to part with Mike, so he took the lad along with him to Pressburg. This, however, may only have been part of the joke.
Besides, I'm the censor of Milovka! 'Eh? David looked like a trapped animal. The censor smiled on. 'Don't scowl at me like the other pious zanies. After all, you're an enlightened young man a violinist, they tell me; you can't take your Judaism any more seriously than I take my baptism. Come have a glass of vodka. 'Then, you won't inform? David breathed.
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