Tarlton's Jests: A Retelling
By David Bruce
()
About this ebook
This is an easy-to-read retelling of "Tarlton's Jests, "which tells anecdotes about Queen Elizabeth I's favorite jester. He is thought to have been the Yorick in Hamlet's famous soliloquy.
This book contains the original "Tarlton's Jests" in addition to the retelling.
25. How Tarlton Deceived a Doctor of Physic [Medicine].
Tarlton, to satisfy the humors [moods] of certain gentlemen who were his familiar acquaintances, decided to test the skill of a simple Doctor of Physic, who dwelt not far from Islington, and this is what happened:
Tarlton took a urinal, filled it half full of good wine, and carried it to this doctor, saying it was a sick man’s urine. The doctor viewed it, and tossing it up and down, as though he had great knowledge, he said that the patient whose urine it is, is full of gross humors, and has need of purging, and needs to be bled some ten ounces of blood.
“No, you dunce,” Tarlton replied. “It is good p*ss,” and he drank it all and then threw the urinal at the doctor’s head.
David Bruce
I would like to see my retellings of classic literature used in schools, so I give permission to the country of Finland (and all other countries) to give copies of my eBooks to all students and citizens forever. I also give permission to the state of Texas (and all other states) to give copies of my eBooks to all students forever. I also give permission to all teachers to give copies of my eBooks to all students forever.Teachers need not actually teach my retellings. Teachers are welcome to give students copies of my eBooks as background material. For example, if they are teaching Homer’s “Iliad” and “Odyssey,” teachers are welcome to give students copies of my “Virgil’s ‘Aeneid’: A Retelling in Prose” and tell students, “Here’s another ancient epic you may want to read in your spare time.”Do you know a language other than English? I give you permission to translate any of my retellings of classic literature, copyright your translation in your name, publish or self-publish your translation (but do say it's a translation of something I wrote), and keep all the royalties for yourself.Libraries, download my books free. This is from Smashwords' FAQ section:"Does Smashwords distribute to libraries?"Yes! We have two methods of distributing to libraries: 1. Via library aggregators. Library aggregators, such as OverDrive and Baker & Taylor's Axis360 service, allow libraries to purchase books. Smashwords is working with multiple library aggregators, and is in the process of signing up additional aggregators. 2. On August 7, 2012, Smashwords announced Library Direct. This distribution option allows libraries and library networks to acquire and host Smashwords ebooks on their own servers. This option is only available to libraries who place large "opening collection" orders, typically in the range of $20,000-$50,000, and the libraries must have the ability to host and manage the books, and apply industry-standard DRM to manage one-checkout-at-a-time borrows."David Bruce is a retired anecdote columnist at "The Athens News" in Athens, Ohio. He has also retired from teaching English and philosophy at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.SOME BOOKS BY DAVID BRUCERetellings of a Classic Work of Literature:Arden of Favorsham: A RetellingBen Jonson’s The Alchemist: A RetellingBen Jonson’s The Arraignment, or Poetaster: A RetellingBen Jonson’s Bartholomew Fair: A RetellingBen Jonson’s The Case is Altered: A RetellingBen Jonson’s Catiline’s Conspiracy: A RetellingBen Jonson’s The Devil is an Ass: A RetellingBen Jonson’s Epicene: A RetellingBen Jonson’s Every Man in His Humor: A RetellingBen Jonson’s Every Man Out of His Humor: A RetellingBen Jonson’s The Fountain of Self-Love, or Cynthia’s Revels: A RetellingBen Jonson’s The Magnetic Lady: A RetellingBen Jonson’s The New Inn: A RetellingBen Jonson’s Sejanus' Fall: A RetellingBen Jonson’s The Staple of News: A RetellingBen Jonson’s A Tale of a Tub: A RetellingBen Jonson’s Volpone, or the Fox: A RetellingChristopher Marlowe’s Complete Plays: RetellingsChristopher Marlowe’s Dido, Queen of Carthage: A RetellingChristopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus: Retellings of the 1604 A-Text and of the 1616 B-TextChristopher Marlowe’s Edward II: A RetellingChristopher Marlowe’s The Massacre at Paris: A RetellingChristopher Marlowe’s The Rich Jew of Malta: A RetellingChristopher Marlowe’s Tamburlaine, Parts 1 and 2: RetellingsDante’s Divine Comedy: A Retelling in ProseDante’s Inferno: A Retelling in ProseDante’s Purgatory: A Retelling in ProseDante’s Paradise: A Retelling in ProseThe Famous Victories of Henry V: A RetellingFrom the Iliad to the Odyssey: A Retelling in Prose of Quintus of Smyrna’s PosthomericaGeorge Chapman, Ben Jonson, and John Marston’s Eastward Ho! A RetellingGeorge Peele: Five Plays Retold in Modern EnglishGeorge Peele’s The Arraignment of Paris: A RetellingGeorge Peele’s The Battle of Alcazar: A RetellingGeorge Peele’s David and Bathsheba, and the Tragedy of Absalom: A RetellingGeorge Peele’s Edward I: A RetellingGeorge Peele’s The Old Wives’ Tale: A RetellingGeorge-A-Greene, The Pinner of Wakefield: A RetellingThe History of King Leir: A RetellingHomer’s Iliad: A Retelling in ProseHomer’s Odyssey: A Retelling in ProseJason and the Argonauts: A Retelling in Prose of Apollonius of Rhodes’ ArgonauticaThe Jests of George Peele: A RetellingJohn Ford: Eight Plays Translated into Modern EnglishJohn Ford’s The Broken Heart: A RetellingJohn Ford’s The Fancies, Chaste and Noble: A RetellingJohn Ford’s The Lady’s Trial: A RetellingJohn Ford’s The Lover’s Melancholy: A RetellingJohn Ford’s Love’s Sacrifice: A RetellingJohn Ford’s Perkin Warbeck: A RetellingJohn Ford’s The Queen: A RetellingJohn Ford’s ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore: A RetellingJohn Lyly's Campaspe: A RetellingJohn Lyly's Endymion, the Man in the Moon: A RetellingJohn Lyly's Gallathea, aka Galathea, aka Galatea: A RetellingJohn Lyly's Love's Metamorphosis: A RetellingJohn Lyly's Midas: A RetellingJohn Lyly's Mother Bombie: A RetellingJohn Lyly's Sappho and Phao: A RetellingJohn Lyly's The Woman in the Moon: A RetellingJohn Webster’s The White Devil: A RetellingJ.W. Gent.'s The Valiant Scot: A RetellingKing Edward III: A RetellingMankind: A Medieval Morality Play (A Retelling)Margaret Cavendish's The Unnatural Tragedy: A RetellingThe Merry Devil of Edmonton: A RetellingRobert Greene’s Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay: A RetellingThe Taming of a Shrew: A RetellingTarlton’s Jests: A RetellingThomas Middleton and Thomas Dekker’s The Roaring Girl: A RetellingThomas Middleton and William Rowley’s The Changeling: A RetellingThomas Middleton's A Chaste Maid in Cheapside: A RetellingThomas Middleton's Women Beware Women: A RetellingThe Trojan War and Its Aftermath: Four Ancient Epic PoemsVirgil’s Aeneid: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s 5 Late Romances: Retellings in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s 10 Histories: Retellings in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s 11 Tragedies: Retellings in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s 12 Comedies: Retellings in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s 38 Plays: Retellings in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s 1 Henry IV, aka Henry IV, Part 1: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s 2 Henry IV, aka Henry IV, Part 2: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s 1 Henry VI, aka Henry VI, Part 1: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s 2 Henry VI, aka Henry VI, Part 2: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s 3 Henry VI, aka Henry VI, Part 3: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s All’s Well that Ends Well: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s As You Like It: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Coriolanus: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Cymbeline: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Hamlet: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Henry V: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Henry VIII: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s King John: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s King Lear: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Love’s Labor’s Lost: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Macbeth: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Othello: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Pericles, Prince of Tyre: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Richard II: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Richard III: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s The Tempest: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s The Two Gentlemen of Verona: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s The Two Noble Kinsmen: A Retelling in ProseWilliam Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale: A Retelling in ProseChildren’s Biography:Nadia Comaneci: Perfect TenAnecdote Collections:250 Anecdotes About Music250 Anecdotes About Opera250 Anecdotes About Religion250 Anecdotes About Religion: Volume 2Be a Work of Art: 250 Anecdotes and StoriesThe Coolest People in Art: 250 AnecdotesThe Coolest People in the Arts: 250 AnecdotesThe Coolest People in Books: 250 AnecdotesThe Coolest People in Comedy: 250 AnecdotesCreate, Then Take a Break: 250 AnecdotesDon’t Fear the Reaper: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Art: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Books: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Books, Volume 2: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Books, Volume 3: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Comedy: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Dance: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Families: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Families, Volume 2: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Families, Volume 3: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Families, Volume 4: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Families, Volume 5: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Families, Volume 6: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Movies: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Music: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Music, Volume 2: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Music, Volume 3: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Neighborhoods: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Relationships: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Sports: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Sports, Volume 2: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Television and Radio: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People in Theater: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People Who Live Life: 250 AnecdotesThe Funniest People Who Live Life, Volume 2: 250 AnecdotesMaximum Cool: 250 AnecdotesThe Most Interesting People in Movies: 250 AnecdotesThe Most Interesting People in Politics and History: 250 AnecdotesThe Most Interesting People in Politics and History, Volume 2: 250 AnecdotesThe Most Interesting People in Politics and History, Volume 3: 250 AnecdotesThe Most Interesting People in Religion: 250 AnecdotesThe Most Interesting People in Sports: 250 AnecdotesThe Most Interesting People Who Live Life: 250 AnecdotesThe Most Interesting People Who Live Life, Volume 2: 250 AnecdotesReality is Fabulous: 250 Anecdotes and StoriesResist Psychic Death: 250 AnecdotesSeize the Day: 250 Anecdotes and StoriesKindest People Series:The Kindest People Who Do Good Deeds: Volume 1The Kindest People Who Do Good Deeds: Volume 2The Kindest People Who Do Good Deeds: Volume 3Discussion Guide Series:Dante’s Inferno: A Discussion GuideDante’s Paradise: A Discussion GuideDante’s Purgatory: A Discussion GuideForrest Carter’s The Education of Little Tree: A Discussion GuideHomer’s Iliad: A Discussion GuideHomer’s Odyssey: A Discussion GuideJane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice: A Discussion GuideJerry Spinelli’s Maniac Magee: A Discussion GuideJerry Spinelli’s Stargirl: A Discussion GuideJonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal”: A Discussion GuideLloyd Alexander’s The Black Cauldron: A Discussion GuideLloyd Alexander’s The Book of Three: A Discussion GuideMark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: A Discussion GuideMark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: A Discussion GuideMark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court: A Discussion GuideMark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper: A Discussion GuideNancy Garden’s Annie on My Mind: A Discussion GuideNicholas Sparks’ A Walk to Remember: A Discussion GuideVirgil’s Aeneid: A Discussion GuideVirgil’s “The Fall of Troy”: A Discussion GuideVoltaire’s Candide: A Discussion GuideWilliam Shakespeare’s 1 Henry IV: A Discussion GuideWilliam Shakespeare’s Macbeth: A Discussion GuideWilliam Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Discussion GuideWilliam Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet: A Discussion GuideWilliam Sleator’s Oddballs: A Discussion GuideComposition Projects:Composition Project: Writing an Autobiographical EssayComposition Project: Writing a Hero-of-Human-Rights EssayComposition Project: Writing a Problem-Solving LetterTeaching:How to Teach the Autobiographical Essay Composition Project in 9 ClassesAutobiography (of sorts):My Life and Hard Times, or Down and Out in Athens, OhioMiscellaneous:Mark Twain Anecdotes and QuotesProblem-Solving 101: Can You Solve the Problem?Why I Support Same-Sex Civil MarriageBlogs:https://davidbruceblog429065578.wordpress.comhttps://davidbrucebooks.blogspot.comhttps://davidbruceblog4.wordpress.comhttps://bruceb22.wixsite.com/website
Read more from David Bruce
250 Music Anecdotes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVirgil's "Aeneid": A Retelling in Prose Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLois Lowry's "Number the Stars": A Discussion Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJerry Spinelli's "Stargirl": A Discussion Guide Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dante's "Inferno": A Discussion Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDante's "Divine Comedy": A Retelling in Prose Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Problem-Solving 101: Can You Solve the Problem? Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet": A Discussion Guide Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Nadia Comaneci: Perfect 10 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Nicholas Sparks' "A Walk to Remember": A Discussion Guide Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5William Shakespeare's "Macbeth": A Discussion Guide Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Coolest People in Books: 250 Anecdotes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCupcakes Are Not a Diet Food Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Funniest People in Comedy: 250 Anecdotes Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Homer's "Iliad": A Retelling in Prose Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5William Shakespeare’s 38 Plays: Retellings in Prose Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHomer's "Iliad": A Discussion Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Coolest People in the Arts: 250 Anecdotes and Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Most Interesting People in Movies: 250 Anecdotes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Funniest People in Television and Radio: 250 Anecdotes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Manage Your Money: A Guide for the Non-Rich Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings250 Anecdotes About Opera Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Funniest People in Relationships: 250 Anecdotes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWilliam Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream": A Discussion Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMark Twain Anecdotes and Quotes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Coolest People in Art: 250 Anecdotes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHomer's "Odyssey": A Retelling in Prose Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJerry Spinelli's "Maniac Magee": A Discussion Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJason and the Argonauts: A Retelling in Prose of Apollonius of Rhodes’ Argonautica Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWilliam Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet": A Retelling in Prose Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related to Tarlton's Jests
Related ebooks
Rebel Rabbit: The Great Escape Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow To Spot A Wizard In London Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTo Abandon Rome, AD 593 Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Disowned — Volume 04 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDeadly Troubadours Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Lady For Lord Randall Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPlaying the Princess Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDeath of A Cheat: A Gendarme Trenet Novel, #2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFriends in High Places Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Minstrel: An Autobiography By George Callaghan Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn at the Death Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Sea Fairies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Haunted Baronet Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Absentee Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Lady Penelope Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLord Protector Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOver the Border: A Romance Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Door in Thorston Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTo Tempt A Thief: A Most Peculiar Season Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Covent Garden Murder: The compelling wartime murder mystery Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAyala’s Angel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMichel and Angele [A Ladder of Swords] — Volume 2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Golden Galleon Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPelham — Volume 03 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPunch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 104, April 29, 1893 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Killing Sword Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTudor Turnabout Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Devil's Wind: A Historical Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlack Death Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tiny Carteret Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Humor & Satire For You
A Man Called Ove: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Love and Other Words Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Soulmate Equation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anxious People: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Best F*cking Activity Book Ever: Irreverent (and Slightly Vulgar) Activities for Adults Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Don't Panic: Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Screwtape Letters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5101 Fun Personality Quizzes: Who Are You . . . Really?! Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Swamp Story: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I Will Judge You by Your Bookshelf Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mindful As F*ck: 100 Simple Exercises to Let That Sh*t Go! Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Farrell Covington and the Limits of Style: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Killing the Guys Who Killed the Guy Who Killed Lincoln: A Nutty Story About Edwin Booth and Boston Corbett Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar...: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I Can't Make This Up: Life Lessons Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Favorite Half-Night Stand Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Big Swiss: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 2,548 Wittiest Things Anybody Ever Said Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: the heartfelt, funny memoir by a New York Times bestselling therapist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Everything I Know About Love: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Go the F**k to Sleep Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In a Holidaze Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Solutions and Other Problems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sex Hacks: Over 100 Tricks, Shortcuts, and Secrets to Set Your Sex Life on Fire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tidy the F*ck Up: The American Art of Organizing Your Sh*t Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pimpology: The 48 Laws of the Game Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Everything Is F*cked: A Book About Hope Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Tarlton's Jests
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Tarlton's Jests - David Bruce
Tarlton’s Jests:
A Retelling
David Bruce
Copyright 2017 by Bruce D. Bruce
COVER PHOTO
https://pixabay.com/en/costume-middle-ages-musician-2512106/
SMASHWORDS EDITION
Do you know a language other than English? If you do, I give you permission to translate this book, copyright your translation, publish or self-publish it, and keep all the royalties for yourself. (Do give me credit, of course, for the original retelling.)
Dedicated to My Uncle Reuben Saturday
When he was a young man, my mother’s brother Reuben wanted to escape from poverty and lard sandwiches, so he tried to run away from it. He stole a car so he could drive up north where he hoped to find opportunity, but he got caught and ended up on a Georgia chain gang for several months. In a chain gang, prisoners are shackled every few feet by the ankles to a long length of chain to keep them from escaping. They work in the hot sun while shackled to the chain, and when they sleep, they are shackled to the bed. No freedom, hard work, hot sun, no pay, bad food, and some mean guards.
When my uncle got released from the chain gang, he hitchhiked up north. He did what a lot of people trying to escape from poverty do: He drifted. He drifted from town to town, seeking opportunity and not finding it. He worked when he could, but the jobs were temporary and low pay. My uncle slept rough often, and he was hungry often. Once, when he was completely broke and completely hungry, he saw a restaurant with a buffet and went inside and asked to speak to the manager. He said, I am very hungry, I don’t have any money, and I would appreciate it very much if you would give me any food that the restaurant is going to throw away. I will be happy to wait by the rear entrance until you are ready to throw away food.
The manager told him to sit down at a table, and then the manager went to the buffet, loaded a big plate high with food, and gave it to him free of charge.
One way out of poverty is to get a good job, and my uncle got out of poverty by getting a job working with sheet metal.
My uncle’s work ethic helped him. His employer sent him to California to do some special sheet-metal work, and the people in California wanted to keep him there. They explained that their California employees liked to come to work late, leave early, and take many days off. It was difficult to get someone who would show up and do the work they were supposed to do and were paid to do.
My uncle was also good with money. He got married, bought a house, and raised six children. Each time he made a mortgage payment, he paid extra money so he could pay off the mortgage faster.
If there was a sale on food, he bought lots of it. He had a large pantry, and if there was a sale on peanut butter, two jars for the price of one, he would buy twelve jars and sometimes go back the next day and buy six more jars.
If you went in his pantry — a closet set aside to store food — you saw that it was packed with food. If you went in his kitchen, you saw that he had taken off the doors of the high cabinets in which he stored food so that he could see the food. If you went in his bedroom, you saw that he had all the regular bedroom furniture, but he also had lots of shelves he had installed. The shelves were loaded with things that he had bought on sale that he knew his family could use: food (of course), light bulbs, toothpaste, toilet paper, etc. His bedroom looked like a warehouse.
Once he made a bad purchase: he bought a case of baked beans. Beans are beans, but the sauce they came in can taste good or bad, and the sauce these beans came in tasted bad. His kids told him, Dad, throw those beans away! They’re awful!
But when you grow up poor, you don’t throw beans away. For a long time, whenever my uncle and his family ate baked beans, they ate a mixture of one can of good baked beans and one can of bad baked beans.
My uncle’s kids never had to eat lard sandwiches.
***
The doing of good deeds is important. As a free person, you can choose to live your life as a good person or as a bad person. To be a good person, do good deeds. To be a bad person, do bad deeds. If you do good deeds, you will become good. If you do bad deeds, you will become bad. To become the person you want to be, act as if you already are that kind of person. Each of us chooses what kind of person we will become. To become a good person, do the things a good person does. To become a bad person, do the things a bad person does. The opportunity to take action to become the kind of person you want to be is yours.
Preface
TARLTON, RICHARD (d. 1588), English actor, was probably at one time an inn-keeper, but in 1583, when he is mentioned as one of the original company of The Queen’s Players, was already an experienced actor. He was Elizabeth’s favourite clown, and his talent for impromptu doggerel on subjects suggested by his audience has given his name to that form of verse. To obtain the advantage of his popularity a great number of songs and witticisms of the day were attributed to him, and after his death Tarlton’s Jests, many of them older than he, made several volumes. Other books, and several ballads, coupled his name with their titles. He is said to have been the Yorick of Hamlet’s soliloquy.
***
Public Domain Source:
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Tarlton, Richard
. Encyclopædia Britannica. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclopædia_Britannica/Tarlton,_Richard
***
Notes:
Richard Tarlton died in 1588.
One of Tarlton’s jests was a story about his clothes being stolen, something that happens to Bartholomew Cokes in Ben Jonson’s Bartholomew Fair. Tarlton is mentioned in that play.
The author of Tarlton’s Jests is anonymous.
Chapter I: Tarlton’s Court-Witty Jests.
1. How Tarlton Played the Drunkard Before the Queen.
Tarlton once noticed that Queen Elizabeth I was unhappy, and he took it upon himself to delight her with some quaint jest. Therefore, he pretended to be drunk, and he called loudly for beer, which was brought immediately to him. Her Majesty, noticing what appeared to be his drunkenness, commanded that he should have no more beer because, she said, He will act like a beast, and so shame himself.
Tarlton said to her, You need not be afraid of that, for your beer is small enough.
Hearing this, her Majesty laughed heartily and commanded that he should have enough.
Note:
Small beer is weak beer.
2. How Tarlton Deceived the Watchmen in Fleet Street.
Having recently been at court and coming homewards through Fleet Street, Tarlton saw the watchmen, and not knowing how to pass them, he went very fast, thinking by that means to go past them without being questioned. But because the watchmen saw that he shunned them, they went to him and commanded him in the name of the Queen to stand.
Tarlton said, Stand? Let them stand who can, for I cannot.
He then fell down, as though he were drunk, and the watchmen helped him up and let him pass.
3. How Tarlton Mocked a Lady in the Court.
Tarlton was among certain ladies at a banquet at Greenwich while Queen Elizabeth I was staying there. One of the ladies had her face full of pimples and she had heat at her stomach, for which reason she refused to drink wine among the rest of the ladies, which Tarlton perceiving (for he was there with the purpose to jest among them), he said, A marren of that face, which makes all the body fare the worse for it.
Hearing this, the rest of the ladies laughed, and she (blushing for shame) left the banquet.
Note:
The word marren
may refer to three things: 1) marring — the pimples mar her face, 2) marine — her face mars her stomach, as if she were seasick, and 3) murrain, aka plague.
4. Tarlton’s Opinion of Oysters.
While certain noblemen and ladies of the court were eating oysters, one of them saw Tarlton, called to him,