Synthesized answer
The new master, a "Yorkshireman," interprets the explicit detail of the coachman's dishonesty as a positive factor for hiring because he believes he himself cannot be cheated. The coachman states, "my new master, on reading it, said, he observed your lordship recommended me as an able driver and a sober man. 'These,' says he, 'are just the qualities I want in a coachman; I observe his lordship adds he discharged you because you cheated him. Hark you, sirrah,' says he, 'I'm a Yorkshireman, and I'll defy you to cheat _me_.'" [1]
This suggests that the Yorkshireman views the coachman's past dishonesty not as a general inability to be moral, but rather as a specific challenge that he, due to his own perceived shrewdness as a Yorkshireman, is confident he can overcome. The explicit statement of past cheating, rather than being a disqualifier, becomes an affirmation of the coachman's known proclivities, which the new master believes he can expertly manage and perhaps even profit from by employing him while remaining impervious to deceit. The passages do not provide further psychological or social mechanisms for this interpretation, beyond the master's assertion of his own…
Synthesized from the book passages below. Chat with the book on Feynman for follow-up.
From the book
stminster Hall, a man, in a very handsome livery, made him a low bow. To his surprise he recognized his late coachman. "Why, John," says his lordship, "you seem to have got an excellent place; how could you manage this with the character I gave you?" "Oh! my lord," says John, "it was an exceeding good character, and I am come to return you thanks for it; my new master, on reading it, said, he observed your lordship recommended me as an able driver and a sober man. 'These,' says he, 'are just the qualities I want in a coachman; I observe his lordship adds he discharged you because you…
it was rejected. Anything offensive to good taste, good manners, or good morals, was, of course, out of the question. BOOK OF ANECDOTES, AND BUDGET OF FUN LORD MANSFIELD AND HIS COACHMAN. THE following is an anecdote of the late Lord Mansfield, which his lordship himself told from the bench:--He had turned off his coachman for certain acts of peculation, not uncommon in this class of persons. The fellow begged his lordship to give him a character. "What kind of character can I give you?" says his lordship. "Oh, my lord, any character your lordship pleases to give me, I…
he had acknowledged the theft to several persons, yet the jury acquitted him. The judge, surprised, asked their reason. The foreman said that he and his fellows knew the prisoner to be such an abominable liar, that they could not believe one word he said. A BROAD HINT. A GERMAN prince being one day on a balcony with a foreign minister, told him, "One of my predecessors made an ambassador leap down from this balcony." "Perhaps," said his excellency, "it was not the fashion then for ambassadors to wear swords." PREFERMENT. AN auctioneer having turned publican, was soon after…
ty well for your morning's work." "Yes, Sir, _we black-coats_ get our money easy enough." PROOF OF IDENTITY. RICHARD II., on the Pope reclaiming, as a son of the church, a bishop whom he had taken prisoner in battle, sent him the prelate's _coat of mail_, and in the words of the Scripture asked him, "Know now whether this be _thy son's coat_ or not?" NO LOSS FOR AN EXCUSE. THE Welsh formerly drank their ale, mead, or metheglin out of earthen vessels, glazed and painted, within and without, with _dainty devices_. A farmer in the principality, who had a curious quart…
re that would jump over any fourteen rail fence in Illinois, and open any door in any barn that hadn't a padlock on it. Tu or three times I found her in my stable, and I told Bradly about it, and he was 'very sorry--an unruly animal--would watch'--and a hull lot of such things; all said in a serious manner, with a face twice as long as old deacon Farrar's on sacrament day. "I knew, all the time, he was lying, and so I watched him and his old roan tu; and for three nights regular, old roan came to my stable about bed-time, and just at day-light Bradly would come, bridle her, and…
More questions about this book
- The preface states that the selection criteria for anecdotes were solely based on their ability to make a reader laugh, while rejecting anything "offensive." How might this editorial philosophy specifically influence the *type* of humor presented in the Lord Mansfield anecdote, and what does it suggest about the boundaries of acceptable humor in 1860?
- The anecdote about Lord Mansfield and his coachman involves concepts of honesty, trust, and perceived cleverness. How does this single story, beyond simply being "funny," offer insights into the complex nature of reputation and the art of negotiation in personal or professional dealings?
- If the book's purpose is to promote "healthful action of the human system as a good, hearty laugh," what specific elements of the Lord Mansfield anecdote's plot, character interactions, or resolution contribute to a reader's sense of satisfaction or amusement, rather than a feeling of injustice or moral disapproval?
- Considering the brief text, what implicit assumptions or societal norms about class, regional identity (Yorkshireman), or employee-employer relationships are revealed through the Lord Mansfield anecdote, and how do these unstated background details contribute to the anecdote's humor and message?