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Doctors & Health · 2026-10-31

THE most celebrated wits and _bon vivants_ of the day

THE most celebrated wits and _bon vivants_ of the day graced the dinner-table of the late Dr. Kitchener, and, _inter alia_, the late George Colman, who was an especial favorite; his interpolation of a little monosyllable in a written admonition which the Doctor caused to be placed on the mantlepiece of the dining parlor will never be forgotten, and was the origin of such a drinking bout as was seldom permitted under his roof. The caution ran thus: "Come at seven, go at eleven." Colman briefly altered the sense of it; for, upon the Doctor's attention being directed to the card, he read, to his astonishment, "Come at seven, _go it_ at eleven!" which the guests did, and the claret was punished accordingly.

Classic source: The Jest Book (1864), public-domain text.

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