See also:

• IMPROMPTU (from in promptu, on the spur of the moment)

IMPROMPTU (from in promptu, on the See also:

• SPUR (A.S. spura, spora, related to spornan, spurnan, to kick, spurn; cf. M.H.G. sporn, mod. Ger. Sporn)

spur of the moment)  , a See also:

• SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short See also:

• LITERARY

literary See also:

• COMPOSITION
• COMPOSITION (Lat. compositio, from componere, to put together)

composition which has not been, or is not supposed to have been, prepared beforehand, but owes its merit to the ready skill which produces it without premeditation . The word seems to have been introduced from the See also:

• FRENCH
• FRENCH, DANIEL CHESTER (1850– )
• FRENCH, NICHOLAS (1604-1678)

French See also:

• LANGUAGE (adapted from the Fr. langage, from langue, tongue, Lat. lingua)

language in the See also:

• MIDDLE

middle of the 17th See also:

• CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century . Without question, the poets have, from earliest ages, made impromptus, and the very See also:

• ART

art of See also:

• POETRY

poetry, in its lyric See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form, is of the nature of a modified improvisation . It is supposed that many of the epigrams of the Greeks, and still more probably those of the See also:

• ROMAN

Roman satirists, particularly See also:

• MARTIAL (MARCUS VALERIUS MARTIALIS)

Martial, were delivered on the moment, and gained a See also:

• GREAT

great See also:

• PART

part, at least, of their success from the See also:

• EVIDENCE (Lat. evidentia, evideri, to appear clearly)

evidence which they gave of rapidity of invention . But it must have been difficult then, as it has been since, to be convinced of the value of that evidence . Who is to be sure that, like Mascarille in See also:

• LES

Les Pr.cieuses ridicules, the See also:

• IMPROMPTU (from in promptu, on the spur of the moment)

impromptu-writer has not employed his leisure in sharpening his arrows ? See also:

• JAMES
• JAMES (Gr. 'IlrKw,l3or, the Heb. Ya`akob or Jacob)
• JAMES (JAMES FRANCIS EDWARD STUART) (1688-1766)
• JAMES, 2ND EARL OF DOUGLAS AND MAR(c. 1358–1388)
• JAMES, DAVID (1839-1893)
• JAMES, EPISTLE OF
• JAMES, GEORGE PAYNE RAINSFOP
• JAMES, HENRY (1843— )
• JAMES, JOHN ANGELL (1785-1859)
• JAMES, THOMAS (c. 1573–1629)
• JAMES, WILLIAM (1842–1910)
• JAMES, WILLIAM (d. 1827)

James See also:

• SMITH
• SMITH, ADAM (1723–1790)
• SMITH, ALEXANDER (183o-1867)
• SMITH, ANDREW JACKSON (1815-1897)
• SMITH, CHARLES EMORY (1842–1908)
• SMITH, CHARLES FERGUSON (1807–1862)
• SMITH, CHARLOTTE (1749-1806)
• SMITH, COLVIN (1795—1875)
• SMITH, EDMUND KIRBY (1824-1893)
• SMITH, G
• SMITH, GEORGE (1789-1846)
• SMITH, GEORGE (184o-1876)
• SMITH, GEORGE ADAM (1856- )
• SMITH, GERRIT (1797–1874)
• SMITH, GOLDWIN (1823-191o)
• SMITH, HENRY BOYNTON (1815-1877)
• SMITH, HENRY JOHN STEPHEN (1826-1883)
• SMITH, HENRY PRESERVED (1847– )
• SMITH, JAMES (1775–1839)
• SMITH, JOHN (1579-1631)
• SMITH, JOHN RAPHAEL (1752–1812)
• SMITH, JOSEPH, JR
• SMITH, MORGAN LEWIS (1822–1874)
• SMITH, RICHARD BAIRD (1818-1861)
• SMITH, ROBERT (1689-1768)
• SMITH, SIR HENRY GEORGE WAKELYN
• SMITH, SIR THOMAS (1513-1577)
• SMITH, SIR WILLIAM (1813-1893)
• SMITH, SIR WILLIAM SIDNEY (1764-1840)
• SMITH, SYDNEY (1771-1845)
• SMITH, THOMAS SOUTHWOOD (1788-1861)
• SMITH, WILLIAM (1769-1839)
• SMITH, WILLIAM (c. 1730-1819)
• SMITH, WILLIAM (fl. 1596)
• SMITH, WILLIAM FARRAR (1824—1903)
• SMITH, WILLIAM HENRY (1808—1872)
• SMITH, WILLIAM HENRY (1825—1891)
• SMITH, WILLIAM ROBERTSON (1846-'894)

Smith received the highest praise for his compliment to See also:

• MISS

Miss See also:

• TREE (0. Eng. treo, treow, cf. Dan. tree, Swed. Odd, tree, trd, timber; allied forms are found in Russ. drevo, Gr. opus, oak, and 36pv, spear, Welsh derw, Irish darog, oak, and Skr. dare, wood)
• TREE, SIR HERBERT BEERBOHM (1853- )

Tree, the cantatrice: On this tree when a See also:

• NIGHTINGALE (O. Eng. Nihtegale, literally " singer of the night ")
• NIGHTINGALE, FLORENCE (1820–191o)

nightingale settles and sings, The Tree a See also:

• ILL

ill return him as See also:

• GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good as he brings . This was extremely neat, but who is to say that James Smith had not polished it as he dressed for See also:

• DINNER

dinner ? One writer owed all his fame, and a seat among the See also:

• FORTY

Forty Immortals of the French See also:

• ACADEMY, GREEK
• ACADEMY, ROYAL

Academy, to the reputation of his impromptus . This was the See also:

• MARQUIS

Marquis See also:

• FRANCOIS (1558-1614)

Francois See also:

• JOSEPH
• JOSEPH, COMTE DE (1785-1870)
• JOSEPH, FATHER (FRANCOIS LECLERC DU TREMBLAY) (1577-1638)

Joseph de St Aulaire (1643-1742) . The piece which threw open the doors of the Academy to him in 1706 was composed at Sceaux, where he was staying with the duchess of See also:

• MAINE
• MAINE, ANNE LOUISE BENEDICTE DE BOURBON
• MAINE, SIR HENRY JAMES SUMNER (1822–1888)

Maine, who was guessing secrets, and who called him See also:

• APOLLO (Gr. 'A2r6XXwv,'Airkkhwv)

Apollo . St Aulaire instantly responded: La divinite qui s'amuse A me demander mon See also:

• SECRET (Lat. secretum, hidden, concealed)

secret, Si j'etais Apollon, ne serait pas ma muse, See also:

• ELIE

Elie serait See also:

• THETIS

Thetis—et le jour finirait .

This is undoubtedly as neat as it is impertinent, and if the duchess had given him no ground for preparation, this is typical of the impromptu at its best . See also:

• VOLTAIRE, FRANCOIS MARIE AROUET DE (1694–1778)

Voltaire was celebrated for the See also:

• SAVAGE
• SAVAGE, MINOT JUDSON (1841– )
• SAVAGE, RICHARD (d. 1743)

savage wit of his impromptus, and was himself the subject of a famous one by See also:

• YOUNG
• YOUNG, A
• YOUNG, ARTHUR (1741-1820)
• YOUNG, BRIGHAM (1801-1877)
• YOUNG, CHARLES MAYNE (1777–1856)
• YOUNG, EDWARD (1683–1765)
• YOUNG, JAMES (1811-1883)
• YOUNG, THOMAS (1773-1829)

Young . Less well known but more certainly extemporaneous is the See also:

• COUPLET

couplet by the last-mentioned poet, who being asked to put something amusing in an See also:

• ALBUM (Lat. albus, white)

album, and being obliged to See also:

• BORROW, GEORGE HENRY (18o3-1881)

borrow from See also:

• LORD
• LORD (O. Eng. hldford, i.e. hldfweard, the warder or keeper of bread, hlIf, loaf; the word is not represented in any other Teutonic language)
• LORD, JOHN (1810-1894)

Lord See also:

• CHESTERFIELD
• CHESTERFIELD, PHILIP DORMER STANHOPE, 4TH EARL, OF (1694–1773)

Chesterfield a See also:

• PENCIL (Lat. penicillus, brush, literally little tail)

pencil for the purpose, wrote: Accept a See also:

• MIRACLE (Lat. miraculum, from mirari, to wonder)

miracle instead of wit, See two dull lines with See also:

• STANHOPE, EARLS
• STANHOPE, LADY HESTER LUCY (1776-1839)

Stanhope's pencil See also:

• WRIT (O. Eng. gewrit, writ, from writan, to write)

writ . The word " impromptu " is sometimes used to designate a short dramatic See also:

• SKETCH (directly adapted from Dutch schets, which was taken from Ital. schizzo, a rough draft, Lat. schedium, something hastily made, Gr. oxE&os, sudden, off-hand, axeb6v, near by; Ger. Skizze and Fr. esquisse are from the same source)

sketch, the type of which is See also:

• MOLIERE (1622-1673)

Moliere's famous Impromptu du See also:

• VERSAILLES

Versailles (1663), a See also:

• MINIATURE

miniature See also:

• COMEDY

comedy in See also:

• PROSE

prose .