1903. A collection of humorous descriptions of various professions and characters. For example, What is a Knocker? A knocker is a sourball who thinks he knows it all. Does he? What a foolish question. People who think they know it all seldom know as much as the average person who has merely a normal amount of wit. Why does a knocker knock? Because he has dyspepsia and feels like a soft-shelled crab. He is in some sort of misery and likes to distribute a bunch of misery amongst other people; so he knocks, but that is all the good it does. Why do you knock? Because we think it is our life work and we feel that we are doing the great public a turn for which they can never fully repay us. Then you are benefactors? Worse than that. We love our neighbors and like to tell them how they seem to others. You must know a lot? Well, we should say so. We know everything and we so not care who knows we know we know. Aint we just simply awful! See Critic.