Wit

wit: the quickness of intellect and the power and talent for sating brilliant things that surprise and delight by their unexpectedness; the power to comment subtly and pointedly on the foibles of the passing scene

"But, had you peeped at them through the chinks of the garden-fence, the young man's earnestness and heightened color might have led you to suppose that he was making love to the young girl!"
                                                                               -The House of the Seven Gables
                                                                                        by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Hawthorne is here displaying his wit by "comment[ing]..on the foibles of the passing scene." His wit both injects humor and description into the narrative. Hawthorne is giving the reader a powerful and memorable image of what Holgrave looks like, and is providing comic relief from the rather serious discussion taking place between Phoebe and Holgrave. Hawthorne encourages the reader to continue reading by providing these surprising little phrases.