1835 "difference without a distinction"

[David Barnhart]

Difference without a Distinction. --  A good old lady in New England some
half century ago, when condoling with her neighbor for the loss of her
child, was informed by the bereaved mother that she had no doubt it had gone
directly to Beelzebub's bosom.  O, said her neighbor, you mean Abraham's
bosom.  Ah! Replied the mother, it makes no difference, they are both
scripture names.

"Miscellaneous," True Sun [London] (NewspaperArchive.com), June 6, 1835, p 3

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