The Croaker, or The Miseries of Human Life

The Miseries of Human Life is a series of twelve humorous dialogues between two old curmudgeons, the book details the “petty outrages, minor humiliations, and tiny discomforts that make up everyday human existence.” Written in 1806 by James Beresford (1764–1840), it was first published in one volume as The Miseries of Human Life, or, The Groans of Samuel Sensitive and Timothy Testy. With a few supplementary sighs from Mrs Testy. by W. Miller in 1806- with a frontispiece by William Henry Pyne (1769–1843). It was then expanded with nine more dialogues and published in a two-volume edition in 1907. It became a minor classic in the satirical literature of the day. Apparently the public loved it, so dozens of editions were published, while printmakers rushed to illustrate their own versions of life’s miseries.

A "new farce" called The Miseries of Human Life apparently opened at the Haymarket Theatre, London, performed by Webster. The play is said by The Athenaeum (December, 1845)[1] to be "a translation from the French ... but both the subject and title are of English origin". The leading characters of the work are a the pessimistic "Mr Ally Croaker" and the cheerful "Mr Mildmay".

The Miseries of Human Life, article on the Princeton University Art Museum website[2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Miseries_of_Human_Life

Facsimile version of the first edition of the book of dialogues, 1806, The Internet Archive[3]

The Athenaeum (December, 1845): p. 1180, Google E-book[4]