Punch (94.1888)

28. 1888-]__PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHAEIVARI.

193

QUITE "TAKEN" BY LES SURPRISES.

M. Bisson_'s " comedie," entitled Les Surprises du Divorce, which
is now one of the great successes of Paris, was played to such big
houses last week at the Royalty as would have been suineientto
warrant M. Mater in taking Mrr on the theatre for another

month at least. Les Surprises is an ingeniously - con-

structed and most amusing JlfJP»\ farce. The situations are
so genuinely comic, and the MM|W dialogue so crisp and

humorous, that the piece
would ''draw" in London

" Coquelinant" at the Eoyalty.

yn%evei1 a less popular comedian than Coqttelut, supported by the
jy-ttthfui Jean Coqtteltn and the competent company—including a
b; "°iiaitgeb, by the way—whom M. Mater has got together at the
%alty Theatre. ■
Ze ^ Sa^ *hat -H-aee is going to produce an English version of

* Surprises at his, at present unbuilt, theatre. If so, the adapter,
ess • ^s ^e scene i11 England, will have a difficult task, as what is
a ent;ial to the plot is impossible here, and much detail that is
)-0i°essary to the humour of the farce an English audience would not
p 6raj* in an English piece; though in a French play, acted by

erioh comedians, " suggestiveness" is expected and condoned in
the nee ky an English audience, who, as a rule, laugh the louder

ttiore they see and the less they understand,
tion I " business " of the low comedian, when overcome with emo-
a falling on to the keyboard of the piano, of a quiet man bringing in
ord *ray' on^y*° De ^oked over by the principal low comedian in
qui t ^° e an with something brisk, and to bring down " a
wit? curtain," would be received by our capricious first-nighters
En r i?rision- what in a French farce is considered by an

and" audience as "immensely funny," would be voted "old"
Whfi, stupid" in an English piece of the same kind. I doubt
*oiilJn!; *De rin&in? slap on the face given by the actor to the actress
sgjr * oe acceptable to an English audience, if the characters repre-
°on<ra Were Enftlish. However, these matters are for the adapter's
V sderation. Taken for what it is, a brisk French farce, played
pi a Sood light French company, with plenty of French sauce
wft* y,nle' Les Surprises du Divorce is among the funniest pieces to

10n M. Naquet's Divorce Act has given birth.

Jack in the Box.

fi,evJAITl' was a Welshman, Taffy was " —ahem !—That
nlHB?r?nd Arcadian "Welsh Shepherd who was brought up—(he
attlV • ve been very badly brought up!)—before the Magistrate,
Pin?6 •lnstall0e of the Dean and Chapter of "Westminster, for chip-
thein eoeB °® some old stone table in the Abbey, in order to carry
pinr\away as relics, ought to be presented with a living near Chip-
tnenf rton- Perhaps "Mr. G." could find him convenient employ-
C; atHawarden. He was fined a couple of sovereigns for the
aSe done. No doubt he considers he got off very chiply.

of AriEW' Hemsy.—The week before last we mentioned the spread
Pit» n^-ism in the Strand. But what is " Plas-iarism in the Pul-
c°n'dp Waich.. in the York Convocation, Dr. Hatman wished to
Iinf.Canon Fleming? Is it a misprint for " Pelagianism " ?
"Oars Who was the Heresiarch ? When did Plagiary flourish ? Of
tibw ?e do not mean Sir Fretful. Poor Canon Fleming to be
him on " Hatman's gallows " ! This would be " suspending "
acnnui , a vengeance. Let us hope the worthy Fleming will be
^Wed of Plagiarism.

in^Jvn oi>bia™ fob Apbtx.—Quite the Month for the Aquarellistes
Show Mal1 East and Piccadilly to open their Shows. Plenty of
U0*<*s at both places.

MR. PUNCH'S INDIAN POSSESSIONS.

The Indian Daily News of Monday, March 26, has been received at
our office, containing the folio wing intelligence:—

" Moti Singh, the llajah of Punch, has come into sudden notoriety by
the imprisonment of his prime Minister and family, and confiscation of their
property, &c. The State of Punch lies about midway between Kawal Pindi
and Srinugger, &c."

To interview Rajah Moti Singh, Mr. Punch has, of course,
immediately despatched two of his best Bajahs-in-Waiting from
his Home Office, Khan Singh and Mt/stapha Singh with A
Note. Mr. Punch thinks it due to the Prime Minister to say
that this is the first time he has ever heard even the whisper
of any charge against him, and he is loth to believe that the
present difficulty is due to Russian intrigue. The Two Rajahs will
be accompanied (on the Tom-Tom) by the celebrated Indian Guide,
Rita-Wazib ; and Mr. Punch trusts that the meeting of the three
Rajahs—Khan Singh, Mtjstapha Singh, and Moti Singh—who
will enjoy the far-famed hospitality of the Nizam Anpeezah-
Dinab—will be thoroughly harmonious.

THE RECOGNITION OF INHUMANITY.
What would be the reasonable chastisement to award for a mis-
demeanor no worse than an unprovoked assault by which a sufferer
is but grievously injured and irreparably maimed for life ? Well,
as much, perhaps, as seclusion for a term of some not too long dura-
tion. Such was the sentence stated to have been passed by the
Recorder of Sheffield on two betting men, one named Oxlet, and
the other Lambebt, convicted of rather too rough horseplay on the
person of a respectable tradesman. They had merely knocked him
down, and four of his teeth out, broken his jaw, and inflicted injuries
styled " serious " upon his head. For these acts of only unlawful
wounding, Oxlet was awarded no less than two months' and Lam-
bebt as much as one month's imprisonment. In this instance, jus-
tice, as usual in such cases, was tempered with mercy; and according
to precedent not ridiculously too much of the latter. But certainly,
the reverse of that view of it was taken by the people of Sheffield.
At a crowded meeting of townsfolk convened by the Mayor, resolu-
tions were passed actually protesting against the inadequacy of those
lenient sentences 1 What Draconian judgment did the Mayor and his
concourse wish to have been pronounced on a somewhat too forcible
outbreak of animal spirits ? Five years of penal servitude perhaps,
and. a whipping or two into the bargain? Why, the defendants
couldn't have got so much as that unless they had aggravated mere
violence with the graver offence of robbery. They seem to have been
sent to prison without the option of a fine. Was not that sufficient
to satisfy the rigorous requirements of the Men of Sheffield ? An
imprisonment of two months' duration for an assault upon a man is
as heavy a penalty as that usually imposed on the assailant of a
woman or a child. Isn't it ?

Anothee " Mtstebt." — The Shilling Dreadfuls are having a
fine time of it. All Murders and Mysteries. The Book-stalls of
W. H. Smith—or "The Smithies," as they shall be henceforth
termed—are full of them. Among the latest is The Cliff Mystery,
by Mr. Hamilton Aide, who is also "among the profits." The
more improbable the story, the greater the probability of its being
read. Perhaps the Author wrote this shilling tale after a copious
draught of what he calls " Chateau Margot." Does he remember a
couplet of Chables Dance's in Blue Beard?—

Margot. For drink, O'Shackaback, you needn't far go.

0'Shack. I 're searched for you through all the chateau, Margot.

The quotation may not be strictly exact as far as the first line
goes, but the second is the one that may have lingered in the
Aidean memory. Let him get some " Margaux," and write another
Mystery. The greatest Mystery of all is, that there should be a
public for all these 'orrible tales !

" Stjee as Fete."—Last Wednesday, April 18, was about as bad
a day as any of the Witches in Macbeth could wish for. There was
thunder, lightning, hail, and rain, fog, sunshine, cold, heat. Quite a
Variety Entertainment. Any Forecaster might have predicted it,
or something like, without any great meteorological science, if he
had only consulted the list of amusements for the forthcoming week
in a Saturday or Sunday paper. For was not the First Show of Spring
Flowers announced for this particular day at the Botanical Gardens ?
0 cruel fete ! Poor Flora in a mackintosh and under an umbrella!

Aids to New Dictionaby.—Mr. Gibling writes sensibly about
corporal punishment, but "Girling" is hardly the appropriate
name for a gentleman who has kept a Boy's School. "Girling"

ing up Boys,
of his education from his earliest boyhood ? "