Punch or The London charivari: Punch or The London charivari (2.1842)

PUNCH. OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.

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will relieve hiin of the admiration of the Colonel. Happily it is, we
think, in our power to assist him.

"We have discovered that the very day on which the Colonel came
into the world, a favourite she-ass of the family (these coincidences
are curious) gave birth to a remarkably fine foal. The baby Colonel
and the assling were soon inseparable ; the sympathy between them
grew with their growth. "Wherever you sought the future Colonel,
there you were certain to find the ass. Indeed, the jackass ate of the
■Colonel's apple, drank of his porridge, and was to him in every respect
as a brother." The Colonel was in due time called to the wars ;
yet wherever he went, he failed not to show the greatest anxiety for the
•safety and comfort of what he considered to be the most promising ass
of the family

above the common rank.

We regret to say that this tenderness on the part of our Colonel
^vas not felt at home, and the ass passed into the hands of strangers.
Every attempt of the Colonel to trace the whereabout of his early
friend and companion proved fruitless. However, that Colonel
"Sibthoep has never forgotten the ass, is sufficiently evident from all
his speeciies, both in and out of Parliament.

On the day of the opening of the present session Sir Robert Peel
—ever anxious to encourage the manufactures of his country—pur-
chased, for eighteenpence, of a Jew in Parliament street, a pocket-
book bound in green morocco. Placing the purchase in his poke,
Sir Robert bent his way to the House of Commons. He bad scarcely
reached the lobby, when Sibthorp, as though touched by some magic
influence, rushed into the arms of the premier, who from that time has
aiever been able wholly to relieve himself of the caresses of the Colonel.
It has long been evident to every one that the member for Lincoln is suf-
fering under some strange, some powerful fascination. "We have disco-
vered the cause. The Pocket-Boole! In the article sold by the Jew to Sir
Robert are sundry leaves of ass's skin ; yea, leaves of the very hide
ithat covered the early friend and companion of Colonel Sibthorp ;
and such is the power of sympathy (let the unbelieving read Sir
Kenelm Digby to be enlightened), that the member for Lincoln
yearns towards the cuticle as though it were a part of him : and let
Sir Robert Peel be assured of this—when he has relieved himself
of every vestige of the jackass, he may then escape the admiration of
Colonel Sibthorp—and not till then!

jPorctgn Cfborrcspontjcnce.

Our letters have arrived from Madrid, but not having the amount of
the postage in our pockets they remain for the present in the hands of the
Government.

We have again to complain of the interference of the authorities with
our estafette, which was stopped as usual in the most vexatious manner
at the Marsh-gate, though the cab by which our Courier travels had
already paid the toll at the York-road frontier ; our despatches were
consequently delayed at least five minutes : and it was not until the
ticket had been taken down with the most uncourteous violence from the
hat of the guide, and subjected to an unnecessarily close inspection, that
our Courier was allowed to proceed upon his journey. This is the forty-
second time that the same thing has occurred, and we trust that the
matter will be taken notice of in the proper quarter. The toll contractors
are men of liberal sentiments, and cannot surely be interested in impeding
the traffic over-land through the Marsh, or cutting off the communication
between the southern and eastern districts.

THE LEVEE.

Sir James Graham on W-having discovered a short and direct passage
from Whiggism to Toryism.

Mr. Muntz, on his recovery from his late severe attack of enlargement
of the whiskers.

The Editor of the Courier, on an increase of one in the circulation of
his paper.

Mr. Baron Nathan, on his having danced the hornpipe amongst the
eggs without breaking any.

jfasfjtons for ^pril.

During the early part of the month silks will be watered, particularly on
rainy days, and bonnets will be trimmed with drops, which when the
sun shines upon them will have a very light and graceful appearance.

The customary colour for boots will be a very light brown ; and
coats of the same will be much seen on the road to "the races. ' After
the turn of Easter white trousers will be a good deal met with ; and
on Sundays they wili be extremely general. The greater number
of them will be the same as last year, but considerably shorter
in the leg, and much tighter. Straps will'be a few inches longer than they
were at Easter last, and there will be an extensive gap between the hem
of the trouser and the top of the highlow, so as to show a good deal of the
stocking. Yellow waistcoats ruled with black lines will be much seen for
a few days, but will probably disappear after the holidays.

PUNCH'S DOSSAY PORTRAITS.

No. I.—JOSEPH FAN TAIL, ESQUIRE.

The elegant attire and brilliant manners of the above illustrious indi-
vidual point him out as considerably the most dusty of his knight com-
panions of the cart and ladder.

To trace the genealogy and early history of a gentleman who may be
said to throw a lustre over his family, would, even if his parentage could

be traced_which it cannot—be a useless task. It must suffice, then, that

Mr. Fantail first attracted public attention in Russell Square and the
adjacent streets, where, by the stentorian tones of his voice, the melodious
creak of his barrow, and the excellent quality of his hearth-stones, he
deprived his professional rivals of the smiles and custom of the servant-
maids.

A slight breach of hospitality into which Mr. F. was betrayed, at the
bottom of some area steps, and near to which some family plate was most
reprehensibly exposed, obliged him to withdraw into the country, and
Brixton was chosen for his retirement. There he acquired a habit of
making an unvarying tour, and of treading, as it were, on the same steps,
day after day, for three entire months ; by which time the eclat of bis
indiscretion having blown over, he returned to town.

Having always evinced a remarkable predilection for the sporting
world, Mr. Fantail next took to the turf ; but his donkey dying, and the
price of coals suddenly falling, his speculations therein proved extremely
unfortunate. Hence he was driven to the necessity of taking office under