Punch or The London charivari (3.1842)

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PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.

SKETCHES OF FEMALE POLITICIANS.

No. I.—Miss "Walker.
We do not think it necessary to offer any apology to Miss Walker
for making free with her in these pages, for we are quite sure, that
when liberty is in question, she will have no objection to our taking
just as much as we please ; and Miss Walker was too tempting a
subject for "Punch," with all his modesty, to refrain from em-
bracing her.

We must beg, however, to be most distinctly understood, when we
state, that we do not intend to cast any reflection upon Miss Mary
Anne Walker, who has lately rendered herself notorious in the
neighbourhood of Newgate, and, like other illustrious agitators,
gained an unexpected elevation at the Old Bailey. The female
Chartists are a very numerous class—their name is in fact legion ;
And why may not the names of some of them be Walker ? Indeed
we are disposed to believe that female Chartism and Walker may be
regarded as synonymous. We cannot, therefore, be accused of per-
sonality in our present biography, for " Punch " is by far too prudent
a person to wantonly brave the indignation of a young lady who not
■only speaks with what her Chartist auditors would call a-claw, but
who, if provoked to the scratch, would no doubt come off with a-claw
likewise. We must not, therefore, be supposed to allude to the
vigorous-minded and able-bodied Mary Anne, who is so ready " to
fling back " all sorts of things at any " scoundrel " who should make

an attempt on her " political" virtue. Having said thus much, in 1 lield for the purpose of furthering the good cause, and she soon

was manifested in her free and unreserved participation in the
games of hop-scotch, and oranges and lemons with any knot of
children, without regard to sex, who were pursuing their sport iu
the public streets ; and during the contested election for West-
minster, she was one of the foremost of those who used to pelt Sir
Murray Maxwell with cabbage-stalks, and follow home the celebrated
Henry Hunt in his open hackney-coach, containing his committee,
and the two patriotic sweeps who are renowned in history for having
given their votes to him.

It would be an unprofitable task to trace Miss Walker through an
honourable life of nearly half a century, during which time her
character seems to have been so well known that no male " scoun-
drel" appears to have ventured on an attempt to influence her public
sentiments by assuming the position of "husband," with regard to
her. Her first debut as an orator was at or about the time when the
new police were established ; and such was her hatred of this uncon-
stitutional force, that she used to attend every morning opposite tho
station-house, in her own neighbourhood, and eloquently denounce
them as "raw lobsters," to their very teeth—apiece of spirit that
generally won her the applause of the bystanders.

This fine love of freedom was not unobserved by the great men
who were struggling for the glorious privilege of pensioning off the
Sovereign, cancelling the titles of the aristocracy, and paying off the
public debt by letting the nation take the benefit of the act—a
measure to be achieved by sending the Prime Minister through the
Insolvent Court. Miss Walker was invited to one of the meetings

order to prove that we have no intention of violating the domestic ! became an uncompromising stickler for the charter, whose watch-
privacy of Miss Mary Anne, whose eloquent denunciation of Lord ' word of "Nothing for ever, everything for nothing, and anything
Abinger is sufficient to make the Chief Baron tremble in his judicial ! for anybody," she adopted with truly feminine ardour,
fur tippet—having, as we hope, propitiated the irascible "English! The political opinions of Miss Walker may be summed up in a
maiden," whose invitation to the " young men " to " come out "°and ' vei7 few words; and it is a remarkable fact that any man with whom
hear a woman speak, is accompanied by a delicate, but decisive hint,' sue lias come m contact, is always fully impressed with the idea that
that the said " young men " will be summarily smashed in any woman may be left to herself—and that if every woman were a Miss
attempt to influence the public principle, whatever may be their Walker, the sex would find very little difficulty in having their right
power over the private affections of the "lady patriots"—havino- to stand alone most thoroughly acknowledged.

taken the precautions alluded to, we proceed to'a short biography of : As tne female Chartists are an object just now of some interest, we
the interesting young creature whose name stands at the head of the Iiave prevailed upon Miss Walker—not Mary Anne—but the de-
present article. scendant of Hookey, to give our artist a sitting. It will be seen that

v. she is just the woman to " keep off" any man, and to give faith in

3RAY-VQ. ^ the Chartist doctrine, that some of the sex may at least be spared

from the domestic hearth, of which ladies of less pretension than the
Walkers are content to be the ornament.

BALLADS OF THE BOYS.

The illustrious subject of our sketch is a member of the honoured
ihouse of Walker, and is supposed to be descended in a direct line
from the renowned Hookey, who occupied a post under government,
and devoted his time to the diffusion of letters in the district where
he was a resident. Miss Walker, the female Chartist, gave indica-
tions at a very early age of a turn for public life, and from her de-
cidedly masculine predilections, she acquired the appellation of
Tom-boy in her own immediate neighbourhood. Her love of liberty

No. I.—THE MUFFIN-BOY.
The wind whistles cold and the rain drops fast ;

But what are the wind and the rain to me?
Right onwards I go through the pitiless blast,

For the muffins—yes, muffins—are wanted for tea.
They say that my bell has a cheerful sound,

To them it speaks of comfort and joy ;
Ah ! little they think of the dreary round

That is taken at eve by the muffin-boy.

All snug in my basket the muffins lie,

Until to the public they are sold ;
They iu blankets are warmly wrapped—but I

Must go my rounds in the bitter cold.
And often at eve they practise jokes,

By calling after me but to annoy ;
Indeed 'tis cruel thus to hoax

The worn and weary muffin-boy.

his soul 13 on the rack.