DOI issue:
January to June, 1844
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.16519#0181
184
PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.
^n'bale theatricals at aSucfct'nciijam palace
The farce of Tom Thumb was repeated on Fiiday afternoon for
the third time, at Buckingham Palace. Tom Thumb enacted his
original character, supported by the Kino of the Belgians, as
Noodle, his Serene Highness the Prince of Leinincex taking the
insignificant part of Doodle. The prologue was spoken by Mr.
Barnuk, the showman, disguised as a guardian.
At the end of the performance, Tom Thumb made his well-known
how, by Her Majesty's command, and favoured the royal party
with some gratuitous remarks on the furniture, which were not quite
so successful.
There is nothing of a lickspittle about you—no flattery ; every word you
say seems Gospel true.
What, the whole column of infantry began to falter, did they ? before
Mechouneche, that pretty village. And the audacity of the Arabs grew
menacing ! And the Princes rushed forward with twenty men only (what
a compliment to the gallantry of the rest of the army !), and with these
twenty men upset several hundreds of the enemy, who were seized with
an unaccountable panic !
DttAWN FOR A SOLDlKlt.
LES PREMIERES ARMES DE MONTPENSIER ;
or, munchausen out-done.
the following letter the French journals
are indebted to Colonel Thiery, the
Aide-de-Camp,or tutor,or it maypossibly
be toady to the Duke of Montpensier.
The letter is to the Queen, on the young
Prince's first affair .—
" I am happy to have the honour of
giving to your Majesty some details re-
garding the conduct of H.R.H. the Duke
of Montpensier, which he could not himself give
but at the expense of his modesty."
O fie !
" The Prince at length has found an occasion
fir showing that he could emulate his brothers in
courage, charged to aid in the attack upon the
village of Mechouneche with his guns. H.R.H.
had to defile under the Arab lire at a very short
distance from their guns ; but his batteries were
soon judiciously posted, and there the inauguration of the royal artillery-
man (now pretty !) took place in the face of the whole army, by a brisk
cannonade, the effects of which contributed greatly to the success of the
first part of the air. The Prince from this position fired his howitzers
and wall-guns, the discharge of which brought s*reral Arabs to the ground.
I applauded this debut. I considered it as sufficient : but there was still
better fortune in store for the two Princes.
" On another point our attacks had not been so successful. A column
of infantry had met with such difficulties of ground (only difficulties ok
ground, of course,) that it began to falter ; and the audacity of the Arabs
had increased in a menacing manner. The Duke of Aumale thought
proper to put an end to this by moving forward in person at the head of
the grenadiers. The Duke of Montpensier felt that his place was no
longer there, where the perils he was to encounter were less than those
which his brother was facing ; and, by an inspiration, of which the merit
belongs entirely to himself, he gave up the command of the guns to the
lieutenants under him, and followed across a shower of balls by the side
of the Duke of Aumale.
" His devotedness was near costing him dear. He was one of the privileged
in the group which followed the Princes. A ball tore the upper eyelid of
his left eye. Although the pain was severe, and the blood which issued
from this slight wound was at first sight alarming, H.R.H. never paused
in his course ; but, with his brother, was among the first to reach the
height crowned by the Arabs, and considered by them as so impregnable,1 dear Thiery. We never sneered at a whole army, to exalt the bravery
that those natives who were not witnesses ot the action, insist on its of two young men. His Royal Highness Prince Albert has undergone
being attested to them by oath : j some handsome dangers in his time, but he never had his eyelid torn by a
" The Duke of Aumale's resolution was heroic, and success justified his cannon-ball. Be yours the palm—yours, and the country which, owns
temerity, although it was great. The Princes were not followed by twenty you.
soldiers, worn out by fatigue when they reached the crest of the hill Let us hope, dear Sir, that in the approaching visit of the French King
Dear friend, it must have been at the sight of the young Prince of
Montpensier, with his left upper eyelid bleeding — l>on Dieu, what a
ghastly royal artilleryman ! what a blood-stained young bombardier of a
Prince he must have looked !
But what was the ball which tore the eyelid, dear Sir—was it a cannon
ball '. a great whacking, thundering, whizzing, eighty-four pounder ; or
perhaps a bomb that went off and lodged there ; or, perhaps, a Congreve
rocket that whisked off an eyelash—Heavens, what an escape it was.
Explain it to us, dear truthteller, more accurately in your next charming
letter. Let us know how it was that the ball hit the dear Prince in the
eyelid, and how it was that his nose got off unhurt, and his forehead ; and
how the wound which bled so terrifically, and was so painful, won't even
leave a scar.
Perhaps the ball respected the Prince—was seized with an unaccount-
able panic, like the several hundred regulars, at sight of his Royal High-
ness's face, and bounded back quite astonished. Amiable friend, why
should not this be true ? Tell us about it in your next, and mention the
name of the Arabs who were killed by the rebound.
Don't say if the ball which touched the eyelid of the Royal Bombar-
ders was only his eyeball :—it is much better as it stands—or let us say at
once that it was a red-hot shot ; you picked it up, cooled it, and intend to
send it as a present to the Queen.
That is a great stroke, dear friend, about the Arabs (who did not witness
the action of the Princes, and their twenty men frightening away the
several hundreds)—forcing you to swear to the fact before they wiil
believe it. Will they believe it when you do swear \ 0 those benighted
followers of Abd-el-Kader !
Dear friend, we have some like you in England, but none quite so great.
Our Court Circulars contain humbug and flatter}', which are pretty sicken
ing and slavish in their way; but 1 think we have never come near yon.
occupied by several hundred of the enemy. Among them were several
regulars, wdio were at our approach seized with a ■panic, which was quite
unexpected.
" The Duke's wound has been so slight that it will not leave the honour
of a scar. His sight was never affected for a moment. As for the health
of the Princes it never was more satisfactory.
Signed, « Thiery."
Thiery having thus addressed his Queen : let the admiring Punch be
allowed to address Thiery.
Now, dear Thiery, we have finished that veracious History of the
Next French Revolution (the extraordinary accuracy of which narrative
will be proved when the Revolution shall come to pass), we are prepared
to offer you a handsome salary to write a History of the African war.
Our historiographer is a smart chap, but without a doubt, dear Colonel,
you are a better man, and we shall dispossess him and appoint you.
Beloved Thiery ! it is noble to see you, in fancy, following your
Princes through the shower of balls ! What admirable devotedness !
to tin's country, we may see you following at his august back. If you
come to the Strand, come, and see us. "Come, and we will introduce
you to some similar English worthies.
And we will institute an order, and it shall be called the Order of the
Long Bow, and Colonel Thiery shall have the first Grand Cordon. Ccme :
and, in the meantime, write more letters, dear Thiery,
To your wondering and loving
METAPHYSICAL MYSTERIES.
Q. What is an abstract idea ?
A. Mr. Baring's membership for the city of London.
Q. What is a vivid impression ?
A. Lord Brougham's craving for the woolsack.
Q. What are mental phenomena ?
A. Members of parliament.
PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.
^n'bale theatricals at aSucfct'nciijam palace
The farce of Tom Thumb was repeated on Fiiday afternoon for
the third time, at Buckingham Palace. Tom Thumb enacted his
original character, supported by the Kino of the Belgians, as
Noodle, his Serene Highness the Prince of Leinincex taking the
insignificant part of Doodle. The prologue was spoken by Mr.
Barnuk, the showman, disguised as a guardian.
At the end of the performance, Tom Thumb made his well-known
how, by Her Majesty's command, and favoured the royal party
with some gratuitous remarks on the furniture, which were not quite
so successful.
There is nothing of a lickspittle about you—no flattery ; every word you
say seems Gospel true.
What, the whole column of infantry began to falter, did they ? before
Mechouneche, that pretty village. And the audacity of the Arabs grew
menacing ! And the Princes rushed forward with twenty men only (what
a compliment to the gallantry of the rest of the army !), and with these
twenty men upset several hundreds of the enemy, who were seized with
an unaccountable panic !
DttAWN FOR A SOLDlKlt.
LES PREMIERES ARMES DE MONTPENSIER ;
or, munchausen out-done.
the following letter the French journals
are indebted to Colonel Thiery, the
Aide-de-Camp,or tutor,or it maypossibly
be toady to the Duke of Montpensier.
The letter is to the Queen, on the young
Prince's first affair .—
" I am happy to have the honour of
giving to your Majesty some details re-
garding the conduct of H.R.H. the Duke
of Montpensier, which he could not himself give
but at the expense of his modesty."
O fie !
" The Prince at length has found an occasion
fir showing that he could emulate his brothers in
courage, charged to aid in the attack upon the
village of Mechouneche with his guns. H.R.H.
had to defile under the Arab lire at a very short
distance from their guns ; but his batteries were
soon judiciously posted, and there the inauguration of the royal artillery-
man (now pretty !) took place in the face of the whole army, by a brisk
cannonade, the effects of which contributed greatly to the success of the
first part of the air. The Prince from this position fired his howitzers
and wall-guns, the discharge of which brought s*reral Arabs to the ground.
I applauded this debut. I considered it as sufficient : but there was still
better fortune in store for the two Princes.
" On another point our attacks had not been so successful. A column
of infantry had met with such difficulties of ground (only difficulties ok
ground, of course,) that it began to falter ; and the audacity of the Arabs
had increased in a menacing manner. The Duke of Aumale thought
proper to put an end to this by moving forward in person at the head of
the grenadiers. The Duke of Montpensier felt that his place was no
longer there, where the perils he was to encounter were less than those
which his brother was facing ; and, by an inspiration, of which the merit
belongs entirely to himself, he gave up the command of the guns to the
lieutenants under him, and followed across a shower of balls by the side
of the Duke of Aumale.
" His devotedness was near costing him dear. He was one of the privileged
in the group which followed the Princes. A ball tore the upper eyelid of
his left eye. Although the pain was severe, and the blood which issued
from this slight wound was at first sight alarming, H.R.H. never paused
in his course ; but, with his brother, was among the first to reach the
height crowned by the Arabs, and considered by them as so impregnable,1 dear Thiery. We never sneered at a whole army, to exalt the bravery
that those natives who were not witnesses ot the action, insist on its of two young men. His Royal Highness Prince Albert has undergone
being attested to them by oath : j some handsome dangers in his time, but he never had his eyelid torn by a
" The Duke of Aumale's resolution was heroic, and success justified his cannon-ball. Be yours the palm—yours, and the country which, owns
temerity, although it was great. The Princes were not followed by twenty you.
soldiers, worn out by fatigue when they reached the crest of the hill Let us hope, dear Sir, that in the approaching visit of the French King
Dear friend, it must have been at the sight of the young Prince of
Montpensier, with his left upper eyelid bleeding — l>on Dieu, what a
ghastly royal artilleryman ! what a blood-stained young bombardier of a
Prince he must have looked !
But what was the ball which tore the eyelid, dear Sir—was it a cannon
ball '. a great whacking, thundering, whizzing, eighty-four pounder ; or
perhaps a bomb that went off and lodged there ; or, perhaps, a Congreve
rocket that whisked off an eyelash—Heavens, what an escape it was.
Explain it to us, dear truthteller, more accurately in your next charming
letter. Let us know how it was that the ball hit the dear Prince in the
eyelid, and how it was that his nose got off unhurt, and his forehead ; and
how the wound which bled so terrifically, and was so painful, won't even
leave a scar.
Perhaps the ball respected the Prince—was seized with an unaccount-
able panic, like the several hundred regulars, at sight of his Royal High-
ness's face, and bounded back quite astonished. Amiable friend, why
should not this be true ? Tell us about it in your next, and mention the
name of the Arabs who were killed by the rebound.
Don't say if the ball which touched the eyelid of the Royal Bombar-
ders was only his eyeball :—it is much better as it stands—or let us say at
once that it was a red-hot shot ; you picked it up, cooled it, and intend to
send it as a present to the Queen.
That is a great stroke, dear friend, about the Arabs (who did not witness
the action of the Princes, and their twenty men frightening away the
several hundreds)—forcing you to swear to the fact before they wiil
believe it. Will they believe it when you do swear \ 0 those benighted
followers of Abd-el-Kader !
Dear friend, we have some like you in England, but none quite so great.
Our Court Circulars contain humbug and flatter}', which are pretty sicken
ing and slavish in their way; but 1 think we have never come near yon.
occupied by several hundred of the enemy. Among them were several
regulars, wdio were at our approach seized with a ■panic, which was quite
unexpected.
" The Duke's wound has been so slight that it will not leave the honour
of a scar. His sight was never affected for a moment. As for the health
of the Princes it never was more satisfactory.
Signed, « Thiery."
Thiery having thus addressed his Queen : let the admiring Punch be
allowed to address Thiery.
Now, dear Thiery, we have finished that veracious History of the
Next French Revolution (the extraordinary accuracy of which narrative
will be proved when the Revolution shall come to pass), we are prepared
to offer you a handsome salary to write a History of the African war.
Our historiographer is a smart chap, but without a doubt, dear Colonel,
you are a better man, and we shall dispossess him and appoint you.
Beloved Thiery ! it is noble to see you, in fancy, following your
Princes through the shower of balls ! What admirable devotedness !
to tin's country, we may see you following at his august back. If you
come to the Strand, come, and see us. "Come, and we will introduce
you to some similar English worthies.
And we will institute an order, and it shall be called the Order of the
Long Bow, and Colonel Thiery shall have the first Grand Cordon. Ccme :
and, in the meantime, write more letters, dear Thiery,
To your wondering and loving
METAPHYSICAL MYSTERIES.
Q. What is an abstract idea ?
A. Mr. Baring's membership for the city of London.
Q. What is a vivid impression ?
A. Lord Brougham's craving for the woolsack.
Q. What are mental phenomena ?
A. Members of parliament.