DOI Heft:
July to December, 1845
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.16541#0198
1-90
PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.
punch's political dictionary-
eadle. An old constitutional officer, of Saxon
origin, whose duty it was to keep off the boys
at the Druidical ceremonies, and clear the
road for the members of the Wittenagemote,
as they went down to the House during the
Session. Lord Coke speaks of the beadle
of a forest, and there are still beadles of
the woods and forests, including the two
functionaries of the Quadrant, who some-
times so far forget their official dignity as
to be seen drinking tea out of large inugs
behind one of the pillars of the portico.
Parochial beadles are superior to the lay
beadles, "and yet," says Spelman, "they
be lay beadles too, for with their canes they do lay into the boys
who happen to be refractory." In the English Universities there
are gentlemen beadles, who, to make themselves select, call them-
selves bedels, but as " the rose by any other name," &c. &c, so the
beadle by any other mode of spelling is still only a beadle.
Bed of Justice {lit de Justice). The seat, or throne, on which the
King of France used to sit when personally present in Parliament.
As the debates were enough to send His Majesty to sleep, it was
right that he should be provided with a bed when listening to the
speeches. Louis the Sixteenth was the last French sovereign
who assembled a bed of justice, which led to the Revolution ; so that
the saying, " as you make your bed so you must lie," was very perti-
nent to the case of that unfortunate monarch.
Bedchamber, Lords of the, are officers of the Koyal House- ^jj^ CHOKEP1T
hold, whose duties consist in bringing the King his bootjack and
{Of the Theatres R/jyal, Great Britain and Ireland, and Berwick-upon
Tweed,)
Author of the most artful play-bills ever printed, respectfully submits his
imagination (on reduced terms) to teetotal, burial, aod benefit so-
cieties, purposing to take a " night " at the London Theatres. The
advertiser has always on hand an infallible assortment of houses,
both crowded and overflowing, to any extent, according to price.
Audiences drawn in any quantity—either immense to the majors, or
mUd to the minors. The iolluwLug is a scale of attraction, at which
Mr. C. guarantees
a bumper for five pounds,
suppers, or helping him on with his dressing-gown. In the reign ot |
William the Fourth there were twelve, who waited a week each I For a " musical melange " between the pieces, with clog-horn- £ s. d.
in turn, stropping the Royal razors, putting hot water at the door of 1 uiPe> terrific combat, and Grecian statues—complete . .0 15 3
the Royal dressing-room, and seeing that His Majesty was always ! For an allegorical transparency to show over pit-entrance, with
provided with a clean pair of Clarences-the high-lows, so called out arms of Benefit Socrety-ladder anchor, dove, *c eye wide
r,. ,. ., f„ t'- j i /, T .i i open in tne middle, and something incontrovertible uuder-
or compliment to the bailor-King', Who always wore them. In the r iU , . ' ° , , - n
\ _ , ,. „„ . °L i, j j i • j ! neath, by way of motto . . . . . . . 1 15 0
reign ot a Queen, ladies fill the offices alluded to, their duties con- j For & spee'ch fm President; and comic song for araateur brother 0 7 6
would have obtained a pardon. Reading was, however, the most
general proof of clerkship ; and if a culprit had been unable to read
at his trial, but had taken six lessons after conviction, and could read
even on the scaffold, he would have been saved from the hands of the
hangman. The " Benefit of Clergy" has been abolished by statute, and
even the chimney-sweepers' May-day festivity, which was in some
sort a " benefit of clergy," has, by the devastating hand of the Ramo-
neur, been fearfully demolished.
Benevolence. A royal mode that formerly prevailed of obtain-
ing supplies by an odd mixture of mendicity and robbery,—a curious
combination of the meanness of the beggar with the violence ot
the highwayman. It was as if the King should go round with the
crown converted into a hat, asking alms, and holding the sceptre in a
threatening position, as much as to say, " Your money or your life V
to those of his subjects from whom the benevolence was to be ex-
tracted. This institution, like many other projects with benevolence
for their ostensible object, was a decided swindle, which prevailed
till 1G88, when the Bill, which, from its putting everything to rights,
was called the " Bill of Rights," put an end to the imposition.
Bill in Chancery. This is such an endless business, that we
decline going into it. Those who know what a Bill in Chancery is,
must be aware that it beggars description as much as it beggars
everybody and everything. Those who know nothing of a Bill in
Chancery may rest satisfied with the assurance that " where ignor-
ance is bliss 'tis lolly to be wise."
B Ifteal 33kssmg tu jtlanaurrs.
sisting of filling the Royal scent-bottles, looking to the supply of
oear's grease, and taking care that Her Majesty is never out of
any of the essential articles of the toilette. In May, 1839, Sir R.
Peel having been called in to form a ministry, and knowing the
influence of a little female chat in the confidential intercourse of the
dressing-room, stipulated for the removal of the ladies; but the
Queen, imagining that it could not matter to the nation whether
the liberal Lady A, or the conservative Lady B, attended in the state
cliavtbrt-d-cuuclier, declined yielding to the demand of Sir R., who
was compelled to relinquish the grasp he had already laid on the
office he had go long been waiting for.
Beggar. A person who is brought by poverty to a dead stand-
still, but who is being continually told by the police that he must
move on. It has been erroneously said that beggars must not be
choosers, but this is not true ; for they can generally take their
choice between theft and a sufficient provision in gaol, or starvation
in one of the Union Workhouses.
Benefice. A provision for ecclesiastical persons, from bene facere,
to do well ; because, according to some, the ecclesiastics are well-
doers ; or, according to others, the persons are well done who have to
pay the benefice. Lord Coke says, " Beneficium is a large word,"
and everybody else says it ought to be a large word, considering the
large sum that is sometimes included in it.
Benefit of Clergy. An exemption from punishment of any
person who could prove himself to be a clerk ; so that the produc-
tion of a barrister's wig-box would be prima facie proof that the
bearer of it was a clerk; and if he were condemned to be hanged he
For persuading first tragedian of theatre to act burlesque, and
allow it to be called such " for this night only " . 1 1 t)
For inducing weekly papers to " perceive by their advertising
columns" said benefit . . . . . . . .110
£5 0 0
N.B. Infant prodigies in sizes. Triumphs in every variety of the
pyrotechnic art. " Auxiliary aid "—viz., Mas. Chorepji and family—on
the shortest notice.
THE RAILWAY WORKHOUSE.
When we consider the daily supplements of the newspapers, filled with
railway prospectuses ; when we reflect that three-fourths of those schemes
are arrant bubbles ; when we recollect that as large a proportion of the
shareholders therein are men of straw ; and, finally, when we compute
the sum that,—what with advertisements, estimates, surveys, and
other disbursements,—these are likely to amount to ; a painful idea
obtrudes itself on our apprehension that, not to speak with too literal
a strength, a very large herd of stags will go to the dogs. Under these
circumstances, we see no other asylum for them than the workhouse ; and,
as such a terminus will be terrible to all who have ever known the merest
comfort, we earnestly suggest the establishment, by charitable subscription,
of a Joint Stock Railway Workhouse, where at least the common neces-
saries of life may be secured to the inmates. The wind will thus, in a
measure, be tempered to the shorn stag, and a refuge will be provided for
him, where, when at length compelled to draw his horns in, he may end
his days in peace.
PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.
punch's political dictionary-
eadle. An old constitutional officer, of Saxon
origin, whose duty it was to keep off the boys
at the Druidical ceremonies, and clear the
road for the members of the Wittenagemote,
as they went down to the House during the
Session. Lord Coke speaks of the beadle
of a forest, and there are still beadles of
the woods and forests, including the two
functionaries of the Quadrant, who some-
times so far forget their official dignity as
to be seen drinking tea out of large inugs
behind one of the pillars of the portico.
Parochial beadles are superior to the lay
beadles, "and yet," says Spelman, "they
be lay beadles too, for with their canes they do lay into the boys
who happen to be refractory." In the English Universities there
are gentlemen beadles, who, to make themselves select, call them-
selves bedels, but as " the rose by any other name," &c. &c, so the
beadle by any other mode of spelling is still only a beadle.
Bed of Justice {lit de Justice). The seat, or throne, on which the
King of France used to sit when personally present in Parliament.
As the debates were enough to send His Majesty to sleep, it was
right that he should be provided with a bed when listening to the
speeches. Louis the Sixteenth was the last French sovereign
who assembled a bed of justice, which led to the Revolution ; so that
the saying, " as you make your bed so you must lie," was very perti-
nent to the case of that unfortunate monarch.
Bedchamber, Lords of the, are officers of the Koyal House- ^jj^ CHOKEP1T
hold, whose duties consist in bringing the King his bootjack and
{Of the Theatres R/jyal, Great Britain and Ireland, and Berwick-upon
Tweed,)
Author of the most artful play-bills ever printed, respectfully submits his
imagination (on reduced terms) to teetotal, burial, aod benefit so-
cieties, purposing to take a " night " at the London Theatres. The
advertiser has always on hand an infallible assortment of houses,
both crowded and overflowing, to any extent, according to price.
Audiences drawn in any quantity—either immense to the majors, or
mUd to the minors. The iolluwLug is a scale of attraction, at which
Mr. C. guarantees
a bumper for five pounds,
suppers, or helping him on with his dressing-gown. In the reign ot |
William the Fourth there were twelve, who waited a week each I For a " musical melange " between the pieces, with clog-horn- £ s. d.
in turn, stropping the Royal razors, putting hot water at the door of 1 uiPe> terrific combat, and Grecian statues—complete . .0 15 3
the Royal dressing-room, and seeing that His Majesty was always ! For an allegorical transparency to show over pit-entrance, with
provided with a clean pair of Clarences-the high-lows, so called out arms of Benefit Socrety-ladder anchor, dove, *c eye wide
r,. ,. ., f„ t'- j i /, T .i i open in tne middle, and something incontrovertible uuder-
or compliment to the bailor-King', Who always wore them. In the r iU , . ' ° , , - n
\ _ , ,. „„ . °L i, j j i • j ! neath, by way of motto . . . . . . . 1 15 0
reign ot a Queen, ladies fill the offices alluded to, their duties con- j For & spee'ch fm President; and comic song for araateur brother 0 7 6
would have obtained a pardon. Reading was, however, the most
general proof of clerkship ; and if a culprit had been unable to read
at his trial, but had taken six lessons after conviction, and could read
even on the scaffold, he would have been saved from the hands of the
hangman. The " Benefit of Clergy" has been abolished by statute, and
even the chimney-sweepers' May-day festivity, which was in some
sort a " benefit of clergy," has, by the devastating hand of the Ramo-
neur, been fearfully demolished.
Benevolence. A royal mode that formerly prevailed of obtain-
ing supplies by an odd mixture of mendicity and robbery,—a curious
combination of the meanness of the beggar with the violence ot
the highwayman. It was as if the King should go round with the
crown converted into a hat, asking alms, and holding the sceptre in a
threatening position, as much as to say, " Your money or your life V
to those of his subjects from whom the benevolence was to be ex-
tracted. This institution, like many other projects with benevolence
for their ostensible object, was a decided swindle, which prevailed
till 1G88, when the Bill, which, from its putting everything to rights,
was called the " Bill of Rights," put an end to the imposition.
Bill in Chancery. This is such an endless business, that we
decline going into it. Those who know what a Bill in Chancery is,
must be aware that it beggars description as much as it beggars
everybody and everything. Those who know nothing of a Bill in
Chancery may rest satisfied with the assurance that " where ignor-
ance is bliss 'tis lolly to be wise."
B Ifteal 33kssmg tu jtlanaurrs.
sisting of filling the Royal scent-bottles, looking to the supply of
oear's grease, and taking care that Her Majesty is never out of
any of the essential articles of the toilette. In May, 1839, Sir R.
Peel having been called in to form a ministry, and knowing the
influence of a little female chat in the confidential intercourse of the
dressing-room, stipulated for the removal of the ladies; but the
Queen, imagining that it could not matter to the nation whether
the liberal Lady A, or the conservative Lady B, attended in the state
cliavtbrt-d-cuuclier, declined yielding to the demand of Sir R., who
was compelled to relinquish the grasp he had already laid on the
office he had go long been waiting for.
Beggar. A person who is brought by poverty to a dead stand-
still, but who is being continually told by the police that he must
move on. It has been erroneously said that beggars must not be
choosers, but this is not true ; for they can generally take their
choice between theft and a sufficient provision in gaol, or starvation
in one of the Union Workhouses.
Benefice. A provision for ecclesiastical persons, from bene facere,
to do well ; because, according to some, the ecclesiastics are well-
doers ; or, according to others, the persons are well done who have to
pay the benefice. Lord Coke says, " Beneficium is a large word,"
and everybody else says it ought to be a large word, considering the
large sum that is sometimes included in it.
Benefit of Clergy. An exemption from punishment of any
person who could prove himself to be a clerk ; so that the produc-
tion of a barrister's wig-box would be prima facie proof that the
bearer of it was a clerk; and if he were condemned to be hanged he
For persuading first tragedian of theatre to act burlesque, and
allow it to be called such " for this night only " . 1 1 t)
For inducing weekly papers to " perceive by their advertising
columns" said benefit . . . . . . . .110
£5 0 0
N.B. Infant prodigies in sizes. Triumphs in every variety of the
pyrotechnic art. " Auxiliary aid "—viz., Mas. Chorepji and family—on
the shortest notice.
THE RAILWAY WORKHOUSE.
When we consider the daily supplements of the newspapers, filled with
railway prospectuses ; when we reflect that three-fourths of those schemes
are arrant bubbles ; when we recollect that as large a proportion of the
shareholders therein are men of straw ; and, finally, when we compute
the sum that,—what with advertisements, estimates, surveys, and
other disbursements,—these are likely to amount to ; a painful idea
obtrudes itself on our apprehension that, not to speak with too literal
a strength, a very large herd of stags will go to the dogs. Under these
circumstances, we see no other asylum for them than the workhouse ; and,
as such a terminus will be terrible to all who have ever known the merest
comfort, we earnestly suggest the establishment, by charitable subscription,
of a Joint Stock Railway Workhouse, where at least the common neces-
saries of life may be secured to the inmates. The wind will thus, in a
measure, be tempered to the shorn stag, and a refuge will be provided for
him, where, when at length compelled to draw his horns in, he may end
his days in peace.