Punch: Punch (11.1846)

43

Eakl Grey felt himself bound to adhere to
FLEET STREET OBSTRUCTIONS. his statement, that the noble and learned lord

was cognizant of the proceeding.
, . , , Lord Brougham thought it very irregular

, ) Kat he should be thus contradicted. He, Lokd

"j V^v ' i Brougham, had said one thing, and what right

j^Jjjj1 ,.( . |4 f-l | !j ; j! [| /fif ___ had any noble lord to say the other ?

Earl Gkey would not have been obliged to
say the other, if the one thing said by Loed
Brougham had been correct.
Lord Brougham. Nonsense, stuff, rubbish—
-~ never heard a word about it—humbug—tom-

foolery—trash—
W- ~ The rest of the noble lord's remarks were

. : inaudible in the gallery ; and after a short

jc I soliloquy from Lord Brougham, which pro-

\>' •. - ceeded while the other business of the House
\n \ "STXEn j was going cn, the subject dropped.

THE HYDE PARK CORNER CLOCK.

To the nocturnal pilgrim passing out of the
Great Metropolis, the Clock over the Curds and
Whey House used to be a sort of shrine—a
species of minor Mecca, produced by mechanism.
It was consoling to see the hour, and companion-
able to see the face of a friend, especially when
that friend was continually extending both his
hands in amiable amity. Lately, however, for
some reason or other, which is of course no rea-
son at all. the Clock has not

" Smiled as it was wont to smile,"

for it has teen impossible to see its face, or recog-
nise its figure. The Clock, which, under the
influence of enlightenment, may be said to have

" Lisp'd in numbers, for the numbers came,"
has latterly been exceedingly dingy after dark,
Considerable inconvenience is every now and then occasioned by the erection of a boarding *8 impossib e to ascertain its meaning,

in Fleet Street, in front of some house where nothing appears to be going on in the way of ttie sa,ke, therefore, of the travellers to the
repairs ; and our curiosity has naturally been excited to know what on earth has been going \ , w£st> _^'e earnestly call upon the Gasman to
on within the inclosure. By the aid of the barrier and our own energy we succeeded in "£bt that Uo(*'™ the same spim as the Wood-
scrambling up the sides of the railing a day or two ago, and witnessed a most extraordinary man was requested to spare that Tree :
scene ; which, had not our artist come to our aid, we should have been utterly unable to give Gasman, light that Clock,

a description of. The inclosure, cut off from the thoroughfare, to the obstruction of the -pile jJme 1 cannot see '

carriage-way and the utter absorption of the foot-path, was being devoted to a quiet game at jt can't Ue more than twelve,

skittles, in which the shopman was engaged, while the good-humoured proprietor was looking j Ami vet it looks like three!

on at the innocent pastime. jts iiauds are ali confused,

We should like to know by what law or authority these inclosures are made, and what jtg numDers none can trace :

amount of repair to a house or shop justifies the taking a large slice out of the street by way yav ja that humble Clock

of pleasure-ground Nothing is easier than to determine on putting in a new square of glass, j Ashamed to show its face?

or doing some trifling piece of work to the front of a house, and instantly to make the repair

the pretext for running up a hoarding to secure a vacant space for the recreation of the It can t be v ery late :

inmates. We are as anxious as any one for the healthy recreation of the people, but we think £e T vf t?>fUIL' ?

those who live in such thoroughfares as Fleet Street ought to take the trouble of going to ho - what says the Clock i

Kennington Common, or some other popular pi ice of out-of-door exercise before they think of Come, Gasman, hght it up.

turning the city pavements into '-good dry skittle grounds." ba>' can the 1?lst be caused

By fumes of generous wine ?

Is it three quarters past eleven,

Or is it only nine ?

Is it half-after twelve,

Or six, or eight, or two ?
That dismal rushlight kept inside

A SCENE IN THE LORDS.

Lord Brougham rose with considerable emotion to complain of a most unconstitutional, Xo good on earth can do.

a most irregular, a most improper, and a most outrageous proceeding, with reference to the When I go home to bed

."alaries of the Judges. He, Lord Brougham, had found with terror, with confusion, with t'm quite afraid to kDock

indignation and alarm, that those functionaries received reduced salaries by private arrange- If I've no notion of the hour—

ment with the Treasury. It was monstrous—it was fearful—it was dreadful—it was indecent— So, Gasman, light that Clock.
it was intolerable—it was unbearable ; in a word, it was shameful, and he made use of every

one of those epithets advisedly ; nor would he, when he left that house and retired to his -
couch, retract one of those epithets : it was all he had described, and more than he could

describe, without violating the rules of the House, that this arrangement should have been Parliamentary Papers.

entered into. _ _ , Me. Hume. To move for a return of all the

Earl Gkey admitted the fact to be as Lord Brougham had stated it ; but it so happened licemea inpiain clothes

that the thing having been done when Lord Brougham himself was Chancellor, it came V jpUDSoK To move for a return of all the

under Lord Brougham's department, and indeed Lord Brougham himself was chiefly • y Directors who have left England,

responsible for the irregularity he now complained of. Brougham. To move for a return of

Lord Brougham begged to say that he had never heard a word about it Lysdhursx to the woolsack.

Earl Grey must contradict the noble lord, and repeat, that he was cognizant of the whole —

proceeding. Printed by William Bradbury, of No. 6, York Place, Stoke Newinyroa.

Lord Brougham. JSever heard a word about it. and Frederick Muiieu ^M»'or0^'\^^ pVSTter, „ their

Earl Grey was sorry to differ, but he happened to know that the noble and learned oSfe11'^Lombard1 sueet.^the Precinc'Tot whirem'ara, in the

lord who now complained was a principal party to the arrangement. %tytjj£A*ii BluSftalie' c£ o/^a.-s^™'

Lord Brougham. Pooh, pooh ! It's all new to me. I never heard a word- ! jult a, ia*6