DOI issue:
July to December, 1851
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.16608#0233
222
PUNCH. OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.
THE WONDERS OF HUNGERFOED HALL.
*j ("Yl espected Mb. Punch,
"Accept my thanks
for sending me a letter,
commenting on my
communication to you
respecting the exhibi-
tion of Mesmeric thau-
maturgy at Hungerford Hall. I
wish 1 could ask you to let me
quote this epistle in extenso; but
your space, 1 know, is capable only
of limited contents ; neither " gods,
men, nor columns "—particularly
the columns of Punch— admit of
the impossible : and there are some
impossibilities, jo«c<? the Mesmerists.
" Perhaps, however, you will
allow me to cite my correspondent's
arguments, in a concentrated form,
which will render them none the
weaker: and thus concentrated,
peradventure you will allow me to
rectify them for the public market;
wherein Mesmerism just now is
somewhat quoted.
" Your correspondent begins by
complaining that I violate, with
respect to Mesmerists, the law maxim, that every man is to be accounted
honest till proved to be a rogue. So complain homceopathists, so com-
plain quack-phrenologists, so complain astrologers,_ so complain Papist
and other fanatics : so complain miracle-mongers of all classes, against
the world at large. The marvellousness of their assertions induces
close scrutiny of their facts : and this they take as a personal affront.
You, Mr. Punch, like all other philosophers, when you have made
some extraordinary discovery, test it in all manner of ways, before you
confirm yourself in its belief; not, Sir, with your mens conscia recti,
that you suspect yourself to be a rogue, but because you are aware
that you are fallible. Mesmerists expect to be trusted more implicitly
than you would trust yourself. In the meanwhile, men of common
sense form this canon:—Intolerance of scepticism, in matters of science,
is presumptive evidence either of imposture or enthusiasm : and if
your correspondent is a smoker, I commend this screw of philosophy
to his pipe.
Your worthy, but illogical, correspondent writes as if I had denied
yet demonstrated in his own peculiar science. Unless, Mr. Punch—
unless—Dr. Faraday should set you down for a credulous ass.
" Your correspondent insinuates that, because I do not understand
the Electric Telegraph, I ought to disbelieve in it, consistently with my
unbelief in Mesmeric miracles. I believe in the Electric Telegraph,
because I can verify its action at any time for the sum of one shilling,
with no extra change of ' scepticism;' to say nothing of the concurrent
evidence of mankind : rather more powerful reasons than have been
offered by your correspondent or anybody else, on behalf of the pro-
digies of Animal Magnetism, to « The Sceptical Gentleman."
ALARMING SACRIFICE IN HYMENEALS.
The following handbill has been sent to Mr. Punch, who honour the
bill by insertion:—
ST. PHILIP'S CHURCH,
FRIAR'S MOUNT, CHURCH STREET,
bethnal green.
MARRIAGES
Celebrated at the above Church, at the reduced scale of
Two Shillings and Sixpence,
"BANNS AND CERTIFICATE INCLUDED.
St. Philip's Vestry, Nov. 3rd, 1851.
To this notification no printer's name is affixed. Mr. Punch can
therefore hardly imagine it to be a bondfide document. He rather sus-
pects it must be the composition of some wag of a clerk, reverend or
parochial, who intends to satirise a system of underselling pursued at
the opposition church. But Punch sees nothing disgraceful in doing
marriages at two-and-six. The goods needs must be genuine. A mar-
riage can't be supplied cheap and nasty. It is gratifying to see com-
petition bringing wedlock down—making even matrimony reasonable.
Let us hope that marriage will soon be reduced to a figure accommo-
dated to the wants of the million; and that Bethnal Green will offer
those facilities to the public which have hitherto been afforded only by
Gretna ditto.
SONNET ON THE SUBMARINE TELEGRAPH.
At last between the French and English coast
Extends the Telegraph's electric wire ;
Beneath the salt sea waves conveying fire,
the verity of the phenomena exhibited by Miss Prudence, or produced I "Which may be truly called the lightning-post;
between her and Mr. Lassaigne. Not I, Mr. Punchy I simply argued | Yire, which—it seems incredible almost
that they were 'not proven.' I will believe in transmission of thought,
or anything else, that I am allowed to satisfy myself of by rigid expe-
riment. I am ready to acknowledge the liquefaction of the blood of
St. Januarius, if Dr. Newman will persuade the Neapolitan friars to
let me have the bottle, and the Saint's head, and apply the latter to
the former at a temperature of 32°.
" My ' wonderful serpent-walking,' as your correspondent calls it—
I agree with him—simply proved that ' the Professor' had succeeded
in influencing Miss Prudence, and that I had not. Had a series of
similar experiments been tried by other persons equally sceptical—and,
I will add, equally candid—with myself, it would have proved some-
thing more, which my experiment only went towards proving—namely,
that the will of one of the parties, at least, had nothing to do with the
result. 1 must remind your correspondent that the ' wonderful ser-
pent-walking' was not mine : it was Mr. Lassaigne's and Miss Pru-
dence's : and I saw nothing more wonderful in it—as the case stood—
than in many a trick of a professed wizard.
" Your correspondent's evidence of the transmission of his own
thoughts to Miss Prudence, would, if corroborated by that of a
sufficient number of other credible witnesses, doubtless establish that
Jady's power of thought-reading. But it is just that corroboration
which is wanting to Mesmeric marvels. For the production of such
evidence, moreover, the theatre of the Royal Institution, or some other
such arena, is the proper place, and not your pages, Mr. Punch. Let
not your correspondent jump—he is a good jumper—to the conclusion
that I consider him a knave. A jury may refuse to convict on evidence
which it believes thoroughly honest. Would your correspondent con-
ceive himself insulted because it was determined not to hang a mri on
nis unsupported testimony ?
" As to the question of Miss Prudence's power to attract the
magnet, that, Mr. Punch, you may easily settle. Present your com-
pliments to Dr. Faraday ; tell him that you know a person who, as
you seriously believe, possesses this power : and ask him to be so kind
as to investigate the fact. Dr. Faraday, I warrant, will only be too
happy to verify a phenomenon more interesting than any which he has
Lanched in a moment from the Gallic shore,
At Lover bade a mighty cannon roar.
What greater marvel could a wizard boast ?
No worse explosion, no more fearful shock,
May that conductor in our island cause,
Transmitting news, which, could the fish that flock
Around it, read, 'twould make them ope their eyes
Wider than life, and gape with all their jaws,
O'ercome with consternation and surprise.
PUNCH'S CRIMINAL COURT.
Mr. Punch sat for the purpose of trying offenders, some of whom,
when brought to the bar of public opinion, at once pleaded guilty. The
following are a few of the principal delinquencies.
An unhappy youth was brought up, charged with maliciously cutting
and wounding the English language, by asking, " Of what sex is the
National Anthem ?" and then replying, "Masculine; because it's a
hymn (him)."—Verdict, Guilty. Sentence deferred.
A shabby-genteel looking person was next charged with uttering the
following counterfeit joke :—
" What tree is it which is not affected by the season, and brings
forth neither blossom nor fruit ?—The Boot-Tree."
After the jury had been absent for several hours, the foreman entered
the Court, declaring that there was no chance of their agreeing in a
verdict. The Judge told them that, under these circumstances, they
had better go home.
A youthful individual, with a vacant stare, was next put to the bar
under the following melancholy circumstances. Having passed the
evening in company with a friend, he was about to bid the other good
night, when, turning suddenly round, he exclaimed, in a very unusual
tone of voice, "When is Fleet Street like the country without a
Government?—-When there's no cab-in-it (cabinet)." The Jury
immediately returned a verdict of acquittal, on the ground of insanity.
The Court the#rose.
PUNCH. OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.
THE WONDERS OF HUNGERFOED HALL.
*j ("Yl espected Mb. Punch,
"Accept my thanks
for sending me a letter,
commenting on my
communication to you
respecting the exhibi-
tion of Mesmeric thau-
maturgy at Hungerford Hall. I
wish 1 could ask you to let me
quote this epistle in extenso; but
your space, 1 know, is capable only
of limited contents ; neither " gods,
men, nor columns "—particularly
the columns of Punch— admit of
the impossible : and there are some
impossibilities, jo«c<? the Mesmerists.
" Perhaps, however, you will
allow me to cite my correspondent's
arguments, in a concentrated form,
which will render them none the
weaker: and thus concentrated,
peradventure you will allow me to
rectify them for the public market;
wherein Mesmerism just now is
somewhat quoted.
" Your correspondent begins by
complaining that I violate, with
respect to Mesmerists, the law maxim, that every man is to be accounted
honest till proved to be a rogue. So complain homceopathists, so com-
plain quack-phrenologists, so complain astrologers,_ so complain Papist
and other fanatics : so complain miracle-mongers of all classes, against
the world at large. The marvellousness of their assertions induces
close scrutiny of their facts : and this they take as a personal affront.
You, Mr. Punch, like all other philosophers, when you have made
some extraordinary discovery, test it in all manner of ways, before you
confirm yourself in its belief; not, Sir, with your mens conscia recti,
that you suspect yourself to be a rogue, but because you are aware
that you are fallible. Mesmerists expect to be trusted more implicitly
than you would trust yourself. In the meanwhile, men of common
sense form this canon:—Intolerance of scepticism, in matters of science,
is presumptive evidence either of imposture or enthusiasm : and if
your correspondent is a smoker, I commend this screw of philosophy
to his pipe.
Your worthy, but illogical, correspondent writes as if I had denied
yet demonstrated in his own peculiar science. Unless, Mr. Punch—
unless—Dr. Faraday should set you down for a credulous ass.
" Your correspondent insinuates that, because I do not understand
the Electric Telegraph, I ought to disbelieve in it, consistently with my
unbelief in Mesmeric miracles. I believe in the Electric Telegraph,
because I can verify its action at any time for the sum of one shilling,
with no extra change of ' scepticism;' to say nothing of the concurrent
evidence of mankind : rather more powerful reasons than have been
offered by your correspondent or anybody else, on behalf of the pro-
digies of Animal Magnetism, to « The Sceptical Gentleman."
ALARMING SACRIFICE IN HYMENEALS.
The following handbill has been sent to Mr. Punch, who honour the
bill by insertion:—
ST. PHILIP'S CHURCH,
FRIAR'S MOUNT, CHURCH STREET,
bethnal green.
MARRIAGES
Celebrated at the above Church, at the reduced scale of
Two Shillings and Sixpence,
"BANNS AND CERTIFICATE INCLUDED.
St. Philip's Vestry, Nov. 3rd, 1851.
To this notification no printer's name is affixed. Mr. Punch can
therefore hardly imagine it to be a bondfide document. He rather sus-
pects it must be the composition of some wag of a clerk, reverend or
parochial, who intends to satirise a system of underselling pursued at
the opposition church. But Punch sees nothing disgraceful in doing
marriages at two-and-six. The goods needs must be genuine. A mar-
riage can't be supplied cheap and nasty. It is gratifying to see com-
petition bringing wedlock down—making even matrimony reasonable.
Let us hope that marriage will soon be reduced to a figure accommo-
dated to the wants of the million; and that Bethnal Green will offer
those facilities to the public which have hitherto been afforded only by
Gretna ditto.
SONNET ON THE SUBMARINE TELEGRAPH.
At last between the French and English coast
Extends the Telegraph's electric wire ;
Beneath the salt sea waves conveying fire,
the verity of the phenomena exhibited by Miss Prudence, or produced I "Which may be truly called the lightning-post;
between her and Mr. Lassaigne. Not I, Mr. Punchy I simply argued | Yire, which—it seems incredible almost
that they were 'not proven.' I will believe in transmission of thought,
or anything else, that I am allowed to satisfy myself of by rigid expe-
riment. I am ready to acknowledge the liquefaction of the blood of
St. Januarius, if Dr. Newman will persuade the Neapolitan friars to
let me have the bottle, and the Saint's head, and apply the latter to
the former at a temperature of 32°.
" My ' wonderful serpent-walking,' as your correspondent calls it—
I agree with him—simply proved that ' the Professor' had succeeded
in influencing Miss Prudence, and that I had not. Had a series of
similar experiments been tried by other persons equally sceptical—and,
I will add, equally candid—with myself, it would have proved some-
thing more, which my experiment only went towards proving—namely,
that the will of one of the parties, at least, had nothing to do with the
result. 1 must remind your correspondent that the ' wonderful ser-
pent-walking' was not mine : it was Mr. Lassaigne's and Miss Pru-
dence's : and I saw nothing more wonderful in it—as the case stood—
than in many a trick of a professed wizard.
" Your correspondent's evidence of the transmission of his own
thoughts to Miss Prudence, would, if corroborated by that of a
sufficient number of other credible witnesses, doubtless establish that
Jady's power of thought-reading. But it is just that corroboration
which is wanting to Mesmeric marvels. For the production of such
evidence, moreover, the theatre of the Royal Institution, or some other
such arena, is the proper place, and not your pages, Mr. Punch. Let
not your correspondent jump—he is a good jumper—to the conclusion
that I consider him a knave. A jury may refuse to convict on evidence
which it believes thoroughly honest. Would your correspondent con-
ceive himself insulted because it was determined not to hang a mri on
nis unsupported testimony ?
" As to the question of Miss Prudence's power to attract the
magnet, that, Mr. Punch, you may easily settle. Present your com-
pliments to Dr. Faraday ; tell him that you know a person who, as
you seriously believe, possesses this power : and ask him to be so kind
as to investigate the fact. Dr. Faraday, I warrant, will only be too
happy to verify a phenomenon more interesting than any which he has
Lanched in a moment from the Gallic shore,
At Lover bade a mighty cannon roar.
What greater marvel could a wizard boast ?
No worse explosion, no more fearful shock,
May that conductor in our island cause,
Transmitting news, which, could the fish that flock
Around it, read, 'twould make them ope their eyes
Wider than life, and gape with all their jaws,
O'ercome with consternation and surprise.
PUNCH'S CRIMINAL COURT.
Mr. Punch sat for the purpose of trying offenders, some of whom,
when brought to the bar of public opinion, at once pleaded guilty. The
following are a few of the principal delinquencies.
An unhappy youth was brought up, charged with maliciously cutting
and wounding the English language, by asking, " Of what sex is the
National Anthem ?" and then replying, "Masculine; because it's a
hymn (him)."—Verdict, Guilty. Sentence deferred.
A shabby-genteel looking person was next charged with uttering the
following counterfeit joke :—
" What tree is it which is not affected by the season, and brings
forth neither blossom nor fruit ?—The Boot-Tree."
After the jury had been absent for several hours, the foreman entered
the Court, declaring that there was no chance of their agreeing in a
verdict. The Judge told them that, under these circumstances, they
had better go home.
A youthful individual, with a vacant stare, was next put to the bar
under the following melancholy circumstances. Having passed the
evening in company with a friend, he was about to bid the other good
night, when, turning suddenly round, he exclaimed, in a very unusual
tone of voice, "When is Fleet Street like the country without a
Government?—-When there's no cab-in-it (cabinet)." The Jury
immediately returned a verdict of acquittal, on the ground of insanity.
The Court the#rose.