Punch: Punch (33.1857)

166

PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI. [October 17, 1857.

bowker, who is fond of nlce tliings for breakfast, and sometimes markets for hlmself, recomes an object of
Interest, from having laid i$ a Few Bloaters, and Half-a-Pound of fresh Cambridge Sausages from Bond Street—and

which Sausages and Bloaters are in his Coat-Pocket !

AN INDIAN PARABLE.

A Father had a son, to whom he showed much favour and kindness,
and the youth, though headstrong and careless, was brave, generous^
and kind. To this boy the father presented a beautiful garden, and
also a number of animals. There were dogs, which would have been
obedient and faithful if kept under discipline and fed with proper food,
there were also rabbits, which were to be fed from the produce of the
garden, and there were other creatures, all requiring attention and
care. The boy did many good things on his property, he made a tank
for water, and new paths, and rustic bridges, aud he broke in the dogs,
(though he over-indulged them until they became dainty), aud he took
some care for the rabbits and weaker things, though not so much as
he should have done, for in some bad weather, when he could not go
to them, many were starved to death. However, on the whole, he
was inclined to do his best with his garden, and his stock. But some
selfish Tradesmen, who cared for nothing but gain, got his ear, and he
allowed them to have the run of his property and the control over it,
and they thought only of what they could make out of it. They shook
down the fruit from the trees, especially one called a pagoda-tree, and
they cared only for the poor rabbits on account of their skins, and
they pampered the dogs because they thought the animals would
protect the property from other spoilers.

One day the dogs broke their chains, and began to commit dreadful
havoc. Some of the little brothers and sisters of the lad were in the
garden, and the savage beasts flew at them and tore them cruelly, and
all the gentler creatures in the place ran hither and thither terrified.
And the boy, who had left the care of his garden to a weak-witted
lad, who was the tool of the tradesmen, suddenly heard what was
happening, and he rushed out in a terrible fury, with his double-bar
relied gun in his hand, and he shot the abominable dogs dead, or else
hanged them, very properly. And he did all in his power to heal the
wounds of his brothers and sisters, and pulled out his pocket-money to
present to them, and gave them what comfort he could.

Then he wished to show his Father how sorry he was for what had

happened. And his heart was too full to let him eat, and he sat in
the house for a whole day, eating and drinking nothing, but trying to
read good books. And he relieved some poor people, and listened to
the good words of his elders.

But was that all he did ? When he had thus Fasted, and Humiliated
himself, did he let the tradesmen have his garden again? Would that
have shown his earnestness, do you think4*? When he had killed all the
savage dogs, and buried them in a dunghill, and had comforted his
brothers and sisters, and brought the place into order again, if he let
t hings go on as before, would he not have been a hypocrite and a fool ?
Of course, he would. And as he is not those bad things, but a brave
and kind fellow, in spite of his errors, I hope to tell you, another time,
how he sent away the half-witted lad to the asylum for idiots, kicked
the tradesmen out of the garden when they dared to come back, trained
some younger dogs to be real protectors and friends, and took care
that the humbler animals should be cared for. And as he could not
always be attending to his garden, for he has French, and Italian, and
Russian, and Spanish studies to mind, besides having a house of his
own to keep in order, and sums to do, he has asked a brave old soldier,
who has served in the wars, and is as kind as he is brave, to have his
eye upon the place, keep off the selfish tradesmen, beat the dogs, if
necessary, and see that all goes on right. And so I hope you will soon
hear that all is going on well.

Then, you see, he will show that it was not mere shame and sorrow,
but a determination to do good for the future, that induced him to
Fast and Humiliate himself. For sorrow, without reform, is mere
sentimentality, and people who show it are Humbugs.

Police Eegulation.

Ladies are requested to keep in a single line on either side of the
streets, walking in succession one after the other, in order that there
may be a possibility of passing them without the danger of being
entangled in their clothes.