DOI Heft:
May 22, 1858
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.16621#0213
May 22, 1858.J
PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.
205
ENCOURAGEMENT TO ABIDE IN THE FASHION.
efore a Court of Inquiry of
a peculiar and serious nature,
held the other day, the presid-
ing officer—
In summing up, alluded to the
remark above-quoted was made
was Mk. Payne, the Coroner;
and the Court over which he
was presiding was an Inquest
at St. Thomas's Hospital, the
occasion for which was afforded
by a lady, in consequence of
having tripped and stumbled
whilst crossing a road. Mr.
Payne's observation can have
no other result than that of
creating terror and alarm in
the female mind, and of making
the wearers of the dangerously
enormous dresses as uncomfortable in mind as those dresses render
them in body. The idea of being in imminent peril of breaking their
limbs or their necks, or catching fire and getting burnt alive by
reason of their excessive drapery, if suggested to them, merely
frightens them to no purpose. As long as prodigious petticoats
are dictated by Paris, they will wear them at all hazards—with
whatever amount of fear and trembling. The Prench dynasty
for the time being is always a petticoat-government to Eng-
lishwomen. At present, the Empire flourishes, and U Empire c'est la
Crinoline. Beneath this despotism the ladies of England have
prostrated themselves with enthusiasm, rejoicing in its fetters; steel
hoops, springs, and skeleton frames of inflated air-tubes. They will
never emancipate themselves from this slavery in which they revel;
therefore it is of no use to mar their enjoyment of it by hinting horrors,
as Mn. Payne did in expressing surprise that more accidents are not
occasioned by the length of their dresses.
It is our happiness, on the contrary, to be able to mention a consider-
ation calculated to allay any unpleasant apprehensions which may have
been excited by that remark. Mr. Payne's surprise would have been
prevented, or diminished, by the recollection of the adage, which says,
that the celestial powers extend their special protection over drunken
readily success attends his efforts. We have no doubt that the Govern-
ment would have paid a handsome sum to any one who proved suc-
cessful in breaking in their Elephant. But Mr. Rarey, we believe,
would have been quite willing to operate without receiving any fee ;
his sole reward being the great fame of the achievement of having
gained the mastery. To have tamed the wild Cruiser was no ordinary
feat; but it shrinks into insignificance when compared with that of
taming the wild Indian Elephant. To have so far got the better of his
great length of the dresses now wo-n t restive disposition as to have brought him to a state of agreement with
by ladies, and expressed his surprise , • /• 11 u i. • i i r ±_\ . i u n t
that there were not more accidents his leliows, would, have required a long course of the most skilled and
from that cause, as he frequently J careful handling, and to have so far smoothed down his irritable tem-
observed that many ladies before > perament as to have rooted out his love of independent action, and
SffaS*TLt dSes forward" j ^e rendered him docile> and submissive to command, would have been
, ., a work which even Mr. Harey might have been appalled at and have
The personage by whom the foimd- to De too much for him.
A EAT AMONG WEASELS.
Amusement, blended with useful knowledge, may be often derived
from the perusal of the letters of Argus, sporting correspondent of
the Morning tost. In one of these, a pleasant and suitably sportive
allusion is made to an interesting event which seems to have agreeably
heightened the excitement of the Chester Races. According to our
wide-awake chronicler of the Turf :—
" In the evening the great robbery at the Albion took place, and after the dis-
closures that were made, every sporting man's bedroom was made a perfect
Malakoff. The thief, who was had up at the Police Office on the Thursday, drew an
immense audience, as from the audacity of his attempt, as well as from the fact of
his having a bottle of chloroform about him to administer to his sleeping victims, it
was clear he was no ordinary criminal, and the followers of Lavater would have
hardly stopped to have listened to the evidence to have convicted him. It was
strange he should have selected such a party to have attacked ; but it is now spread
far and wide that if thieves will conceal notes in their mouth, racing men will
., i extract them with a poker. The ' school' will hesitate a long time before they
men, and persons Of a certain order Ot intellect, among whom, it the practise their arts on them again. The fellow in question, although a stranger
present fashion of female dress is foolish, all those who persist in it have ! to Chester, was well known to the London Police, and had three months after
the advantage of being included
A CASE EOE ME. EAEEY.
To zoologists the statement may appear somewhat confusing, but it
is nevertheless the fact, that to save themselves, the Government have
made a scapegoat of their Elephant. We believe that from the first
the animal had been thought dangerous, and it was predicted that
Government must suffer through their keeping him. No amount of
watching could cool down to inaction his blundering hot-headedness,
and in an unguarded moment he was sure to do them mischief. When-
ever he broke loose, which he was pretty safe to do, it was felt that
those in charge of him were far too weak to check him; and in one of
his ungovernable fits of jealous rage, it was held to be most probable
that he would be the death of them. Persons well acquainted with
the antecedents of the beast had stated openly, they thought that
nothing could subdue him; and their prediction has been quickly as
well as amply verified. With that regardlessness of consequence by
which he always has been characterised, the animal broke out upon the
first good opportunity, and gave the fullest vent to his vindictive
instincts.
There seems a very general impression with the public, and we
believe it to be shared by those who are esteemed the best judges of
the case, that when the animal was first handed over to the Govern-
ment, their wisest course would have been to call in Mr. Rarey and
employ him to exert his subjugating influence. The task certainly
required no common skill and courage; and any ordinary brute-tamer
might have shrunk from undertaking it. But what we know of Mr.
Rarey inclines us to believe, that he would not have hesitated to try
what he could do. Indeed we rather think the work would have been
Just what he would like; for the more vicious the animal, the more
delight he seems himself to take in taming it, and in general the more
Epsom for stealing a silver spoon from a gentleman's drag on the Derby day. Alto-
gether the affair seemed to make up for the dulness of the Cup betting."
The Pantaloon in a pantomime sometimes attempts to pick the
pocket of the Clown; and most readers will recollect the beautiful
expression—the smile of bland pity—with which the intended victim
turns his countenance on the face of the poor bungling old rogue, whose
hand his own has just met, and gently grasped in his lateral receptacle.
A thief attempting to rob a lot of racing men, presents much the same
spectacle to the imagination as that afforded by the senile knave of
the pantomime. Certainly, as "Argus" observes, "it was strange
he should have selected such a party to have attacked;" particularly
as the fellow was an old offender. About such an act there is an
amount of greenness which seems to make the prig appear absolutely
innocent. The most overweening impudence could hardly have pro-
duced so insane an attempt; the thought of catching sporting charac-
ters napping—weasels asleep—and preying on such a vigilant tribe of
beings, shows gross ignorance of the race who live by the race-course.
The man " was no ordinary criminal," sure enough—he was evidently
a common fool, if not an uncommon fool; his conduct was ridiculous;
so exquisitely funny that it may well have made up for the dulness of
the gambling at Chester.
Towards the conclusion of his epistle Mr. " Argus " makes a
serious observation which may be commended to the consideration of
Exeter Hall :—
" Next year I trust that the religious feelings of the community will not t«
shocked by witnessing bands of low, sensual looking men, bearing banners with
Scriptural phrases on them, and annoying every visitor by thrusting tracts into
their hands."
It may be as well if " Argus " would keep a few of his hundred
eyes on some of these low, sensual looking men who infest the turf:
tract distributors, real or pretended. All are not rooks on a race-
course ; many pigeons are there also congregated; and to carry on
their operations under banners with Scriptural phrases on them would
be a very likely trick of the Swell Mob.
PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.
205
ENCOURAGEMENT TO ABIDE IN THE FASHION.
efore a Court of Inquiry of
a peculiar and serious nature,
held the other day, the presid-
ing officer—
In summing up, alluded to the
remark above-quoted was made
was Mk. Payne, the Coroner;
and the Court over which he
was presiding was an Inquest
at St. Thomas's Hospital, the
occasion for which was afforded
by a lady, in consequence of
having tripped and stumbled
whilst crossing a road. Mr.
Payne's observation can have
no other result than that of
creating terror and alarm in
the female mind, and of making
the wearers of the dangerously
enormous dresses as uncomfortable in mind as those dresses render
them in body. The idea of being in imminent peril of breaking their
limbs or their necks, or catching fire and getting burnt alive by
reason of their excessive drapery, if suggested to them, merely
frightens them to no purpose. As long as prodigious petticoats
are dictated by Paris, they will wear them at all hazards—with
whatever amount of fear and trembling. The Prench dynasty
for the time being is always a petticoat-government to Eng-
lishwomen. At present, the Empire flourishes, and U Empire c'est la
Crinoline. Beneath this despotism the ladies of England have
prostrated themselves with enthusiasm, rejoicing in its fetters; steel
hoops, springs, and skeleton frames of inflated air-tubes. They will
never emancipate themselves from this slavery in which they revel;
therefore it is of no use to mar their enjoyment of it by hinting horrors,
as Mn. Payne did in expressing surprise that more accidents are not
occasioned by the length of their dresses.
It is our happiness, on the contrary, to be able to mention a consider-
ation calculated to allay any unpleasant apprehensions which may have
been excited by that remark. Mr. Payne's surprise would have been
prevented, or diminished, by the recollection of the adage, which says,
that the celestial powers extend their special protection over drunken
readily success attends his efforts. We have no doubt that the Govern-
ment would have paid a handsome sum to any one who proved suc-
cessful in breaking in their Elephant. But Mr. Rarey, we believe,
would have been quite willing to operate without receiving any fee ;
his sole reward being the great fame of the achievement of having
gained the mastery. To have tamed the wild Cruiser was no ordinary
feat; but it shrinks into insignificance when compared with that of
taming the wild Indian Elephant. To have so far got the better of his
great length of the dresses now wo-n t restive disposition as to have brought him to a state of agreement with
by ladies, and expressed his surprise , • /• 11 u i. • i i r ±_\ . i u n t
that there were not more accidents his leliows, would, have required a long course of the most skilled and
from that cause, as he frequently J careful handling, and to have so far smoothed down his irritable tem-
observed that many ladies before > perament as to have rooted out his love of independent action, and
SffaS*TLt dSes forward" j ^e rendered him docile> and submissive to command, would have been
, ., a work which even Mr. Harey might have been appalled at and have
The personage by whom the foimd- to De too much for him.
A EAT AMONG WEASELS.
Amusement, blended with useful knowledge, may be often derived
from the perusal of the letters of Argus, sporting correspondent of
the Morning tost. In one of these, a pleasant and suitably sportive
allusion is made to an interesting event which seems to have agreeably
heightened the excitement of the Chester Races. According to our
wide-awake chronicler of the Turf :—
" In the evening the great robbery at the Albion took place, and after the dis-
closures that were made, every sporting man's bedroom was made a perfect
Malakoff. The thief, who was had up at the Police Office on the Thursday, drew an
immense audience, as from the audacity of his attempt, as well as from the fact of
his having a bottle of chloroform about him to administer to his sleeping victims, it
was clear he was no ordinary criminal, and the followers of Lavater would have
hardly stopped to have listened to the evidence to have convicted him. It was
strange he should have selected such a party to have attacked ; but it is now spread
far and wide that if thieves will conceal notes in their mouth, racing men will
., i extract them with a poker. The ' school' will hesitate a long time before they
men, and persons Of a certain order Ot intellect, among whom, it the practise their arts on them again. The fellow in question, although a stranger
present fashion of female dress is foolish, all those who persist in it have ! to Chester, was well known to the London Police, and had three months after
the advantage of being included
A CASE EOE ME. EAEEY.
To zoologists the statement may appear somewhat confusing, but it
is nevertheless the fact, that to save themselves, the Government have
made a scapegoat of their Elephant. We believe that from the first
the animal had been thought dangerous, and it was predicted that
Government must suffer through their keeping him. No amount of
watching could cool down to inaction his blundering hot-headedness,
and in an unguarded moment he was sure to do them mischief. When-
ever he broke loose, which he was pretty safe to do, it was felt that
those in charge of him were far too weak to check him; and in one of
his ungovernable fits of jealous rage, it was held to be most probable
that he would be the death of them. Persons well acquainted with
the antecedents of the beast had stated openly, they thought that
nothing could subdue him; and their prediction has been quickly as
well as amply verified. With that regardlessness of consequence by
which he always has been characterised, the animal broke out upon the
first good opportunity, and gave the fullest vent to his vindictive
instincts.
There seems a very general impression with the public, and we
believe it to be shared by those who are esteemed the best judges of
the case, that when the animal was first handed over to the Govern-
ment, their wisest course would have been to call in Mr. Rarey and
employ him to exert his subjugating influence. The task certainly
required no common skill and courage; and any ordinary brute-tamer
might have shrunk from undertaking it. But what we know of Mr.
Rarey inclines us to believe, that he would not have hesitated to try
what he could do. Indeed we rather think the work would have been
Just what he would like; for the more vicious the animal, the more
delight he seems himself to take in taming it, and in general the more
Epsom for stealing a silver spoon from a gentleman's drag on the Derby day. Alto-
gether the affair seemed to make up for the dulness of the Cup betting."
The Pantaloon in a pantomime sometimes attempts to pick the
pocket of the Clown; and most readers will recollect the beautiful
expression—the smile of bland pity—with which the intended victim
turns his countenance on the face of the poor bungling old rogue, whose
hand his own has just met, and gently grasped in his lateral receptacle.
A thief attempting to rob a lot of racing men, presents much the same
spectacle to the imagination as that afforded by the senile knave of
the pantomime. Certainly, as "Argus" observes, "it was strange
he should have selected such a party to have attacked;" particularly
as the fellow was an old offender. About such an act there is an
amount of greenness which seems to make the prig appear absolutely
innocent. The most overweening impudence could hardly have pro-
duced so insane an attempt; the thought of catching sporting charac-
ters napping—weasels asleep—and preying on such a vigilant tribe of
beings, shows gross ignorance of the race who live by the race-course.
The man " was no ordinary criminal," sure enough—he was evidently
a common fool, if not an uncommon fool; his conduct was ridiculous;
so exquisitely funny that it may well have made up for the dulness of
the gambling at Chester.
Towards the conclusion of his epistle Mr. " Argus " makes a
serious observation which may be commended to the consideration of
Exeter Hall :—
" Next year I trust that the religious feelings of the community will not t«
shocked by witnessing bands of low, sensual looking men, bearing banners with
Scriptural phrases on them, and annoying every visitor by thrusting tracts into
their hands."
It may be as well if " Argus " would keep a few of his hundred
eyes on some of these low, sensual looking men who infest the turf:
tract distributors, real or pretended. All are not rooks on a race-
course ; many pigeons are there also congregated; and to carry on
their operations under banners with Scriptural phrases on them would
be a very likely trick of the Swell Mob.