Punch (37.1859)

10

PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI

[July 2, 1859.

be has gone through : and, in remembrance of the dinners he has lately
been deprived of, a white waistcoat, with the motto, worked in gold
thread,

"MAY ITS SHADOW NE’ER BE LESS!”

“To Me. Indefatigable Seceetaey Geove, a manifold writing
desk, and a ton of best gold pens ; with a catalogue prepared by the
Statistical Society of the exact number of letters he has penned in the
last six weeks: which catalogue is expected to fill a hundred volumes.
Also a faithful woodcut of his family tree, showing that Mr. Geove is
certainly a branch of those ‘ delightful pleasant Groves ’ immortalised
long since by Puecell, the composer.

“ To Mb. Shenton, the Director of the Literary Department, a
dozen new pairs of boots, to replace the dozen pairs which he wore
up (three per diem) in his dances of attendance on the gentlemen of
the Press: each dance being executed to the tune.of ‘ Sitch a gitting up
Stairs ’ at least six times per hour, and being equivalent in exercise to
walking sixteen miles.

“ To Me. Strange, the refectioner, a character for good cater ship-
attested by the autographs of the persons who consumed the forty

thousand penny buns, and the twenty-five thousand two-pennies, the I;
sixteen hundred dozen sandwiches, the nine tons of cold beef, and two (j
and thirty thousand ices.

“ To the Messes. Novello, a vote of perfect confidence in their
neatly gpt up Red Book (containing the full score of all the music of
the Festival), which Mr. Punch found much more readable than most, ;
Governmental Blue Books.

“ To the whole army of executants, from the soloists in front to the j
bellows-blowers at the back, the Order of Instrumental and Yocal 1
Yalour, for the pluck which they displayed in attacking the hard
passages, and scaling the high notes which were protruded in their I1
teeth.”

To these and to a host of others who assisted, Mr. Punch moved that
the thanks of the nation should be given for the rich feast of music
which had lately been provided. The resolution being carried, the
Chairman brought the business of the Meeting to a close, by expressing
his dear Judy's wish (which coincided with his own), that the success
of the Centenary would ensure its being encored in less than half-a-dozen
years, and that as we cannot have too much of such good things, there
ought every five years or so to be served up a Handel Feast.

A DREAM OF THE FUTURE.-THE CENTENARY OF PUNCH*

THE BALANCE OF NEUTRALITY.

The Pope has lately been canonising two fresh Saints. In order to
please everybody, he chose one French Saint, and one Austrian. This
is holding the balance of neutrality with a most impartial hand. As
the Holy Father is the faithful custodian of the keys of St. Peter, of
course he will take good care that no more Frenchmen are admitted
into the calendar than Austrians; six of the one will be counted out most
religiously to every half-dozen of the other. By the bye, considering
the kind of military sandwich that the Pope at present makes at Rome,
with the Austrians on our side, and the French on the other, we can
easily understand how the Saints were fabricated. Only they might
have spelt the word correctly—“ can?2onised.”

THE FIGHT FOE LOMBARDY.

Austria has long been an unwelcome guest in Lombardy, and a great
expense to her entertainers. Having the worst of the battle, it is now
time that she threw up the sponge.

A MOST GENEROUS ADMISSION.^

We are so charmed with the generosity of the following beautiful
sentiment, that we cannot refuse it immortality in our columns :—

“ We believe that a good Englishman is preferable any day to a bad Irishman.”

What largely adds to the value of the generosity is the fact of its
having emanated from an organ that is both Irish and.Roman Catholic.
After this, we may hope to see Cardinal Wiseman giving way to feel-
ings of Christian charity- when he is enlarging on the theme of England.

The only fly-spot on the purity of the above sentiment is the ugly S
question it raises as to the possibility of there being “a bad Irishman.”
We would rather not have had our faith disturbed that there ever had
been, or ever could be, an Irishman who was otherwise than good.

“Le Bapteme du Feu.”—As Prince Napoleon is not yet quite
prepared for this military ceremony, it is to be postponed, we believe,
until the Italian Campaign is completely over. . A pound of the best
gunpowder tea has been ordered for the occasion.