DOI issue:
June 22, 1861
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.16867#0265
June 22, 1861.]
PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.
257
a word of friendly caution, which I trust will not offend him. may make
him ask himself the question, * What, really, is a comedy ? ’ and what
careful thought and writing is, or ought to be, required of him who
hopes to write one worthy of the name.
“Yours, Mr. Punch, much more in sorrow than in anger,
“One who Pays.”
“ P.S.—How I envy you the memory of your seat at Covent Garden
when that pleasant little party, Patti, first appeared there ! Actually,
such are the engagements of this active time of year, I have not yet
found a night to spend with her Sonnambula, and now I see it stated
that Monday was her last. Oh, Mu. Gye, do please reconsider your
resolve, if only for the sake of your well-wisher, 0. W. P.”
POLAND DRESSED TOO LOUD.
The subjoined telegram, dated from Breslau, announces a little edict
of a great tyranny:—
/ “According to advices received from Warsaw, an ordinance has been published'
there enumerating the articles of dress which the inhabitants are prohibited from
wearing, namely—square caps, Polish tunics, amaranth-coloured waistcoats and
neckties, coloured boots and shoes, and any dress of a showy colour or unusual cut.”
It must be rather difficult at Warsaw to dress m such a style as to
afford satisfaction to the Government. But the other day mourning
was forbidden, and now gay clothes are prohibited. We may imagine
amaranth-coloured waistcoats and neckties objectionable to the despotic
government of Poland,1^because amaranth is a flower, and perhaps, in
the language of flowers, means “Never say Die!” or something of
that sort, breathing a spirit of freedom and defiance. But the denun-
ciation of Polish tunics, square caps, and coloured boots and shoes,
would be unintelligible if we did not know that the Russian authorities
are accustomed to flog ladies. Barbarians who can be guilty of such
atrocity as that, may easily be conceived dastardly enough to be capable
of trying to inflict an unmanly mortification on female vanity; a sen-
timent to which all manhood bows. Hence their interference with the
smart blue tunic, square vermilion cap, and red morocco boots to
match, familiar in the music-shop windows as the costume of the Polka
and Cracovienne. It may be, however, that as these are national
Polish dances, the Russian officials in charge of Warsaw are afraid of
them, and that the ordinance against coloured boots and shoes is
intended to prevent the ladies from making themselves too dangerous
in exciting revolutionary enthusiasm.
The conclusion of the decree above quoted, interdicting “ any dress
of a showy colour or unusual cut,” has an obvious aim. It is evidently
levelled against Punch. The hero of the cudgel and the hump, glorious
in scarlet and gold, is the universally received impersonation and
symbol of absolute liberty; and the dress of a showy colour in which
he rejoices, and of unusual cut, whereon he prides himself, is a horror
and an abomination to absolute despotism.
REVIVAL IN ART.
Among things not commonly known is the existence of the Painters’
Company; one, nevertheless, of the most ancient and dignified of the
civic guilds. The Painters’ Company has, however, lately come out
into public notice, by establishing an exhibition of imitative and
decorative art, now on view in the Hall of the Company at Queen-
bithe. Dormant, in a state of suspended animation, for many a day,
the venerable Company of Painters appears now at length to have
awakened out of its sleep of ages. It has already begun to put forth
its energies, and there is no saying what it may not ultimately do. In
a notice of its present exhibition, a contemporary says:—
“ Of tbe Painters’ Company it may not be out of place to add that they are the
forerunners of the Royal Academy, and that in bygone times they rendered good
service to tbe cause of art. It is said that among the ancient prerogatives which in
right of their charter they still possess is the privilege of contemptuously smearing
over any pictorial work which may appear to them to be badly executed.”
What if the Painters’ Company should take it into their heads to
exercise the privilege with which they are thus invested ? Suppose
they were to delegate certain officers to make a tour of inspection
around all repositories of pictures, with a commission to deface all
those paintings which they considered to be badly executed. Various
picture-galleries, perhaps, would be considerably weeded, and the
censors would doubtless effect an extensive clearance, in the picture-
dealers’ shops, of counterfeits professed to be the originals of eminent
artists. What work they would make, or mar, among Parliamentary
Irescoes! It may be that a thorough purification of British Art-, is
destined to be effected, in the exertion of their daubing powers, by this
resuscitated brotherhood of the brush.
Pursuit of Knowledge under Difficulties.—Reading Brad
shaw at night by means of a box of lucifers !
CONVERTIBLE NOTES AT THE CRYSTAL PALACE.
At the late half-yearly meeting of the Crystal Palace Company, we
find the following observations reported to have been made by a gen-
tleman whom we may almost call a namesake, Mr. Puncher :—
“ They were giviDg one hundred guineas to a male singer for singing a couple of
songs. Bkaham never had anything like it. They also gave twenty-five guineas to
a lady singer. Now, with all respect for the musical art, he thought that one
hundred guineas for a bawler, and twenty-five for a squaller, was rather too much;
it was paying too much for their whistle.”
If a hundred guineas are too much for a bawler, and twenty-five
guineas are too much for a squaller, how much, by way of dividend for
instance, does our friend Mr. Puncher consider to be sufficient for a
grumbler? Mr. Puncher should not allow his name to run away
with him. We are afraid he thought he was punching the male and
the female artist to whom he alluded by calling tbe former a bawler and
the latter a squaller; whereas he merely punched his own head as it
were, demonstrating its density, and the length and obtuseness of his
ears. There is too much reason to doubt that he knew what a funny
thing he was saying when he termed singers bawlers and squallers,
speaking, as he declared, “ with all respect for musical art.” If, as
Mr. Puncher thinks, the Crystal Palace Concerts do not pay, the
performers are paid too much for the Company’s purpose; but they
cannot be paid too much for their services except by being paid in
excess of what those services will repay. Surely Mr. Puncher him-
self will allow that the worth of anything is just as much as it will
bring; and, though with utter disrespect for the musical art, a gentle-
man with Bottom's ear for music may denominate eminent vocalists
bawlers and squallers, yet unless his arithmetical faculty, and indeed,
the rest of his intellectual powers, are on a level with his musical
sense, he must see that if squalling and bawling fetch more money
than they cost, too much cannot be paid for even squalling and bawling.
The same observations apply to the value of those other performers
whom Mr. Puncher would perhaps describe as puffers and blowers,
tweedlers, tootlers, tinklers, twangers, bangers, sheepskin-thumpers,
and catgut-scrapers, meaning the band, and intending to intimate that
the sounds of musical instruments are, to his apprehension, merely
varieties of noise. If the expenses of the Crystal Palace Concerts
exceeded their returns, then, indeed, although consisting of the finest
music in the world, they would afford Mr. Puncher some reason to
say that the Company were paying too much for their whistle.
MINISTERING TO ONE’S WANTS AND COMPORTS.
Sir John Pakington was kind enough to inform us, during one of
those interminable Paper-Duty discussions, that it was “the duty of a
Ministry not only to make a House, but to keep a House.” Lady
Grey Mare, in whose presence the above sentiment was being read
out, instantly exclaimed, “ Yes, and so it is the duty of a husband—of
every husband, at least, who pretends to be the minister of his wife’s
happiness; I say, not only is it the husband’s duty always ‘ to make a
house,’ but it is, also, his duty, as it should be his pleasure, ‘ to keep
it; ’ and by that, I mean, he should do everything in his power to make
it comfortable, and to keep it thoroughly in repair; that is to say, in
the height of fashion, so that his wife may have nothing whatever to
complain of.” All the married Ladies present received this noble
exhortation on the duties of married life with a musical murmur of
applause, though it was observed that Lady Grey Mare’s husband,
who seemed to be an incomplete copy of manhood, instantly left the
room.
Probable Misunderstanding with Prance.
A Despatch from Athens, published in the Paris papers, states that,
at a recent sittiug of the Syrian conference, “ Sir Henry Bulwer
assumed a threatening attitude.” This announcement is calculated to
impress the minds of our neighbours with an erroneous idea. Pre-
occupied with a belief in the propension of all Englishmen for the box,
they will naturally picture to themselves the threatening attitude,
assumed by Sir Henry Bulwer in the Syrian Conference, as that of
“squaring round,” and will imagine that, throwing himself into a
posture of offence, he doubled his fists, and offered to punch the
Russian ambassador’s head.
As Clear as Crystal.
We believe that the Crystal Palace was originally designed for “the
elevation of the masses.” This tight-rope .danciug of M. Blondin is,
we suppose, only a carrying out of the original intention, for though
the Branco-American is seemingly the only person of the masses who
is “ elevated,” yet we know as a positive fact that his performances are
so popular that they have invariably met with a general ascent/
Vol, 40.
9
PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.
257
a word of friendly caution, which I trust will not offend him. may make
him ask himself the question, * What, really, is a comedy ? ’ and what
careful thought and writing is, or ought to be, required of him who
hopes to write one worthy of the name.
“Yours, Mr. Punch, much more in sorrow than in anger,
“One who Pays.”
“ P.S.—How I envy you the memory of your seat at Covent Garden
when that pleasant little party, Patti, first appeared there ! Actually,
such are the engagements of this active time of year, I have not yet
found a night to spend with her Sonnambula, and now I see it stated
that Monday was her last. Oh, Mu. Gye, do please reconsider your
resolve, if only for the sake of your well-wisher, 0. W. P.”
POLAND DRESSED TOO LOUD.
The subjoined telegram, dated from Breslau, announces a little edict
of a great tyranny:—
/ “According to advices received from Warsaw, an ordinance has been published'
there enumerating the articles of dress which the inhabitants are prohibited from
wearing, namely—square caps, Polish tunics, amaranth-coloured waistcoats and
neckties, coloured boots and shoes, and any dress of a showy colour or unusual cut.”
It must be rather difficult at Warsaw to dress m such a style as to
afford satisfaction to the Government. But the other day mourning
was forbidden, and now gay clothes are prohibited. We may imagine
amaranth-coloured waistcoats and neckties objectionable to the despotic
government of Poland,1^because amaranth is a flower, and perhaps, in
the language of flowers, means “Never say Die!” or something of
that sort, breathing a spirit of freedom and defiance. But the denun-
ciation of Polish tunics, square caps, and coloured boots and shoes,
would be unintelligible if we did not know that the Russian authorities
are accustomed to flog ladies. Barbarians who can be guilty of such
atrocity as that, may easily be conceived dastardly enough to be capable
of trying to inflict an unmanly mortification on female vanity; a sen-
timent to which all manhood bows. Hence their interference with the
smart blue tunic, square vermilion cap, and red morocco boots to
match, familiar in the music-shop windows as the costume of the Polka
and Cracovienne. It may be, however, that as these are national
Polish dances, the Russian officials in charge of Warsaw are afraid of
them, and that the ordinance against coloured boots and shoes is
intended to prevent the ladies from making themselves too dangerous
in exciting revolutionary enthusiasm.
The conclusion of the decree above quoted, interdicting “ any dress
of a showy colour or unusual cut,” has an obvious aim. It is evidently
levelled against Punch. The hero of the cudgel and the hump, glorious
in scarlet and gold, is the universally received impersonation and
symbol of absolute liberty; and the dress of a showy colour in which
he rejoices, and of unusual cut, whereon he prides himself, is a horror
and an abomination to absolute despotism.
REVIVAL IN ART.
Among things not commonly known is the existence of the Painters’
Company; one, nevertheless, of the most ancient and dignified of the
civic guilds. The Painters’ Company has, however, lately come out
into public notice, by establishing an exhibition of imitative and
decorative art, now on view in the Hall of the Company at Queen-
bithe. Dormant, in a state of suspended animation, for many a day,
the venerable Company of Painters appears now at length to have
awakened out of its sleep of ages. It has already begun to put forth
its energies, and there is no saying what it may not ultimately do. In
a notice of its present exhibition, a contemporary says:—
“ Of tbe Painters’ Company it may not be out of place to add that they are the
forerunners of the Royal Academy, and that in bygone times they rendered good
service to tbe cause of art. It is said that among the ancient prerogatives which in
right of their charter they still possess is the privilege of contemptuously smearing
over any pictorial work which may appear to them to be badly executed.”
What if the Painters’ Company should take it into their heads to
exercise the privilege with which they are thus invested ? Suppose
they were to delegate certain officers to make a tour of inspection
around all repositories of pictures, with a commission to deface all
those paintings which they considered to be badly executed. Various
picture-galleries, perhaps, would be considerably weeded, and the
censors would doubtless effect an extensive clearance, in the picture-
dealers’ shops, of counterfeits professed to be the originals of eminent
artists. What work they would make, or mar, among Parliamentary
Irescoes! It may be that a thorough purification of British Art-, is
destined to be effected, in the exertion of their daubing powers, by this
resuscitated brotherhood of the brush.
Pursuit of Knowledge under Difficulties.—Reading Brad
shaw at night by means of a box of lucifers !
CONVERTIBLE NOTES AT THE CRYSTAL PALACE.
At the late half-yearly meeting of the Crystal Palace Company, we
find the following observations reported to have been made by a gen-
tleman whom we may almost call a namesake, Mr. Puncher :—
“ They were giviDg one hundred guineas to a male singer for singing a couple of
songs. Bkaham never had anything like it. They also gave twenty-five guineas to
a lady singer. Now, with all respect for the musical art, he thought that one
hundred guineas for a bawler, and twenty-five for a squaller, was rather too much;
it was paying too much for their whistle.”
If a hundred guineas are too much for a bawler, and twenty-five
guineas are too much for a squaller, how much, by way of dividend for
instance, does our friend Mr. Puncher consider to be sufficient for a
grumbler? Mr. Puncher should not allow his name to run away
with him. We are afraid he thought he was punching the male and
the female artist to whom he alluded by calling tbe former a bawler and
the latter a squaller; whereas he merely punched his own head as it
were, demonstrating its density, and the length and obtuseness of his
ears. There is too much reason to doubt that he knew what a funny
thing he was saying when he termed singers bawlers and squallers,
speaking, as he declared, “ with all respect for musical art.” If, as
Mr. Puncher thinks, the Crystal Palace Concerts do not pay, the
performers are paid too much for the Company’s purpose; but they
cannot be paid too much for their services except by being paid in
excess of what those services will repay. Surely Mr. Puncher him-
self will allow that the worth of anything is just as much as it will
bring; and, though with utter disrespect for the musical art, a gentle-
man with Bottom's ear for music may denominate eminent vocalists
bawlers and squallers, yet unless his arithmetical faculty, and indeed,
the rest of his intellectual powers, are on a level with his musical
sense, he must see that if squalling and bawling fetch more money
than they cost, too much cannot be paid for even squalling and bawling.
The same observations apply to the value of those other performers
whom Mr. Puncher would perhaps describe as puffers and blowers,
tweedlers, tootlers, tinklers, twangers, bangers, sheepskin-thumpers,
and catgut-scrapers, meaning the band, and intending to intimate that
the sounds of musical instruments are, to his apprehension, merely
varieties of noise. If the expenses of the Crystal Palace Concerts
exceeded their returns, then, indeed, although consisting of the finest
music in the world, they would afford Mr. Puncher some reason to
say that the Company were paying too much for their whistle.
MINISTERING TO ONE’S WANTS AND COMPORTS.
Sir John Pakington was kind enough to inform us, during one of
those interminable Paper-Duty discussions, that it was “the duty of a
Ministry not only to make a House, but to keep a House.” Lady
Grey Mare, in whose presence the above sentiment was being read
out, instantly exclaimed, “ Yes, and so it is the duty of a husband—of
every husband, at least, who pretends to be the minister of his wife’s
happiness; I say, not only is it the husband’s duty always ‘ to make a
house,’ but it is, also, his duty, as it should be his pleasure, ‘ to keep
it; ’ and by that, I mean, he should do everything in his power to make
it comfortable, and to keep it thoroughly in repair; that is to say, in
the height of fashion, so that his wife may have nothing whatever to
complain of.” All the married Ladies present received this noble
exhortation on the duties of married life with a musical murmur of
applause, though it was observed that Lady Grey Mare’s husband,
who seemed to be an incomplete copy of manhood, instantly left the
room.
Probable Misunderstanding with Prance.
A Despatch from Athens, published in the Paris papers, states that,
at a recent sittiug of the Syrian conference, “ Sir Henry Bulwer
assumed a threatening attitude.” This announcement is calculated to
impress the minds of our neighbours with an erroneous idea. Pre-
occupied with a belief in the propension of all Englishmen for the box,
they will naturally picture to themselves the threatening attitude,
assumed by Sir Henry Bulwer in the Syrian Conference, as that of
“squaring round,” and will imagine that, throwing himself into a
posture of offence, he doubled his fists, and offered to punch the
Russian ambassador’s head.
As Clear as Crystal.
We believe that the Crystal Palace was originally designed for “the
elevation of the masses.” This tight-rope .danciug of M. Blondin is,
we suppose, only a carrying out of the original intention, for though
the Branco-American is seemingly the only person of the masses who
is “ elevated,” yet we know as a positive fact that his performances are
so popular that they have invariably met with a general ascent/
Vol, 40.
9