DOI issue:
November 16, 1867
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.16880#0208
November 16, 1867.]
PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.
197
A FUTURE ITALIAN OPERA.
now ye that there
is one thing: in con-
nection with the
Italian struggle
which has been
overlooked. The
events which have
just happened, and
others yetto happen
in Italy, will inevi-
tably form the sub-
ject of an Italian
Opera.
What the plot of
the piece will be it
would be a little
premature to say
before the conclu-
sion of the drama
in real history,
whereon it will be
founded. We can,
however, for in-
stance, suppose that
its title will be II Re
Galantuomo. As to
the story,one Italian
opera is so much
like another that
some points may be considered safe. There must, of course, be
a heroine. She will probably be the niece of the Pope, beloved
by Garibaldi, and returning his passion. Menotti may be sug-
gested as more suitable for a stage lover than Garibaldi Senior,
but one Garibaldi must be the hero of the piece, and it would not do
to make the son snuff out the father. If the opera is written for the
Trench public this difficulty will be readily got over by making
a contralto in trousers, the tenor’s rival; the tenor being the elder
Garibaldi, and the contralto the younger. In this case, moreover, the
heroine will, of course, be the Pope’s daughter, and the other principal
female character perhaps an Illustrious Empress devoured by a secret
passion for either Garibaldi or Victor-Emmanuel.
In an opera whereof the scenes are mostly laid in Home, and the
Pope is one of the chief characters, there will be no end of scope for
processions, chants, choral effects, illuminations, and fireworks.
The tenor, as aforesaid, will necessarily be the hero of the piece.
Garibaldi, in the person of his representative, will stalk about the
stage, gesticulating, and alternately singing Roma o morte ! or warbling
something about “ Anima mia !" and “amore” and “ felicita.” The
baritone, probably, will be Victor-Emmanuel, and Louis Napoleon
is destined for the basso prof 'ondo.
There are two possible conclusions of the opera; a catastrophe or a
triumph. It can end with the sack and burning of Rome; the Pope
and his adherents being blown up in the Castle of St. Angelo; while
Garibaldi falls stabbed by a fanatical priest, and the fair Eerretti
kills herself on his corpse. Or it may terminate happily; the Holy
Father consenting to sing “ Possumus /” and also, joining the hands of
his children, the two lovers, to intone a paternal benediction simultane-
ously over them and united Italy. Let us hope that this is the solu-
tion of the Roman question, satisfactory to all parties, which will have
to be dramatised.
This is how these sharpers lure the flats
the “ system” of their trade,
they pursue into the net:—
“ In receiving commissions, Messrs. Fleece & Co. beg to state that on an average
they can return the following sums respectively :—
“ For an investment of £25, £200 will be returned; £500 for £50 ; £1100 for
£100 ; £6000 for £500 ; and £13,000 for £1000.”
“Investment” and “commissions” are good, solid business terms,
and doubtless blind the eyes of many who might shrink from booking
bets. The word “ statistics,” too, sounds highly proper and respect-
able, and very likely tempts weak persons to believe such lies as
these :—
“ Statistics of one week’s returns are herewith given, to satisfy those who might
otherwise be incredulous as to the profitable nature of the system ; viz., at New-
market :—
Total amount in hand.£19,950
Less cash started with. 10
Amount of week’s winnings £19,910 ”
A fool and his money are easily parted, and doubtless there are
fools who send their money to these blackguards, or they would dis-
continue publishing their circulars, and paying for the printing and
the postages thereof. Yet no one but a fool can fancy that a system of
safe betting can exist, by which with certainty a man with a ten-pound
note to start with, can pocket £20,000 within one single week. And
who but fools can fancy that a man who in a twelvemonth could
become a millionnaire, would take the trouble to send circulars about,
and tout for “ clients ” who may share the profits of his system, while
he does all the dirty work of going about to races, and bellowing in
the ring the odds on which his system obliges him to bet ? Moreover,
who but fools can be beguiled by stuff like this ?—
“ Our system being a winning one, and demonstrated by the abundant testimony
of facts, must tend to raise betting above the approach of gambling, and men of
principle having surplus capital may feel neither shame nor degradation in applying
a portion thereof to turf speculation.”
We hardly pity fools for being parted from their money, but we fear
that fools are sometimes tempted to be knaves when they see the
golden promises these betting brutes put forth. Many a shopboy is
enticed to “frisk” his master’s till, when promised a dead certainty
for “ putting on the pot.” To make it look quite business-like, the
circular we have cited has the name of the firm sending it engraved
upon the envelope, and was posted to a place of business in the City,
where there doubtless is a cashbox quite easy to be frisked. Of how
many thefts these betting scoundrels may be every year the cause, it
would be difficult to guess; but there is very little question that these
fellows might with justice be indited for receiving stolen cash.
THE TURF.
Among the many other nuisances which the New Street Traffic Act
empowers the City to abolish, are the betting brutes who block up the
pavements to all decent passers-by, and use indecent language while
they do their dirty business. Being thus swept from the streets,
together with the other mud this sweeping Act should clear away,
these blackguards do their business now by means of pen and ink, and
the printing-press and postage-stamps. Some date from holes and
corners, and some even from hotels, and issue thence their lies about
their betting “ system,” with the view of tempting fools to send them
five-pound notes. One of these traps to catch a greenhorn, thus
begins, with quite a business-like formality of phrase :—
“ Saracen’s Head Hotel. Messrs. Fleece <fc Co. beg to return their sincere
thanks for the liberal patronage hitherto awarded them, and beg to announce that
they continue to execute commissions, on all races, as per system so highly patro-
nised by the Nobility and Gentry throughout the kingdom.”
“ Highly patronised ! ” the low thieves ! Mr. lunch would highly
like to patronise them by giving them a lodging, gratis, in the Old
Bailey Hotel. Newgate is the proper place for swindling blackguards
who pretend to “ execute commissions,” and in reality pick pockets by
STRIKING LITERARY ANNOUNCEMENT.
To the Editor of Punch.
Sir,
Amongst your readers there must be many who are also
readers of Burns. It may interest them to know that I have this day
made a most important discovery. I have ascertained the surname of
the exemplary young woman in The Cotter's Saturday Night, who has
hitherto been only known to us as Jenny. Having occasion to examine
the Catalogues of the Royal Academy Exhibition, I found, in the one
for the year 1843, a quotation from Burns’s celebrated Poem, which
ran exactly as follows :—
“ The wily mother sees the conscious flame
Sparkle in Jenny’s e'e, and flush her cheek ;
With heart-struck anxious care inquires his name,
While Jenny Bafflins is afraid to speak;
Weel pleas'd the mother hears it’s nae wild, worthless rake.’
It will, I am sure, be as great a satisfaction to the admirers of the
great Scotch Poet on both sides of the Border to make the acquaintance
of Miss Jenny Hafflins as it was to
Caledonian Road,
Eve of Lord Mayor's Bay.
Your obedient servant,
Colston Bassett.
Military Intelligence.
It is with satisfaction that we announce that the Rifled Popgun is
about to be placed in the hands of the Infantry. As an arm of preci-
sion this breach-loader will, no doubt, be a great improvement on the
noisy but ineffective weapon hitherto employed in the Nurseries of
British Valour.
the harvest of the sea.
When did the ancient Greeks find it profitable to plough the ocean P
In the days of Ce-crops.
The Temporal Power.—The Brain.
Vol. 53.
PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.
197
A FUTURE ITALIAN OPERA.
now ye that there
is one thing: in con-
nection with the
Italian struggle
which has been
overlooked. The
events which have
just happened, and
others yetto happen
in Italy, will inevi-
tably form the sub-
ject of an Italian
Opera.
What the plot of
the piece will be it
would be a little
premature to say
before the conclu-
sion of the drama
in real history,
whereon it will be
founded. We can,
however, for in-
stance, suppose that
its title will be II Re
Galantuomo. As to
the story,one Italian
opera is so much
like another that
some points may be considered safe. There must, of course, be
a heroine. She will probably be the niece of the Pope, beloved
by Garibaldi, and returning his passion. Menotti may be sug-
gested as more suitable for a stage lover than Garibaldi Senior,
but one Garibaldi must be the hero of the piece, and it would not do
to make the son snuff out the father. If the opera is written for the
Trench public this difficulty will be readily got over by making
a contralto in trousers, the tenor’s rival; the tenor being the elder
Garibaldi, and the contralto the younger. In this case, moreover, the
heroine will, of course, be the Pope’s daughter, and the other principal
female character perhaps an Illustrious Empress devoured by a secret
passion for either Garibaldi or Victor-Emmanuel.
In an opera whereof the scenes are mostly laid in Home, and the
Pope is one of the chief characters, there will be no end of scope for
processions, chants, choral effects, illuminations, and fireworks.
The tenor, as aforesaid, will necessarily be the hero of the piece.
Garibaldi, in the person of his representative, will stalk about the
stage, gesticulating, and alternately singing Roma o morte ! or warbling
something about “ Anima mia !" and “amore” and “ felicita.” The
baritone, probably, will be Victor-Emmanuel, and Louis Napoleon
is destined for the basso prof 'ondo.
There are two possible conclusions of the opera; a catastrophe or a
triumph. It can end with the sack and burning of Rome; the Pope
and his adherents being blown up in the Castle of St. Angelo; while
Garibaldi falls stabbed by a fanatical priest, and the fair Eerretti
kills herself on his corpse. Or it may terminate happily; the Holy
Father consenting to sing “ Possumus /” and also, joining the hands of
his children, the two lovers, to intone a paternal benediction simultane-
ously over them and united Italy. Let us hope that this is the solu-
tion of the Roman question, satisfactory to all parties, which will have
to be dramatised.
This is how these sharpers lure the flats
the “ system” of their trade,
they pursue into the net:—
“ In receiving commissions, Messrs. Fleece & Co. beg to state that on an average
they can return the following sums respectively :—
“ For an investment of £25, £200 will be returned; £500 for £50 ; £1100 for
£100 ; £6000 for £500 ; and £13,000 for £1000.”
“Investment” and “commissions” are good, solid business terms,
and doubtless blind the eyes of many who might shrink from booking
bets. The word “ statistics,” too, sounds highly proper and respect-
able, and very likely tempts weak persons to believe such lies as
these :—
“ Statistics of one week’s returns are herewith given, to satisfy those who might
otherwise be incredulous as to the profitable nature of the system ; viz., at New-
market :—
Total amount in hand.£19,950
Less cash started with. 10
Amount of week’s winnings £19,910 ”
A fool and his money are easily parted, and doubtless there are
fools who send their money to these blackguards, or they would dis-
continue publishing their circulars, and paying for the printing and
the postages thereof. Yet no one but a fool can fancy that a system of
safe betting can exist, by which with certainty a man with a ten-pound
note to start with, can pocket £20,000 within one single week. And
who but fools can fancy that a man who in a twelvemonth could
become a millionnaire, would take the trouble to send circulars about,
and tout for “ clients ” who may share the profits of his system, while
he does all the dirty work of going about to races, and bellowing in
the ring the odds on which his system obliges him to bet ? Moreover,
who but fools can be beguiled by stuff like this ?—
“ Our system being a winning one, and demonstrated by the abundant testimony
of facts, must tend to raise betting above the approach of gambling, and men of
principle having surplus capital may feel neither shame nor degradation in applying
a portion thereof to turf speculation.”
We hardly pity fools for being parted from their money, but we fear
that fools are sometimes tempted to be knaves when they see the
golden promises these betting brutes put forth. Many a shopboy is
enticed to “frisk” his master’s till, when promised a dead certainty
for “ putting on the pot.” To make it look quite business-like, the
circular we have cited has the name of the firm sending it engraved
upon the envelope, and was posted to a place of business in the City,
where there doubtless is a cashbox quite easy to be frisked. Of how
many thefts these betting scoundrels may be every year the cause, it
would be difficult to guess; but there is very little question that these
fellows might with justice be indited for receiving stolen cash.
THE TURF.
Among the many other nuisances which the New Street Traffic Act
empowers the City to abolish, are the betting brutes who block up the
pavements to all decent passers-by, and use indecent language while
they do their dirty business. Being thus swept from the streets,
together with the other mud this sweeping Act should clear away,
these blackguards do their business now by means of pen and ink, and
the printing-press and postage-stamps. Some date from holes and
corners, and some even from hotels, and issue thence their lies about
their betting “ system,” with the view of tempting fools to send them
five-pound notes. One of these traps to catch a greenhorn, thus
begins, with quite a business-like formality of phrase :—
“ Saracen’s Head Hotel. Messrs. Fleece <fc Co. beg to return their sincere
thanks for the liberal patronage hitherto awarded them, and beg to announce that
they continue to execute commissions, on all races, as per system so highly patro-
nised by the Nobility and Gentry throughout the kingdom.”
“ Highly patronised ! ” the low thieves ! Mr. lunch would highly
like to patronise them by giving them a lodging, gratis, in the Old
Bailey Hotel. Newgate is the proper place for swindling blackguards
who pretend to “ execute commissions,” and in reality pick pockets by
STRIKING LITERARY ANNOUNCEMENT.
To the Editor of Punch.
Sir,
Amongst your readers there must be many who are also
readers of Burns. It may interest them to know that I have this day
made a most important discovery. I have ascertained the surname of
the exemplary young woman in The Cotter's Saturday Night, who has
hitherto been only known to us as Jenny. Having occasion to examine
the Catalogues of the Royal Academy Exhibition, I found, in the one
for the year 1843, a quotation from Burns’s celebrated Poem, which
ran exactly as follows :—
“ The wily mother sees the conscious flame
Sparkle in Jenny’s e'e, and flush her cheek ;
With heart-struck anxious care inquires his name,
While Jenny Bafflins is afraid to speak;
Weel pleas'd the mother hears it’s nae wild, worthless rake.’
It will, I am sure, be as great a satisfaction to the admirers of the
great Scotch Poet on both sides of the Border to make the acquaintance
of Miss Jenny Hafflins as it was to
Caledonian Road,
Eve of Lord Mayor's Bay.
Your obedient servant,
Colston Bassett.
Military Intelligence.
It is with satisfaction that we announce that the Rifled Popgun is
about to be placed in the hands of the Infantry. As an arm of preci-
sion this breach-loader will, no doubt, be a great improvement on the
noisy but ineffective weapon hitherto employed in the Nurseries of
British Valour.
the harvest of the sea.
When did the ancient Greeks find it profitable to plough the ocean P
In the days of Ce-crops.
The Temporal Power.—The Brain.
Vol. 53.