Punch (71.1876)

November 4, 1876.] PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.

187

"THE STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE."

Darwinian Coster (to thrifty Housewife). ""Well, Fish is dear, Mum; you see

it '8 a gettin' weey sca'ce in consekence o' these 'ere aqueriuns ! "

THE MINSTREL OP THE MANSION
HOUSE.

Ever, has the City King-, '
Whilst he filled the Civic Chair,

Given his People cause to sing
Glory to the Great Lord Mayor !

Great Lord Mayors have, in their.day,
Won, ere Cotton, high regard,

But their fame has passed away,
For they lacked a sacred Bard.

That shall ne'er be Cotton's fate";

Nor will Punch's line alone .
Cotton's name perpetuate :

'Twill be deathless in his own.

Nought he needs another pen

Yerse on his behalf to do ;
For the Chief of Aldermen

Banks among the Poets too!

When did Lord Mayor yet before
Civic Crown with bays entwine,

Tuneful lays 'midst business pour,
Cultivate the Sisters Nine P

Lo, Cheapside, Pieria's plain ;

Thames, the Heliconian rill;
Mansion House, a Delian fane ;

Mount Parnassus, Fish Street Hill!

Bards in Grub Street now no more

Lacking grub in garret pine,
As they did in days of yore,

'Ere by Lord Mayors asked to dine.

Pass the Loving Cup around !

In it plunge, in turn, each nose ;
And, as guests in duty bound,

Drink his health before he goes.

May the Poet's life be long,
When the Lord Mayor's day is done :

As Apollo, Lord of Song,
Hail the Civic Setting Sun!

FANATICS AND EOOLS.

His Holiness the Pope, the other day, receiving the Carlist
Pilgrims, led by the rampant Archbishop of Granada, at the
Vatican, made, says the Times' Correspondent, a discourse "as
remarkable for its moderation as the address delivered to him by
that fiery Prelate was for its intemperance ; " insomuch that—

" Never, perhaps, did the Pope employ fewer pious invectives than on this
occasion. He welcomed the Pilgrims, told them that he recognised them as
his children, and that they reminded him of the many martyrs whose blood
had made the soil of their country holy—the doctors, the confessors, the
founders of religious orders, and others, who through their virtues have con-
tributed to the greatness of Spain."

This explanation was of course not required by the faithful who
heard it. Nor could most other people have well misunderstood
whom the Pope meant by martyrs in Spain, even if he had not
described them as victims " whose blood had made the soil of their
country holy." The Martyrs of the Inquisition bled, very little.
Cremation before death was unattended with much if any bloodshed.
The Act of Faith, so called, can now be spoken of only in the
past tense—even in Turkey. But a British fanatic might have
subjected himself to it lately at R,ome, if Rome were what Rome
was, and is now no more. So much evidently appears from a further
statement by the authority above quoted :—

" As an instance of the strict impartiality observed by the Italian authori-
ties, I may mention that an English Dissenting Clergyman, officiating in
Eome, issued a placard to the effect that on Sunday last he would discourse
on the subject of ' Papistical Pilgrimages and the Christian Pilgrimage.' "

The Italian Authorities did wisely in "sequestrating a poster
which might have been read by many as a provocation "—whence a
fool might have got something for himself, if not.so bad as fire and.
faggot, yet unpleasant enough, and richly merited. Suppose he had.
been put under a pump, and subjected to punishment by the milder
element, who will say it would not have served him right ? Are
fanatical Pilgrims or fanatical Protestants the greater Asses ?
Perhaps the Donkeys' ears are about of a length.

ANGLO-MOSLEM IRREGULARS.

In publishing the statement below quoted from a column of
" Naval and Military Intelligence," was a contemporary hoaxed, or
flying a canard f—

"A scheme in connection with the chance3 of a war with Russia has been
proposed, according to the Whitehall Gazette, and has met with what may be
termed conditional approval by the authorities at the War Office and the India
House. It is to call for Volunteers in India to serve in a cavalry contingent.
The rank and file of this force would be composed exclusively of Moslems, and
be commanded by officers who have served in the Indian irregular cavalry."

If this announcement is true, the authorities at the War Office
are apparently contemplating the creation of a new arm of the
Service, in the form of British Bashi-Bazouks. Should such a corps
be constituted to fight the Russians, may it not be feared that we
shall too soon be horrified by Russian atrocities committed by other
than Russian troops ?

Election Movements.

In a paragraph relating to the approaching School-Board Elections
we read, with some surprise, that "Mr. A. B. C. (VVesleyan) will
run as an Independent Candidate, and Mr. D. E. F. will run as an
Independent Church Candidate." How fast this age of ours is
becoming! Candidates used to be contented to "stand"—now
they must " run! " Has the growing passion for athletic sports
any connection with this change ?

Shakspearian Quotation.

To be borne in mind when you have to meet that little Bill you backed for,

a Friend.

Sign no more * * *
Men were deceivers ever.

Much Ado About Nothing.

vol. lxxi.

T