DOI Heft:
July 2, 1881
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.17750#0307
July 2, 1881.]
PUNCH, OB THE LONDON CHARIVARI.
301
ROUND ABOUT TOWN.
The Military Tournament at Islington.
AH
•'HljlWll!
The Agricultural Hall sees many transformations. Now it is
given over to fat oxen and pigs, now to prize horses, now to a country
fair. At this moment it is distinctly military.
The arena resembles a Circus. In the centre stands a gentleman
in a patrol jacket, whose extreme courtesy to the various competitors
and haughty word of command to the rake-minders, must be strongly
suggestive to the aged of the very best days of Astley's, when
Widdicomb was Master of the Ring.
Seated, in magenta trowsers, high up in the skies, like so many
musical cherubs, are the members of a cavalry band, playing (with
the assistance of a double bass, carried, of course, on the march in an
omnibus) as much of a waltz as an officer in the body of the Hall will
permit them. When this officer needs music (possibly to soothe his
savage breast), he waves languidly the Union Jack. When he has
had enough of the tune (and he seldom listens to more than half-a-
dozen bars), he shakes the same flag with violent irritability. Tbe
result of the manoeuvre, from a musical point of view, is a certain
amount of jerkiness. Near to the Master of the Ring stands, or
rather dances, a volunteer officer in grey mufti, who, by his mirth-
provoking antics (apparently necessitated by his duties as a judge),
amply supplies the broad comedy usually associated with the motley
of a Circus clown. The competitors, on gaining a prize, kindly
ride round the arena to receive the plaudits of the bystanders.
Such was the scene in the Agricultural Hall when I visited it last
week. As I entered, two mounted gentlemen wearing leather
jackets and huge iron masks, and carrying- heavy sticks, were wait-
ing for the word of command. The Master of the Ring introduced
them to the audience. " Riding-Master So-and-so of the Royal So-
and-So—Red. Lieutenant Somebody-Else of the Dark Thingumies
—Yellow. Gentlemen, are you ready?" The answer being appa-
rently in the affirmative, the Master raised his right hand slightly, as
"if inviting to the dance," and murmured, "Left-turn—counter-
march," as if he were piloting an awkward squad of distinguished
dancers through the last figure of a new quadrille. The horses
trotted away to the ends of the arena, and turned round. " 'Tack,"
continued the Master in the same gently persuasive tone. Upon this
the two equestrians approached one another ferociously, and with
the utmost heartiness whacked each other for about three minutes.
After they had received considerable " punishment " they desisted.
"Brush ! " shouted the gentleman in the patrol-jacket, in a tone that
would have made tyrants tremble, and two privates immediately sprung
at the combatants, and removed the chalk-marks which the sticks
had left on their bodies. The gentleman in grey mufti (who had
taken off his hat so as to see the fight better) consulted with another
.judge, and then they both nodded to the Ring-Master. "One to
Red ! " said he, entering something in a book; and there was great
cheering. So far as I could make out, in actual warfare the sword-
cuts would have reduced the opponents to pieces considerably thinner
than ordinary slices of brown bread-and-butter. At the amiable
invitation of the Ring-Master the whacking was frequently repeated.
After we had assisted at several bouts between new competitors,
the swordsmen appeared to have had enough of it, and their places
were supplied by batteries of artillery, fully horsed, that performed
several difficult feats of driving. They soon made room for some
more gentlemen in leather jackets and iron'masks, who had kindly
consented to show us the relative value of a stick and a pole as aids
to argument in settling a matter under heated discussion. The
Ring-Master was courteous to the competitors, but harsh to his
smart assistants- " Chalk ! " he shouted ; and a small regiment flew
to whiten the head of the pole and the side of the stick. Then the
voice of thunder once more gave way to the tones of the dove as he
introduced the competitors to the audience. " So-and-So " again was
"Red," and " Somebody Else " was once more "Yellow." "Gentle-
men, are you ready ? Left turn—countermarch, 'Tack!" The riders
approached one another, the gentleman with the pole trying to prod
his opponent heavily in the body, while the gentleman with the
sword attempted to whack his companion soundly across the head.
The horses in this competition seemed to take great interest, as they
occasionally came in for a share of the glory in the shape of blows.
And now was the supreme opportunity of the gentleman in grey
mufti. Unarmed, and bare-headed, he danced about in the midst
of the fray with a bravery and an energy that filled the audience
with apprehension and astonishment. Kow he was within an ace of
receiving a nasty prod, now he only just escaped a sounding thwack,
now he was actually under the horses' hoofs. But he seemed to bear
a charmed life ; and in spite of all his daring he never once gave
occasion to the Ring-Master to cry, " One for the Grey ! "
After the practice with the " Sword versus Lance (Mounted)," the
interest subsided. The programme promised " Tent Pegging " and
" Tilting at the Ring," and these distractions were supplied. Until
now the competitors had been exclusively cavalry men, but at this
point an infantry officer joined the lists. This was a welcome
addition to the troupe, as the gentleman in grey mufti on the appear-
ance of the new-comers had ceased to take a very active part in the
sports of the day. The infantry officer was what a riding-master
would possibly have called " a slightly footy gentleman." _ He had
apparently come to the conclusion that the easiest way of picking up
a peg with a lance at full gallop was to work his legs from side to
side after the model of one of those amusing cardboard figures that
raise their limbs on the pulling of a string. The "Exercise" was
quaint and unconventional, but did not appear to materially assist
the rider in attaining his object. It maybe gratefully added that
his powers of invention seemed to be considerable. For instance, on
returning once after making his—alas !—too usual miss, he appeared
to be dancing (on horseback) a kind of Chinese fandango.
Towards the close of the programme there were some long pauses,
which enabled the band to get through nearly half an overture
before the angry shaking of the Union Jack waved them back into
snubbed silence. At last some lemons were duly sliced (apparently
in mimic imitation of the Battle of Balaclava), a Turk's head was
well-belaboured, and all was over.
eable and fact.
The saying of the Citizen and Currier in the old apologue, that
there is nothing like leather, is said to have been confirmed by the
authority of the late General Von der Tann, "who," says a Ger-
man, " vos von of te greatest You-Ders of te Vorld! "
vol. lxxx. P p
PUNCH, OB THE LONDON CHARIVARI.
301
ROUND ABOUT TOWN.
The Military Tournament at Islington.
AH
•'HljlWll!
The Agricultural Hall sees many transformations. Now it is
given over to fat oxen and pigs, now to prize horses, now to a country
fair. At this moment it is distinctly military.
The arena resembles a Circus. In the centre stands a gentleman
in a patrol jacket, whose extreme courtesy to the various competitors
and haughty word of command to the rake-minders, must be strongly
suggestive to the aged of the very best days of Astley's, when
Widdicomb was Master of the Ring.
Seated, in magenta trowsers, high up in the skies, like so many
musical cherubs, are the members of a cavalry band, playing (with
the assistance of a double bass, carried, of course, on the march in an
omnibus) as much of a waltz as an officer in the body of the Hall will
permit them. When this officer needs music (possibly to soothe his
savage breast), he waves languidly the Union Jack. When he has
had enough of the tune (and he seldom listens to more than half-a-
dozen bars), he shakes the same flag with violent irritability. Tbe
result of the manoeuvre, from a musical point of view, is a certain
amount of jerkiness. Near to the Master of the Ring stands, or
rather dances, a volunteer officer in grey mufti, who, by his mirth-
provoking antics (apparently necessitated by his duties as a judge),
amply supplies the broad comedy usually associated with the motley
of a Circus clown. The competitors, on gaining a prize, kindly
ride round the arena to receive the plaudits of the bystanders.
Such was the scene in the Agricultural Hall when I visited it last
week. As I entered, two mounted gentlemen wearing leather
jackets and huge iron masks, and carrying- heavy sticks, were wait-
ing for the word of command. The Master of the Ring introduced
them to the audience. " Riding-Master So-and-so of the Royal So-
and-So—Red. Lieutenant Somebody-Else of the Dark Thingumies
—Yellow. Gentlemen, are you ready?" The answer being appa-
rently in the affirmative, the Master raised his right hand slightly, as
"if inviting to the dance," and murmured, "Left-turn—counter-
march," as if he were piloting an awkward squad of distinguished
dancers through the last figure of a new quadrille. The horses
trotted away to the ends of the arena, and turned round. " 'Tack,"
continued the Master in the same gently persuasive tone. Upon this
the two equestrians approached one another ferociously, and with
the utmost heartiness whacked each other for about three minutes.
After they had received considerable " punishment " they desisted.
"Brush ! " shouted the gentleman in the patrol-jacket, in a tone that
would have made tyrants tremble, and two privates immediately sprung
at the combatants, and removed the chalk-marks which the sticks
had left on their bodies. The gentleman in grey mufti (who had
taken off his hat so as to see the fight better) consulted with another
.judge, and then they both nodded to the Ring-Master. "One to
Red ! " said he, entering something in a book; and there was great
cheering. So far as I could make out, in actual warfare the sword-
cuts would have reduced the opponents to pieces considerably thinner
than ordinary slices of brown bread-and-butter. At the amiable
invitation of the Ring-Master the whacking was frequently repeated.
After we had assisted at several bouts between new competitors,
the swordsmen appeared to have had enough of it, and their places
were supplied by batteries of artillery, fully horsed, that performed
several difficult feats of driving. They soon made room for some
more gentlemen in leather jackets and iron'masks, who had kindly
consented to show us the relative value of a stick and a pole as aids
to argument in settling a matter under heated discussion. The
Ring-Master was courteous to the competitors, but harsh to his
smart assistants- " Chalk ! " he shouted ; and a small regiment flew
to whiten the head of the pole and the side of the stick. Then the
voice of thunder once more gave way to the tones of the dove as he
introduced the competitors to the audience. " So-and-So " again was
"Red," and " Somebody Else " was once more "Yellow." "Gentle-
men, are you ready ? Left turn—countermarch, 'Tack!" The riders
approached one another, the gentleman with the pole trying to prod
his opponent heavily in the body, while the gentleman with the
sword attempted to whack his companion soundly across the head.
The horses in this competition seemed to take great interest, as they
occasionally came in for a share of the glory in the shape of blows.
And now was the supreme opportunity of the gentleman in grey
mufti. Unarmed, and bare-headed, he danced about in the midst
of the fray with a bravery and an energy that filled the audience
with apprehension and astonishment. Kow he was within an ace of
receiving a nasty prod, now he only just escaped a sounding thwack,
now he was actually under the horses' hoofs. But he seemed to bear
a charmed life ; and in spite of all his daring he never once gave
occasion to the Ring-Master to cry, " One for the Grey ! "
After the practice with the " Sword versus Lance (Mounted)," the
interest subsided. The programme promised " Tent Pegging " and
" Tilting at the Ring," and these distractions were supplied. Until
now the competitors had been exclusively cavalry men, but at this
point an infantry officer joined the lists. This was a welcome
addition to the troupe, as the gentleman in grey mufti on the appear-
ance of the new-comers had ceased to take a very active part in the
sports of the day. The infantry officer was what a riding-master
would possibly have called " a slightly footy gentleman." _ He had
apparently come to the conclusion that the easiest way of picking up
a peg with a lance at full gallop was to work his legs from side to
side after the model of one of those amusing cardboard figures that
raise their limbs on the pulling of a string. The "Exercise" was
quaint and unconventional, but did not appear to materially assist
the rider in attaining his object. It maybe gratefully added that
his powers of invention seemed to be considerable. For instance, on
returning once after making his—alas !—too usual miss, he appeared
to be dancing (on horseback) a kind of Chinese fandango.
Towards the close of the programme there were some long pauses,
which enabled the band to get through nearly half an overture
before the angry shaking of the Union Jack waved them back into
snubbed silence. At last some lemons were duly sliced (apparently
in mimic imitation of the Battle of Balaclava), a Turk's head was
well-belaboured, and all was over.
eable and fact.
The saying of the Citizen and Currier in the old apologue, that
there is nothing like leather, is said to have been confirmed by the
authority of the late General Von der Tann, "who," says a Ger-
man, " vos von of te greatest You-Ders of te Vorld! "
vol. lxxx. P p