Punch (91.1886)

July 3, 1886.] PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI. 5

CRICKET—UNEQUAL MATCHES.

Draiim by Dumb-Crambo, Junior.

Yorks v. (Double) Gloucester. Lanky Shier v. Knots.
Australian Team v. Home Team. Players v. Pa's Ease (Parsees).

THE SONG OP THE SEEDY COMMON-COUNCILLOR
AFTER A WEEK'S FESTIVITIES.
Air—" The Pilgrim of Love."
A Doctoe who dwells in my neighbourhood crossed me,

As, seedy and queer, to my office I pressed;
The able man paused on his way to accost me,

And proffered advice that would give me some re
" Ah no, courteous Doctor, though weary I be,
No rest till Vacation for the seedy C. C.
For the seedy C. C, for the seedy C. C,
No rest till Vacation for the seedy C. C."

",Tet tarry, my friend, till this sad attack passes ;

' I '11 send you some pills to relieve your aching head
The juice of the grape must not flow in your glasses,

And rush fast away from the most tempting spread."
" Ah no, courteous Doctor, though weary I be,
No rest till Vacation for the seedy C. C.
For the seedy C. C, for the seedy C. C,
No rest till Vacation for the seedy C. C."

, Foe the next Theological Exam.—How can there
be any reasonable difficulty as to the story of Jonah,
when we know there are at this present time hundreds of
people, including Madame Path, living in Wales ?

Jealousy.—Lord Tennyson was horrified at the notion
of the Freshwater Railway. The Poet Laureate doesn't
like any lines but his own.

VESPEE.E AMBROSIAM.

Anotheb of Mr. Ambrose Austin's Concerts at the Albert Hall on
"Wednesday last, with English Cusins, not one of the Cusins German,
conducting the excellent orchestra. A very attractive programme.
First came Signor Foli—whom Mrs. Ramsbotham always will call
Signor Fol-lol-li,—who gave us a grand air from Vebdi's Nabuco,
and his powerful voice would have filled the hall, if it had not been
already crammed in every part—that is, as far as I could see.

Then Miss Emily Winant treated us to the Handelian "Awake,
Saturnia !'' which did not arouse the audience to great enthusiasm ;
not that this was in any way due to the singer, but to the uninterest-
ing character of the song, and to the fact that we were all waiting
for Path. The Diva, from Wales, sang Bel raqgio from Semi-
ramide, (" one of Rossini's half-finished Operas" Mrs. Rams-
botham thinks; " or if not, why did he call it Semi-Ramide f ")—and
alter the Dolce pensiero, she was recalled four times, but did not

oblige again."

Then we all pulled ourselves together to hear the Concert-Stuck on
the pianoforte by Vladimir be Pachmann. But at this point the
Concert stuck, for the unfortunate Vladimle was kept away from us
by indisposition, and didn't appear.

Madame Teebelli, in splendid costume, and still more splendid
voice, sang " Vieni che poi sereno," which was so all serene-o that
she was enthusiastically encored; whereupon she gracefully returned,
and earned fresh applause by giving Carmen's first song.

The nest number was to be "Scena and Chorus, 'Miserere' (II
Trovatore), Yebdi. By Madame Abelina Path and Mr. Sims
Beeves. Harp and Harmonium Obbligati, Messrs. Locewood and
L. Engel." Everybody on the tip-toe of expectation. Would
Sims Beeves come? Movement among audience. Buzz. "He's
coming! " All hands ready to receive him. Here he is . . . No
he isn't . . . Sigh of disappointment on the appearance of a very
respectable elderly gentleman, who, it strikes us, as he stands anxi-
ously and closely scrutinising the audience through his pince-nez,
has been sent on by the Management to look round the house and
ascertain if by any chance Sims Beeves is sitting among the
audience; in which case this Scrutator has been authorised to send
tor a policeman, and have him fetched out, and brought bodily on
«> the platform. Failing in his attempt to discover Sims Beeves,
fh f^f0*? his attention to the harmonium, from which we gather
™at he is one of the " Obbligati" mentioned in the programme,
presently the other Obbligato enters, and goes to his harp ; a crowd
now1611' having somewhat the air of policemen in plain clothes,
■im ft on to tne platform; and it occurs to us, as not altogether
WhJ-Si that tne Manager, dissatisfied with the result of Mr.

oougato Senior's reconnoitering, is employing a strong body of
uerectives and constables in undress to institute a search for the
h-ntM* ?or- Hwever, as they don't move off the stage, but
lio= » ^ti"*, in a shy and sheeplike way, in a corner, the
cZt ^a7S.ally breaks upon the audience that this body of men repre-
sent the Chorus, which, in the Opera, is behind the scenes.

And now enter Abelina—and there is a ray of hope that Sims
Beeves will yet, after all, and after everybody, appear. For where
is Manrico, when this scene is performed on the operatic stage ?_ In
sight ? No. He is shut up in prison, and sings from behind prison
walls,—which must be a rare treat to walls that have ears. So, to
keep up the illusion, perhaps our Great English Tenor is to be " heard
without." We all hope for the best.

So Obbligato Senior starts the harmonium, and the constables in
plain clothes begin their lugubrious chant, and Path, as Leonora,
is as brilliant as she can be in a depressed sort of way, showing by a
certain nervous anxiety, that she has not been let into the secret of
the Eminent Tenor's hiding-place, and being evidently fearful that
he may come out, with his solo, at any moment, and startle the life
out of her. The Diva turns an anxious glance towards the entrance
at the back, to which all eyes are now eagerly directed in feverish
expectation that SimsBeeves's voice will issue from that quarter, and
that he himself will be subsequently conducted out of his ambush by
Conductor Cusins, to receive the plaudits of the delighted audience.

Obbligato Junior, on the harp, commences. Now where—0 where—
is Sims Beeves ? In prison r . . . Hark! . . . A voice singing
the famous ' Ah che la morte!" We regard one another silently
but blankly, as if saying, "This is not the voice of Sims Beeves! "
No ; it is the voice of a Tenore Bobusto—a tremendous busto! As
far as Sims Beeves is concerned, there is one portion of the prison-
scene represented here, for it is, emphatically, " a cell." Who is
it ? Nobody knows. It is very kind of him, of course, whoever it is.
But the audience do not appear to be sufficiently grateful when
Path leads forward M. Nicolini, who in this instance is the
change for the other tenner.

In the Second Part Signor Fol-lol-li sang " Oh, Ruddier," and
most of us wish he had made a better selection. Then Mr.
Obbligato Senior strolls in, puts on his pince-nez, suddenly comes on a
piano, smiles, and evidently says to himself, " Why, dear me, here's
the very thing I want. I '11 go and tell Path," and so he is going,
when Path saves him farther trouble by stepping on to the platform,
as fresh as ever, with a piece of music in her hand, with which she
forthwith proceeds to delight us, being accompanied by Obbligato
Senior, who turns out to be Mr. L. Engel, the composer of the song.
He plays the accompaniment as if he were thoroughly enjoying him-
self. It is a music-hally kind of air, but it is so etherealise'd. by Path's
singing, that she is warmly encored; whereupon, greatly to the delight
of Obbligato Senior, but rather to the disappointment of the audience,
who hoped that she would follow Teebelli's example, and sing some-
thing else, she repeated " Barling Mine"—& title suggestive of Bio
Tintos, Mysores, or Montanas, when paying from fifteen to twenty-five
per cent. After one song from Teebelli and an aria from Path, we
sought something airer still in the grounds of " The Colinderies," and
if we've any luck, we shall expect to hear the Great Invisible Sims
Beeves at the next Ambrosial Concert on Saturday week.

Loed Randolph fixed on a Biding School for his speechifying last
Saturday. Very appropriate place for politicians with hobbies.