Punch (91.1886)

108 PUNCH, OK THE LONDON CHARIVARI. [August 28, 1886.

Friday.—Joseph Gillis long known to his friends as subtle
humorist. To-night gave taste of his quality to new House. Sextos
been returned for two Irish constituencies. Election petition pending
in one. Speaker, therefore, a fortnight ago told him he must await
decision in Sligo before deciding for which place he shall sit. To-
night Joez B., with pince-nez airily dangling from his forefinger,
and document in hand, gives notice for the issue of a writ for Sligo,
Sexton, he says, having decided to sit for Belfast. Speaker points
out that Motion cannot be made for reasons communicated to Sexton
and familiar to Joseph Gillis. Joseph said never a word in reply.
But, regarding his expressive countenance, it was clear to read his
response.

Really, now, and was that so ? "Well, Speaker was sure to be
right, and if he (Joseph) had only known this, nothing would have
induced him to trouble Speaker to make a public statement on the
subject."

Having made this clear—" much after the manner of Mr. Quilp
paying deference to Mrs. Jinniwin," as
Harcourt observed—Joseph covered his
face with his copy of the Orders, and
audibly chuckled.

After this, debate on Address resumed.
Harcourt made lively speech, which from
time to time took the form of conversa-
with Randolph. Leader of House
continually bobbing up and
down, interposing remarks.

" This won't do," said old
Mr. Pugh, regarding young
Leader critically. " Glad-
stone used to be easy to
draw, but he was adaman-
tine rock compared with
Randolph, who is more like
a parched pea in a frying-
pan than the Leader of the
House of Commons. I re-
member how my old friend
Paji used to sit and let people
rave around him, and so did
Dizzy. Kandolph, to start
" This won't do!» with at least, should never

take his seat on Treasury
Bench without having an "eight-pound weight in either trouser-
pocket."

Business done.—Adjourned Debate on the Address.

"GETTING ON SWIMMINGLY!"

From the Times' record of the Royal Humane Society's recent
awards—" A bronze medal was bestowed on Mr. Hermann Vezin,
of the Opera Comique, for the following gallant act: On the 18th ult.
while at St. Margaret's Bay, Dover, Mr. Vezin saw a man struggling
in the sea, and apparently drowning twenty-five feet from the shore.
He, at once, only divesting himself of his coat, plunged in, dived,
and succeeded in rescuing the man, who, however, subsequently
succumbed from the shock."—Bravo, Mr. Vezin, by far the best part
he has ever played! " 'Tis not in mortals to command success," and
though he most thoroughly deserved it, he did not aehieve_ it.

How often have not his unaided efforts gone far to saving a piece
from utter shipwreck ? And how Mr. Wilson Barrett must regret
that, owing to the unavoidable accident of having to be present
somewhere else at the moment, he was not "on the scene" of the
great sensation Drama of All in the Downs, or St. Margarets Bay.
Brayvo, Vezin ! We hope he had some dry goods handy, and that
he found his coat when he returned to shore.

The "Bitter" Cry.

Sir^ Wilfrid Lawson on the Bench says, " Here

I will not grant a licence to sell beer."

As Magistrate his conduct is not flawless,

Let's change his title to " Sir Wiletjl Lawless."

"Off with his Head!"

We read the following startling announcement in the Athencsum .—
" Sir John Savile Lumley has given to the British Museum his fine head

and fore-part of a horse from a chariot group which was dug up lately at

Civita Lavinia (Lanuvium)."

It is certainly a most generous gift. But we cannot help wonder-
ing what Sir John will do without his head, and what the Authorities
of the British Museum will do with it, now they have it.

MUSICAL PERIPATETICS.

The Promenade Concerts are designed to suit every shade of
musical taste. But on Wednesdays the first part of the pro-
gramme is exclusively devoted to
strains which are termed " classical,"
that is to say, sufficiently high-class-
ical to be worthy a place in serious
music. Last Wednesday's Concert
was very largely attended by many
to whom the announcement " clas-
sical " was a distinct attraction.

Among the best features of the
First Part was Miss Josephine
Lawrence's rendering on the piano
of a Beethoven Concerto. Though
at times overweighted by the band,
who did not play so well together in
this as in some subsequent numbers,
Miss Lawrence rattled the ivories
with a precision and execution that
were in the highest degree creditable.
Next followed Madame Enriquez,
whose full round contralto voice
elicited most deserved enthusiasm in
Handel's " Lascia ch'io pianga," but
she was ill-advised in complying

with the rowdy demand for an
Crowe on "a Classical Night." A Canzonetta for Dand) by

Benjamin Godard, though refreshingly delicate and quaint, was, on
the other hand, ill-appreciated.

Mr. Barton McGuckin sang, with orchestral accompaniment, the
"Prize Song" from Die MeisterSanger. He gave the voluptuous
music very well, though the instrumentalists sometimes struggled
for supremacy with the soloist. He, too, was approvingly yelled at
by the enthusiasts in the gallery, and, after holding out till victory
seemed in his grasp, weakly surrendered at the last moment, and
sang the^whole thing over again better than before. But all this
wasted time sadly and indefensibly. If not undesirable on other
grounds, the practice of spinning out the first part of a Concert is
grossly unfair to the artists appearing in the second. And to say
that encores cannot always be resisted, is, in the simple language of
the East, "bosh."

The Symphony in D, by Anton Dvorak, concluded the First Part,
and its performance, especially that of the first and last movements,
reflected equal credit on the patience of Conductor, Orchestra, and
the audience. The Allegro was played finely; some passages in it
recall the "Hallelujah Chorus." The Adagio was rather dry work
—very long-drawn. The Finale closes with a massive sequence of
ingenious and striking chords, bringing the Symphony to a not
particularly pleasant, though hardly unwelcome conclusion.

After the solid meat come the sweets. And so, early in the Second
Part, Mr. Crowe's new Vocal Waltz, "Little Sailors," was heard
for the fourth time in public. The principal melody of "Little
Sailors" is so like that of " See-Saw," and " Fairie Voices," or
rather, so like a combination of the two, that the resemblance can
hardly be accidental. Having got a good idea, Mr. Crowe evidently
means to develope it. His motto is, doubtless, " When found, make
a note of." His "Mine To-day" means a particularly rich mine
for the future. But the question becomes a grave one how many
more of these waltzes is he going to write ? Is he merely working
on the Three Tears' System, or is each succeeding Season to revive
the ashes of the past ? These are solemn thoughts. It must not be
supposed, however, that there is no novelty in the new waltz. On
the contrary : the introduction and the last number (No. 4) are not
only extremely effective and pretty, but also fairly original. The
words are rather queer at times, and the promise—addressed to
" Sweethearts and Wives "—

" When we are far away at sea,
"We '11 drink then to thee,"

seems made rather in the interests of rhyme than of grammar, but
"Little Sailors" answers very well on the whole, and the youths
and maidens of Mr. Stedman's Choir make a pretty picture in their
nautical costumes. Subsequently a new and capable vocalist, Miss
M. Lucille Saunders, sang an air from La Favorita. Owing to
the lateness of the hour, a Saltarello by Gounod was passed over to
make way for her. But even thus, thanks to the encores in the first
part, many were unable to wait till the end of the song, and among
those compelled to leave was Nibelunglet.

Pertinent to a Peer,—Why did our latest Viscount refuse,
angrily, to be called Lord Warrington ?—Because he is accustomed
to be Cross.

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