DOI issue:
March 5, 1887
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.17657#0130
120 PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI. [Mabch 5, 1887.
STUDIES FROM MR. PUNCH'S STUDIO.
No. XIX.—Joseph Podlee, Esq., C.C., H.M.L.
The office of Common Councilman of the City of London, is one of
considerable importance, and ought to obtain for its possessor a far
larger amount of respect
than is generally; the case,
and the reason is not far
to seek. It necessitates, if
properly carried out, a
large sacrifice of time,
more or less valuable, as
the case may be, andjfor
that sacrifice of time the
only reward is the par-
taking of certain sumptu-
ous banquets, accounts of
which are duly chronicled
in the Press, and read by
the hungry constituents
with a considerable amount
of envy. They are not too,
as a body, highly distin-
guished in Art, Science, or
Literature, but are an
useful, harmless, and
amusing race.
Mr. Podlee was an old
inhabitant of the Ward he
represented, and highly
respected by the Ward
Beadle, who almost trem-
bled before Hm. He was
a man of great energy and
decision, and "never troubled with any feelings of what lie called
ridiculous sentiment.
The Town Clerk himself had him in his mind when deciding upon
some knotty point of order. The Solicitor, wise"man, never solicited
him. The Remembrancer never thought of reminding him of any-
thing. The Comptroller no more thought of controlling him than a
mouse would think of controlling a cat, and even the Recorder,
recorded his decisions with fear and trembling when Mr. Podlee
had his eye upon him.
Most punctual of Common Coimcilmen, his attendance upon Courts
and Committees, and Dinners, was an example to all. Always the
first to come, and the last to go, he was looked up to with respect as
a model of what a representative should be. Even at the monthly
meetings of the Court of Lieutenancy, of which he was a Member, he
was a regular attendant, and had even been known on more than one
occasion to actually ask the meaning of some mysterious matter
connected with the great City mystery known as the^ Trophy Tax.
The possession of the much-coveted honour of a Lieutenant of the
City of London—a distinction which he owed to the favour of a
remarkably timid Lord Mayor—conferred upon him the title of
"Esquire," he having been addressed by Her Most Gracious Majesty,
when she issued her Royal Commission, as " Our trusty and well-
beloved Joseph Podlee, Esq." It also entitled him to the remark-
able privilege of adding to his name the letters "H.M.L.," which
privilege was the more appreciated as probably not one in a thousand
of Her Majesty's loyal subjects knew what they meant. But, far
above all, it obtained for him a place in that book which, although
termed by some envious and disappointed persons the " Snobs' Bible,"
is the volume, above all others, in which members of what may yery
properly be termed the middling classes long to appear. Need we
say we allude to the Handbook to the Upper Ten Thousand.'
Upon his appointment a copy of the forthcoming edition was
immediately ordered, and, on its arrival, placed on the drawing-
room table, and a book-marker showed to the curious reader the
page upon which was inscribed, among Dukes, Marquises, Bishops,
and the elite of the land, "Podlee, Joseph, one of H.M.'s Lieu-
tenants for the City of London." To hear Mr. Podlee m the
Court of Common Council on a regular field-day, not merely advising
this or suggesting that, but telling his hearers in plain and unmis-
takable language what they must do, and overwhelming with his
biting sarcasm any rash member who ventured to differ from him,
who would have suspected that the reason for his punctual and
lengthened attendances, upon all and every occasion, was the
thought of what awaited him in his cheerless home. And why ?
Ah! there is generally a bit of mystery in most men's lives that they
would not like to have unravelled, even in the apparently mono-
tonous life of a Common Councilman. And so it was with that of
Joseph Podlee, Esq., C. C. and H.M.L. His wife was a small, spare
woman, with a fearfully shrill voice, and ever since a certain discovery
of a certain document, the history of J which had never been satis-
factorily explained, she had been devoured by gnawing jealousy. It
might have been_said of her that from the day of the discovery,
" Not poppy, nor mandragora,
Nor all the drowsy syrups of the world,
Shall ever medicine thee to that sweet sleep,
"Which thou ow'dst yesterday."
Ah, poor fellow! it was often said of him that he deserved no pity
from others, as he never showed pity to man, woman or child when in
the performance of his public duties. But what a life was his!
Plenty of'honour, plenty of that fierce public contest in which his
somewhat small soul delighted, and plenty of luxury during the day,
but always with the feeling, growing hourly stronger as the night
approached, of the sort of welcome he might expect in his childless
home. See him seated, always well placed, at one of those magnifi-
cent Banauets, of which the old and still popular City Corporation
has so well preserved the tradition, with every luxury that wealth
and good taste can furnish for the enjoyment of the assembled guests,
with*beautiful women and famous men to give an additional interest
to the gay scene, and with, occasionally, the sound of music with its
voluptuous swell, to make the enjoyment refined as well as perfect,
which, of the hundreds present, appears to be more thoroughly at
home and happy than Joseph Podlee, and he holds his own in the
well relished iests and brilliant repartees that flash around him. But
watch him when the festival approaches its termination, and when
the depressing thought will force itself upon him that it is nearly
time to quit this brilliant scene, and go home ! Such a. home ! That
sleepless woman, nursing her sense of wrong, awaits him at his
threshold. There is no honest watch-dog's bark to welcome him
home ; no bright eye to greet his coming and look brighter when he
comes, but the same cold unalterable look of weary waiting, that he
has known almost nightly for so many years. Let us change the
scene.
He is the Chairman of an important Committee appointed to con-
duct the proceedings on a very great occasion. He has worked as
a public man must work who voluntarily accepts such a responsible
position, and has scarcely seen his home for the last fortnight. At
length the important day arrives. The manifold arrangements have
all been eminently successful. The scene in the noble old Guildhall has
been brilliant as upon any previous example. The leaders of fashion at
the West End have agreed to patronise the affair, and the assembled
company has been as distinguished as numerous. Congratulations
without end have been showered upon the successful Chairman, who,
for once in his long life, looks perfectly radiant with his success.
To crown all, ho is introduced to the hero of the evening by the
Loed Matoe, and is received with such marked cordiality as makes
him the observed of all observers, and he leaves the scene of his
triumph at a very late hour and proceeds home. His old feeling
comes over him as he opens his door, and his first look at the ffhastly
face of his old domestic tells him but too surely that the cold grey
eyes that have so often awaited his return, are closed for ever. He
enters the silent chamber,' locks the door, and remains there for
hours.
******
Some months have flown by, during which Mr. Podlee has" been
unusually quiet. But on one of those quarterly occasions that the
Court of Common Council dedicates to the consideration of petitions
from all sorts and conditions of people, for the relief of all the many
ills that flesh is heir to, including among them that of poverty, espe-
cially if caused by misfortune rather than fault, a poor widow
appeared at the Bar of the Court, petitioning for some small annuity
to enable her to bring up her four children, left dependent upon her
by the sudden death of her husband, who had been for many years
in the service of the Corporation, when a member of the Court who had
on m any occasions warmly supported Mr. Podlee in his denunciations
of these applications, as creating bad precedents, and inducing men
to forget the duty of providing for their offspring, moved that the
application be not granted; upon which Mr. Podlee started up, and
in a speech full of generous Christian charity, and delivered with an
amount of enthusiasm that electrified his audience, begged and
entreated the Court to remember the noble character for wisely-
directed benevolence they had so long enjoyed, and to treat this poor
widow and her orphan children as they would wish that theirs should
be treated under similar sad circumstances. The utter astonishment
of the members may be easily imagined ; and the poor widow went
away calling down blessings on the head of her kind unknown
friend.
From that memorable day the whole character of Mr. Podlee
became changed; and while still devoting himself heartily to his
public work, his hard heart seemed to have become softened, and his
manner friendly and even genial. He adopted two of the orphan
children of a distant relative, and now nothing but duty keeps him
long from his happv home; and among the whole two hundred and
thirty members of the City Corporation there is probably scarcely
one who leads a happier or more thoroughly useful life than Joseph
Podlee, Esq., C.C. and H.M.L.
j-gr TO COEEESPOHDENTS.—In no case can Contributions, whether MS., Printed Matter, or Drawings, be returned, unless accompanied
by a Stamped and Directed Envelope or Cover. Copies of MS. should be kept by the Senders.
STUDIES FROM MR. PUNCH'S STUDIO.
No. XIX.—Joseph Podlee, Esq., C.C., H.M.L.
The office of Common Councilman of the City of London, is one of
considerable importance, and ought to obtain for its possessor a far
larger amount of respect
than is generally; the case,
and the reason is not far
to seek. It necessitates, if
properly carried out, a
large sacrifice of time,
more or less valuable, as
the case may be, andjfor
that sacrifice of time the
only reward is the par-
taking of certain sumptu-
ous banquets, accounts of
which are duly chronicled
in the Press, and read by
the hungry constituents
with a considerable amount
of envy. They are not too,
as a body, highly distin-
guished in Art, Science, or
Literature, but are an
useful, harmless, and
amusing race.
Mr. Podlee was an old
inhabitant of the Ward he
represented, and highly
respected by the Ward
Beadle, who almost trem-
bled before Hm. He was
a man of great energy and
decision, and "never troubled with any feelings of what lie called
ridiculous sentiment.
The Town Clerk himself had him in his mind when deciding upon
some knotty point of order. The Solicitor, wise"man, never solicited
him. The Remembrancer never thought of reminding him of any-
thing. The Comptroller no more thought of controlling him than a
mouse would think of controlling a cat, and even the Recorder,
recorded his decisions with fear and trembling when Mr. Podlee
had his eye upon him.
Most punctual of Common Coimcilmen, his attendance upon Courts
and Committees, and Dinners, was an example to all. Always the
first to come, and the last to go, he was looked up to with respect as
a model of what a representative should be. Even at the monthly
meetings of the Court of Lieutenancy, of which he was a Member, he
was a regular attendant, and had even been known on more than one
occasion to actually ask the meaning of some mysterious matter
connected with the great City mystery known as the^ Trophy Tax.
The possession of the much-coveted honour of a Lieutenant of the
City of London—a distinction which he owed to the favour of a
remarkably timid Lord Mayor—conferred upon him the title of
"Esquire," he having been addressed by Her Most Gracious Majesty,
when she issued her Royal Commission, as " Our trusty and well-
beloved Joseph Podlee, Esq." It also entitled him to the remark-
able privilege of adding to his name the letters "H.M.L.," which
privilege was the more appreciated as probably not one in a thousand
of Her Majesty's loyal subjects knew what they meant. But, far
above all, it obtained for him a place in that book which, although
termed by some envious and disappointed persons the " Snobs' Bible,"
is the volume, above all others, in which members of what may yery
properly be termed the middling classes long to appear. Need we
say we allude to the Handbook to the Upper Ten Thousand.'
Upon his appointment a copy of the forthcoming edition was
immediately ordered, and, on its arrival, placed on the drawing-
room table, and a book-marker showed to the curious reader the
page upon which was inscribed, among Dukes, Marquises, Bishops,
and the elite of the land, "Podlee, Joseph, one of H.M.'s Lieu-
tenants for the City of London." To hear Mr. Podlee m the
Court of Common Council on a regular field-day, not merely advising
this or suggesting that, but telling his hearers in plain and unmis-
takable language what they must do, and overwhelming with his
biting sarcasm any rash member who ventured to differ from him,
who would have suspected that the reason for his punctual and
lengthened attendances, upon all and every occasion, was the
thought of what awaited him in his cheerless home. And why ?
Ah! there is generally a bit of mystery in most men's lives that they
would not like to have unravelled, even in the apparently mono-
tonous life of a Common Councilman. And so it was with that of
Joseph Podlee, Esq., C. C. and H.M.L. His wife was a small, spare
woman, with a fearfully shrill voice, and ever since a certain discovery
of a certain document, the history of J which had never been satis-
factorily explained, she had been devoured by gnawing jealousy. It
might have been_said of her that from the day of the discovery,
" Not poppy, nor mandragora,
Nor all the drowsy syrups of the world,
Shall ever medicine thee to that sweet sleep,
"Which thou ow'dst yesterday."
Ah, poor fellow! it was often said of him that he deserved no pity
from others, as he never showed pity to man, woman or child when in
the performance of his public duties. But what a life was his!
Plenty of'honour, plenty of that fierce public contest in which his
somewhat small soul delighted, and plenty of luxury during the day,
but always with the feeling, growing hourly stronger as the night
approached, of the sort of welcome he might expect in his childless
home. See him seated, always well placed, at one of those magnifi-
cent Banauets, of which the old and still popular City Corporation
has so well preserved the tradition, with every luxury that wealth
and good taste can furnish for the enjoyment of the assembled guests,
with*beautiful women and famous men to give an additional interest
to the gay scene, and with, occasionally, the sound of music with its
voluptuous swell, to make the enjoyment refined as well as perfect,
which, of the hundreds present, appears to be more thoroughly at
home and happy than Joseph Podlee, and he holds his own in the
well relished iests and brilliant repartees that flash around him. But
watch him when the festival approaches its termination, and when
the depressing thought will force itself upon him that it is nearly
time to quit this brilliant scene, and go home ! Such a. home ! That
sleepless woman, nursing her sense of wrong, awaits him at his
threshold. There is no honest watch-dog's bark to welcome him
home ; no bright eye to greet his coming and look brighter when he
comes, but the same cold unalterable look of weary waiting, that he
has known almost nightly for so many years. Let us change the
scene.
He is the Chairman of an important Committee appointed to con-
duct the proceedings on a very great occasion. He has worked as
a public man must work who voluntarily accepts such a responsible
position, and has scarcely seen his home for the last fortnight. At
length the important day arrives. The manifold arrangements have
all been eminently successful. The scene in the noble old Guildhall has
been brilliant as upon any previous example. The leaders of fashion at
the West End have agreed to patronise the affair, and the assembled
company has been as distinguished as numerous. Congratulations
without end have been showered upon the successful Chairman, who,
for once in his long life, looks perfectly radiant with his success.
To crown all, ho is introduced to the hero of the evening by the
Loed Matoe, and is received with such marked cordiality as makes
him the observed of all observers, and he leaves the scene of his
triumph at a very late hour and proceeds home. His old feeling
comes over him as he opens his door, and his first look at the ffhastly
face of his old domestic tells him but too surely that the cold grey
eyes that have so often awaited his return, are closed for ever. He
enters the silent chamber,' locks the door, and remains there for
hours.
******
Some months have flown by, during which Mr. Podlee has" been
unusually quiet. But on one of those quarterly occasions that the
Court of Common Council dedicates to the consideration of petitions
from all sorts and conditions of people, for the relief of all the many
ills that flesh is heir to, including among them that of poverty, espe-
cially if caused by misfortune rather than fault, a poor widow
appeared at the Bar of the Court, petitioning for some small annuity
to enable her to bring up her four children, left dependent upon her
by the sudden death of her husband, who had been for many years
in the service of the Corporation, when a member of the Court who had
on m any occasions warmly supported Mr. Podlee in his denunciations
of these applications, as creating bad precedents, and inducing men
to forget the duty of providing for their offspring, moved that the
application be not granted; upon which Mr. Podlee started up, and
in a speech full of generous Christian charity, and delivered with an
amount of enthusiasm that electrified his audience, begged and
entreated the Court to remember the noble character for wisely-
directed benevolence they had so long enjoyed, and to treat this poor
widow and her orphan children as they would wish that theirs should
be treated under similar sad circumstances. The utter astonishment
of the members may be easily imagined ; and the poor widow went
away calling down blessings on the head of her kind unknown
friend.
From that memorable day the whole character of Mr. Podlee
became changed; and while still devoting himself heartily to his
public work, his hard heart seemed to have become softened, and his
manner friendly and even genial. He adopted two of the orphan
children of a distant relative, and now nothing but duty keeps him
long from his happv home; and among the whole two hundred and
thirty members of the City Corporation there is probably scarcely
one who leads a happier or more thoroughly useful life than Joseph
Podlee, Esq., C.C. and H.M.L.
j-gr TO COEEESPOHDENTS.—In no case can Contributions, whether MS., Printed Matter, or Drawings, be returned, unless accompanied
by a Stamped and Directed Envelope or Cover. Copies of MS. should be kept by the Senders.