Punch (99.1890)

148

PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI. [September 27, 1»»u.

I'M AFLOAT!"

(Newcastle-on-Ttne Version.)

I'm afloat, I'm afloat on the The Pirate of Elswick shall

coaly black Tyne! r \ not be the sport , , ...
The draft licence sent me I u . r ~\ Of a fussy Commission s ill-
begged to decline; ,—' n ' jimmi ---- tempered Report. . ,,

Though other chaps had'em, ( \^—~. ' 1} J\ _^Bj|(rak To bring me to book is »u

they were not for me; S \ C~ ^rn^~—\ - 'il^dflBHHk ||. <-—- fiddlededee— ,

I prefer a free flag, on the f k. * 1 /' i iilI'm afloat, I'm afloat, and

strictest 0. T. ' IZ^r\ r r*=> f^MKMk/S ' the Rover is free!

A sly "floating factory" - — \ m ^SmMmi^mMM^m. "~- T , , , , 9 Whv

thus I set up ^==v i I / NWWiiP^lW'^m - I contraband, careless r W"?1

(I'm a mixture of Rupert v V \. -fi " i ^^lOII^^^^MKl^^^^- everyone owns ,

the Rover and Krupp). ==\ v \0 M T,/<^> pO? £ Afe*. SfiwS^9«^ Thnt 18 Tlatura • neatv^

At Jarrow Slake moored, my — ' v . 3 // M^^m iW^Si^mtt^^^^l^ „ black flag and cross-bope*'

trim wherry or boit -- v \X •^|W/<>^H^ No mere paltry maker of fare

I rejoiced in, and sang "I'm !\W' / (^m£l&7%M^^i <M^'m ' p works am I,

afloat I I'm afloat!" ^^^gs:. \ \V J-^mMM, / WlM I ^m^SBSMMm W But a llover who/,? XT

For quick-Aries'gunsamain- -''1SSS^, ''^ Ak\\W^m I I Ik ' ^W&W^m\'\m whose sole root is the sKi-

nition I mads, ^^WSr^ I ' ll f 1\ >I^S«f^^^t The law of the land may

Engaging (says Ford) in the - - /JM^221^^* » fll ' l^^^^PraflPlnP ^ petty appal. Qh

contraband trade. — //J^^^ VHi J A .^^^^^SfflfflJSll But inghten the Rover un

An inquest was held, but its -_ / lWKm^^~-Wm>. fM.^/^Si^^^WmK\ ll « n?' n?* ^ n ■ e)m8 or

verdict cleared me. ----- f#^^Mlv^ And ne'er to Commissions or

I'm afloat, I'm afloat, and - VC |l \ W^^Wi-^^^miWiWm w£M?1 1 y« S- Tvne

the Rover is free ! ^/O1 ^■hLvV*- lllllljr jll ' I Sh Jill Whilst there's Black 1}

to back me or Whitehall to

I fear not the Government, J|I|fl|l|l|||||/=S- '^■KSJB^^i^^^jf R't f)!&jiiHitt||llllP shield. .

heed not its law. I I — -ss# Am!*MmiVkHitmI■HB^KMK^ Unfurl the Black ria?i

Much rumpus is made, we M> Wlhrfanggl^^aB^ MMm ™ ffl^WlrlSllj / shake its folds to the wind;

shallhearlots of jaw: H| lp» fltiflMHfrf " «^ I'T M^lMmmfmml And I'11 warrant we'11 bood

An explosion took place on (j^Slj 1 f '-lll'ji ! 'j,^\l$inSM^^~ ' WT leave sea-lawyers behind-

October the third, M| | I fi , Mb NyflfflU WlWHlliiWf Up. up with the flag ^

Hy sly "floating 'factory" ■! 1 1 ^^{wfHHM , rate's licence for me!

blew up like a bird. . ^^^l^^W^rt ^Nhll Jllliirlt /i^ llil ' 1 'm a)loat- 1 'm afloat' &

It killed one poor fellow, and ~ ^^SJU^^mMm FA; cToWIII lllllffi I the Rover is free !

damaged a lot, " " ^>iJllW^^lllKi3l f'^'^rII '"M jjiPP^---

But I am a Great Gun, and ; "\^,^iX ^IQIKfc' 'If*^" 'IL^^L- Definition of MlUTABi

got oft like a shot ; . "IH ^'IMK MANffiuviiES. —" Peace-

lndeed all were well, but for -s==s£\ "evXc^lXfV _______— -^fU-^_ wn,.i, "

cold Colonel Fosd, ;-----■-— —- - - .O^ W0

Who blames me, the Rover! " __. '"„_.".. X- " Daewinites.—" TheEvo

Too bad, on my word! ° J lutionary Squadron."

OUR BOOKING-OFFICE.
Speaking of Reynart the Fox, I was made, by a slip of the prin-
ter s hand—I am accustomed to seeing slips from his hand, which is
quite another thing—to say that this mediaeval romance " presents a
truer picture of life than novels in which vice is punished and virtue
^^?ai Whl Patientiy rewarded." After consider-
^f^9| ' mg for some time what on earth I could

have meant by "patiently rewarded,
I remembered that I had written
'' patently rewarded." The printer put
my "i" out, and without an "i" it
was very difficult to perceive the sense
■'/ of the phrase.

Nutshell Novels, by that crack writer
—no, not " craok'd "—and poet, whose
verses send a frill right through us,
Mr. J. Asjibt-Stekry, are coming out.
Capital title. As Shakspeake says, "Sermons in stones, novels
in nutshells, and good in everything." Shelley's poems might
be brought out in pocketable form under a similar title, Nut-Shelley
Poems. I have not yet seen the volume in question, only heard tell
of it, and should not be surprised to hear that the central novel and
the best was a short military novel, entitled The Kernel. Messrs.
Htjtchinson & Co. are the "publishers. I hope Mr. Stehey has
illustrated them himself. He can draw and paint, but he won't, and
there's an end on't. He must follow up the Nutshells with a volume
of Crackers, about Christmas time.

Just been looking through London Street Arabs, by Mrs. H. M.
Stanley, published by Cassell & Co., which firm—whose tele-
graphic address is " Caspeg, London," and a good name too—writes
to the Baron thus:—"Jn forwarding you an early copy"— small
and early—'' of Mrs. Stanley's book, we wilt ask you to be good
enough "—(" I am ' good enough' " quoth the Baron)—" to confine
your extracts frop: the Introduction to an extent not exceeding one-
third of the tohole."_ " Willingly, my dear ' Caspeg,' " replies the
Baron, who does not like being dictated to. and, to gratify your wish to
the utmost, he will make no extracts at all from the book, a proceed-
in? which ought mightily to deliaht "Caspeg, London." What next?
Will publishers send to the Baron, and request him not even to

breathe the nameB of their books ? By all means. He has no obje<
tian, as, whether sent to him tor review, or purchased by him P_u"''
se distrait e, the Baf on only mentions those he likes, or, if he mentioj'-
those he dislikes, 'tis pro bono publico, and there's an end on
Mrs. Stanley appreciates humour, as the following anecdote wij

show-But, dear me, the Baron is forgetful—he begs " Caspeg s

pardon; he mustn't quote. Mrs. Stanley can be truly sympathetr

with sorrow, as the following story proves-no, "Caspeg,' tft.

story must nut follow. Never mind—the Baron's dear readers wli_
read it for themselves if they feel "so dispoged." The Baron suppose^
that all this was written and drawn while Mrs. Stanley was Mis*
Dorothy Tennant, because her recorded opinion, probably, a'
a spinster, is (and here the Baron "quotes" not, but "alludes h
that you can find better artistic material in this line at home, tna|
you can obtain by seeking it abroad; yet when she married, 01
she went to Milan, Venice, and so forth. For pleasure, of course_
not work; but work to her is evidently pleasure. May happinest
have accompanied her everywhere! The drawings are pretty, rathei
of the goody-good " Sunday-at-home-readings" kind of illustra-
tions. And what on earth has a sort of pictorial advertisement f°r
'' Somebody's Soap " got to do with Street Arabs ? Washed A shore.
or, Sappy At Last," might be the title of this mer-baby picture
in which two naked children, not Street Arabs, or Arabs of an>
sort, are depicted as examining the inanimate body of a nondescriP
creature, half flesh and half fish, which has been thrown up by t"e
waves "to be left till called for" by the next high-tide, when,
perhaps, its sorrowing parents, Mr. and Mrs. Merman, or
widowed mother, Mrs. Merwoman, arrayed in sea-" weeds," nraj
come to claim it and give it un-christian burial. But that to
Baron, out of deference to the wishes of " Caspeg, London," doe
not like to quote one single line, he could give Mrs. Stanley's owd
account of how this picture of the Mer-baby eime to be include
in the Street Arab Collection. For such explanation the Baron
refers the reader to the book itself. " Caspeg," farewell! ,
I have, the Baron says, commenced the first pages of The LaS
Days of Palmyra. Good, so far; but several new books have com
in, and Palmyra cannot receive my undivided attention, says

The Baron de Book-Wobms.
P.S. —My faithful " Co." has been reading Ferrers Court, by JoB^
Stk-ange Winter, author of BootWs Baby and a number of othe"