Punch (100.1891)

January 17, 1891.] PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI. 25

OUR SPORT AND ART EXHIBITION.

v \Mi\

DRAWING A BADGER.

VOCES POPULI.

AT THE REGENT STREET TUSSAUD'S.

Before the effigy of Dr. Koch, who is represented in the act of
examining a test-tube with the expression of bland blamelessness
peculiar to Wax Models.

Well-informed Visitor. That's Dr. Eoch, making his great
discovery!

Unscientific V. What did he dis-
cover ?

Well-inf. V. Why, the Consump-
tion Bacillus. He's got it in that
hot tie he 's holding up.

Unsc. V. And what's the good of
it, now he has discovered it ?

Well-inf. V. Good? Why, it's
the thing that causes consumption,
you know!

Unsc. V. Then it's a pity he didn't
leave it alone!

Before a Scene representing " The Home Life At Sandrmgham."

First Old Lady {with Catalogue). It says here that "the note
the page is handing may have come from Sir Dighton Probyn, the
Comptroller of the Royal Household." Fancy that !

Second Old Lady. He's brought it in in his fingers. Now that's
a thing I never allow in my house. I always tell Sarah to bring all
letters, and even circulars, in on a tray !

Before a Scene representing the late Fred Archer, mounted, on
Ascot Race-course.

A. Sportsman. H'm—Archer, eh? Shouldn't have backed his
mount in that race !

Before " The Library at Hawarden."

Gladstonian Enthusiast {to Friend, who, with the perverse ingenuity
of patrons of Wax-worki, has been endeavouring to identify the Rev.
John Wesley among the Cabinet in Downing Street). Oh, never
mind all that lot, Betsy; they're only the Government.' Here's
dear Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone in this next! See, he's lookin' for
something in a drawer of his side-board—ain't that natural ? And
only look—a lot of people have been leaving Christmas cards on
him {a pretty and touching tribute of affection, which is eminently
characteristic of a warm-hearted Public). I wish I'd thought o'
bringing one with me !

Her Friend. So do I. We might send one 'ere by post—but
it '11 have to be a New Year Card now !

A Strict Old Lady {before next group). Who are these two?
"Mr. 'Enert Irving, and Miss Ellen Terry in Faust, eh? No—

I don't care to stop to see them—that's play-actin', that is—and I
don't 'old with it nohow ! What are these two parties supposed to
be doin' of over here? What—Cardinal Newman and Cardinal
Manning at the High Altar at the Oratory, Brompton! Come
along, and don't encourage Popery by looking at such figures. I
did 'ear as they'd got Mrs. Pearcey and the prambilator somewheres.
I should like to see that, now.

In the Children's Gallery.

An Aunt {who finds the excellent Catalogue a mine of useful
information). Look, Bobby, dear {reading). "Here we have Con-
s tan tine'8 Cat, as seen in the ' Nights of Straparola,'1 an Italian
romancist, whose book was translated into French in the
year 1585-"

Bobby {disappointed). Oh, then it isnH Puss in Boots !

A Genial Grandfather {pausing before "Crusoe and Friday").
Well, Pebcy, my boy, you know who that is, at all events—eh ?

Percy. I suppose it is Stanley—but it's not very like.

The G. G. Stanley !—Why, bless my soul, never heard of
Robinson Crusoe and his man Friday f

Percy. Ob, I've heard of them, of course—they come in Panto-
mimes—but I like more grown-up sort of books myself, you know.
Is this girl asleep She ?

The G. G. No—at least—well, I expect it's " The Sleeping
Beauty." You remember her, of course—all about the ball, and the
glass slipper, and her father picking a rose when the hedge grew
round the palace, eh ?

Percy. Ah, you see, Grandfather, you had more time for general
reading than we get. {He looks through a practicable cottage
window.) Hallo, a Dog and a Cat. Not badly stuffed !

The G. G. Why that must be " Old Mother Hubbard." {Quoting
from memory). " Old Mother Hubbard sat in a cupboard, eating a
Christmas pie—or a bone was it ? "

Percy. Don't know. It's not in Selections from British Poetry,
which we have to get up for " rep."

The Aunt {reading from Catalogue). " The absurd ambulations of
this antique person, and the equally absurd antics of her dog-, need
no recapitulation." Here's " Jack the Giant Killer" next. Listen,
Bobby, to what it says about him here. {Reads.) " It is clearly
the last transmutation of the old British legend told by Geoffrey of
Monmouth, of Corineus the Trojan, the companion of the Trojan
Brutus, when he first settled in Britain. But more than this "—I
hope you're listening, Bobby ?—" more than this, it is quite evident,
even to the superficial student of Greek mythology, that many of
the main incidents and ornaments are borrowed from the tales of
HESiOD^and Homer." Think of that, now!

[Bobby thinks of it, ivith depression.

The G. G. {before figure of Aladdin's Uncle selling new lamps for
old). Here you are, you see ! " AH Baba" got 'em allbere, you see.
Never read your " Arabian Nights," either! Is that the way they
bring up boys nowadays !

Percy. Well, the fact is, Grandfather, that unless a fellow reads
that kind of thing when he's young, he doesn't get a chance after-
wards.

The Aunt {s'ill quoting). "In the famous work," Bobby, "by which
we know Mastjdi, he mentions the Persian Hezar Afsane-um-um-
um,— nor have commentators failed to notice that the occasion of the
book written for the Princess Homai resembles the story told in the
Hebrew Bible about Esther, her mother or grandmother, by some
Persian Jew two or three centuries B.C." Well, I never knew
that before ! . . . This is " Sindbad and the Old Man of the Sea "—
let's see what they say about him. {Reads) "Both the story of
Sindbad and the old Basque legend of Tartaro are undoubtedly bor-
rowed from the Odyssey of Homer, whose Iliad and Odyssey were
translated into Syriac in the reign of Harun-tjr-Rashtd." Dear,
dear, how interesting, now! and, Bobby, what do you think someone
says about " Jack and the Beanstalk" ? He says—" this tale is an
allegrory of the Teutonic Al-fader, the red hen representing the all-
producing sun : the moneybags, the fertilising rain ; and the harp,
the winds." Well, I'm sure it seems likely enough, doesn't it?

[Bobby suppresses a yawn ; Percy's feelings are outraged by

receiving a tin trumpet from the Lucky Tub ; general ?nuve

to the scene of the Hampstead Tragedy.

Before the Hampstead Tableaux.

Spectators. Dear, dear, there's the dresser, you see,_ and the
window, broken and all; it's wonderful how they can do it! And
there's poor Mrs. 'Ogg—it's real butter and a real loaf she's cutting,
and the poor baby, too! . . . Here's the actual casts taken after
they were murdered.. Oh, and there's Mrs. Peabcey wheeling the
perambulator — it's the very perambulator! No, not the very one—
they've got that at the other place, and the piece of toffee the baby
sucked. Have they really ! Oh, we must try and go there, too,
before the children's holidays are over. And this is all ? Well,
well, everything very nice, I will say. But a pity they couldn't get
the real perambulator !

vol. c.

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