Punch (101.1891)

December 19, 1891.] PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.

289

OUR BOOKING-OFFICE.

The Baron's Assistants say that of the Christmas works published
by Messrs. Hetchentso>t & Co. they can and do recommend .The
Children of Wilton Chase by L. J. Mead, to which they accord their
mead of praise, which likewise tbey bestow on Florence Marryat's

* a The Little Marine and the

WwW^/ Japanese Lily, a book of ad-

-j^-—- L\ ventures in the land of the

|§n£MS^EU Rising Sun, which will delight

tyfg^Mt^M many rising sons for whom

fj^^^^^^^<v> chiefly was this book intended.

-^^-^^Ij^s^^ There are always " more ways

-gp ""^Tx than one," and so If'here Two

J^l^gall^^^^s; Ways Meet there is like to be

T^pHite^ \ ^ a puzzle, solved in this instance

H- \ by the authoress, Sarah Doed-

¥%• : net. Put down the books!

Wl//^f^ (lV'~^\ Come to the festive board!

£ffi/,V\\ \V \ Down—(the right way of

e$i' I \ W\ 11 course) with the mince-pie and

mk\i*:*MtoA ^StX'h Plum-pudding! Strange is it

^//W aKwilWW)'] ll/y.V that the source of so much

/fflWIl! /I;,. enjoyment, the very types of

/[{jf'p //1| Christmas good cheer, should

"im' ■■ yA^W^ themselves be so " down in the

\>m Ip/vv-O'''''' mouth" as invariably are

MWy-f^[- Mathew Mince-pie and'Peter

^wljil^'' Plum-pudding at this festive

jMlpy season. And they being gone

^^^fvKil \ a\, - and cleared off, enter a gentle-
XBmffJlli/]• 1man bearing the unusual and

^t^mU/Jlfi\\u\W\^ remarkable name of SirrTEC—:

- familiarly welcomed as " Tok "

t-- r, , i , ' , , of that ilk—and then pop go

kmg Cracker the Millionth, of the the crackers ! "But we must

Bonbon Dvnastv,

keep the secret," whisper the

Baron's Assistants, and they strongly advise everyone not to peep into
this boite a surprise until Christmas Day itself. So, for Sparagna-
pane's "charming confections, which," as the Baron's young lady
clerks, Bltthe and Gat, observe, "are in the very highest style of
'High Art'; and the same Mr. Spare-xa-pain's Dar&es£i?re/?m^, and
How to Get Out of Lt, will be tidings of comfort and joy to many a
holiday-making household." Barox de Book-Worms & Co.

A TRULY ROORAL OPERA.

Sorry, indeed, are all London lovers of music at the sudden
departure from our midst and mist of Cavalleria Rusticana, the
Rustic Cavalier. It is no comfort to us to be told that the Rustic
Cavalier will go into the provinces and appeal to the
country. His province at present should have been
to remain in London, where, with nothing to speak
of in the way of mise-en-scene, he—that is, his
composer, Pietro Mascagni—has made a decided
hit. Wise was our Signor Lago " al factotum" in
producing this, and knowing, too, must he be in
his use of Windsor soap to have so speedily '' taken
the cake." Nay more, did not Her C-racioes
Majesty absolutely retain a Royal Box at the
Shaftesbury up to the last night of the run of this
one-Act Opera ? " Ah, bravo, Figaro, bravo
bravissimo! Fortunatissimo .'" What a treat,
too, to hear again the " Che faro" which brought
down the Curtain, and brought down the House, on this termination
to Cluck's Orfeo. Strong, indeed, must be the Cavalleria to be
successful after the Che faro : but it was.

^ The Overture, the solo sung, by way of novelty, behind the
Curtain, by Tereddu,—(what a name ! like the commencement of a
comic nonsensical chorus! Turridtj ought to have been in love
with Tulla Lieti, and have behaved badly to Tralala. " But this is
another story.")—the choruses, and most of the concerted pieces are
charming; and, above all, the intermezzo, which, were the piece
in two Acts, would be the overture to the Second Act, is simply so
fascinating, that without a dissentient voice from a full house it was
warmly and heartily encored, and would have been called for a
third time had the judicious Signor Arditi _ shown the slightest
sign of conceding a supply to a fresh demand. None of the solos,
except the one sung behind the Curtain, are particularly catching, or
dramatically effective. Mile. ElANDl, as Santuzza, acts and sings
well; and Signor Bert est, with a good voice, is about as stiff in
action as a rustic Cavalier would naturally be ; while Signor Brovi-
bajra's Alfio the Mule-driver is histrionically just about perfect.
Of course it will not be long ere we hear -it again, and under
vastly improved conditions.

A MAYOE AND OLD HUNTER.

Last Thursday the Fishmongers gave a banquet in their hall to the
Duke of Beaeeort and other Masters of Hounds. But why should
the Fishmongers thus publicly advertise themselves as " going to the
dogs." Whatfishlya-fin-ity ^fo*
is there between hounds and ( ifflaiff^f ' <V ^

herrings, except in the run- "* ^ v§j|§5ftA "Vm hfl f ^ v*
ning of a drag? However, 1 ir^^^iM -t-^'-

the Lord Mayor improved ^^^^fflfTfuj S8S -

the occasion, which we dare ^X/.i'^»""^^^^r|^M-=^1"
say, judging from the liberal ' S'^j^'^t* £2

hospitality, or, in this in-
stance hoss-pitality, of the
Fishmongering Corporation,
scarcely required improve-
ment, to inform His Grace
of Beaeeort and other noble
sportsmen that he too was a
hunting man, and that Lord Mayors of London ought as a rule to
be hunting men if they would keep up the ancient traditions of their
office. Why doesn't his sporting and equestrian Lordship revive the
"Lord Mayor's Hounds " of the time of George the Ferst ? The meet
might be in Leadenhall Market, or in a still meater place, Smithfield,
and a bag fox being turned out, they might, on a good scenting day,
have a fine burst of a good forty minutes, taking Houndsditch in
their stride away across Goodman's Fields, then away across Bethnal
Green, tally-hoing down Cambridge Road, and then with a merry
burst, into Commercial Road East, gaily along Radcliff Highway,
and running into sly Reynard in Limehouse Basin, Stepney!
Toicks! On hunting days there would be a placard on the Mansion
House door with the words, "Gone Away!" And of course there
would be a list of the meets appended to all the usual notices. Let
the present Lord Mayor start this, and his Mayoralty will indeed be
a memorable one.

THE HYPNOTISED LOBSTER.

[Mr. Ernest Hart said, in a recent Lecture, that snakes, frogs, and lobsters
could be hypnotised like human beings.]

'Tis the voice of the Lobster, I hear him complain,

That hypnotic suggestion is on me again ;

I was mesmerised once, and behold, since that time,

I have yielded myself to suggestions of crime ;

I have compassed the death of an innocent " dab,"

And attempted to poison an elderly crab.

You'll not wonder my tricks give my relatives shocks,
And they 're holding a meeting just now in the rocks
To decide whether i, who was once quite a saint,
Should be put, as the doctors say, under restraint.
1 intend to go there in the midst of a trance,
And, may 1 be boiled, but I '11 lead them a dance !

It's a terrible thing, when to virtue inclined.
That some vile Mesmeriser debauches your mind;
When awake I recoil from the things that I've done.
Such as scrunching the poor little mussels for fun.
In these fetters hypnotic a foe holds me fast,
And. you'll find that they'll hang me, in seaweed, at
last.

WELCOME, LITTLE STRANGER!

Last Friday there appeared a startling paragraph, announcing
the first appearance of a New Island. Appropriately, it was on the
face of The Globe. The in-
telligence came to us via
Marseilles. Did it come up
to the surface ready fur-
nished for occupation, as in
our second National Anthem
about '' Britons never being
slaves'' Britain is described as
doing- ? The quotation is: —
" When Britain first at
Heaven's command, Arose
from out the azure main,"
(or words to that effect), She
(the Island) came up with a ready-made charter, and was open to
be taken furnished. If this is the case with the new Island, the
sooner some parties "who won't be missed" pack off, bag and
baggage, and take possession of the property, the better. It's a
chance. "Island to Let. Ready furnished. Quite ready for
occupation when thoroughly dry. No Agents need apply. Gz'ound-
Swell Landlord, Neptune, C. district."

vol, cit c c