DOI issue:
January 23, 1892
DOI Page / Citation link: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.17693#0050
40
PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.
[January 23, 1892.
THE TRAVELLING COMPANIONS.
No. XXIV.
Scene—The Piazza of St. Mark at night. The roof and part of
the facade gleam a greenish silver in the moonlight. The shadow
of the Campanile falls, black and broad, across the huge square,
which is crowded with people listening to the Military Band, and
taking coffee, 8fc., outside the caffes. Miss Trotter and Cttlcharb
are seated at one of the little tables in front of the Quaclri.
Miss T. I 'd like ever so much to know why it is you 're so anxious
to see that Miss Prenbergast and me friendly again p After
she's been treating you this long while like you were a toad—and
not a popular kind of toad at that!
Culch. (wincing). Of course I am only too painfully aware of—of
a certain distance in her manner towards me, but I should not think
of allowing myself to be influenced by any—er—merely personal
considerations of that sort.
Miss T. That's real noble! And I presume, now, you cannt
imagine any reason why she 's been treading you so flat.
Culch. {with a shrug). I really haven't troubled to speculate
Miss T. You may put it at that if you like. Maybe it wouldn't
have been just the square thing to do if you'd been a different sort
of man—but you wanted to be taught that you couldn't have all the
fun of flirtation on your side, and I wasn't afraid the emotional
strain was going to shatter you up to any serious extent. Now it's
left off amusing me, and I guess it's time to stop. I'm as perfectly
aware as I can be that you've been searching around for some way
of getting out of it this long while back—so there 's no use of your
denying you '11 be real enchanted to get your liberty again !
Culch. I may return your charming candour by admitting that
my—er—dismissal will be—well, not wholly without its conso-
lations.
Miss T. Then that's all right! And if you '11 be obliging enough
to hunt up my Poppa and send him along, I guess I can dispense
with your further escort, and you can commence those consolations
right away.
Culch. {alone). The little vixen! Saw I was getting tired of it,
and took care to strike first. Clever—but a trifle crude. But I'm
free now. Unfortunately my freedom comes too late. Podbtjry's
Titania is much too enamoured of those ass's ears of his- How the
brute will chuckle when he hears of this ! But he won't hear of it
Who can tell how one from me. I'll go in and
may, quite unconsciously, jjllNa pack and be off to-morrow
give offence—even to those UMB^. -r- ^llllllSif morning before he's up!
who are—er—comparative te«;^^^%^I.W. «§Sll||llb» *r ± nr ■ r
strangers ? IttlN^lJPW iPpSwT Morning. In the
Miss T. Just so. {A "^I^^m V Hall ofthe Grand Hotel
pause.) Well, Mr. Cul- iBBiK! JErl Dandolo.
chard, if 1 wanted any- "^fH8B|l^ ^^l&tlfW^- 2%<? German Porter {a
thingto confirm my opinion "^aps VL ftlf|w|,^\ ^3*r stately person in a gold-
of you, I guess you've /Ali'^"Wm laced uniform and a tvhite
given it me! # *f ifflffiPil^ xnwmh'K JS2 ^ai^coat, escaping from
Culch. {internally). It's MKam^/P'- W^W^^-wt''^ 'U^^^^Jm£^ importunate visitors). In
very unfortunate that she m^^^^^!^W'i^W^^^\yM^^' von momendt, Matam, I
will insist on idealising me (jBr Ww^^Mil J wlW^PPSlilrvra ^^iffiP^ attend to you. You want
like this! . v-f^S^'! •j^^^&S^..^^^SmS^^t^^ a larch er roam, Sare ?
Miss T. Maybe, now, ''^mM^'^^'^^W^ - —" wPif*: *^<>"-^, l'ou address ze manager,
you can form a pretty good ^SKS^af^^^^M^^^^ s|^^^"\i^^^> blease. Your dronks,
idea already what that m^mKSStBsm \WI / |B^i^^Jjjplj!^v Laties ? I haf zem broil
opinion is? ' M> ''IImIvv mi Sx"^^'^^ down, yes.
Culch. {in modest de- fflMWIBwPIIBI^ ■ • mi |*£!L A Lady. Oh, Porter,
preeation). You give me mo»^^^M^^A'"'^' im —_______ — >s^^g^ » we want a gondola this
some reason for inferring a^^^^^^S^^^^-- jfv ma@td} ^'iSw^S^-- afternoon to go to the
that it is far higher than I ^S^^SmKKl^^'- ilk \ f^P© /t)lPl{ A^^^D Lido, and do try if you
deserve. ^^^^mS^SaX^^m^l- \ f MwMw m£$*& can get us Beppo — that
Miss T. Well, I don't ^^JBMHB^lE^l^. \ I iaf W&W
nice gondolier, you know,
know that you've missed ^^H9HHHBp^^O|CT^ {. I i|f|f^| Pllr we had yesterday!
your guess altogether. Are Jjj&m; , ^mm^Sm/Ks^y ^^^^^^^^h-'l^m ' JIf The Porter. Ach! I do
you through your ice- /r^^^^SaB^^w^^^^f!^^.> ^^^^^^^^Mfl 1 nod know any nah-ice
cream yet ? Illillf^ ar^^'iA^^^^^^^^^^ J^llli. gondolier—zey are pal—I
Culch. Almost. {He ' aMjKKBSSBj^^^^^^^^^^^m^C^idell you, if you lif viz
finishes his ice.) It is ^^^^aK^^KsJl;Mli^^li^^ V ^^^^^^^^^^^-^^^^^^^ zem ade mons as me, you
really most refreshing! ^Wrr mm^m^^^^^ ^fF*"? lii©''-v---: ^ "■"^^j' u cot your troat—yes !
Miss T. Then," now «mw^w|^^^^M|^ v'W"i ______ , .-Cj> Another Lad}/. Porter,
you 're refreshed, I '11 tell \*^^m^^^^^^^^^F^^^m \ ''l h I can you tell me the name
you what I think about ^^^S^^^^^^W===^'^^ f\ \ of the song that man is
you. (Cttlcharb resigns f^^y^^^^-^^^M ______=— —=\ singing in the barge there?
himself to enthusiasm.) '^HJ Porter. I gannot dell you
My opinion of you, Mr. " A mean cuss ' ^re f Really_" ze name—pecause zey sing
CtrLCHARD, is that, taking " • 3 always ze same tmg!
you by and large, you amount to what we Amurrcans describe as " a ! A Helpless Man in knickerbockers {drifting in at the door). Here,
pretty mean cuss." \ I say. We engaged rooms here by telegram from Florence. What
Culch. {genuinely surprised). A mean cuss? Me! B-eally, this ■ am I to give these fellows from the station ? Combien, you know !
unjustifiable language is most-/ Porter. You gif zem two franc—and zen zey vill gromble. You
Miss T. Well, I don't just know what your dictionary term would j haf engage roums p yes. Zat vill pe oal rahit—Your loggage in ze
be for a man who goes and vows exclusive devotion to one young ; gondola, ye s ? I haf it taken op.
lady, while he's waiting for his answer from another, and keeps his | The H. M. No, it's left behind at Bologna. My friend's gone
head close shut to each about it. Or a man who backs out of his back for it. And I say, think it will turn up all right ?
vows by trading off the sloppiest kind of flap-doodle about not wish- Porter. Eef you register it, and your vrient is zere, you ged it—yes.
The H. M. Yes, but look here, don't you know ? Oughtn't I to
make a row—a fuss—about it, or something, eh?
Porter {moving off with subdued contempt). Oh, you can make a
foss, yes, if you like—you ged nossing !
Culch. and Podb. {stopping him simultaneously). I say, I want my
luggage brought down from No. — in time for the twelve o'clock—
{To each other.) Hallo! are you off too ?
Culch. {confused). Er—yes—thought I might as well be getting
back.
Podb. Then I—I suppose it's all settled—with Miss T.—you
know—eh ?
ing to blight the hopes of his dearest friend. Or a man who has
been trying his hardest to get into the good graces again of the
young lady he went back on first, so he can cut out that same
dearest friend of his, and leave the girl he's half engaged to right
out in the cold. And puts it all off on the high-toned-est old senti-
ments, too. But I don't consider the expression, " a mean euss,"
too picturesque for that particular kind of hero myself !
Culch. {breathing hard). Your feelings have apparently under-
gone a sudden change—quite recently!
Miss T. Well, no, the change dates back considerable—ever since
we were at the Villa d'Este. Only, I like Mr. Pobbury pretty well,
and I allowed he ought to have fair play, so I concluded I 'd keep you j Culch. Fortunately—yes. And—er—your engagement happily
around so you shouldn't get a chance of spoiling your perfectly ! concluded?
splendid act of self-denial—and I guess I've kept you around pretty
much all the time !
Culch. {bitterly). In other words, you have behaved like a heartless
coquette'
Podb. Well, it's concluded, anyway. It's all off, you know. I
—I wasn't artistic enough for her.
Culch. She has refused you ? My dear Pobbury, I 'in really
delighted to hear this—at least, that is-
PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.
[January 23, 1892.
THE TRAVELLING COMPANIONS.
No. XXIV.
Scene—The Piazza of St. Mark at night. The roof and part of
the facade gleam a greenish silver in the moonlight. The shadow
of the Campanile falls, black and broad, across the huge square,
which is crowded with people listening to the Military Band, and
taking coffee, 8fc., outside the caffes. Miss Trotter and Cttlcharb
are seated at one of the little tables in front of the Quaclri.
Miss T. I 'd like ever so much to know why it is you 're so anxious
to see that Miss Prenbergast and me friendly again p After
she's been treating you this long while like you were a toad—and
not a popular kind of toad at that!
Culch. (wincing). Of course I am only too painfully aware of—of
a certain distance in her manner towards me, but I should not think
of allowing myself to be influenced by any—er—merely personal
considerations of that sort.
Miss T. That's real noble! And I presume, now, you cannt
imagine any reason why she 's been treading you so flat.
Culch. {with a shrug). I really haven't troubled to speculate
Miss T. You may put it at that if you like. Maybe it wouldn't
have been just the square thing to do if you'd been a different sort
of man—but you wanted to be taught that you couldn't have all the
fun of flirtation on your side, and I wasn't afraid the emotional
strain was going to shatter you up to any serious extent. Now it's
left off amusing me, and I guess it's time to stop. I'm as perfectly
aware as I can be that you've been searching around for some way
of getting out of it this long while back—so there 's no use of your
denying you '11 be real enchanted to get your liberty again !
Culch. I may return your charming candour by admitting that
my—er—dismissal will be—well, not wholly without its conso-
lations.
Miss T. Then that's all right! And if you '11 be obliging enough
to hunt up my Poppa and send him along, I guess I can dispense
with your further escort, and you can commence those consolations
right away.
Culch. {alone). The little vixen! Saw I was getting tired of it,
and took care to strike first. Clever—but a trifle crude. But I'm
free now. Unfortunately my freedom comes too late. Podbtjry's
Titania is much too enamoured of those ass's ears of his- How the
brute will chuckle when he hears of this ! But he won't hear of it
Who can tell how one from me. I'll go in and
may, quite unconsciously, jjllNa pack and be off to-morrow
give offence—even to those UMB^. -r- ^llllllSif morning before he's up!
who are—er—comparative te«;^^^%^I.W. «§Sll||llb» *r ± nr ■ r
strangers ? IttlN^lJPW iPpSwT Morning. In the
Miss T. Just so. {A "^I^^m V Hall ofthe Grand Hotel
pause.) Well, Mr. Cul- iBBiK! JErl Dandolo.
chard, if 1 wanted any- "^fH8B|l^ ^^l&tlfW^- 2%<? German Porter {a
thingto confirm my opinion "^aps VL ftlf|w|,^\ ^3*r stately person in a gold-
of you, I guess you've /Ali'^"Wm laced uniform and a tvhite
given it me! # *f ifflffiPil^ xnwmh'K JS2 ^ai^coat, escaping from
Culch. {internally). It's MKam^/P'- W^W^^-wt''^ 'U^^^^Jm£^ importunate visitors). In
very unfortunate that she m^^^^^!^W'i^W^^^\yM^^' von momendt, Matam, I
will insist on idealising me (jBr Ww^^Mil J wlW^PPSlilrvra ^^iffiP^ attend to you. You want
like this! . v-f^S^'! •j^^^&S^..^^^SmS^^t^^ a larch er roam, Sare ?
Miss T. Maybe, now, ''^mM^'^^'^^W^ - —" wPif*: *^<>"-^, l'ou address ze manager,
you can form a pretty good ^SKS^af^^^^M^^^^ s|^^^"\i^^^> blease. Your dronks,
idea already what that m^mKSStBsm \WI / |B^i^^Jjjplj!^v Laties ? I haf zem broil
opinion is? ' M> ''IImIvv mi Sx"^^'^^ down, yes.
Culch. {in modest de- fflMWIBwPIIBI^ ■ • mi |*£!L A Lady. Oh, Porter,
preeation). You give me mo»^^^M^^A'"'^' im —_______ — >s^^g^ » we want a gondola this
some reason for inferring a^^^^^^S^^^^-- jfv ma@td} ^'iSw^S^-- afternoon to go to the
that it is far higher than I ^S^^SmKKl^^'- ilk \ f^P© /t)lPl{ A^^^D Lido, and do try if you
deserve. ^^^^mS^SaX^^m^l- \ f MwMw m£$*& can get us Beppo — that
Miss T. Well, I don't ^^JBMHB^lE^l^. \ I iaf W&W
nice gondolier, you know,
know that you've missed ^^H9HHHBp^^O|CT^ {. I i|f|f^| Pllr we had yesterday!
your guess altogether. Are Jjj&m; , ^mm^Sm/Ks^y ^^^^^^^^h-'l^m ' JIf The Porter. Ach! I do
you through your ice- /r^^^^SaB^^w^^^^f!^^.> ^^^^^^^^Mfl 1 nod know any nah-ice
cream yet ? Illillf^ ar^^'iA^^^^^^^^^^ J^llli. gondolier—zey are pal—I
Culch. Almost. {He ' aMjKKBSSBj^^^^^^^^^^^m^C^idell you, if you lif viz
finishes his ice.) It is ^^^^aK^^KsJl;Mli^^li^^ V ^^^^^^^^^^^-^^^^^^^ zem ade mons as me, you
really most refreshing! ^Wrr mm^m^^^^^ ^fF*"? lii©''-v---: ^ "■"^^j' u cot your troat—yes !
Miss T. Then," now «mw^w|^^^^M|^ v'W"i ______ , .-Cj> Another Lad}/. Porter,
you 're refreshed, I '11 tell \*^^m^^^^^^^^^F^^^m \ ''l h I can you tell me the name
you what I think about ^^^S^^^^^^W===^'^^ f\ \ of the song that man is
you. (Cttlcharb resigns f^^y^^^^-^^^M ______=— —=\ singing in the barge there?
himself to enthusiasm.) '^HJ Porter. I gannot dell you
My opinion of you, Mr. " A mean cuss ' ^re f Really_" ze name—pecause zey sing
CtrLCHARD, is that, taking " • 3 always ze same tmg!
you by and large, you amount to what we Amurrcans describe as " a ! A Helpless Man in knickerbockers {drifting in at the door). Here,
pretty mean cuss." \ I say. We engaged rooms here by telegram from Florence. What
Culch. {genuinely surprised). A mean cuss? Me! B-eally, this ■ am I to give these fellows from the station ? Combien, you know !
unjustifiable language is most-/ Porter. You gif zem two franc—and zen zey vill gromble. You
Miss T. Well, I don't just know what your dictionary term would j haf engage roums p yes. Zat vill pe oal rahit—Your loggage in ze
be for a man who goes and vows exclusive devotion to one young ; gondola, ye s ? I haf it taken op.
lady, while he's waiting for his answer from another, and keeps his | The H. M. No, it's left behind at Bologna. My friend's gone
head close shut to each about it. Or a man who backs out of his back for it. And I say, think it will turn up all right ?
vows by trading off the sloppiest kind of flap-doodle about not wish- Porter. Eef you register it, and your vrient is zere, you ged it—yes.
The H. M. Yes, but look here, don't you know ? Oughtn't I to
make a row—a fuss—about it, or something, eh?
Porter {moving off with subdued contempt). Oh, you can make a
foss, yes, if you like—you ged nossing !
Culch. and Podb. {stopping him simultaneously). I say, I want my
luggage brought down from No. — in time for the twelve o'clock—
{To each other.) Hallo! are you off too ?
Culch. {confused). Er—yes—thought I might as well be getting
back.
Podb. Then I—I suppose it's all settled—with Miss T.—you
know—eh ?
ing to blight the hopes of his dearest friend. Or a man who has
been trying his hardest to get into the good graces again of the
young lady he went back on first, so he can cut out that same
dearest friend of his, and leave the girl he's half engaged to right
out in the cold. And puts it all off on the high-toned-est old senti-
ments, too. But I don't consider the expression, " a mean euss,"
too picturesque for that particular kind of hero myself !
Culch. {breathing hard). Your feelings have apparently under-
gone a sudden change—quite recently!
Miss T. Well, no, the change dates back considerable—ever since
we were at the Villa d'Este. Only, I like Mr. Pobbury pretty well,
and I allowed he ought to have fair play, so I concluded I 'd keep you j Culch. Fortunately—yes. And—er—your engagement happily
around so you shouldn't get a chance of spoiling your perfectly ! concluded?
splendid act of self-denial—and I guess I've kept you around pretty
much all the time !
Culch. {bitterly). In other words, you have behaved like a heartless
coquette'
Podb. Well, it's concluded, anyway. It's all off, you know. I
—I wasn't artistic enough for her.
Culch. She has refused you ? My dear Pobbury, I 'in really
delighted to hear this—at least, that is-