Punch (103.1892)

258

PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI. [December 3, 1892.

WHAT OUR ARTIST HAS TO PUT UP WITH.

He travels all over England in search of a Background for his " Vivian beguiling Merlin in the Forest ot

Broceliande,"—a hopeless Quest!

BOGEY OR BENEFACTOR ?

Timid Ratepayer loquitur :—

0 lor. ! 0 dear J What have we here ? What

a nondescript, huge Nid-Noddy !
None know, I'm sure, what Jhave to endure.

It's enough to frighten a body !
They are always up to some queer new game,

and a giving me some fresh master;
But this one is a crux from the sole of his

foot to the crown of his comical castor.

He looks as big as all out-of-doors, and e'en

Bumble was hardly as bumptious.
He'd make my London a Paradise, which is
a prospect that's perfectly scrumptious.
But oh ! he is big, with the funniest rig ; a

Titan who, if he should tumble,
Might squelch me as Hat as an opera-hat, and
make me regret old Bumble.

Nbodledom ruled me for many long years;

this means, I am told, a new Era ;
But bad as a Booby may be as a Boss, what
about a colossal Chimsera ?

1 don't say he 's that, but with body of goat,
dragon's tail, and the head of a lion,

A creature were hardly more " mixed" than
this monster, whose rule for the time I
must try on.

A complex, conglomerate, Jack-of-all-
Trades! Well, I trust he '11 be master
of some of them !
Largo al factotum ! He's game for all tasks,
and—I wish I was sure what would come
of them.

Most representative ? Palpable that! And
his plans most sublime (so he says) are-;

But he looks just as motley a nondescript as
the image of Nebuchadnezzar.

The elephant who can root up a huge oak, or

handle a needle or pin, is
Less marvellous much, and. it may be, of

course, that the foBcs who distrust him

are ninnies.
I hope so, I 'msure. There are evils to cure, and

of room for improvement there's plenty ;
And all must admit that, whatever his

faults, he cannot be called far niente.

He does look a bit of a Bogey, but then he
may prove just a big Benefactor,

And if he should work on the cheap kill Corrup-
tion, and kick out the knavish Contractor,

Without piling Pelion on Ossa (of rates) on
my back, till my legs with the " tottle "
limp,

I shall "learn to love him" as Giant Benefi-
cent, not a big, blundering Bottle-Imp !

Opera-goer's Diary.— Otello (the Grand
Otello Company, Limited) was the feature last
week. Gianini a stout Otello, much and
Moor. Melba a charming JDesdemona, but
not a great part for her. Dufriche as Iago,
good, but not good enough for him. Sir Dru-
riolanus gives Carmen at Windsor Castle,
before the Queen ! Aha! Where now is
Lago Factotum and His Special Patronaged
Eoyal Box at the Olympic ? Druriolanus
Victor, with all the honours.

AT A RINK.

Round and round, and to and fro

At a rink,
Pretty girls, with cheeks that glow

Rosy pink;
Graceful, gleeful, gliding, go,

Whilst they link
Arms together, like the flow

Past its brink
Of a river's eddy—so

Duffers think
They can glide. See one start slow,

Shyly shrink,
Fearful lest his end be woe,

Sheepish slink,
Skates on unaccustomed toe

Strangely clink,
Hot and thirsty he will grow,

Long for drink;
All around amusement show,

Laugh and wink,
But they look as black as crow,

Or as ink,

If he fall against them. Oh,
In a twink

On the floor, not soft but low,

See him sink!

Whilst he murmurs gently, " Blow
This old rink ! "

Logical and Engine-ious.—Why object
(though we do) to Advertisements of all sorts
along our Railway lines ? Surely, wherever
the Locomotive goes, there is the very place
for puffing.