Microscopy, Politics, Medical Treatment, Engineers, Industrial
Chemistry
The various news reports and letters recount the supposed political
disturbances at Stoke Pogis. A letter signed 'H. J. P.' reports: 'fear
magnifies every thing; and, like
Carpenter'sCarpenter, Philip
(d. 1833)
Turner 1989 CloseView the register entry >>
celebrated Solar Microscope, produces the most terrific Bugbears out of next to
nothing, till you almost expect that mite will overcome right' (5–6). A
song mistaken for an incendiary song includes the lines: 'Burn all Steers's
Opodeldoc, / Just for being good for burns' (34) and 'Burn all bores and boring
topics; / Burn
BrunelBrunel, Sir Marc Isambard
(1769–1849)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>—aye,
in his
holeThames Tunnel
CloseView the register entry >>!' (35).
The line 'Burn all swindlers! Burn Asphaltum!' is accompanied by an
illustration captioned 'The Devil to Pay, and no Pitch Hot' (facing 34), which
depicts a number of angry investors mobbing the shrugging and anxious-looking
men coming out of a building labelled 'Assphaltum Company'.
The illustration captioned 'Fizzyognomy' (49) depicts a butler mounting the
stairs carrying two bottles, the corks of which have just shot out, soaking his
face.
Natural History, Animal Behaviour, Medical Practitioners, Medical
Treatment
The article addresses a series of comic questions about animals: 'Are Fish
Deaf as well as Dumb?' (50), 'Can a Fly read in a book?' (51), and 'Has a cat
nine lives?' (53). The illustration captioned 'A Drop of the Creature' (facing
53) depicts a genteel mother and her family being knocked over by a cat falling
into the street. The article ends with an anecdote about 'an eminent and
eccentric surgeon', whose advice for the treatment of a particular bodily wound
was to 'Put on a Cataplasm', or, in the case of a child, 'a Kittenplasm'
(56).
Depicts a woman vainly attempting to recover (using a parasol) her fancy
hat, which has been seized by a giraffe, standing behind a low fence. The
latter is apparently interested in the vegetation adorning the hat.
The ballad recounts the adventures of Ben Bluff, a whaler who retired 'when
Gas took the shine out of Oil'. 'He turn'd up his nose at the fumes of the
coke, / And swore the whole scheme was a bottle of smoke: / As to London he
briefly deliver'd his mind, / "Sparmacity," said he—but the City
declined'. (62)
The 'Drapers' movement' has suggested an inquiry of general importance to
humankind, 'namely, "When ought we to leave off?"' (89). Among those whom Hood
considers do not know when to leave off are 'all
Murphy'sMurphy, Patrick
(1782–1847)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>
frosts, showers, storms and hurricanes' (90). The illustration captioned
'Counter Irritation' (facing 91) depicts two long-suffering assistant drapers
standing behind a counter at which an apathetic-looking young lady of fashion
listlessly examines a large number of rolls of cloth.
Ali Ben Nous is presented as a character from the 'Arabian Nights'—a
'Philosopher of the sect of Diogenes' who decided to 'travel in search of some
happy country, where he could keep his originality to himself' (108). On
travelling to the city of Yad, his evasion of the 'Great Serpent' by a simple
expedient was greeted with acclaim: 'A mere bottle of oil! And we who have
Magistrates, and Wise Men, and Conjurors! And Naturalists, and Zoologists, and
Projectors, and a Faculty of Doctors, and a Committee of Public Safety, and a
Society of Snake Charmers—and yet they never thought of a bottle of oil!'
(111). The illustration captioned 'Fancy Portraits—Professor
SillimanSilliman, Benjamin
(1779–1864)
DSB CloseView the register entry >>'
(facing 111) depicts a man with somewhat simian features—a low forehead,
protuberant eyebrows and nose, a receding chin—and a dull look in his
eye. On travelling to the city of Guz, his evasion of the 'Rok' by another
simple expedient was greeted with similar acclaim: '"Holy Prophet!" cried the
people, "and yet we have Councillors, and Elders, and Tacticians, and
Ornithologists, and Bird-catchers, and Prognosticators of Rain, and nobody ever
though of an umbrella!"' (114). On travelling to the city of Jug, his evasion
of a tornado by a further simple expedient was once again greeted with acclaim:
'We that have a May'r and a Corporation, and Learned Bodies, and Scientifics,
and a Company of Wax Chandlers, and Mechanics' Institutions, and Utilitarians,
and nobody ever hit upon the waxen cushion!' (117). The illustration captioned
'A Day after the Fair' (facing 119) depicts utterly exhausted animals,
including a cheetah, two lions, a polar bear, and a monkey, asleep inside their
cages; the showman and his dog are also asleep. Weary of being imitated, Nous
at last resolved to commit suicide. He repaired to a solitary spot near a wood
'with a large phial, or rather family bottle, of mortal poison in his pocket',
and took a fatal dose, only to have the remainder of it snatched from him by an
orang-utan, who aped his suicidal action. The illustration captioned 'Off by
Mutual Consent' (facing 121) depicts a captive monkey in the act of having his
head blown off by a canon which he has ignited with a long taper.
The poem begins by reminding readers of the descent of an aeronaut from a
balloon by means of a 'parasol thing', the preceding September (133). The
description appears to be a slightly fictionalized or inaccurate allusion to
the parachute descent of
John HamptonHampton, John
(c. 1799–1871)
WBI CloseView the register entry >> at
Cheltenham on 8 October 1838 (Rolt 1966Rolt, L. T. C. 1966. The Aeronauts: A History of
Ballooning–1903, Longmans
CloseView the register entry >>). The
illustration captioned 'An Air Pump' (facing 134) depicts a man descending
rapidly in a basket attached to a parachute, clinging to the ropes with a grim
expression, his sparse hair blown upwards, as his balloon floats away high into
the sky. The question of where the liberated balloon might land was much
discussed: 'Some held, but in vain / With the first heavy rain, / Twould surely
come down to the
GardensRoyal Gardens, Vauxhall CloseView the register entry >> again!' (134). The poet avers
that 'The firm
GyeGye, Frederick, the elder
(1781–1869)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> and
HughesHughes, William
(fl. 1821–38)
ODNB, s.v. Gye, Frederick, CA1/10/7 CloseView the register entry >>',
proprietors of the
Vauxhall
GardensRoyal Gardens, Vauxhall CloseView the register entry >> and patrons of ballooning, 'Wore their boots out and shoes,
/ In running around and inquiring for news' (135). When at last the balloon
descended six weeks later, it caused a great public sensation: 'off ran the
folk,— / It is such a good joke / To see the descent of a bagful of
smoke' (136). The illustration captioned 'Taking a Fly at a Watering-Place'
(facing 138) depicts a gentleman chasing a butterfly with a net, his hat and
wig falling off in the act of running into a pond. It was seen that there was a
person aboard, and the observers speculated which of the leading aeronauts it
might be. The figure was, however, of startling appearance, and spoke an
incomprehensible language.
John
BowringBowring, Sir John
(1792–1872)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>—'A Doctor well able, / Without any fable, / To talk
and translate all the babble of Babel' (143)—acted as interpreter. The
man introduced himself as 'the Lunatick Man, / Confined in the Moon since
creation began', who, having found the 'Wind-Coach' on the 'horns of the moon',
had decided to visit the earth (144). The illustration captioned 'The Music of
the Spheres' (facing 144) depicts a black musician wearing a turban, and about
to strike cymbals together. The man in the moon's visit was in part occasioned
by his having 'heard of a profiting Prophet [i.e.
Patrick MurphyMurphy, Patrick
(1782–1847)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>]
below [...] Who pretended to gather / The tricks that the Moon meant to play
with the weather'. Being 'shortish of cash' he had decided to sell his own
almanac to the trade. In addition, he had wanted to honour his 'friend
Sir John
HerschelHerschel, Sir John Frederick William
(1792–1871)
DSB
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>', and had inscribed his almanac to his name, 'Which is now
at the full in celestial fame'. (145) Some showmen sought to kidnap the man,
but Bowring declared: 'You ignorant Turks! / You will be your own
BurkesBurke, William
(1792–1829)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>— /
He holds all the keys of the lunary works! / You'd best let him go— / If
you keep him below, / The moon will not change, and the tides will not flow'
(146–47). As he left, the man threw down 'quite a flight / Of Almanacks,
wishing to set us all right— / And, thanks to the boon, / We shall see
very soon / If Murphy knows most, or the Man in the Moon!' (148). The
illustration 'Losing Ground' (148) depicts two men fist-fighting, one having
just knocked the other backwards into a frozen lake.
Medical Practitioners, Pharmaceuticals, Charlatanry
'There once was a Doctor, / (No foe to the proctor,) / A physic-concoctor, /
Whose dose was so pat, / However it acted, / One speech it extracted,— /
"Yes, yes," said the Doctor, / "I meant it for that!"' (159). The poem gives
various droll instances of this, ending with a patient for whom the 'dose was
his death' (162). The illustration captioned 'For Better or Worse' (facing 159)
depicts a disconsolate man sitting in bed wearing his nightcap, with a bottle
in one hand bearing the label 'To be Taken' and a wineglass full of liquid in
the other.