This rich and highly complex image shows a diver being lowered from a cable
onto the ocean floor. He is surrounded by mermaids, mermen, and numerous other
sea creatures. The ship from which the diver has descended can be seen in the
top right hand corner, while the telegraph cable is visible on the sea-bed.
Shows a hospital ward in which dogs adopt the roles of patients, doctors,
and nurses. In the foreground, Dr Bowwow sits on a bed near a patient and tells
a nurse that to stop the patient's whining it should be given 'a dose of
bark'.
Explains how 'your wife's face' can be used to 'foretell the state of the
weather'. For example, suggests that 'a long and dark face presages squalls; a
clear and bright one, settled fair weather'.
Shows a family having supper around a table in a pantry. Their domestic
routine is disturbed by a stoker who, evidently working on a train passing
under the house, pokes his head through the cellar door in the pantry floor.
The stoker apologises for his interruption and asks whether the ladies can give
him a 'scuttle o' coals for our engine'
Lecturing, Science Communication, Education, Display, Astronomy, Human
Development
Shows an elderly lecturer standing in front of his 'mischievous nephews',
and behind some of the instruments and diagrams with which he seeks to instruct
his audience in 'Astronomy and the Movements of Celestial Bodies'. With his
back turned to the display, he fails to see that his nephews have drawn amusing
arms and faces on the diagram explaining terrestrial seasons, and on the model
of the sun at the centre of the lecturer's orrery.
Lecturing, Science Communication, Education, Chemistry, Display,
Military Technology
A sequel to
George L P B Du Maurier, 'Uncle Fussy Undertakes to Delight and Instruct the Young Folk at
Christmas Time', Punch, 50 (1866), [x], this illustration shows Uncle
Fussy in a dining room. Standing before several members of his family, he
engulfs himself in smoke, a result of his attempt to demonstrate 'how gunpowder
can be contained in two incombustible powders', themselves parts of 'a few
simple chemical experiments'.
Physical Geography, Geology, War, Morality, Exploration, Imperialism,
Cultural Geography, Human Development, Politics
The author begins by justifying the need for a 'survey of mankind from China
to Peru' which Punch believes is useful despite being 'incomplete' and
not consistent with the 'dictates of merely scientific arrangement'. Proceeds
to reflect on the unchanging extremities of the once war-torn American
continent, 'facts' that show 'how little the fluctuations of the moral world
disarrange the Cosmos of material nature'. Notes how many 'remarkable events'
have occurred in Asia, and that 'from Lake Timour to Ceylon 'the populations
are still in possession of various degrees of civilisation'. Proceeds to
discuss the African continent, explaining that it 'appears to us to afford
little cause for immediate agitation [...] on the part of the Englishman', and
describing how it is being invaded by
Ferdinand, vicomte de LessepsLesseps, Ferdinand, vicomte de
(1805–94)
CBD CloseView the register entry >>
'from the north', while
David
LivingstoneLivingstone, David
(1813–73)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> and
Paul B Du
ChailluDu Chaillu, Paul Belloni
(1831–1903)
CBD CloseView the register entry >> have 'penetrated' it 'in other directions'. Also believes
that 'under the auspices of the intrepid
BEKEBeke, Charles Tilstone
(1800–74)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>' that the 'fanatic
chivalry' of
King Kassai
TheodoreTheodore, Kassai, King Of Abyssinia
(1816–68)
CBD CloseView the register entry >> of Abyssinia will 'avail itself of all this enlightenment
to constitute a grand central power'. (1)
Engineering, Transport, Cultural Geography, Government,
Commerce
Discusses an extract from a report in
Galignani's MessengerGalignani's Messenger
(1821–95)
Waterloo
Directory CloseView the register entry >>
describing a 'powerful steam-roller' used to crush macadam on Parisian roads.
Believes that the British system of self-government (as opposed to the French
system of centralisation) does not produce the public revenue needed to pay for
a similar machine in Britain, and that horses' hooves and carriage wheels crush
road stones instead. Suggests that owners of horses and vehicles should 'tax
themselves for the termination of a state of our roads'.
Discusses a letter published in the Grocer describing the
adulteration of butter with flour. Criticises the periodical for not publishing
the name of the guilty dairy, but explains its reticence in terms of its fear
of a crippling libel suit. Laments the legal rights accorded to the vendor, who
is 'a fraudulent scoundrel'. Drawing a comparison between inferior foodstuffs
and inferior articles, upholds the argument that 'it is for the public good
that the criticism of butter and dairymen', like 'the criticism of writings and
authors, should be free'. Concludes by urging the necessity of beating into
'the heads of judges and juries that equal latitude should be allowed to the
reviews of all articles alike'.
Written from the perspective of a physician, who addresses his letter to
'Doctor Punch, Physician to the Infirmary for Aching Sides, &c.',
and begins by relishing the 'charming prospect' of medical consultations with
'fair fellow-doctors' instead of 'your obstinate old muffs'. Anticipates the
ways in which women doctors will change family life, including their ability to
diagnose the illnesses of their husbands.
Miracle, Steam-power, Machinery, Religious Authority, Religion,
Supernaturalism, Charlatanry
The author of this letter, which is addressed to
Pope Pius IXPius IX, Pope
(1792–1878)
CBD CloseView the register entry >>,
discusses an extract from the
Hampshire IndependentHampshire Independent
(1834–1900+)
Waterloo
Directory CloseView the register entry >>
describing the discovery, in a Milanese statue long 'famous for weeping in the
presence of unbelievers', of a mechanism for condensing water in its eyes. Asks
the Pope to verify the story, not least because it weakens his confidence in
himself and those 'ecclesiastics' who teach the reality of such events as the
melting of the blood of a statue of
St
JanuariusJanuarius, Saint (or San Gennaro)
(d. c. 305)
CBD CloseView the register entry >> and winking pictures. Suggests that there may be a
mechanism responsible for the latter, and suggests that the pope conduct a
'satisfactory examination' of alleged miracles in order to stop people thinking
that he is 'conniving at humbug'.
Includes a criticism of
William
Whewell'sWhewell, William
(1794–1866)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> 'proofs' against the existence of 'human beings' on 'the
planets' and expects the same claim is being made by the inhabitants of Saturn
about people on Earth.
Animal Husbandry, Disease, Homeopathy, Amateurism, Medical
Treatment
Written from the perspective of a rustic, this letter begins by noting the
attempt to try 'Hummyopathy for the Cattle Plag up there in Norfolk', a trial
in which
John W S Churchill
(6th Duke of Malborough)Churchill, John Winston Spencer, 6th Duke of
Marlborough
(1822–83)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> and
James CairdCaird, Sir James
(1816–92)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>
participated. The author is not surprised at the reported failure of the trial,
but praises the attempt to test 'things like them there on dumb annimles',
despite the fact that 'magination wun't cure a old cow'. Points out that the
experimenters have confirmed what he already knew: that cattle are cured by
diet. Noting the homeopathic principle that like cures like, speculates that if
the solution to cattle plague is 'about a millionth of a grain of assnick',
then humans poisoned with arsenic should be given 'a mitesimal dose o' blue
vitterul'. Believes that 'mitesimal causes produce mitesimal effects' and
thinks homeopathy has had a 'mitesimal' effect on the cattle plague.
A list of geometrical axioms adapted for theatrical entertainment. For
example, 'A line, in mathematical science, is also breadth without length; as,
for instance, a Low Comedian's line in a one act farce of practical fun', and
'An obtuse manager is greater than an acute author'.
Vaccination, Veterinary Science, Medical Practitioners, Disease,
Accidents
Discusses a letter in
The TimesThe Times
(1777–1900+)
Waterloo
Directory CloseView the register entry >>
which describes how a veterinary inspector in Uxbridge became accidentally
infected with the vaccine he was using to arrest cattle plague in a bullock.
Challenges the efficacy of vaccination by contesting the claim that cattle
plague is smallpox. Argues that the plague is more likely to be a form of
cowpox and thus advises inoculation.
Military Technology, War, Railways, Human Development, Telegraphy,
Electricity, Electrochemistry, Railways, Astronomy
The text provides an interpretation of this complex illustration. Both
respond to developments in the manufacture of gun cotton and poke fun at the
corresponding rise of 'scientific' warfare. The illustration is dominated by a
'scientific Clown' (a metallic harlequin) who holds in one hand a hot
'scientific poker' made of magnesium, which causes the explosion of a
'scientific locomotive'. Around the feet of the harlequin rest a blunderbuss
ready to be fired with 'scientific gun cotton', and a pestle and mortar, out of
which the clown raises a 'scientific Baby'. Elsewhere 'scientific puns' are
transmitted by 'Telegraphic
Joe MillerMiller, Josias ('Joe')
(1683/4–1738)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>'
through the telegraph to a 'scientific Audience' of three, 'Fairies are
scientifically suspended by Galvanic batteries', a policeman is 'blown out of a
scientific "ArmstrongArmstrong, Sir William George, Baron
Armstrong of Cragside
(1810–1900)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>" [gun]', and an 'Astronomer
scientifically shoots the moon'.
Discusses a letter in
The TimesThe Times
(1777–1900+)
Waterloo
Directory CloseView the register entry >>
describing how a man and woman began courting and secretly corresponding while
incarcerated in
Colney Hatch
Lunatic AsylumColney Hatch Asylum
CloseView the register entry >> and, on being declared sane and then discharged,
happily married. Believes that the couple behaved the same before and after
they 'regained their senses', whilst normal couples, taken to be sane, do not
seem to be able to achieve happy marriages. Concludes that 'most men seem to be
mad whether in or out of a lunatic asylum, and most women appear equally
mad'.
Discusses a letter in
The TimesThe Times
(1777–1900+)
Waterloo
Directory CloseView the register entry >> from
an
OxfordUniversity of Oxford
CloseView the register entry >> don who emphasises the high cost
to be incurred by the
Great Western Railway CompanyGreat Western Railway Company
CloseView the register entry >>
in building their factory in a meadow in Oxford that is so swampy as to be
unfit for building construction. Angrily surmises that the company's reasons
for choosing this site are not financial but arise from its wish to 'assert the
superiority of material interests to those of spirituality and intelligence'.
Lambasts the company for desecrating the university and asks whether company
shareholders will accept financial arguments for building the factory
elsewhere.
Military Technology, Dynamics, Ethnology, Anatomy,
Philosophy
Includes a description of a young artillery officer who was delayed in his
rifle practice by two fellow officers who asked him to make allowance for
'barometric pressure' and the 'rotation of the earth'. Also records
Pliny'sPliny (Gaius Plinius Secundus)
(c. 23–79)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> description of the
one-legged Monosceli tribe of Indians, and the remark that 'BACONBacon, Francis, 1st Viscount St Alban
(1561–1626)
DSB
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> and
I could safely declare All knowledge to be our Province. But smaller men,
endeavouring to be cosmical, are apt to be comical'.
Government, Politics, Sanitation, Pollution, Public Health, Railways,
Light, Technology, Cultural Geography
The initial character of this spoof letter forms part of an illustration
showing
Emperor Napoleon
IIINapoleon III, Emperor of France (originally
Louis Napoléon (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte))
(1808–73)
CBD CloseView the register entry >> of France asleep over a large letter 'O'. The scene represented
within the 'O' shows Napoleon's dream (which he communicated to Mr Punch) of
'autocratic metropolitan power for a short time in London'. The text reveals
that Napoleon's plans include 'making a clean sweep' of major thoroughfares,
tunnelling the city to divert traffic away from the thoroughfares, preventing
railway engines from screaming 'in or within five miles of the Metropolis',
removing the right to build 'bridges over the streets until they had invented
some way of running trains on them without any noise', instituting 'new
machinery for water supplies', hanging 'most of the Directors of Gas
Companies', and lighting London. The illustration portrays various aspects of
this dream and shows the envisioned technological improvements as labourers:
for example, steam locomotives are navvies, and a set of bellows marked
'pneumatic rail' and gas lamps hold shovels. (43)
Shows a draper's shop in which several women customers sit in front of a
long counter. Behind the counter stoops a male shop assistant who informs one
of the women that the sewing machine is a 'most wonderful invention' that
'executes the work so efficiently and quickly' that 'there's nothing left for
the ladies to do now but to improve their intellects!'.
Government, Politics, Public Health, Sanitation, Class,
Utilitarianism, Progress, Nationalism
Written from the perspective of a poor law guardian, who lambasts the attack
on the 'good old British' principle of 'self-government' 'for the sake o'
paupers scurvy'. Ridicules the proposed solutions to this problem and scorns
the need for and cost of calls for paupers to have clean water, warmth, food,
and proper medical attention. Later asks, 'Wot's the use o ' spendin' money to
improve what's past improvin'?' and emphasises his belief that centralisation
is a threat to the hard-won 'British Constitootion'.
Zoology, Extinction, Representation, Railways, Medical Treatment,
Medical Practitioners, Accidents
Includes the claim that
Richard OwenOwen, Richard
(1804–92)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> has
obtained bones of the dodo 'which enable him to say that the picture in the
[British]
MuseumBritish Museum
CloseView the register entry >> was in all probability taken from a living specimen'. Also
includes the observation that Swedish railways carry medically-trained guards,
but wonders why trains in Britain do not carry a medical man 'as a ship
does'.
Discusses a
Morning
PostMorning Post and Daily Advertising Pamphlet
(1772–1900+)
Waterloo Directory
CloseView the register entry >> report of the bear that caught fire at the
Jardin
des PlantesJardin des Plantes, Paris CloseView the register entry >>, Paris. The report notes how the burning bear was
extinguished by plunging it into a large basin of water, a feat which
Punch thinks shows the 'extraordinary sagacity' of the bear and how
'tractable' this normally aggressive species becomes when on fire. Concludes by
wondering whether this 'anecdote' will appear in
Timbs 1857Timbs, John 1857.
Things Not Generally Known: Curiosities of History with New Lights; a Book
for Old and Young, London: David Bogue
CloseView the register entry >>.
Describes the proposals to be discussed at a 'Sanitary Conference of
delegates from the Great European Powers', the aim of which is to 'prevent the
generation of cholera, occasioned by the accumulations of filth which attend
the periodical pilgrimages to Mecca' and similar Islamic shrines. Notes that
the conference agrees that 'Fanaticism originates the evil, dirt, whence the
cholera springs' and will 'strike at the root of the evil'. The conference will
solve this problem by removing the Kaaba Stone from Mecca and
Muhammed'sMuhammad
(c.570–632)
CBD CloseView the register entry >> coffin from
Medina.
Includes an author's thoughts on the origin of volcanic activity and his
remarks to
Alexander
von HumboldtHumboldt, Alexander von (Friedrich Wilhelm
Heinrich Alexander von)
(1769–1859)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> concerning the problem of explaining such activity in
terms of the 'penetration of water into the volcanic focus'. Also includes
remarks on the consequences of a new underground railway scheme.
Describes a meeting in Dublin of 'noblemen, merchants, and capitalists' who
resolved to urge the British government to help 'poor old Ireland' finance the
construction of her railways. Likens the relationship between the Dublin
railway promoters and English financiers to that of a poor relation who can
count on financial assistance from other members of his family 'without
remonstrance'. Defines good relations to be those who 'pay the expenses of your
misadventures' and 'take your losses on themselves', while bad relations are
those who refuse to back schemes that they think will fail and who remind you
'that they told you so' when your scheme does fail. Asks for 'the relations
that will behave like buffers when I tumble back upon them' and who will enable
the author to regain his former position.
Interprets an advertisement for a meeting of 'Milk-Producers' as a sign that
cows have taken up 'the subject' of rinderpest, which suggests that the
outbreak might be ending.
Begins by urging that 'Science may take herself off to the Zambesi River, or
to Natal, or to some place where she has not been found out to be a humbug',
and introduces a letter from 'A Landowner', published in the
Llangollen AdvertiserLlangollen Advertiser
(1868–1900+)
COPAC CloseView the register entry >>, who 'has
discovered what all the learned philosophers have failed to divine': that the
cattle plague is 'Volcanic Effluvia rising out of the earth', which is a
'punishment for the extravagance of great people' for eating meat.
Medical Practitioners, Veterinary Science, Animal Husbandry, Disease,
Medical Treatment
Begins by urging that 'State Doctors, right and left' need 'united action'
to 'stamp out' the cattle plague. Invites them to kill the patient ('for
prevention') if they cannot fulfil their 'curative intention', and to separate
'Sound herds' from 'tainted kine'. Pleads with these doctors not to 'make the
murrain-stricken Bull, / A stalking-horse for Party', and upholds the need for
'simultaneous traction' for terminating the disease.
Environmentalism, Public Health, Industry, Pollution,
Disease
Announces the formation of the
Commons Preservation SocietyCommons Preservation Society
CloseView the register entry >>, an
organisation that has nothing to do with institutional politics but 'seeks to
save for the white faces drifting all over London [...] the lanes and yards of
the Metropolis, the heaths and commons, the fields and forests' which are still
unspoilt by industry and by the railways. It also 'longs to reduce that
standing army of victims to lung-disease alone' by increasing the possibilities
of enjoying 'air and light and sunshine'.
The letter presents the 'best forecasts' of Cousin Adam for 'this present
severe winter'. It is followed by six illustrations of an elderly man
(presumably Cousin Adam) struggling against weather conditions that clearly
confound his own predictions. For example, one illustration is of Cousin Adam
fighting off bright sunlight in a field, and has the caption '1865. Dec.
1st—Severe Frost and Sleet', thus demonstrating his incompetence at
weather prediction.
Notes the 'clever dodge' invented by the '"men of business" who manage
Railway Companies and other speculations' for borrowing money 'which they have
no moral right to borrow', and the unsuccessful attempt of
John Russell (1st Earl
Russell)Russell, Lord John, 1st Earl Russell
(1792–1878)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> to convince
British
MuseumBritish Museum
CloseView the register entry >> trustees of his plans to reform the museum. The writer
considers the state of the museum to be 'preposterous' and declares that he
avoids taking foreign tourists to see the stuffed animals and relics. Later
notes
George Grey'sGrey, Sir George
(1799–1882)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> speech
accompanying the new government bill for 'dealing with the Rinderpest', and
details some aspects of the bill: for example, the bill provides for 'the
slaughter and burial of diseased cattle, and for the isolation of suspected
beasts'. Notes discussion in the
House of LordsHouse of Lords
CloseView the register entry >>
of rinderpest, in which
Henry G Grey (3rd Earl
Grey)Grey, Henry George, 3rd Earl Grey (formerly styled
'Viscount Howick')
(1802–94)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> criticizes the slowness of 'proceeding by Bill' and
'recommends resolutions'. Later notes
John S Mill'sMill, John Stuart
(1806–73)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> maiden
speech as a member of Parliament, a speech discussing the economic impact of
rinderpest. (76)
Announces the subjects to be covered in lecture courses given by various
professors at the
University of
OxfordUniversity of Oxford
CloseView the register entry >>. The subjects are either absurdly trivial or subversive. For
example, the 'Regius Professor of Medicine will deliver a course of
HOLLOWAY'SHolloway, Thomas
(1800–83)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> Pills to any
gentleman desirous of taking them' and the 'Professor of Mechanical Philosophy
will lecture during the present term on Hair Brushing by machinery with
observations on the Heads of Houses'.
Implicitly likening the Fenians to the cattle plague, notes the government's
suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act in Ireland, remarking that the 'Fenian-pest
has to be stamped out'. Later notes the passage of the 'Cattle Bill' and a bill
'enabling Government to seize the Telegraph lines in Ireland', and notes
Thomas Hughes'sHughes, Thomas
(1822–96)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>
resistance to a railway bill. (86)
Animal Husbandry, Disease, Government, Politics, Animal Behaviour,
Class
Responding to the passage of a government bill for dealing with the cattle
plague, this poem is written from the perspective of a cow. It begins by
doubting whether this legislation will save the lives of cows 'e'en if the
plague's got o'er'. The author then reveals that he had hoped that local
self-government would be the solution, but then contrasts the power of the
'gentle' Home Secretary
George GreyGrey, Sir George
(1799–1882)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> over the
'English roast' to that of the more capricious local authorities who 'read the
Council's Orders at their will'. Notes that Grey and
Thomas G
BaringBaring, Thomas George, 1st Earl of Northbrook
(1826–1904)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> successfully 'quenched' the more aggressive attempts by the
'squires' to halt the plague, but then describes the conflict between Grey and
George W HuntHunt, George Ward
(1825–77)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> who
attacked self-government on behalf of the squirearchy. Whatever the outcome of
Hunt's attempt to rid the country of rinderpest, he and other cows accept that
they must suffer the 'burden' and 'pay the shot'. Explains that the price he
and other cows have paid is being prevented from changing a field or crossing a
road, and complains that while foreign cattle are doomed to die 'where we
land', native cattle are 'debarred from cure', and that there is 'No med'cine
but the pole-axe'. Notes that new act is so opaque that though they 'are such
as cows might draw, / They won't leave their construction to the cows', and
ridicules the fact that 'all collective wisdom can achieve' is slaughter.
Opines that it is no longer a choice between 'kill or cure', since 'The case
has grown past cure, howe'er you kill'. Concludes by noting that
the wide coverage of the disease has caused a change from 'panic to paralysis'
and led to more acts being introduced to quash the disease.
Punch, 50 (1866), 87.
An Old Nursery Chime (New Song for the Cattle Plague
Debates)
Set to the tune of the nursery rhyme 'Jack and Jill', the writer notes that
the promoters of both government bills believe the only effective cure for the
cattle plague is slaughter, and while 'GREYGrey, Sir George
(1799–1882)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> comes down / Poleaxe on
crown, / And
HUNTHunt, George Ward
(1825–77)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> comes axing arter'.
Written from the perspective of a student at a military college, who asks Mr
Punch to help him solve an astronomical problem, the solution to which will
determine his suitability as a military officer. The problem is deliberately
abstruse, requiring the determination of 'the Longitude of the South Pole, and
the Error of Rate of the Compass at that Station' from various
observations.
Written from the perspective of a railway company director, who boasts about
the undisputed 'progress' of railway despots and their destruction of peace,
and the fact that the 'mercantile men' of railways can build lines, whether the
public wants them or not, wherever they like because they are 'out of
legality's reach'. Relishes the possibility of replacing homely cottage
retreats with 'the Asylum of youth', and the amount of 'silver and gold' to be
made from shattering the peace of 'Lone valleys and rocks' where 'the sound of
the train-starting bell' was 'never heard'. Continues to boast about the power
of railway directors to destroy homesteads, because of their 'many and mighty'
parliamentary friends have helped them secure the land rights of others.
Savours the destruction of the view of
St Paul's
CathedralSt Paul's Cathedral
CloseView the register entry >> and wonders if the people of 'a neighbouring land' would
put up with their 'doings'. Concludes by noting the hostile 'swarm round our
ears' and their need to 'repair' their damage to the 'dispossessed' labouring
class, but believes money 'Gives Railway, oppression a grace, / And reconciles
men to—what not?'.
Railways, Transport, Animal Behaviour, Telegraphy, Technology, War,
Environmentalism, Politics, Government
Notes
James L
O'Beirne'sO'Beirne, James Lyster
(b. 1820)
Stenton 1976 CloseView the register entry >> enquiry whether the
Board of TradeBoard of Trade
CloseView the register entry >>
'would do nothing to obviate the danger to which persons on horseback and in
carriages are exposed by the railway-engines which now run shrieking across
thoroughfares and terrifying horses'. The Secretary for the Board of Trade,
Thomas
Milner-GibsonMilner-Gibson, Thomas
(1806–84)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>, insisted that the board would act 'if authorities
complained' but that 'private persons had no right to complain of being
smashed'. Describes
Robert W
Crawford'sCrawford, Robert Wigram
(1813–89)
WBI CloseView the register entry >> criticism of the Indian telegraph, and Punch
laments the 'nonsense [...] transmitted by polyglot clerks'. Notes the proposal
by
John T F Mitford (2nd
Baron Redesdale)Mitford, John Thomas Freeman, 1st Earl of
Redesdale and 2nd Baron Redesdale
(1805–86)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> to 'revolutionise the system on which railways
enterprises were promoted'. Punch thinks Redesdale is 'at least ten
years too late' and, noting the encroachments of railways on London, suggests
that the capital should relocate to Winchester. (98) Notes the passage of the
'Bill for making a new Brighton Railway' and the announcement, in the
Royal NavyRoyal Navy
CloseView the register entry >> estimates
debate, of
Cowper P Coles'sColes, Cowper Phipps
(1819–70)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>
apology for his anger towards the Navy over the design of his turrets for
ships. (98–99)
Hunting, Crime, Ornithology, Cruelty, Cultural Geography
Discusses a
Retford and Gainsborough
NewsRetford, Worksop, Isle of Axholme and Gainsborough News
(1855–1900)
Genuki CloseView the register entry >> report of blackbird shooting in Willingham. Believes the
interest shown by villagers in this activity more closely resembles the
attitude of the French than the British towards shooting. Explains that the
blackbird is a 'destructive and mischievous bird' and suggests that Willingham
residents might also follow the French in including the bird in their
'dietary'. Opposed to this form of hunting, Punch ironically suggests
that the villagers should kill and eat other birds, including cock-robins,
goldfinches, and geese.
Attacking the degrading routines to which medical practitioners are
subjected in the army, the advertiser asks for young, highly qualified and 'Not
Proud' surgeons to apply for army service. Insists that applicants must be
fellows of the
Royal
College of SurgeonsRoyal College of Surgeons
CloseView the register entry >>, have obtained an English physician's degree,
and have the 'breeding, habits, and manners of gentlemen'. Warns that
applicants must be prepared to accept snubs from combatant officers and sit at
a side table in the mess.
Medical Practitioners, Medical Treatment, Disease, Crime
Describes an inquest into the death of a crew member of the
St Andrew's
CastleSt Andrews Castle, ship CloseView the register entry >>. The jury returned the verdict that the deceased had
died from scurvy, while the medical witness,
Henry LeachLeach, Henry
(1836–79)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>, argued
that the deceased had not been given the appropriate drink for preventing
scurvy: he had been administered a citric acid and water mixture instead of
lime-juice. Notes that the jury wanted to bring a charge of manslaughter
against the chemist who administered the drink, but the coroner refused.
Punch agrees that an absent-minded chemist should be charged with
manslaughter, but argues that a practitioner who 'knowingly and wilfully'
supplies 'useless stuff under the name of a remedy' should suffer 'capital
punishment'.
Describes the 'complicated locks' which women now use to trap hair, which
are more complicated than anything designed by
Joseph BramahBramah, Joseph
(1748–1814)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> or
Charles ChubbChubb, Charles
(1772–1846)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>.
Describes earlier styles of hair-trap and a visit to 'an exhibition in Hanover
Square' where the author saw the terrifying 'process of trap-manufacture', a
process involving machinery that was so daunting that it prompted the author to
imagine it functioning as a military weapon or instrument of torture.
Scientific Practitioners, Education, Universities, Education,
Industry, Religious Authority
This threnody on Whewell begins by describing the authority and stern
features of the recently deceased Master of
Trinity College, CambridgeTrinity College, Cambridge CloseView the register entry >>, and
notes the passing of a man who divided 'the great Court' and from whom 'idlers'
shrunk from 'chiding'. Proceeds to trace Whewell's humble early life, noting
that he was the 'Son of a hammer-man' and appropriately turned into a
'Sledge-hammer smiter, in body and brain'. Continuing to praise Whewell's
'rude' but ceaseless strength, likens his intellectual progress at the
University of CambridgeUniversity of Cambridge
CloseView the register entry >> to a 'fair
combat' in which he triumphed over 'Rivals', and notes how he surpassed 'the
crowd of / Heads and Professors' at Trinity College. Notes that those 'who
envied his power' believed 'Science [to be] his strength, and Omniscience his
weakness', while those 'whom he silenced with more might than meekness / Carped
at his back'. Admits that he may have lacked 'Milder men's graces' but asserts
that he was 'honest, kind hearted and brave'. Urges that 'England should
cherish all lives', however lowly their beginnings, and especially those of
people like Whewell who have achieved so much. Points out that even those boys
who 'chafed at his chiding' and other disciplinary measures 'Rev'rently think
of "the Master" to-day'. Believes the totality of his achievements makes us
mourn 'his seat empty in chapel and hall'. Notes that he rests in the 'dim'
ante-chapel in Trinity 'Where
NEWTON'SNewton, Sir Isaac
(1642–1727)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> statue looms ghostly
and white', and where Whewell's 'Broad brow' will be 'set rigid in
thought-mast'ring grapple' and his eyes looking up for 'more light'. Concludes
by noting Whewell's final resting place in the chapel he loved so much.
Punch, 50 (1866), 112.
Goody Two-Shoes to the Gossips. On the New-Born Babe
Politics, Government, Human Development, Medical Practitioners,
Domestic Economy
Likening the birth of the parliamentary reform bill to that of a baby, this
poem is written from the perspective of a gossipy mother welcoming his birth.
She begins by describing the delicate health of the baby's mother (the
Houses of
ParliamentHouses of Parliament
CloseView the register entry >>) and pondering the features of the child, wondering
whether it will be 'as small and piney-whiney as its brothers' (i.e. other
reform bills). While other mothers debate the potential of the child to live up
to expectations, the 'Doctor talks so round-about' and looks 'so mysterus'.
Concludes by pointing out that the 'hopes for the little ducky' depend on 'how
they're nussed [nursed]' which takes so long in Parliament.
Discusses a letter to
The TimesThe Times
(1777–1900+)
Waterloo
Directory CloseView the register entry >> in
which
George J
SymonsSymons, George James
(1838–1900)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> called for observations of a curious meteorological
phenomenon—the 'fall of "water in a semi-solid state far denser than
snow, and yet not hail nor ice"'. The author argues that what Symons calls
'natural snowballs' are 'lusus naturae', and proceeds to explain the
origin of showers of such snowballs, frogs and fishes, aerolites, and other
peculiar precipitations that he believes to be true on the basis of
'water-spouts'. Explains that he has recently inspected an aerolite at the
'conversazione at the house of a distinguished savant' and that
if it had 'tumbled from the moon, or the interplanetary spaces' as they are
'supposed to do', then they would be 'dashed all to atoms'. The author points
out that the size and warmth of aerolites mitigates against this theory and
suggests that they have been launched from a place 'Not so far as to be out of
the reach of a tolerably bold climbing boy'. Urges meteorologists to return to
the giant beanstalk of the fable, where they will find the source of the
strange snowballs. 'Your men of science', he tells Punch, 'will learn,
to their confusion, that [Symons's snowballs] are moulded by fairy hands' and
used by elves in their play. In an editorial postscript, Punch invites
the correspondent to use the strait-jacket left in the periodical's office.
Amusement, Medical Treatment, Hospitals, Class, Utilitarianism, Animal
Husbandry, Disease
Noting the increased realism sought by theatre managers for their dramatic
productions, anticipates the use of 'real paupers all lying really ill' and
real surgery for 'a drama called the Union Infirmary', and the use of 'real
cows' and 'real cow-doctors' in plays involving the cattle plague.
Periodicals, Entomology, Natural History, Language
Responding to news of the launch of a new periodical, the
Hornsey
HornetHornsey Hornet
(1866–67)
Hornet
(1867–80)
Waterloo
Directory CloseView the register entry >>, anticipates other new entomogically-titled periodicals
including the 'Hampstead Humble Bee' and the 'Surbiton
Scorpion'.
Begins by explaining that the lessee of the Scilly Isles,
Augustus J
SmithSmith, Augustus John
(1804–72)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>, supported the attempt to build a railway on the land of 'the
proud
Lord of
BrownlowEgerton-Cust (formerly Egerton, formerly
Cust), John William Spencer, 2nd Earl Brownlow
(1842–1867)
WBI CloseView the register entry >>'—Berkhampstead Common. Describes how the railway
navvies, armed with crowbars, congregated together and travelled through the
night on the 'steam demon', and how Smith challenged the rights of Brownlow to
the land and the navvies began removing the iron railings that protected the
common.
Class, Industry, Government, Politics, Utilitarianism, Hospitals,
Medical Treatment, Disease, Health, Public Health, Veterinary Science,
Religion, Morality
Following a recent description given by
Henry H M Herbert (4th
Earl of Carnarvon)Herbert, Henry Howard Molyneux, 4th Earl of
Carnarvon
(1831–90)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> and the Archbishop of York,
William
ThomsonThomson, William
(1819–90)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>, of the 'brutalities to which the sick poor are subject in
the infirmaries of most of the London workhouses', suggests two contrasting
courses of action. The first is the levying of a metropolitan rate that will
make the infirmaries 'decent'. The second is 'premised' on an analogy between
infirmaries for the poor and an imaginary hospital for 'diseased or worn-out
dogs and horses'. Describes the filthy environment suffered by the animals, the
lack of medical attention, the irregular administration of medicines, the foul
air, and the neglect of paralysed animals. Concludes that such an animal
infirmary would be condemned by the
Royal Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to AnimalsSociety for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
CloseView the register entry >>, which would be forced to
solve the problem by killing the animals. Argues that if the metropolitan rate
for supporting pauper infirmaries is considered too expensive then killing
paupers is the only course left open. Suggests that this course of action would
be 'just as moral' as letting paupers 'die in misery' and that it cannot be
considered 'repugnant to our common Christianity' when that faith has long
allowed the poor to be inhumanely treated.
Discusses a newspaper report of the researches of
Robert A SmithSmith, Robert Angus
(1817–84)
DSB CloseView the register entry >>,
who found that air from a 'London Law Court' 'is very bad indeed' and more
deficient in oxygen than 'any specimens found by him during the day, in any
inhabited place above ground!'. Reflecting on the fact that this air is worse
than that found in such unsavoury places as an 'East-end sweater's garret', the
author explains how Smith established the quality of air in terms of quantity
of oxygen, and suggests some unlikely ways in which the moisture on the window
of the court (used by Smith in his analysis) could have been produced (for
example, 'the quintessence of agonised witnesses'). Notes Smith's argument that
the air in the court can only be purified by passing a sustained current of
good air through it, and invites him to 'analyse some of the air of the
House of
CommonsHouse of Commons
CloseView the register entry >>—after say, the debates on the Second Reading of the
Reform Bill'.
Animal Husbandry, Disease, Religious Authority, Miracle,
Supernaturalism, Military Technology, Railways, Transport, Commerce,
Charlatanry, Government
Describes the response by senior statesmen and clergymen to the government's
refusal to 'appoint a national Fast Day as a remedy for the Rinderpest'. Also
notes the remarks of
Spencer C
Cavendish (Marquess of Hartington)Cavendish, Spencer Compton, 8th Duke of
Devonshire (formerly styled 'Marquess of Hartington')
(1833–1908)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> on 'big guns' and the 'exposure'
by
John T F Mitford (2nd
Baron Redesdale)Mitford, John Thomas Freeman, 1st Earl of
Redesdale and 2nd Baron Redesdale
(1805–86)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> of the 'manner in which schemers get up Railway
Companies, to the detriment of the public'.
Quackery, Periodicals, Medical Treatment, Charlatanry,
Patronage
Discusses an advertisement in
The TimesThe Times
(1777–1900+)
Waterloo
Directory CloseView the register entry >> from
an Hungarian baron who seeks a cure for lumbago, an advertisement that
Punch speculates was written by a quack. Accordingly, anticipates that
there will shortly appear another advertisement from the baron upholding a
quack remedy as the solution to his problem. Concludes by warning, 'We shall
look out for you, Quack, whoever you are'.
Consists of eleven pictures depicting the story of an hirsute 'artist' who,
seeking to have his hair cut by the simplest means, determines at last to have
his hair dressed. This involves having his hair brushed and almost removed by a
powerful rotary brush and his hair 'parted by a galvanic battery'. The
illustrations include a picture of the artist's head between wires emerging
from an induction coil and switch.
Notes the invention by
Alexander M
BellBell, Alexander Melville
(1819–1905)
WBI CloseView the register entry >> of a 'phonetic alphabet, the signs of which can be made to
constitute visible speech'. Thinks this has the advantage that 'everybody will
be sure to see' what you mean.
Punch, 50 (1866), 142.
Fast and Humiliation; or, Sick Beasts v. Sick Paupers
Disease, Health, Class, Sanitation, Utilitarianism, Animal Husbandry,
Religious Authority, Industry, Morality, Human Development,
Periodicals
Responding to the call by clergymen for a national fast day to arrest the
cattle plague, the author begins by asking how people are supposed to 'Fast and
humiliate' themselves in order 'to avert the wrath of Heaven!', and ponders the
rituals that are intended to achieve this result. Adopting the language of a
preacher, wonders whether the 'Lessons of the Day' are 'written' in the filthy
habitations of cattle. Warns that 'Our cruelty to cattle falls in curse
of plague and blain' but emphasises that 'the real "Lesson of the Day's" on
"cruelty to man"', lessons to be read in the 'workhouse ward'.
Identifies the workhouse as the place where there is true 'plague' and 'cruelty
to animals'. Considers that these degrading actions should 'awake wrath in
God', and points out the frequency with which 'Reports, inquiries, inquests,
leading articles' on these horrors are published in the newspapers. Proceeds to
summarise typical horrors from the workhouse including the vermin who wax 'ripe
on human rot', the 'pauper nurse, the slattern meal, change-medley, draught or
pill', 'acute diseases' that grow 'chronic', and the hastily acting poor law
guardians who sweep filth beneath paupers' beds. Presents a harrowing account
of the death of a pauper 'turned out just on the edge of doom, / To the winter
cold and darkness of the old men's common-room', and the death of a newly-born
baby. Concludes by angrily condemning the call for 'Fast and humiliation' just
because 'beef's up at Leadenhall', when 'round us' lies evidence of 'our own
neglect and greed'.
The initial letter forms part of an illustration showing a
blindfolded cherub sitting at a chemical laboratory bench on which rest bottles
and a balance. Beneath the bench lie a mortar and pestle, while near the cherub
sits a large basket labelled 'D. Cupid Esq. F.R.S. Illusions (For Analysis)'
and which appears to contain ground chemicals. The extract comes from the
North
British ReviewNorth British Review
(1844–71)
Waterloo Directory
CloseView the register entry >> (this is probably a reference to
Hutton 1866Hutton, Richard
Holt 1866. 'Ecce Homo and Modern Scepticism', North
British Review, 5 n.s., 124–153
CloseView the register entry >>) and describes
Thomas H
Huxley'sHuxley, Thomas Henry
(1825–95)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> argument that scepticism is the 'highest of duties' and
that 'all faith' is 'blind' when based 'on any kind of authority but that of
scientific experience'. The extract concludes by criticizing Huxley's argument:
the writer speculates what it would be like for a women to doubt 'whether she
ought to love till scientific habits of mind had verified the credentials [of a
suitor]!'. Punch believes it can imagine this situation and presents a
short drama which seeks to expose the inappropriateness of Huxley's argument,
not least in the problems encountered during courtship. It is set in an
'elegant drawing room' where a young lady, Isabel, sits reading. Her scepticism
is obvious from the moment when she has to verify whether her mother has gone
out by saying to herself: 'The carriage is certainly gone, and I may accept the
evidence of my eyes, the double reflection of the retina, uniting into one
image'. She is soon greeted by her lover Augustus whose impassioned attempts to
win Isabel's hand in marriage contrast with her cold scepticism, not least
toward Augustus's myriad arguments for his suitability as her husband. For
example, when Augustus asks whether he is punctual, Isabel replies, 'Yes [...]
allowing for the variation of ordinary watches'. Later, Isabel doubts whether
Augustus's father is genuinely rich, surmising that his beard is 'probably
dyed'. Despite Augustus's assurance to the contrary, Isabel continues her
sceptical approach and warns him that he has 'hardly examined his toilette
table', while the 'absence of colouring fluid might only show that he is dyed
at the hairdressers'. She proceeds to question Augustus's other grounds for
believing his father to be rich, by doubting the conclusiveness of Augustus's
remarks that he had been with his father to the bank 'and seen him take the
dividends [of his shares] on £90,000'. Later, when Isabel asks for
further proof that Augustus loves her, Augustus replies, 'have I not said and
sworn it a hundred times', an answer which Isabel thinks 'unworthy' of a
'pupil' of Huxley. Augustus grows so exasperated by her scepticism that he
offers one final proof that he is 'a man to be trusted'—that he is a
'regular and diligent student of Punch'. This finally makes Isabel
declare herself to be his, although her 'own character as a Huxleian' makes her
seek proof of this and question him on the 'contents of his last six
numbers'.
Race, Ethnology, Cultural Geography, Politics, Government, Human
Development, Animal Behaviour, Mental Illness
Compares the behaviour of Malays, who are occasionally seized by a 'fierce
frenzy', to that of a statesman who, anticipating the outcome of the reform
debate, 'snatches up a rhetorical dagger' and rushes into the debate,
'startling one Minister, pinking another, and flooring a third with rollicking
ferocity'. Points out that while the 'savage' can be 'pardoned on account of
the climate', the atmosphere of the
House of
CommonsHouse of Commons
CloseView the register entry >> is not an excuse for the statesman.
Discusses a story in the
Northern
Daily StarNorthern Daily Star
(cited 1866)
PU1/50/15/3 CloseView the register entry >> of a horse in Newcastle whose illness was traced to
a living frog (rather than worms) which the horse had 'swallowed when
drinking'. Adds that the frog has been 'preserved in spirit' to satisfy those
who believe it might be 'some sort of polypus'. Notes the difficulty of
supposing that reptiles 'are capable of existing as Entozoa' by pointing
to fables of frogs and toads inside old women and the discovery of 'Batrachians
[frogs] [...] in the hearts of solid oak trees'. Concludes by suggesting that
the frog in the Newcastle horse is analogous to those 'in the conglomerate'
which
Roualeyn G G
CummingCumming, Roualeyn George Gordon-
(1820–66)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> was supposed to send to
Richard OwenOwen, Richard
(1804–92)
DSB CloseView the register entry >>.
Punch, 50 (1866), 160.
This is Captain Larboard and His Wonderful Bedstead
This illustration of Captain Larboard's attempt to 'protract his inventive
and useless existence into the twentieth century' shows an old man (Larboard)
in a bed, which is being oriented by means of cables stretching between the
bottom of the bed and a windlass operated by another man. The caption explains
that the magnet above Larboard's head increases his 'vital energy while the
windlass regulates the bed by the points of the compass', which stands behind
the other man. The caption concludes with Larboard's order to his assistant to
orientate the bed so that it does not generate too strong a dose of
magnetism.
Discusses aspects of
Ernest A Hart'sHart, Ernest Abraham
(1835–98)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>
'account of the way in which the sick are nursed in London workhouses'.
Presents evidence of poorly paid and overworked workhouse surgeons who have to
attend large numbers of paupers suffering from 'acute diseases'. Compares the
poor supply of surgeons to the poor supply of air from 'Bumbledom' to
workhouses, noting that paupers in workhouse infirmaries breath the air
contaminated with fumes from bone boilers and with dust. (The reference is to
the parish beadle Bumble in
Charles
Dickens'sDickens, Charles
(1837–96)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>Oliver Twist[Dickens, Charles
John Huffam] 1838. Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's
Progress, 3 vols, London: Richard Bentley
CloseView the register entry >>.)
Insists this demonstrates that 'Bumbledom' cannot be trusted with 'the care of
our sick poor', and notes the probable resistance to a society for improving
workhouse infirmaries from 'all the empty-headed parrots who prate about the
virtues of self-government' and criticise centralisation. Urges that 'no
parrot' must 'dissuade us from our duty, even if we have to kick the Bumbles
into space'.
Notes a complaint by the 'medical profession' that their status in the
Guards has changed from 'regimental' (which they were originally promised) to
'brigade', a change that the medical professionals believe will 'prevent them
from ever reaching the higher grades in the service to which they would
otherwise rise in due course'. Explains that the government has not taken any
steps to make the Commander-in-Chief of the British Army,
Prince George (2nd Duke of
Cambridge)George (George William Frederick Charles), Prince, 2nd Duke of Cambridge
(1819–1904)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>, reverse this decision, but the writer agrees that this
is 'the way to treat those snobs of Army Surgeons'. Draws attention to the
'scarcity of surgeons in the Army and
NavyRoyal Navy
CloseView the register entry >>' in 'these weak
piping times of peace', but fully expects this to change when 'war breaks
out'—when there will be enough inducements to tempt medical professionals
into military service.
Education, Medical Practitioners, Language, Disease, Anatomy, Ancient
Authorities
Noting Mr Punch's interest in 'the edifying array of ponderous, octosyllabic
learning with which certain of our medical teachers here are wont to garnish
the Examination paper set before their admiring pupils', draws attention to a
paper read 'to one of our famed Medical Societies' on 'ANENCEPHALATROPHIA' or
'the wasting of a non-existent Brain'. Believes this discredits the
HippocraticHippocrates of Cos
(460–370 BC)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> dictum, 'ex nihilo nihil
fit' (out of nothing, nothing comes) but supports the 'more congenial
doctrine of 'similis similibus gaudet' (the same will rejoice in the
same).
Punch, 50 (1866), 162.
A New Paper (From Our Collwell Hatchney Correspondent)
Discusses advertisements for a 'patent self-acting corkscrew' which is
'vastly useful' but 'slightly dangerous', and anticipates such an invention
opening all the bottles in a wine cellar before they are required.
Describes the 'Gas Bill debate', during which
John A RoebuckRoebuck, John Arthur
(1802–79)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>
declared that all London gas companies are cheats. In relating the oyster
debate wonders whether
George B AiryAiry, Sir George Biddell
(1801–92)
DSB
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>
would call 'little oysters oysteroids'. Later, describes a 'Vaccination
Debate', and states the government's intention to carry a 'complete system of
compulsory vaccination'. (164)
Shows the ways in which various human activities—including police
arrests, horse-racing, selling commodities in the streets,
Barclay and
Perkins'sBarclay and Perkins, firm CloseView the register entry >> transportation of beer, the procession of the Horse
Guards, and perambulations in parks—would change were humans to possess
the bodies of horses.
Begins by reminding Mr Punch of the difficulty of shifting the
HMS
NorthumberlandHMS Northumberland CloseView the register entry >>, the ironclad stuck in its moorings
at
Millwall Iron-WorksMillwall Iron-Works Company
CloseView the register entry >>. Warns of the
cost of trying to solve this problem by buoying the ship with bales of cotton
or by raising her with balloons, and explains the difficulty of applying to the
ship 'expansive-fungus-growth power', which once raised pavements in
Basingstoke. Proceeds to declare himself to be 'a sceptic' on 'the subject of
Spiritualism', doubting whether the 'faith or philosophy so-called, is founded
on any basis of certitude whatever'. He insists that according to the 'common
sense which repudiates the supernatural' his uncertainty about the fraudulent
basis of Spiritualism is 'equivalent to an implicit and unhesitating belief' in
spiritualism. Accordingly, he identifies himself as a believer in spiritualism
and proposes that the 'experimentum crucis for testing its truth or
fallacy' is to test whether the forces associated with spiritualism can move
the Northumberland. Explains that enough 'spirit-power' could be
assembled with 'a sufficient number of hands', including those of
Daniel D HomeHome, Daniel Dunglas
(1833–86)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>,
William HowittHowitt, William
(1792–1879)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>,
and
Samuel C HallHall, Samuel Carter
(1800–89)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>.
Suggests that
Augustus De
MorganDe Morgan, Augustus
(1806–71)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> should 'attend and see fair play', but doubts whether
Michael
FaradayFaraday, Michael
(1791–1867)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> or
David BrewsterBrewster, Sir David
(1781–1868)
DSB
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>
(both notoriously sceptical of spiritualism) will participate. Stresses the
'absolute inexpensiveness of Spiritual force', and points out that Home
declines expenses; however, since
Mary A
MarshallMarshall, Mary Anne
(1842–84)
WBI CloseView the register entry >> is a 'paid medium' she should not be invited.
Mr Punch's remarks on the parliamentary reform bill, including his belief
that 'the social effects of railways, telegraphs, penny papers, cooperative
societies, working-men's clubs, and industrial exhibitions must have their
reflection and complement in political changes also', that 'the material
prosperity of England depends mainly on her manufactures, trade and commerce',
and that 'the prosperity of manufactures, trade, and commerce depends mainly on
sound political economy'.
Responding to recent praise for
George PeabodyPeabody, George
(1795–1869)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>,
the writer argues that English merchants should follow his example and help
house a 'thousand Londoners from wretchedness and dirt', including those forced
onto the streets by 'railways and embankments, and valley elevations'.
A list of absurd events at the
University of CambridgeUniversity of Cambridge
CloseView the register entry >>, including
lectures by the 'Professor of Optics' on 'Running "The High"', a lecturer who
will make those pupils 'found in the High' attend his course.
Presents an extract from a report of
John S Mill'sMill, John Stuart
(1806–73)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> speech
protesting against the removal of a productive tax, 'instead of applying its
produce in diminution of the Debt which we leave to our children'. Mill also
warned about the decreasing store of coal in Britain and the threat this posed
to the country's currently unsurpassed manufacturing output, and argued in
favour of leaving enough coal for Britain's economic posterity. His defence of
the need to consider the posterity of the country includes the claim that
Britain's rich treasures of heroic and virtuous deeds had been 'amassed for us
only because our ancestors have cared and taken thought for posterity. We owe
it to our great masters of thought —our
BACONBacon, Francis, 1st Viscount St Alban
(1561–1626)
DSB
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>, and
NEWTONNewton, Sir Isaac
(1642–1727)
DSB CloseView the register entry >>, and
LOCKELocke, John
(1632–1704)
DSB CloseView the register entry >>'
and others. (174)
Announces the publication of
OrthropraxyBigg, Henry Heather
1865. Orthopraxy: The Mechanical Treatment of Deformities, Debilities, and
Deficiencies of the Human Frame; A Manual, London: John Churchill
CloseView the register entry >>, a work
describing the 'invaluable' mechanical therapy invented by the author. The
author explains that he bought the book in the belief that it was entitled
'Authorpraxy' and would accordingly offer 'medical hints for morbid
novelists'. Concludes that the latter work remains to be written.
Paper to be Read at the Forthcoming Meeting of the
British
AssociationBritish Association for the Advancement of Science
CloseView the register entry >> at Nottingham. On Ovis Mercenaries, a New Species of
British Sheep
Begins by explaining how this 'highly uninteresting addition to the British
Fauna' was revealed during an inquiry into procedures at the recent election in
Nottingham. This inquiry was prompted by allegations of bribery and corruption,
and scenes of rioting and criminal damage. According to a report in
The TimesThe Times
(1777–1900+)
Waterloo
Directory CloseView the register entry >>, the
candidates had hired 'lambs' to intimidate and threaten voters for rival
parties (Anon 1866Anon. 1866. [Nottingham Election Petition], The
Times, 29 March 1866, p. 6
CloseView the register entry >>). Explains
that this species of lamb has 'remarkable precocity', a 'physical development
in the inverse ratio to that of their mental faculties', but none of the
'amiable and gentle disposition' found in the young of 'the ordinary species'.
Compares their 'powers of aggression' to those of the gorilla 'as depicted by
MR. DU
CHAILLUDu Chaillu, Paul Belloni
(1831–1903)
CBD CloseView the register entry >>', and notes that such powers are particularly
evident during 'a contested election'. Explains that shepherds (political
candidates) have to control this tendency with 'the lavish administration of
stimulants [money]'. Distinguishes the species from sheep, pointing out that it
has 'an undoubted Hippocampus minor and overhanging posterior lobes', and
suggests that
Charles R
DarwinDarwin, Charles Robert
(1809–82)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> and
Thomas H
HuxleyHuxley, Thomas Henry
(1825–95)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> would be interested in this because it suggests a link
between 'Ruminantia and Bimana' (i.e. a link between cud-chewing animals and
man). Notes the robustness of the cranium in the species, the 'enormous'
muscular power, the 'adaptation of the anterior members [...] as organs of
offence' (a reference to weapons carried by voters), and 'pouches' for storing
stones. Concludes by noting that, when specimens of the animal were brought
before 'the Committee', surprise and disgust was felt owing to the fact that
the animals resembled humans and yet lacked 'Honesty and Truth'.
Discusses a letter in the
GrocerGrocer
(1862–1900+)
BUCOP CloseView the register entry >> from
W A FrithFrith, Mr W A
(fl. 1866)
PU1/50/17/7 CloseView the register entry >> who presents a
recipe for adulterating butter which he believes will make the butter trade
more lucrative. The first extract from Frith's letter shows how he adulterated
the butter with the relatively cheap ingredients of fat, potatoes, and salt,
while the second details the best types of ingredient to use and how best to
prepare them. Punch notes that Frith forgot to mention 'where the fat
employed in his "process as conducted in the laboratory" is to be most cheaply
obtained', a crucial omission for the 'fraudulent dealer'. Urges those who
'object to the adulteration of butter' to use Firth's process to prepare some
adulterated butter for comaprison under a microscope with real butter. They
will then be able to recognize the difference between 'butter and butter
plus potato-starch'.
Political Economy, Industry, Nationalism, Commerce, Energy, Force,
Economic Geology, Politics
Begins by explaining how 'Professor Porson' (a reference to
Richard PorsonPorson, Richard
(1759–1808)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>)
prompted him to reflect on
John S Mill'sMill, John Stuart
(1806–73)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> recent
parliamentary speech (an extract of which was discussed in
Anon, 'Punch's Essence of Parliament', Punch, 50 (1866), 174–75). Notes, following
William S
JevonsJevons, William Stanley
(1835–82)
DSB CloseView the register entry >>, as quoted by Mill, that coal supplies will diminish, with
the result that steam, and with it English manufacturing industry and 'wealth
and greatness', will be transferred to 'lands still abounding in coal'. Adds
that Mill also insisted that 'we owe posterity a debt which we contracted with
priority' and that 'we ought to set to work at reducing the National Debt for
posterity'. Argues that 'we should insure the gratitude of posterity if we
could provide it with coal, more effectually than we could by reducing the
National Debt', but suggests that importing a 'stock of coal' from 'our
American possessions' would not solve this because 'the foundation of magazines
of force for posterity [...] would necessitate the expenditure of a
corresponding amount of force, which we are unable to create'. Although
accepting the 'impossibility of the creation of force', suggests that the
'nature of things' might 'prove equal to the occasion' and 'afford posterity
some substitute for coal'.
Discusses a report of a landlord in Thorpe Henley who produced gaslight by a
'simple apparatus attached to the tap-room fire'. Expects that the landlord
will turn this into a profitable business and that tradesmen and domestic gas
consumers will accordingly try to obtain gas cheaply from the kitchen rather
than more expensively from 'the works of a Company'.
Medical Treatment, Pharmaceuticals, Crime,
Professionalization
Discusses a letter published in
The TimesThe Times
(1777–1900+)
Waterloo
Directory CloseView the register entry >> in
which the author criticizes the law forbidding chemists to leave their shops in
order to render medical assistance even in the most urgent cases. Presents the
correspondent's description of a case in which the death of a lady could have
been averted had two chemists done more than just send for a doctor.
Punch disagrees, distinguishing the 'profession and business of a
chemist and druggist' ('to make and sell medicines') from that of a physician
(who 'practise[s] physic'). Warns that chemists who gave medical assistance
would endanger patients' lives and their own careers.
Discusses the trial of two surgeons (father and son) who were accused of
malpractice against a poor shoemaker's daughter suffering from a 'bad knee'.
The surgeons insisted that they had treated the girl 'to the best of their
knowledge, skill, and judgement as medical men', and the medical witness called
to defend them vouched for the fact that the girl's knee was now free from
disease and that the surgeons were not acting improperly by using mercury in
their treatment. The jury deciding in favour of the surgeons, Punch
doubts whether the girl will be able to pay the 'heavy bill of costs' and
suspects that the surgeons will 'have to bear' the costs. Asks whether 'the
interests of the legal profession require that no effectual provision should be
made to protect honest people from having lawsuits instituted against them by
other people who are insolvent?' and enquires 'what security can be taken for
costs'?
Environmentalism, Industry, Light, Heat, Gas Chemistry, Pollution,
Public Health, Government
Begins by praising
ParliamentHouses of Parliament
CloseView the register entry >> for rejecting the bill for
building gas works in Victoria Park and upholds the poet's love of 'fresh air',
which he shares with those who think the 'gasometer stinks'. Explains that the
emissions associated with such manufactories—cyanogens, hydrogen, and
sulphureous fumes—are harmful to the lungs and trees. Describes the
enjoyment the poet obtained from walking in the park in the fresh air.
Education, Human Development, Domestic Economy, Nutrition,
Manufactories, Adulteration
Begins by advocating the need for 'everybody' to 'have a partial, if unable
to obtain a thorough knowledge of the manufacture' of common articles of food.
Presents a drama which the author hopes will 'show the result of a few
examinations instituted extemporaneously during meal-times'. The 'dish of
instruction' features Paterfamilias and his children, Mary, Tom, and Ellen.
Besides correcting Tom's sloppy grammar, Paterfamilias manages to induce Tom to
trace the production of butter to the stirring of the milkman. Despite his
efforts, Paterfamilias is unable to interest either his children or wife in his
'lecturing' and he is forced to stop.
Responding to the recent rejection of a parliamentary bill to build gasworks
on
Victoria ParkVictoria Park, Hackney CloseView the register entry >>,
five illustrations are presented comparing contemporary with earlier forms of
lighting. The first shows a man and a woman in eighteenth-century costume,
reading and darning by the light of a huge tallow candle, while the second
shows a skeletal and burnt tree illustrating the effects of the sulphurous
fumes emitted by gasworks. These two images show that 'Our ancestors were
content with tallow candles [...] but then they had no trees of [the latter]
description'. The next three illustrations represent the contemporary situation
with gas lighting. The first shows a gas lamp drawn in the form of a happy and
'brilliant' human being, the second shows the components of the meter drawn
with 'malignant' human features, and the third shows a bushy tree, drawn in the
shape of a 'benevolent' human. The captions of these three reveal that 'We, who
have a beautiful and brilliant gas [...] will not allow these malignant meters
[...] to distress this benevolent gentleman—no, not even in Victoria
Park'.
Railways, Commerce, Morality, Crime, Animal Husbandry, Disease,
Government
Notes the speech of
John T F Mitford (2nd
Baron Redesdale)Mitford, John Thomas Freeman, 1st Earl of
Redesdale and 2nd Baron Redesdale
(1805–86)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> on the 'evils of railway finance' and the 'resolute
measures' that are being taken to 'stamp out' the cattle plague that has just
appeared in Ireland.
Industry, Progress, Political Economy, Energy, Commerce, Nationalism,
Economic Geology, Animal Development, Nutrition, Government
Responding to
John S Mill'sMill, John Stuart
(1806–73)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> recent
parliamentary speech on the link between Britain's declining coal resources and
waning industrial productivity, this poem begins by emphasising the need for
'The Iron Horse', an allegorical figure of industry, to 'graze' on coal, a
resource that abounds beneath the earth. Warns that 'if we continue to consume'
'at our present pace' then the horse will be 'starved'. Emphasises the
dependence of 'England's wealth, of England's might' and town lighting on coal,
and criticises the fact that England sells coal abroad. Explains how the
'Prodigal' whose 'candle burnt, / At once at either end' shows how to 'expend'
fuel but not to preserve prosperity. Asks Mill how much longer industrial
technologies have to run with 'tons and tons' of coal being burnt each year.
Faced with the prospect that the 'fire in the grate' may soon die out urges
readers: 'Economise your coal!'.
Medical Treatment, Pharmaceuticals, Politics, Government
Shows
William E
GladstoneGladstone, William Ewart
(1809–98)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> as a chemist and druggist, standing behind the counter of
his shop. On the counter rest some of the tools of his trade (including a
mortar and pestle) but also some large bottles labelled with 'Extension of
Franchise' and 'Redistribution of Seats'—highly distasteful medicines to
some. Gladstone hands a bottle marked 'Reform' to
Benjamin
DisraeliDisraeli, Benjamin, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield
(1804–81)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>, who hesitates before accepting it. In the caption,
Gladstone advises Disraeli to 'take it at once; the more you look at it, the
worse you'll like it'. The title of the illustration parodies the way in which
chemists and druggists denote the composition of pharmaceuticals.
Discusses a report of a 'new species of disease' that has broken out among
geese and which some attribute 'to the easterly winds'. Believes it is a
'disease of repletion' since 'Geese are apt to stuff themselves'.
Shows an elderly married couple having their portraits taken in a
photographic studio. The man, Mr Simpkins, stands with his head placed against
a head-rest, while Mrs Simpkins sits waiting on a seat near him. The
photographer asks Mr Simpkins to hold his head steady and to look in the
direction of some young ladies who are close by. Anticipating her husband's
saucy behaviour towards the girls, Mrs Simpkins adopts an expression that means
'Just let me see him wink!!'.
Discusses the enquiry into the attempt by a Hyde Park constable to kill a
dog that was apparently suffering from hydrophobia. Presents an extract from
the policeman's testimony, which reveals that the dog had bitten him and that
he had then attempted to tie string round the dog's neck. Presenting the case
of a person who had contracted hydrophobia after being bitten by a stray dog in
Hyde Park, the author notes that the judge concluded that, while the constable
was 'no doubt doing his duty', it was 'monstrous' that dogs should be
'destroyed in the face of the public', and he accordingly fined the constable.
Punch is furious that a judge could 'fine a man half-a-crown [...] for
putting a dog to death', a penalty 'far too small [...] for killing a dog
wantonly and cruelly'.
Puzzles over an advertisement placed by 'Philo-Chemicus' in the
Chemical
NewsChemical News
(1859–1900+)
Waterloo
Directory CloseView the register entry >> for a chemical assistant in a private laboratory who
should preferably be a graduate and who is 'expected to carry out research, to
perform commercial analyses and occasionally to wait at a table'. Wonders what
sort of graduate will be qualified to fulfil these scientific and social tasks.
Asks 'how is the character of the graduate of the staircase [a waiter] to be
combined with that of the chemist' and suggests that the 'research' and
'commercial analyses' are euphemisms for other domestic chores including
carrying food and cleaning boots. Proceeds to suggest that given the place of
publication, the advertisement might be 'a specimen of the nomenclature of
modern alchemy', with Philo-Chemicus representing 'a warlock of the Rosy Cross'
and 'graduate' meaning 'adept'. Goes on to suppose something more sinister:
that the advertiser seeks an assistant with a degree in 'penal discipline' to
help with dubious 'operations'. Presents a possible response by Philo-Chemicus
to a graduate asking how often he would have to wait at the table. This
specifies that the assistant would only be required to wait at the table once a
month and asks the graduate to state his education and 'academical standing'.
Punch deduces from the wording of the letter that Philo-Chemicus is an
'amazing Snob'.
Arguing that the person who 'discovers a specific for a troublesome
irritating disease' shall receive 'immortality in the pages of Punch',
publishes a letter from a young (and therefore slightly illiterate) child, 'A B
C', to his 'Mama' in which he explains that he has 'gotthe chicken pox' and
asks for large quantities of sweet and savoury foodstuffs and a copy of
À Beckett
1846–48À Beckett,
Gilbert Abbott 1846–48. The Comic History of England,
London: Published at the Punch
Office
CloseView the register entry >>. Punch has no doubt of the efficacy of this
remedy.
Education, Human Development, Physical Geography, Mathematics,
Astronomy, Government
Describing the government's decision to make education in public schools
more 'extended' and 'thorough', Mr Punch notes that although enjoys classical
learning, 'it is rather a bore when your boy comes home from a great school,
perfect in his quantities and easy in Greek chorus', to find that he is
deficient in other areas: for example, that he 'shirks all conversation that
hints at geography', that he 'gets up three different results' when 'his Mamma
asks him to cast up her milliner's bill', and that 'he knows the tides are the
cause of the eclipses of the moon'. Concludes by criticising the fact that the
boy 'can just learn an isolated fact by an effort of memory, perhaps a
memoria technica, but that he has no power of generalising, or of
connecting his knowledge'.
Religion, Religious Authority, Faith, Zoology, Zoological Gardens,
Animal Husbandry, Disease, Cultural Geography, Politics
Describes some of the ways in which the statesman
George H
WhalleyWhalley, George Hammond
(1813–78)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> is trying to dissipate suspicions that his commitment to
Protestantism is questionable and that he is the 'Head Centre of the English
Jesuits'. His 'increased zeal against Popery' allegedly includes a letter to
Philip L
SclaterSclater, Philip Lutley
(1829–1913)
DSB CloseView the register entry >>, whom he has asked 'whether the handsome old French sailor
who makes tableaux with the Sea-Bear is a Catholic or a Protestant', and that
the answer to this question will determine whether he addresses 'a remonstrance
to the Bishops who are Fellows of the
Zoological
GardensZoological Society of London —Gardens
CloseView the register entry >>'. He is also 'about to move for a return of the number of
Irish cattle that have perished of Rinderpest, distinguishing between
Protestant and Catholic cows, as he has reason to believe the Jesuits have the
means of introducing the complaint into Ireland, in order to increase the
disaffection of the country'.
Describes the bloody conflict between the Hapsburg and Hohenzollern empires
as if they were two eagles that had earlier 'lived happily together' and
dismembered 'a poor Danish cock o' the wood' who 'objected to Germanisation'.
Notes how 'In couples they hunt keen as beagles' but 'fall out in dividing
their prey, / On what's called "want of honour 'mong Eagles"'. Proceeds to
describe the increasing friction between the birds, each appealing 'to the
buzzards and kites that around / Uneasily sidled and shuffled'—a
reference to other European nations with interests in this political situation.
Notes how, after the 'tearing of talons, the rending of beaks' the 'Eagle of
France' sailed in 'To avert the catastrophe dreaded', and urged its brother
eagles to save their 'talons and claws' for prey. Concludes with a description
of how the eagles agree to hold a congress to settle the issue.
Presents formulae from its 'Mathematical Correspondent' which show the
'shortest way to a female heart under any given circumstances'. These are less
mathematical than logical arguments. For example, 'If she is married, but not a
mother—Praise her Husband. If she is married, and also a
mother—Praise her Children'.
Grieving the mathematical ineptitude of a number of statesmen in the
'reformed Parliament', Mr Punch, 'Minister of Public Instruction', has compiled
a 'Handy-book of Arithmetic' and presents a few extracts from the work. He uses
arithmetical operations on political quantities to produce some decidedly
non-mathematical political conclusions. For example, under 'Division of
Parties', Mr Punch advises: 'Divide 310 Liberals, 200 Conservatives, and 58
ultra-Liberals by 3 Bills, 6 Instructions, and 9 Amendments. What will a
Ministerial measure come to. Ans. Grief'.
Presents the responses of various readers to the questions posed by 'An
anxious inquirer' concerning a 'species of pigeon called a "tumbler"'. In reply
to the inquirer's suggestion that the tumbler may be related to the town bird
called 'the "acrobat"', 'Our Own Professor of Nat. Hist.' makes a decidedly
unscientific attempt at the taxonomy and etymology of 'acrobat'. Later presents
droll answers to absurd questions concerning the behaviour of birds.
A response to the financial crisis of May 1866 caused by the failure of the
long-established banking house of
Overend,
Gurney, and Co.Overend, Gurney, and Co, firm CloseView the register entry >> Begins by asking
Benjamin
ColemanColeman, Benjamin
(fl. 1865)
WBI CloseView the register entry >> of the 'Stock Exchange, / And
Spiritual
MagazineSpiritual Magazine
(1860–77)
Waterloo
Directory CloseView the register entry >>' several questions about the alleged powers of
'Spirits', and then wonders if the spirits that 'attend' Coleman's steps would
lend 'A helping spirit-hand' and 'inform us who conspired / Against the Banks,
to sink the Shares' and to 'name the Bears'. Suggests that if one of them were
'an honest ghost' it would 'unmask the blackguard lot' and make 'The tables
turn on that vile gang'.
Begins by noting the common phenomenon, in 'parochial circles', of
'suspended animation' and the acceptance of being 'prematurely "laid out"'.
This leads to a discussion of a meeting of poor law guardians at
St James's
HallSt James's Hall
CloseView the register entry >>, where a speaker criticised those who had unjustly attacked St
Pancras poor law guardians for prematurely laying out a child 'as dead while
yet living' and for failing to give the child proper 'medical attendance'. The
speaker added that there was nothing 'disagreeable' about being prematurely
laid out. Punch ironically concludes that the hostility of
Angela G
Burdett-CouttsBurdett-Coutts, Angela Georgina, 1st
Baroness
(1814–1906)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> and her allies towards the
Poor Law BoardPoor Law Board
CloseView the register entry >>
was 'entirely sensational'. Argues that the public 'must be tickled' by this
because of their knowledge of many instances of medical incompetence and
malpractice in workhouse infirmaries. After a discussion of the remainder of
the guardians' meeting, Punch notes that they will not amend their
policy on laying out paupers, but insists that while the 'Guardians have good
reasons for wishing to preserve their "parochial" dignity and patronage [...]
we are afraid Bumbledom is on its last legs'. (The reference is to the parish
beadle Bumble in
Charles
Dickens'sDickens, Charles
(1837–96)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>Oliver Twist[Dickens, Charles
John Huffam] 1838. Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's
Progress, 3 vols, London: Richard Bentley
CloseView the register entry >>.)
The writer begins by telling Mr Punch that he is inspired by the recent
defeat of the bill to construct
Imperial Gas CompanyImperial Gas Light and Coke Company
CloseView the register entry >>
works in Victoria Park, and explains that 'ratepayers and householders of
Hackney Wick' are trying to crush the
Gas
Light and Coke CompanyGas Light and Coke Company
CloseView the register entry >> (whom the author evidently supports) which
is seeking parliamentary approval for an 'odoriferous plant' on the same site.
Describes a meeting held by the Hackney residents which discussed the pollution
of the proposed and existing factories in the neighbourhood and resolved to
form an opposition to 'the sanitary and salutiferous Bill for erecting
incense-breathing Gasworks only 800 yards' from the park. Argues that since the
gas companies provide great 'illuminating power', supply low cost gas, make
'moderate profits', and are willing to 'accommodate the public', then there is
every need to support the companies 'in all their designs' and to fight such
adversaries as the critics of the 'Gas Light and Coke Company'. Hopes that
despite the parliamentary defeat of the Corporation Gas Bill, this measure will
eventually succeed and thus serve 'the interests of a great Company'—the
Gas Light and Coke Company. Argues that since the defeat of the Imperial Gas
Company Bill was due to too much publicity, it is crucial that companies
'seeking Parliamentary powers to embellish and perfume Victoria Park, contrive
to keep their Bill to erect Gasworks for that purpose out of the lists of
[Parliamentary] Orders of the Day that appear in the newspapers'. Reminds Mr
Punch of the 'choicest scents' made from the 'residual products' of gasworks
and thus stresses that such manufactories will only add to the smell of flowers
in the park. Concludes by stressing that he has not been bribed by any gas
company.
The initial letter forms part of an illustration representing a poor law
union workhouse as a giant bee-hive into which stagger a long, winding queue of
paupers who have bees' wings and bodies. On either side of the nest stand an
enormous (compared with the diminutive paupers) matron and guardian. Flying
around the nest are other 'bees' associated with the workhouse, including
nurses and a clerk. The text begins by emphasising that the workhouse is meant
for 'penal tasks, designed to plague paupers', but then proceeds to outline
some of the workhouse reforms being promoted by
Ernest A HartHart, Ernest Abraham
(1835–98)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >> and
the Archbishop of York,
William
ThomsonThomson, William
(1819–90)
ODNB CloseView the register entry >>. Anticipates the time 'when the workhouse diet-scale will be
raised to a sufficiency of plain, wholesome food; when overcrowding will cease
in the sick-wards, and the patients in them will enjoy their due number of
cubic feet of air; when competent nurses, and not drunken creatures unable to
read, and accustomed to steal their beer and other stimulants, will be employed
to tend them; proper washerwomen to cleanse their linen without extorting
gratuities of gin for not returning it to them steeped in filth and verminous;
when further they will receive due medical assistance duly remunerated, and not
be suffered to die of neglected bedsores'. Believes this 'Workhouse of the
Future' will be a true 'House of regulated Industry', much like the beehive
depicted in the article.
A parody of the claim that birds (rather than insect vermin) are the most
redoubtable agricultural pest. Reports a lecture by Professor Crammer to the
members of the 'Loutsfield Sparrow Club' on the 'Uses of Grubs and
Caterpillars' and other vermin. He tells his rustic audience that insects did
not feed on 'cereal or other horticultural produce' but on weeds, 'injurious
elements in the earth at the roots of corn', and 'the smut and ergot that
infested the crops of wheat and corn'. Concludes that insects are actually a
'boon to the agriculturist', and advocates the destruction of sparrows,
finches, and other birds that damage and consume 'grain and other produce'.
Suggests that boys be encouraged to shoot them and describes the culinary uses
of these birds. Concludes by toasting caterpillars.
Written from the perspective of a town inhabitant who savours the delights
of living in the country during the summer. The narrator's anticipations of the
pleasantries of such a lifestyle are interspersed with diversions that relay
his own and friends' comments on the size and behaviour of wasps, hornets,
bees, and swans, which he thinks will spoil his anticipated pastoral bliss. The
first diversion includes the view of a 'country friend' who claims that
'Every Wasp that flies about in the early summer is a Queen Wasp; she is
double the size of other Wasps, and has twice the sting'. Later he notes
his friend's similar warning about the size and sting of the queen hornet, and
about the ability of swans to break a man's leg with their wings, and the
viciousness of swans.
Claims to have written to
Charles R
DarwinDarwin, Charles Robert
(1809–82)
DSB CloseView the register entry >> to ask whether, 'under his theory of development', a
'bay-pony' can ever 'become a sea-horse'.
Directs the attention of
ParliamentHouses of Parliament
CloseView the register entry >> to a newspaper extract
describing the number of people relieved at the
Hospital for the Diseases of the
ChestHospital for the Diseases of the Chest
CloseView the register entry >> in
Victoria ParkVictoria Park, Hackney CloseView the register entry >>.
Given the gasworks in the latter site, suggests that the tar products of gas
manufacture have the same beneficial effect on 'the human system' as tar water,
once known as a 'remedy for diseases of the chest'. Suggests also that this
might be why gas companies wish to build additional works on Victoria Park, but
thinks that this will only send more patients to the hospital.