Mr. Punch's History of Modern England, Vol. 2 (of 4).—1857-1874Graves, Charles L. (Charles Larcom)
History
Mr. Punch's History of Modern England, Vol. 2 (of 4).—1857-1874
Graves, Charles L. (Charles Larcom)
Great Britain -- History -- Victoria, 1837-1901 -- Humor
_Punch_ had no regrets when the old Hungerford Market (built in 1680,
rebuilt in 1831), an unsuccessful rival to Covent Garden, was swept away
in 1862 to make room for the new Charing Cross Terminus. But he was at
best a lukewarm supporter of the extension of London railways,
underground and suburban. The progress of the excavations and the
"horrible mess" in the New Road, elicited a growl at the "Underground"
and the delays in the construction of the "Sewer Railway." It was
suggested that Dr. Cumming had found out that the opening of the line
would bring on the end of the world before the date he had fixed for
that catastrophe; that garrotters had found the excavations a convenient
hiding-place, and so forth. Blundering, jobbing, squabbling, and
litigation are also assigned as reasons for delay. In the following
year, 1863, protests against further extensions of the underground
trains reach a climax, and _Punch_ denounces the vandals who want to
ravage Sloane Square and Regent Street. In particular the viaduct
crossing Ludgate Hill roused his indignation, and the anti-utilitarian
point of view is maintained in the illustration of the "Highly
ornamental tank" with which the railway company proposed to block out
the view of St. Paul's, while the issue of Stanford's Railway Map of
London is made the occasion of a vehement tirade against the devastation
of London: "The railway man shall not be monarch of all he surveys."
_Punch_, we may add, admitted the decrease in railway accidents, but
attributed it to the pressure of public opinion and the penalties
exacted from companies for negligence in safeguarding passengers from
loss of life and limb.
[Sidenote: _Eheu Fugaces!_]
The pulling down of historic buildings or the removal of historic
landmarks invariably moved _Punch_ to regret or indignation. He
cordially approved, it is true, of the relief of the Park Lane block in
1864 by the cutting of Hamilton Place, and the removal of the narrowest
and most dangerous bottle-neck in the streets of London. And he
acquiesced in the removal of Charterhouse School to the country in the
interests of the boys, publishing, without fully endorsing, the
arguments of those who prophesied that in its new surroundings the
school would come to be known as Magna Charterhouse. But in general he
lamented the demolitions and destructions which accompanied the
triumphal march of commerce. Even the dismantling of the Colosseum in
Regent's Park in 1868 evoked a melodious lament:--
I remember, I remember,
When I was a little boy,
How I came home in December
My fond parents to annoy.
But my pretty maiden Aunty
Was kind and gave to me
A sort of show galanty
A funny thing to see.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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