Mr. Punch's History of Modern England, Vol. 3 (of 4).—1874-1892Graves, Charles L. (Charles Larcom)
History
Mr. Punch's History of Modern England, Vol. 3 (of 4).—1874-1892
Graves, Charles L. (Charles Larcom)
Great Britain -- History -- Victoria, 1837-1901 -- Humor
But this was practically the Swan-song of _Punch's_ no-Popery campaign.
Lord Salisbury, in his speech on the Public Worship Regulation Bill,
had spoken of three schools of religious thought--the Sacramental, the
Emotional and the Philosophical. Henceforth and for a good many years
to come _Punch_ was mainly concerned with the two latter schools, and
most of all with the second. He reverted with undiminished vigour
to his old campaign against the Sabbatarians, but his chief _bête
noire_ was the Salvation Army. Here he was at one with Huxley in
his criticisms on "Corybantic Christianity," but for the rest he
impartially combated the pretensions of scientific dogmatism, of
Agnosticism (which he called the Nothingarian creed) and Positivism. He
warns France against the danger of a purely secularist education:--
An Atheist's "The Fool"--the Psalmist saith:
Will France risk such a brood of Fools?
Irreverent youth, with neither Hope nor Faith,
Will be the product of your Godless Schools.
[Sidenote: _Sunday Observance_]
He satirizes the advocates of undenominationalism in the picture of the
toy-shop man who declines to supply a Noah's Ark to a lady customer.
He had given up keeping them since School Boards came in: "They was
considered too denominational, M'um."
[Illustration: TOYS AND THEIR TEACHINGS
LADY CUSTOMER: "My little boy wishes for a Noah's Ark. Have
you one?"
TOYMAN: "No, M'um, no. We've given up keeping Noah's
Harks since the School Boards come in. They was considered too
denominational, M'um!"]
As for the keeping of Sunday, _Punch_ eulogizes Canon Basil Wilberforce
for encouraging Sunday bands, and contrasts his tolerance with the
attitude of a Dr. Watts, of Belfast, who objected to Sunday bathing:
"It was not necessary for a man to bath himself every morning. He did
not see, therefore, why it was necessary to open public baths on the
Sabbath morning." The Sunday opening of the picture galleries at the
Royal Manchester Institution proved a conspicuous success in 1880.
Those who opposed the experiment had been, if not silenced, confuted,
and _Punch_ entreated London to follow this excellent lead and not
stand _last_ in the Sunday Race between Public House and Public Gallery.
So when the Tay Bridge disaster was regarded by the Sabbatarian
zealots as a direct judgment on Sunday travelling, _Punch_ dealt with
them as they deserved:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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