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
Through every part of Wales he to the Nobles sent
That they unto his Court should come incontinent
Of things that much concern'd the county to debate;
But now behold the power of unavoided fate!
When thus unto his will he fitly had them won,
At her expected hour the Queen brought forth a son--
Young Edward, born in Wales, and of Carnarvon called,
Thus by the English craft the Britons were enthralled.
_Punch_ treats the parallel from Paddy's point of view, and winds up:--
Sly Longshanks long ago with Cambria played a game--
What if, say, Battenberg should contemplate the same?
Pat, give him a fair chance, will prove himself--right loyal;
But--ye can't heal ould wounds with mere soft soap--though Royal.
The last line is, we fear, a much truer reading of the problem than the
sentiments ascribed to Hibernia on a previous page.
The betrothal of the Princess Louise to the Earl, afterwards Duke, of
Fife, in the summer of 1889, impelled _Punch_ to rewrite Burns's "The
Wooing o't" for the occasion. The messages to the House from the Crown,
asking that provision should be made for Prince Albert Victor and
Princess Louise, led to a prolonged debate, and the question of Royal
Grants was referred to a Committee of all sections of the House, on
the basis that "Parliament ought not to recognize in an indefinite way
the duty of providing for the Royal Family in the third generation."
The Queen did not formally waive her claim, but made it clear that she
would not press it in the case of any other of her grandchildren. Mr.
Labouchere, Mr. Bradlaugh and Mr. Storey opposed the Majority Report of
the Committee in spite of a strong speech made by Gladstone in favour
of the grants, which were ultimately carried by large majorities.
_Punch_ approved of the Committee, on the ground that it was high time
we knew exactly how far the system was to be carried, and ascribed
similar sentiments to the average working man in his new version of a
popular song of the day. The Majority Report was embodied in the Prince
of Wales's Children Bill, which became law on August 9, in spite of the
opposition of those, including Mr. Morley and Sir William Harcourt, who
maintained that the grant was proposed in such a way as to leave room
for further claims and to bind future Parliaments.
[Sidenote: _Two Views of the Kaiser_]
The young Kaiser and his wife visited England in 1891, and _Punch's_
greeting came near to being fulsome. In July _Punch_, the Kaiser and
the Prince of Wales are associated in the cartoon, "A Triple Alliance,"
the accompanying legend containing the following high tribute to the
Imperial guest:--
The Prince of Wales doth join with all the world
In praise of--Kaiser Wilhelm; by my hopes
I do not think a braver gentleman
More active-valiant, or more valiant young,
More daring, or more bold, is now alive
To grace this latter age with noble deeds.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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