Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 104, May 20, 1893Various
General
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 104, May 20, 1893
Various
English wit and humor -- Periodicals
Produced by Lesley Halamek, Juliet Sutherland and the
Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI
VOLUME 104, MAY 20TH 1893
edited by Sir Francis Burnand
OPENING OF THE IMPERIAL INSTITUTE.
Another Show! A splendid Imperial Show! Magnificent weather! Real
QUEEN'S weather, and consequently a big success. The grandeur, the
solidarity of the British Empire--[&c., &c. *.* _Editor regrets
that for lack of space he is compelled to omit the remainder of this
remarkably fine panegyric. He suggests to Author that it would come
out well in pamphlet form, price one shilling, or it might be given
away with a pound of Indian tea._--ED.] Obedient to the call of duty I
was myself present as one of the 'umblest of the distinguished guests
assembled to welcome Her Imperial MAJESTY on this auspicious occasion.
It was my good fortune to be immediately in front of a charming Young
Lady and her delightful Grandmother. The latter was a trifle deaf, and
her Granddaughter being a wonderfully well-informed young lady, I had
quite an enjoyable time of it; as had also my neighbours, though I
regret to say that some of them after the first three-quarters of an
hour seemed rather to resent the gratuitous information given with
astonishing volubility by the amiable Young Lady to her confiding
relative. For example, up came his Grace the Archbishop of CANTERBURY.
"That's the LORD CHANCELLOR," our well-informed Young Lady told her
Grandmother. Much cheering greets Lord SALISBURY. "That's General
ROBERTS," said the Young Lady, adding, as if rather doubting her own
accuracy, "though why he wears a naval uniform I am unable to say."
It didn't matter; her Grandmother was equally pleased. "Which is Mr.
GLADSTONE?" asked the Old Lady. The Young Lady used her opera-glass.
"I don't see him," she returned slowly. "Of course he can't be in
a turban. I know he has no whiskers or moustache--ah! there he
is!--there, talking to Sir EDWARD LEIGHTON!" She hadn't got even the
Christian names correct. I looked in the direction she had indicated
and saw Sir WILLIAM HARCOURT in close proximity to Sir RICHARD TEMPLE.
But why should I turn and dispel the harmless illusion? Was it for me
to bring discord into a family, and cause the Granddaughter to be cut
out of the Grandmother's will? Never! So, "from information received,"
the Old Lady went on implicitly believing in her informant,
and treasuring up the particulars for the benefit of her other
Grandchildren. "Lord ROBERTS is somewhere here," observed the Young
Lady, sweeping the horizon (so to speak, with apologies to "the
horizon") with her _lorgnette_. "Oh, I should like to see _him_!"
exclaimed the Old Lady, enthusiastically. "Where is he?" "Oh,
I think--" replied the Granddaughter, hesitatingly, "I rather--think
--I've only seen him once--but--oh yes," she added, with wonderful
confidence on finding she was commanding an interested audience of
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account