Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 148, February 3, 1915Various
History
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 148, February 3, 1915
Various
English wit and humor -- Periodicals
Counting all those in and keeping on the safe side and dealing only
with round figures for popular purposes we may conclude that anything
from one to nine million must be deducted from our last figure to
arrive at a final estimate.
To sum up, Germany's war strength cannot be more than three million or
less than eleven. This gives us a clear idea of what we have to face.
I enclose my card in case you should think me an amateur, and have the
honour to remain,
Yours faithfully,
STATISTICIAN.
* * * * *
_Men we do not introduce to the Duke of WESTMINSTER_ I.--The
German Minister of Finance: Dr. HELFFERICH.
* * * * *
[Illustration: THE RETURN OF THE RAIDER.
KAISER. "WELL, I _AM_ SURPRISED!"
TIRPITZ. "SO WERE WE."]
* * * * *
[Illustration: "YES, SIR, THESE ZEPPELIN RAIDS--WORDS CAN'T
DESCRIBE 'EM. THEY'RE--WELL, IF I MIGHT COIN A WORD, SIR--I THINK
THEY'RE 'ORRIBLE!"]
* * * * *
WAR COMPUNCTION.
"I suppose we can't motor over to Potwick, lunch at 'The George,' and
play a round of golf?" said the Reverend Henry.
"Not without feeling rather--well, rotters and outsiders," said
Sinclair regretfully.
"At least we couldn't of course go in the big car," said I, "and we
should be almost bound to have lunch at that little tea-shop, and it
wouldn't do to play a whole round of golf."
"It is rather a nice point," said Henry, "what one can do in War
time without feeling that one is stamping oneself. Sinclair here was
shooting pheasants a fortnight ago."
"Well, the birds were _there_, you know," said Sinclair, "and it's a
rotten slow business catching them in traps. Besides, we sent them all
to the Red Cross people."
"The weak spot about golf," said the Reverend Henry, "is that there's
no way of sending the results to the Red Cross. There's really no other
earthly reason why one shouldn't play. There's every reason why one
should, but----"
"I haven't played since the War began," said I.
"Nor I. But I have a notion that if one played without caddies and with
old balls----"
"Or got a refugee for a caddy and grossly overpaid him," Henry put in
hopefully.
"I know what you want, Sinclair," said I. "I know perfectly well
what you want. You would like to play golf, but you wouldn't feel
comfortable unless you had a notice pinned to your back in some such
terms as these--'THIS MAN, THOUGH HE MAY NOT LOOK IT, IS OVER 38;
HE IS ALSO MEDICALLY UNFIT. HE HAS TWO BROTHERS AND A NEPHEW AT THE
FRONT. HE HAS MORE THAN ONCE TAKEN THE CHAIR AT RECRUITING MEETINGS AND
HE IS ENTERTAINING SEVEN BELGIANS. HE HAS ALREADY SENT THREE SWEATERS
AND A PAIR OF SKI SOCKS TO THE FLEET. THIS IS THE FIRST HOLIDAY HE HAS
HAD FOR THREE MONTHS, AND HE IS NOW PLAYING A ROUND OF GOLF.' Then
you would feel all right."
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