Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 158, 1920-01-21Various
General
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 158, 1920-01-21
Various
English wit and humor -- Periodicals
At a recent meeting of the S.P.R. it was proposed by Sir A. CONAN DOYLE, of
Oliver Lodge, Ether, Surrey, "that the Board of Education be asked, in the
interests of scientific truth, to suspend the teaching of _Hamlet_ until
the scenes in which the _Ghost_ appears shall have been emended in the
light of modern research by a committee of psychical experts appointed for
the purpose. The proposer quoted the line spoken by _Hamlet_ to the
apparition:--
"Be thou a spirit of health or goblin damn'd,"
and said he would like to substitute for it, "Be thou a subjective
hallucination arising from an uprush of inhibited emotional disturbance
from the subliminal consciousness, or the objectivisation of a telepathic
communication from the extra-corporeal sphere of being, or, finally, a
manifestation to sensory perception of some supra-normal undulatory
movement of the ether."
He had always deprecated, he said, the meddling of untrained amateurs with
the details of psychic phenomena, and felt that the rule should be made
retrospective. An amendment was carried to add _Julius Caesar_ and _Richard
III._ to the motion for similar reasons.
The Labour Party have decided to ask Mr. FISHER to ban _Coriolanus_ on the
ground that many of the speeches of the chief character betray an
anti-democratic bias, out of keeping with the ideals that should be set
before the rising generation. Phrases like "The mutable rank-scented many,"
applied to the proletariat, could only foster the bourgeois prejudices of
jaundiced reactionaries and teach the young scions of the capitalist
classes to look down upon the manual worker.
* * * * *
"For Sale Black Ebony Gentleman's Shaving Outfit."--_Local Paper._
We gather that our coloured brother is about to grow a beard.
* * * * *
[Illustration: _Lady_ (_buying music_). "OH, AND HAVE YOU GOT 'A LOVER IN
DAMASCUS'?"
_New Girl._ "WELL, MA'AM, MY FIANCE WAS IN MESPOT, BUT HE'S BACK IN BRIXTON
NOW."]
* * * * *
MODERN MOON-RAKERS.
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