Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 158, 1920-02-11Various
General
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 158, 1920-02-11
Various
English wit and humor -- Periodicals
Thus till towards the end of the Second Act. Then a bad, a very bad, fairy
stuffed into Mr. MEGRUE'S head the idea of the suicide lottery. The
infuriated husband, finding his wife in her friend's room at 7 P.M.
(frightfully improper hour), sternly offers his bowler (or Derby) hat, in
which are two cards. The one marked with a cross is drawn by the flutterer
and means that he is for it. He is to kill himself within twenty-four
hours.... And all this with perfect seriousness.
You will see how the Third Act of a comedy which had tied itself in this
kind of a knot simply could not be played. The author had completely
sacrificed plausibility, and it was not uninteresting to see him twisting
and turning, hedging and bluffing to save it; and a little uncomfortable to
note the conviction oozing away out of the performers.... Queer also that
it isn't more generally recognised that to come to the theatre with a loud
persistent cough is a form of premeditated robbery with violence.
T.
* * * * *
A NEW LEAGUE OF NATIONS.
The latest development in connection with the International Brotherhood
movement is the establishment of a College of Correct Cosmopolitan
Pronunciation. The need of such an institution has long been clamant, and
the visit of the Ukrainian choir has brought matters to a crisis. At their
concert last week several strong women wept like men at their inability to
pronounce the title of one of the most beautiful items on the programme--
"Shtchedryk." Again, as Mr. SMILLIE must have bitterly reflected, how can
we possibly render justice to the cause of Bolshevism so long as we are
unable to pronounce the names of its leaders correctly? The same remark
applies to the Russian Ballet; the Yugo-Slav handbell-ringers; the
vegetarian Indian-club swingers from the Karakoram Himalayas; the
polyphonic gong-players from North Borneo; the synthetic quarter-tone
quartette from San Domingo; the anthropophagous back-chat comedians from
the Solomon Islands; not to mention a host of other interesting companies,
troupes, corroborees and pow-wows which are now in our midst for the
purpose of cementing the confraternity of nations.
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