The barber's chair; and, The hedgehog lettersJerrold, Douglas William
General
The barber's chair; and, The hedgehog letters
Jerrold, Douglas William
English literature -- 19th century; English wit and humor
_Nutts._ Nothin’ mad, Mr Slowgoe, but every word of it terrible
meaning--dreadful sense. Do you mean to say that if you got such a
meetin’ as Mr O’Connell speaks of, you wouldn’t have in the people
coming together, the representatives, as it were, of all the miseries
that make the wretchedness and the crimes I talk about? What do we call
the English Parliament? Why, the wisdom of England. All the sense of
the country skimmed and strained.
_Tickle._ But you never believe it.
_Nutts._ Never mind that. Now, in the delegation of Mr O’Connell, we
should have all the sufferings, and horrors, and crimes of Ireland
represented, as I may say--brought naked before the world. And then if
these gentry could be got together, and specially the absent gentry,
the graceless babes that suck Ireland’s breasts, and never look upon
Ireland’s starving face--if all these could meet--“meet together in
Dublin”--and be made by a miracle to do what Ireland wants, how we
should find hon. members change their constituencies! The member for
Filth and Rags would be ashamed of what he represented, and resolve to
stand for Cleanliness and Clothing; and Houseless, and Nakedness, and
Despair, and Burglary, and Murder, would all of ’em, as I may say, be
disfranchised--wiped off the national schedule--and Comfort and Health,
and Peace and Plenty, and Security, all of ’em for once send their
Irish members to Parliament.
_Tickle._ Very odd this talk about Ireland, and quite makes out a dream
I had last night. I thought the Queen drove up in a special train
to London, and went down to Parliament with all her cream-coloured
horses, and with two golden keys, and the crown on her head, insisted
upon opening both the Houses herself. And then she took her seat upon
the throne and read her speech, and I thought it wasn’t her Majesty
I heard, but a silver trumpet; and I thought she talked about the
distresses in such a way that everybody wept, and even Lord Brougham
wiped his eyes with a roll of parchment; and her Majesty said that the
time was come for everybody to make a sacrifice--yes, sacrifice was
the word--for the folks in Ireland. And then I thought I heard another
flourish of trumpets, and I saw the Queen-Dowager come in with a large
bag of money marked £50,000. And with the surliest look in the world
she went up to the Lord Chancellor, and gave him the bag, telling him
that she, a lone woman, had £100,000 a year out of the taxes; she was
only too happy to give up half for as long a time as Parliament should
think fit, and the country should want it. And then there was such a
cheer, and I thought I saw the Queen-Dowager go floating out of the
House upon a purple cloud, and looking so happy that she looked thirty
years younger for it----
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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