Junk 20, 1885.]

PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.

AN IRRESISTIBLE APPEAL.

Mrs. Bloleey (who has called with a Letter of Introduction on Mr. Roscuis
arnborn, the famous Actor and Manager). “And I’ve brought you my Son,
Tif° r breakin' his Mother’s ’Art, Mr. Lamborn ! He insists on givin’ up
JrE ^ity and goin’ on the Stage—and his Father an Alderman and ’im
q His Father’s Business, and all the Family thought of so ’ighly in
you HAM ! *T 8 A great Grief to us, I assure you, Mr. Lamborn 1 Oh ! if
17 ,cotjld only dissuade ’im ! But it’s too late for that, I’m afraid,
p B RVS Y0lr w°hldn’t mind givin’ him a Leadin’ Part in your next

THE ARTFUL “AJAX.”

A Nautical Song of the Period.

“ The Ajax has a supreme contempt for her helm. She does
just as she pleases, and can only be kept under the semblance of
control by the adoption on board of the most heroic remedies.”—
Admiralty and Morse-Guards’ Gazette.

An artful ship is the Ajax bold,

With a yo-heave-ho!

She’s found uncommonly hard to hold,

With a yo-heave-ho!

She waltzes about in all the seas,

And she rolls although there isn’t a breeze,

A sort of naval “ Go-as-you-please,”

With a yo-heave-ho!

No waves are present to overwhelm,

With a yo-heave-ho!

But still she doesn’t obey her helm,

With a yo-heave-ho!

When tired of carrying helm a-port,

She’s off to starboard in playful sport,

A monstrous maritime “rorty sort,”

With a yo-heave-ho!

She anchored safe anear Dover town,

With a yo-heave-ho!

But steam was up, though the anchor down,
With a yo-heave-ho!

And lucky, too, for she broke away,

And smashed all her cable there, they say ;

Her Captain must have had a lively day,

With a yo-heave-ho!

And now she’s off, this lively gal,

With a yo-heave-ho!

A-cruising with Hornby, Admiral,

With a yo-heave-ho!

Though Captain Kennedy furl and reef,

And keep up steam, it’s my firm belief,

The artful Ajax will come to grief,

With a yo-heave-ho!

A Reasonable Service.—Mr. Booth, Generalissimo
of the S. A., has announced, on the part of its organisers,
that they are proposing also to start a “Salvation
Navy.” Good, if the shipping of the S. A. is to consist
of Life Boats.

The Liberals say that the Government has been
“ Wrecked in Port.” Stranded on a Beach would,
perhaps, be nearer the mark.

THE REYOLUTION ON EVOLUTION.

(By a Bewildered Philistine.)

Barring earthquake, or the submersion of this Island, or th
devastation of London and its suburbs by Chinese or some othe
barbaric or semi-harbaric invaders, the statue of! Charles Dar
will look down for all time on the visitors to the N atural His
Museum at South Kensington. It is not astonishing that the Arch
bishop of Canterbury, the Dean of Westminster, and Archdeacoi
Farrar, assisted at the unveiling of that monument by Irotesso
Huxley. The residue of the propounder of Evolution had. previously
nem. diss. of the Clergy, if not also of the Dissenters, been mterrei
m Westminster Abbey. Public instructors have taken occasion V
moralise joyfully on the wonderful change of attitude towards th
doctrine of Darwin displayed by their Reverences and thei
Worships from that which their predecessors, and perhaps some o
themselves, exhibited six-and-twenty years ago. .

Ihe moralists on that transition from anathema to admiration
enthusiastically proclaim that it is all right. They are apparent!;
convinced that Evolution is a grand discovery and an unquestionabb
truth, although Darwin himself seems to have not been quite cock
sure of it, and to have proposed it as not much more than a highl;
probable theory. Be that as it mav, on what supposition is th.
entire reversal of their Worships’ and Reverenoes’ judgment of it t<
be explained? When first it was announced to them they eithe:
misunderstood Evolution, or else entertained erroneous ideas of th.
verities to which they imagined it contrary—the orthodoxy they
professed to teach. They must now acknowledge Darwin’s doxy
do they, therefore, perceive that it agrees with their own doxy, oi
seem to have seen reason to modify the latter ? At any rate, thej

may be presumed to have beoome satisfied that Evolution, if a fact,
by no means destroys their own professional raison d’etre. By what
considerations Public Instructors, judiciously or injudiciously, forbear
(if able) to enlighten the public mind.

PROVIDENCE FOR THE POOR.

Dr. Alfred Carpenter, writing to the Times on the subject of
“ Disfranchisement for Receipt of Medical Relief,” says :—

“ If the principle of Provident Dispensaries among the poor were properly
inculcated, so that by means of a small payment per week or Is. a month, a
family should be able to obtain medical advice when required, there would be
no occasion at any time to call upon the parish for assistance, unless some-
thing else should be wanted.”

Now this merits consideration. Dr. Carpenter thinks the action
oi the House of Lords in the matter is to he commended. Mr.
Punch, as he has already intimated, does not. But if it should have
the effect of calling public attention to the Provident Dispensary
system, there will be something at least to be said for it. Several
gentlemen, notably Dr. John Maunsell, late of Bath, have
endeavoured, with little success hitherto, to get this important
subject properly ventilated, both in its hearings upon the interest of
the poor ana of the Medical Profession. Dr. Maunsell, in particular,
has made a special study of it for years, and has worked hard to
direct attention to the vices and mischiefs of the present practice,
and the benefioent possibilities of the Provident Dispensary System
properly understood and applied. Mr. Punch gladly seconds Dr.
Carpenter’s appeal to onr Lady Bountifuls, benevolence organisers,
aye, and practical politicians and unsentimental philanthropists of all
classes, to take this matter into immediate and earnest consideration.

VOL. LXIXVIT1.

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