The Project Gutenberg EBook of Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 100,
May 9, 1891, by Various

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Title: Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 100, May 9, 1891

Author: Various

Release Date: August 28, 2004 [EBook #13313]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.

VOLUME 100.

May 9, 1891.

A FIRST VISIT TO THE "NAVERIES."

"Shiver my timbers!" said the Scribe.

"Haul down my yard-arm with a marling-spike!" cried the Artist.

And with these strictly nautical expressions, two of _Mr. Punch's_
Own entered the Royal Naval Exhibition, which now occupies the larger
portion of the grounds of the Military Hospital, Chelsea. That so
popular a show should be allowed to occupy so large a site speaks
wonders for the amiability of the British Public. When the Sodgeries
appeared last year, it was, so to speak, with fear and trembling that
"the powers that were" appropriated a little of the ground usually
over-run by the Nobility and Gentry of the Pimlico Road and its
vicinity; or, rather, by their haughty offspring. This year the tough
old sea-dogs of the Admiralty have had no hesitation in taking
what they required, apparently without causing comment, much less
objection. And the result? In lieu of the dusty arena of 1890,
scarcely large enough for a ladies' cricket-match, there appears in
1891 an enclosure containing lakes and lighthouses, panoramas, and
full-size models of men-of-war! And the Public take their exclusion
philosophically, either paying their shillings at the door, or
attempting to get a view of the hoofs of the nautical horses through
the gaps in the surrounding hoardings.

The Scribe and the Artist, having been ordered by He Who Must Be
Obeyed in the world generally, and at 85, Fleet Street, in particular,
to make a sort of preliminary cruise through the wonders of the
(Admiralty) Deep, hastened from the inviting grounds into the main
building, with its pictures, its plans, and last, but (it is only
just to say) least, its pickles. The fir