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Tomahawk (1867-1870), 20th March 1869, Edition 1 of 1, Page unpag, No. 98.] LONDON, MARCH 20, 1869. [Price ...

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  • Departments (2)
    • BRITANNIA'S JPOT OJF BASIL,
    • MUSICAL MEASURE,
  • Text (6)
  • Transcript

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      The Tomahawk:. A Saturday Journal Of Sat...

      THE TOMAHAWK : . A SATURDAY JOURNAL OF SATIRE . < $ iriUJ > Jbr ii % x \\ n x'gtritttt " INVITAT CULPAM QUI PECCATUM PRETERIT . "

      No. 98.] London, March 20, 1869. [Price ...

      No . 98 . ] LONDON , MARCH 20 , 1869 . [ Price Twopence .

      Britannia's Jpot Ojf Basil,

      BRITANNIA'S JPOT OJF BASIL ,

      And Furthermore Her Brethren Wonder'd Mu...

      And furthermore her brethren wonder'd much Why she sat drooping by the Basil green . They could not surely give belief , that such A very nothing would have power to wean Her from her once fair youth , and pleasures gay . We were unfortunate in expressing , some time since , with too much confidence , our hope that Parliament would be opened by the Queen in person ; but we were justified by a semi-official confirmation of the hope . Our disappointment , in common with that of many others , at the non-fulfilment of this perhaps too rash prediction , was to have been consoled by the reception of the Reply to the Address from the hands of both Houses of Parliament by Her Majesty in person . But once again " hope told a nattering tale , " and an unforeseen calamity prevented our gracious Sovereign from affording a public proof of her regard for her subjects , which it would have been no less gratifying for her to give than for them to receive . And so it seems likely that it will ever be : for no sooner are the faces of all loval subiects

      gladdened by the announcement that Her Majesty is going to come among them once more , than they are again saddened by the practical contradiction of any such pleasing news . True it is that the Queen has held one Court and one Drawingroom , and we feel sure that all who were present testified , by their respectful sympathy , how much they appreciated these " efforts on Her Majesty ' s part to resume those relations between the Court , and the People , which now have become almost a matter of history , rather than a custom of the present time . We fear much that we must reconcile ourselves to the loss of our Queen as the head of Society , and the first Lady in the land . As a part of the machinery of the Constitution , as the first of the three estates of the realm , she will still exist ; but it is the woman j more than the Queen to whom our hearts are devoted , and the sight of her signature to State documents , the reports from j some distant place of her having received one of her Ministers , even the glimpses , few and far between and somewhat grudgingly given , of her own self , can but feebly console the inhabitants of this capital for the loss of what was once a familiar presence , diffusing prosperity and happiness all around , whose sunshine was felt far beyond the bounds of London , for it brought light , and hope , to many a dark and despairful home which the great want that includes all other wants—want of work—had threatened to make desolate for ever . Yes , Britannia has buried the beloved head , and planted the

      basil tree of hope ; in vain , for this death in life is worse than death itself . From the dead head sprang new life , for'' Thick , and green , and beautiful it grew , So that it smelt more balmy than its peers Of basil-tufts in Florence . " Not so with the basil that Britannia has planted . Patiently she waters it with her tears , but it pines and droops , and will soon be withered quite away . The dead life quickens not itself , nor that of any other . The tomb which holds the living body is shaded by no flowers , the heart that is numbed within numbs the heart without , and those that mourn find no consolation , their grief is barren , barren as the life whose loss they mourn . The voice which never spoke but in the cause of truth and purity , what power has it now ? If it speaks from out of that tomb , do those to whom the words of the dead would have been sacred , heed the muffled voice of the living dead ? . Well may Britannia weep when she thinks of this ; to some it may seem a little thing and scarce worth considering ; the world goes on much the same , there is plenty of dancing , singing , and entertainment ; plenty , but it is among the rich only ; it is not for those who live in luxury , but for

      those who live by it , that we feel pity ; to the former the absence of the Court makes but little difference , to the latter it makes all the difference between comfort and penury . The wealth which was spent by the Queens of England found its way to English not to foreign pockets , and the splendour of Victoria ' s hospitality was reflected in the humble brightness of many a lowly home . But why repeat all this ? Have we not over and over again preached on the same text , and to what purpose ? If what we 1 received ask for could it ? Is possibl it not y be better given to , sh say ould that we this not cry long of injured have ¦ 1 trade is a false one , that nobody is affected at all by this death in life , and that those who hold otherwise are all disloyal mal-| I are contents sure , that or s w elfish e have me cause rcenary for knaves grief , to 1 Or assur is e ourselves better , if that we our grief is of no avail , and to set to work and try if we can find some other influence as gladdening and as beneficial as that for whose loss we grieve ?

      Musical Measure,

      MUSICAL MEASURE ,

      ! 200 2 2 200 Companies Mon So Singers V...

      ! 200 2 2 200 companies mon so singers vereigns = = = 1 1 1 1 company monopoly singer . . . . 1 Gye opolies and 1 Mapleson and a = Gye Harris = The Opera Season , of 1869 .

  • Citation
    • Tomahawk (1867-1870), March 20, 1869, page unpag, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/t/issues/ttw_20031869/page/1/