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Tomahawk (1867-1870), 23rd January 1869, Edition 1 of 1, Page unpag

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    • TO THE YO UNG MAN OjF THE PRESENT DA Y.
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      X ¦ • T He T O M A H A W K: A Saturday J...

      x ¦ T HE T O M A H A W K : A SATURDAY JOURNAL OF SATIRE . € fcitt & & g # ttpt * " § uMt . "INVITAT CULPAM QUI PECCATUM PRETERIT . "

      No. 90.] London, 'January 23, 1869. [Pri...

      No . 90 . ] LONDON , ' JANUARY 23 , 1869 . [ Price Twopence .

      To The Yo Ung Man Ojf The Present Da Y.

      TO THE YO UNG MAN OjF THE PRESENT DA Y .

      My Dear Good Young Man,—Because My Name ...

      My Dear Good Young Man , —Because my name is Tomahawk , and because it is known that , I wield a hatchet with a very sharp edge , you must not imagine that I am always employed in slashing and crushing . True it is that I am . very fond of exposing shams and waging war to the knife with all

      that I consider unfair , cruel , or ridiculous . But then if I delight in this conduct , it pleases me no less to be able to praise whatever I may consider deserving of commendation . Now I am not going into ecstacies about your many virtuesyou would laugh at m ; if I did , as you possess a keen sense of

      the ridiculous—but I am going to express my conviction that , taken as a whole , you ( I am addressing ^ men , " not " cads" ) are a very respectable set of human beings . You have voted swearing low , and excessive slang " bad form / ' you dress quietly , and can join in a sensible conversation . In fact , you

      are worthy of your public-school training , and are no disgrace to your university . So much to the good . If I wished to find fault with you I should begin a lecture about the sin of extravagance and the misery of debt . To some of you I might recommend an early marriageand the

      abandonment of establishments at the other side of , -the Park . To others I could hint that cynicism is a proof of an empty head , and blasphemy a sign of a shallow mind . When I have said this I need You you add a are re nothing certainly certainly to much much my lecture better better . than than your your ¦¦ . . ... . No No . I I will will not not

      abuse your father , as I know very well that you would , possibly repay such disrespect by administering a dignified snubbing . your I prefer uncle to , then rite . " uncle Twenty . " y You ears are ago very the much young better man , I of say the , than day was the most offensive of cadsthe biggest of blackguards . Now

      , , I am happy to think , he is ( without being " goody goody " ) a very fair specimen of an honest English gentleman—fond of athletics , simple and true . His uncle was a snob par excellence . loftiest His greatest notion idea of happ of fun j , iness ¦ - — was - - a the drunken - destruction revel — - — - —¦— of v in —« the www a knocker Haymarket ~»^ •*» » •** iw « ; h i s .

      and His nephew the Haymarke , on the t contrary as a place , regards for low b shop ell-ringing boys and as " beery caddis city h , " clerks for the . better Indeed . , the last twenty years has seen a great change In spite of this happy alteration , our certainly clever

      contemporary gramm throw open ar of the its correspondents Daily columns Telegraph to the evidently crude has thought belonging ideas and it to advisable questionable the lower to ten million . " Toms , " and " Franks , " and "Sams" have been allowed to air their grievances and to strut about in , borrowed 1 - ^ a—^

      p lumes istles . , I If should I had have only imag looked ined at at the once perorations that they emanated of these from the salons of the aristocracy- —that they had been written the by D writers ukes' sons I was for lured the deli into ght reading of Marquises the whole ! Unfortunately of their notes for ,

      and then , indeed , , were my eyes opened . Instead of nobility I only found vulgarity—in the place of gentlemanly candour and sense—I discovered " caddism , " fraud , and tomfoolery . Need I say , my very dear good young man , I was disgusted 1 You see I have no objection to Bloggs , the butcher , as a

      man—I believe he is a most excellent fellow in his own house daughters —but still . , I have You no can particular imagine , wish then to , my introduce disgust him at finding to my Bloggs house ) , jun daring . ( a butcher to claim , too for , but himself not an the excellent title of fellow English in his Gentle own

      -, man I In years gone by there were sumptuary laws to keep class divided from class . We don ' t want that kind of thing now-adays , but we do require some weapon with which to meet and and conquer gained rampant a grand " snobbism victory , ten . " years Thackeray ago ; b ut the ht a gre noble at Master fight ,

      has passed away , and the " snobs " are once more plucking up courage and showing to the front . I can paint to myself Thackeray ' s scornful mirth at reading such letters as those that appeared in the Telegraphs of last week . I can fancy his smile at "Tom ' s" " slang" and boast of gentle blood , at "Sam's "

      horrid vulgarity and claim to education—at Harrow ! Who are these men , you will say , who thus dare to claim your title 1 I will tell you . . Most probably the sons of small greengrocers who have crept into a city office , and , blinded by the brilliant prospect of ^ 150 a-year , have wandered into

      extravagance — and i debauchery Ju w ^ ^ . These m * wretched cads dress " " Vanceand take their notion of the " perfect gentleman " from , the " Great" Somebody else . But there , if you want to see port ^ raits of the fellows who have been writing to the Telegraph - — y

      look at my Cartoon this week , and your curiosity will be gratified . On one side the "Music-hall Snob "—the slangy , low London -born , Pavilion ill-bred . cad On , the who other haun , the the " Goody Alhamb good ra , a sneak nd the , " quite as disgusting ( with his unhealthy face and dirty hands )

      as his half brother . And these two fellows have the audacity to claim the title of " The Young Gentlemen of the Day . " Laugh , my dear young friend . I pray you laugh ! As I have said before , the thing is toe ridiculous . You may be extravagant and foolish , but , hang it all , you are an English

      gentleman , and not a Cockney cad 1 Believe me , yours sincerely , Tomahawk .

  • Citation
    • Tomahawk (1867-1870), Jan. 23, 1869, page unpag, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/t/issues/ttw_23011869/page/1/