[From Mr. Punch's "Vagrant."]
Dear Punch,—I am not one to bellow
Nor am I much on bloodshed bent;
I'm not a tearing Jingo fellow,
All fuss, and froth, and discontent.
[Here follow some verses relating to political affairs, and then come the lines printed below. J. H. S.]
We have another, sterner matter—
The Frenchman posted on the Nile.
Not his to reason? True! I like him,
His skill to act, his pluck to dare.
I'd sooner cheer him, far, than strike him—
But why did others send him there?
In truth, they did not mean to please us;
They must have realised with joy
That Marchand on the Nile must tease us,
And sent him merely to annoy.
So be it then: we know what's what now,
And what the Frenchmen would be at.
Though Major Marchand's on the spot now,
He's got to pack and go—that's flat.
We're tired of gracefully conceding,
Tired, too, of jibe and jeer and flout;
Our answer may show lack of breeding,
But there it is—a plain "Get out."
If one should, thinking I am weak, Sir,
Smite me on one cheek black and blue,
I'm told to turn the other cheek, Sir,
But not both cheeks and forehead too.
Year in, year out, they've tried to spite us,
We've borne it with a sorry grin;
And now—well, if they want to fight us,
Coat's off, and let the fun begin!
Punch published these lines just before Lord Salisbury announced at the Mansion House dinner, given in honour of Lord Kitchener on November 4, that France had come round to our view of the Fashoda question, and Punch's neat verses just quoted give an excellently succinct and pithy expression to the feeling of the average peace-loving Briton, who has become quite weary of being diplomatically played with by France in our colonial affairs, and who was, and is, quite ready to "take off his coat."
1.—THE FIRST PAGE OF THE ORIGINAL PROSPECTUS OF "PUNCH," IN THE HANDWRITING OF MARK LEMON. 1841.