Q. Ellin. Dost thou remember once a foreign land,
Dost thou remember lovers hand in hand,
Dost thou remember those soft murmuring lispers,
Dost thou remember 'twas the hour of Vispers,
Dost thou remember, as I think you must,
Dost thou——
K. Hen. Oh! do not kick up such a dust.
I really cannot stand and listen to it,
Thank goodness, no one but yourself du'st do it.
Q. Ellin. Treat me with scorn—that's right. Oh, ne'er was seen
A suv'rin King with such a suff'rin Queen!
Following the stream of time, we arrive next at a travestie of the insurrection, in the reign of Richard II., in which Wat Tyler was the prime mover. Tyler deserves celebration in the history of burlesque as the hero of the only work of this kind produced by Mr. George Augustus Sala. This well-known littérateur came out as a writer of travestie at the Gaiety in 1869, but has not been tempted to repeat the achievement. The fact is to be regretted, for his "Wat Tyler, M.P." had many strokes of wit and satire. Wat, being named Tyler, naturally became, in a piece of this genre, a hatter. He is portrayed as aspiring to Parliament, succeeding in his candidature, resisting payment of a tax upon chignons, heading a revolt against the powers that were, penetrating triumphantly into the royal palace, there getting drunk, and being, in the end, overpowered by the forces of the King. In his address to the electors from the hustings, there is a pleasant amalgam of pun and sarcasm. Tyler (who was impersonated by Mr. Toole) begins by saying:—
A poor industrious hatter I stand here (cheers),
And standing now proceed to take that cheer.
You know me!
Crowd.Sartainly.
Wat.Am I a fool?
Crowd. No!
Wat.Was I ever base corruption's Toole?
Patriots, potwallopers, and townsmen dear,
Voters unbribable and pure, look 'ere.
Your sympathy my warmest thanks evokes,
For you I'd brave the very block—my blokes!
Tho' yonder dandy may treat me with scorn,
I was of poor but honest parents born.
Just twenty years ago, in ragged gown
And soleless shoes, I trudged into this town,
With one-and-ninepence and two plated spoons
Within the pockets of my pantaloons.
Beaumanners. Where did you get the spoons from?