The Press. — London, England, 1854-06-03 00:00:00

516 THE IMAGINARY JEW. " A boon, good lords and gentlemen," quoth GLADSTONE, " let me win ; Lord RUSSELL bringeth us a Jew ; I pray ye take him in. He loves your honourable House, although he's something loath To bind his Jewish conscience with a Christian form of oath ; But words will construe fifteen ways, so, as he cannot stand 'em, Give the Jew 'A" to sit with us without a jusjurandum." " Bring forth the Jew !" cried one and all. They brought the Hebrew in : He bore no scales Shylockian, he wore no gaberdine. One hat, not three, a patent crush, sat on his untanned brows, And the chinking of his pockets was sweet music to the House. Vest, trousers, coat, were all alike of ultra-Christian hue, The last a Stultz—in very sooth he seemed a goodly Jew. " Meseems he looketh well," said one ; " we'll seat him here to-night ; " Another said, " Concession to the age or need is right ; No matter which, the Jew is rich, take GLADSTONE'S word for it ; " And almost on the benches that seeming Jew did sit. When one from Stamford sent cried out, " Hold yet awhile your vote ! Jew, doff thy borrowed hat and vest, and strip thee of thy coat." Pale grew the cheek of GLADSTONE then, for once with shame o'erawed, For 'neath th' unbottoned vestment showed the serge and knotted cord ; Below the splendid Paris hat was the monkish tonsure's round, And a bull to absolve the Chancellor fell from it to the ground. And his gold chain was a rosary, his " Ford " a shirt of hair. Such wild habiliments, I ween, the Papal servants wear. Oh ! fast away from Westminster that pseudo-Jew did hie, Even as his friend the Chancellor shall travel by-and-by ; And loud within that House arose the shouting, left and right, Oh ! thou Rutulian, dost thou keep " fraus tua" for to night? Bid us believe, oh, Chancellor, thoul't pay thy bonds when due, But do not call before us all thy shaveling monk a Jew. CABINET VERSION OF THE INCANTATION SCENE. (From "DER FREISCHiiTZ.") ADOLPH Lord J----N R—LL. CASPAR Mr. G—ST—E. ZASIIEL The FIEND OF THE DIVISION. " Om map arbitin /tub oix boffin." ScaNs.—The Octagon Hall, New Palace of Westminster. Midnight, and total darkness. ( N.B.—Wednesday or Saturday night.) TlME.—Previous to the Session 1864. Chorus of Invisible Demons. CHORUS : The Pope's in a fluster. Uhui! Uhui! And his friends won't muster. Uhui ! Uhui ! And Manchester's vicious. Uhui ! Uhui! The Brigade is seditious. Uhui ! Uhui ! The doomed Coalition, Uhui! Uhui ! Is bent on perdition. Uhui ! Uhui ! (CABPAR enters from St. Stephen's Hall. He carries a lantern and a deepatch•box. Hel looks round anxiously, but fearfully. About eleven hundred doors slam, and the echoes are repeated all over the Palace. He advances to the centre. CASPAR : Ha! lam first. Yet he will come. I know his daunt less spirit. 'Tis cold. To my work. Zamiel ! Zamiel ! Zamiel! ZAMIEL (appearing at the window of the Electric Telegraph Office): Why dost call me? CAspAa : Good gracious, how you frightened me! (Resuming his mslodramatic tone.) Thou knowest that our time is nearly run out. ZAMIEL (enters): This session is your last. CASPAR : Prolong it—but this time—prolunga la una aol volta. ZAMIEL : I am aware that you are an excellent Italian scholar; but it, can't he done. CASPAR: One session more? ZAMIEL: No ! CASPAR: Do I not bring thee a victim? ZAMIEL : His name ? CASPAR : John Russell, scion of the house of Bedford. I will sacrifice him to you, but grant us another session. He will be here anon. ZAMIEL : What desires he? THE PRESS. ADOLPH (terrified): See, Caspar, who is there? CASPAR : A Conventionalism. ADOLPH : 0, is it though ? A. SATURDAY, CASPAR : Seven bills. On these his hopes are built. ZAMIEL: Six miss—the seventh hits. CASPAR : So be it. I care not. We are ever at sixes and sevens. ZAMIEL : So be it. But remember. When ho falls, all fall. Ha! ha! ha! [ Van ishes. CASPAR : Do they ? The Prince of Darkness is a gentleman, and clearly unfit for practical statesmanship. He is here [Enter ADOLPH.] ADOLPH (recitative) : I am here ! But truly, and in this dreary vault, I am bound to say, That neither in the old immortal scroll Called Magna Charta, Nor in the Bill of Rights, nor in the speeches Of Somers, Chatham, Fox, Nor in the works of Hansard, See I a precedent For meeting at such hour, in such a place. Resolve me, straightway, why bast brought me hither? CHORUS OF DEMONS : He's come, he's come ! How near the day He'll wish that he had stopped away. CASPAR : Here at last, comrade ! But that I was rehearsing one of mine own speeches, the time had seemed long. ADOLPH : It had seemed longer to me had I heard you. Ha! ha! What's that ? [ The laugh is echoed. CASPAR : A warning to you not to jest on sanctimonious subjects. But come, time presses. ADOLPH : Would that I could believe your course constitutional ! But it is too late for reflection. Begin your mummery. CASPAR: Another such word, and you are lost. You are not now dictating a Durham letter. Come, to our work ! [CASPAR takes off his paktot, and discovers a Jesuit's robe. He kindles a fire, and puts into it the 7'hirty-nine Articles, the Common Prayer Book, and some other Protestant compositions, and fans them with a Tract for the Times. The Gothic tracery of the vault is shown in strong relief, and red firs is seen behind the glass of the windows. ADOI.PH : I shudder ! [The GHOST OF THE BRITISH CO: waves him back. oN comes from the Lords' corridor and I. The GHOST OF CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY slightly the worse for wear) comes from the Commons' corridor, and waves him back. ADOLPH : 0, Caspar, behold that figure ! CASPAR : A mere figure of speech. Art a coward ? ADOLPH : Who dares say that ? Go on ! CASPAR (aside): Had him there. Now, Zamiel. (Thunder.) ADOLPH (solemnly) : An awful night ! CASPAR : Ilqiat's that to you ? you are not out in it. [d furnace riser, iames underneath.] CASPAR (recitative) : See what, into this cauldron, I fling, to accomplish thy will. First, this sparkling jewel, Torn from a Sovereign's crown Just as the coronation oath was said. Next, this piece of sealing-wax From Magna Charta, known to thee. Next, this piece of some old buttress That held up an ancient Church ; And, lastly, this humble-looking key Of some poor man's loved cottage. Now, Zamiel! [He casts the various a rticles into the furnace, and a blue,flame rmecl ADOLPH : How blue you look! CASPAR: Thou wilt look bluer yet, ere all is done. Now, as children use to do at snapdragon, plunge thy hand into the furnace, and pluck out what comes first. ADOLPH : I shall burn my fingers. CASPAR : Not improbably. But it is too late to retract. ADOLPH : Who's afraid ? (Snatching.) One ! ECHOES : ONE—ONE—ONE—Oxx—Osz- ADOILPH (reads): A Bill on the Settlement and Removal of Poor. CHORUS : Lost ! Lost ! Ha! ha! ha ADOLPH (snatching : Two ! ECHOES : TWO—Two—Two—Two_Two. ADOLPH : A Bill on Scottish Education! CHORUS : Lost ! Lost! Ha! ha! ha! ADOLPH : (snatching): Three ! ECHOES • THREE—THREE—THREE—ToiIer—Timm ADOLPH : A Bill for Altering Parliamentary Oaths CHORUS: Lost! Lost! Ha! ha! ha! ADOLPH (snatching) : Four ! ECHOES : FOUR—FOUTI—FOUR—FOUR—Fora. ADOLPH : A Bill for Reforminirdre Civil Service CHORUS : Lost ! Lost ! Ha ! ha ! ha! ADOLPH (snatching) : Five! ECHOES : FlVE—FlVE—Five—Fm:.—Frrx• ADOLPH : A Bill for Disfranchising Corrupt Voters! CHORUS: Lost! Lost Ha! ha! ha! ADOLPH (snatching): Six! ECHOES: SIX—SIR—SI ADOLPH : A Bill for Ref rming X—Sni--Sm. the Representation of the People ! CHORUS : Lost ! Lost! Ha! ha! ha! 1