Abraham Lincoln and the London Punch

Abraham Lincoln and the London Punch - Cartoons, Comments and Poems, Published in the London Charivari, During the American Civil War (1861-1865)

Laughter, one of the chief lines of cleavage between man and beast, is one of the chief points of differentiation between man and man. From the good-natured banter which kins all the world to the envenomed sneer that sunders it, laughter runs the whole gamut of human emotions. It is always sincere, even in its own despite. No subterfuge, when subterfuge underlies it, is more easily unmasked. A man may smile and smile and be a villain, but villainy by the seeing eye can be infallibly detected beneath the smile. Now for more than sixty years the recognized organ of British laughter has been the London [12] Punch. The contemporary mood of John Bull towards Brother Jonathan has always voiced itself through the grinning lips of this chartered jester. It cannot be said that even before the outbreak of the Civil War Punch had shown itself friendly to America or Americans. Why should it? The British mob disliked us and flouted us. Punch as the mouthpiece of the mob, followed suit. In the original prospectus of that journal, issued in 1845, it was expressly announced that the paper was to be devoted in part to "Yankee yarns," to "the naturalization of those alien Jonathans whose adherence to the truth has forced them to emigrate from their native land." It would appear from this new crook-backed Daniel come to judgment, that Ananias and Autolycus were models of punctilious honesty and meticulous truthfulness compared with the average American. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 38056
Author: Walsh, William Shepard
Release Date: Nov 19, 2011
Format: eBook
Language: English

Contributors

Editor: Walsh, William Shepard, 1854-1919