Outing . mphant, his warmest admirercannot for a moment acquit him; he is atonce liar, braggart, knave and ruffian andas such, should we take him seriously, de-serves the very punishment he dispensesso lavishly. But no one can take himseriously; he is the Apotheosis of Humor,the universal Joke, and the most effectivepart of the joke, the very kernel and coreof his popularity, lies in the ultimate tri-umph of the hero. Apropos of the moral aspect of the play,Agnes Repplier, in her charming Essaysin Idleness, has this to say, But we havenow reached that point of humane serious-ness when even pup
Outing . mphant, his warmest admirercannot for a moment acquit him; he is atonce liar, braggart, knave and ruffian andas such, should we take him seriously, de-serves the very punishment he dispensesso lavishly. But no one can take himseriously; he is the Apotheosis of Humor,the universal Joke, and the most effectivepart of the joke, the very kernel and coreof his popularity, lies in the ultimate tri-umph of the hero. Apropos of the moral aspect of the play,Agnes Repplier, in her charming Essaysin Idleness, has this to say, But we havenow reached that point of humane serious-ness when even puppet-shows cannotescape their educational responsibilities,and when Punch and Judy are gravely cen-sured for teaching a lesson in laughter of generations, which shouldprotect and hallow the little mannikins atplay, counts for nothing by the side of theirirresponsible naughtiness, and their cheer-ful disregard of all our moral here, too, Hazlitt has a reasonable note the real dot. The Most Popular Play in the World 473 word of defense, holding indeed that hewho invented such diverting pastimes wasa benefactor to his species, and gave ussomething which it was rational andhealthy to enjoy. We place the mirthand glee and triumph to our own account,he says, and we know the bangs andblows the actors have received go fornothing as soon as the showman puts themup in his box, and marches off quietly withthem. After all, Punchs play is a worlds play,its essence a classic essence, and its formpractically the same everywhere. He who so abuses Isaac Bickerstaff,Esq., in the pages of the Tattler andchuckles at the discomfiture of his masterin a certain chapter of our beloved TomJones is but the same hook-nosed, hump-backed, ever-smiling rascal who holdsforth to-day at Margate and St. GilesFair; the Polichinelle of the day of Briocheand Duplessis continues to charm bothboulevardier and gamin at the TheatreGuignol of the Champs Elysees; the HansWurst who inspired Goe
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