Linley Sambourne House
一八七五年的日不落國大不列顛如日中天、欣欣向榮. 就在這麼個四海升平, 無大事可敍的一年, 倫敦西城區一對中產新婚夫婦帶著愉快的心情,搬進了肯辛
男主人漫畫家Edward Linley Sambourne是個不起眼的小人物 -- 出身平凡, 樣子不帥, 甚至他的漫畫也並不驚天動地. 後人之所以到他家參觀, 純粹是為了親身感受一下維多利亞年代迅速堀起的中產階層
刊登在Punch雜誌的插畫
Edward與太太Marion當年斥資2,000英鎊
Strafford Terrace 18號不僅僅是他們的家, 也是Edward的工作室. 當時三十一歲的Edward替Punch雜誌劃插畫已八
這跟Edward的工作很有關係 -- 由商人之子/劇作人Mark Lemon於1841年創辨 的Punch周刊以風趣幽默的筆觸諷刺時弊,迅速走紅中
The Great Chartist Meeting on Kennington Common, London in 1848. **
當時的貴族精英對這些”亳無品味”、滿身銅嗅的中產經常
這其間, Edward的小日子過得美美 -- 早上騎馬到倫敦郊外走走.接下來開始作畫.下午則到不同
擁有五千年歷史的中國呢? 一八七五年, 大清光緒帝剛剛登基, 這時鴉片戰爭已結束十五年了.年輕的皇帝也想變法圖強,
A Punch cartoon from August 1867 portraying the bill as a leap in the dark
* Great Demonstration in May 1867 at Hyde Park -- "The Reform League, agitating for universal suffrage, became much more active and organized demonstrations of hundreds of thousands of people in Manchester, Glasgow and other towns. Though these movements did not normally use revolutionary language like some Chartists had in the 1840s, they were powerful movements. The high point came when a demonstration in May 1867 in Hyde Park was banned by the government. Thousands of troops and policemen were prepared, but the crowds were so huge that the government did not dare to attack. The Home Secretary, Spencer Walpole, was forced to resign."
** People's Charter of 1838 , which stipulated the six main aims of the movement as:
1) A vote for every man twenty-one years of age, of sound mind, and not undergoing punishment for crime.
2) The ballot. - To protect the elector in the exercise of his vote.
3) No property qualification for members of Parliament - thus enabling the constituencies to return the man of their choice, be he rich or poor.
4) Payment of members, thus enabling an honest tradesman, working man, or other person, to serve a constituency, when taken from his business to attend to the interests of the Country.
5) Equal Constituencies, securing the same amount of representation for the same number of electors, instead of allowing small constituencies to swamp the votes of large ones.
6) Annual parliaments, thus presenting the most effectual check to bribery and intimidation, since though a constituency might be bought once in seven years (even with the ballot), no purse could buy a constituency (under a system of universal suffrage) in each ensuing twelve-month; and since members, when elected for a year only, would not be able to defy and betray their constituents as now.
伸延閱讀:
(1) "The Victorians" by Jeremy Paxman, BBC documentary
(2) A short summary of Victorian Industrialization - "A History of Britain" - by Simon Schama, BBC documentary
(3) "A History of Britain" - Episode 13 "Victoria and her Sisters" by Simon Schama, BBC documentary [part 1], [part 2], [part 3], [part 4], [part 5], [part 6], [part 7]
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