rtoon, said Mr. Smalley, pleased
equally the Emperor and the Prince, for there was that in it which both
felt and sought for. The original sketch for the drawing on the wood was
finished by the artist as a commission from Lord Rosebery, who then
presented it to Prince Bismarck. In acknowledging the drawing the
ex-Chancellor declared, "It is indeed a fine one!" "The Hidden Hand"--a
criticism on Irish political crime and its incitement--was another of
Gilbert a Beckett's most striking suggestions. It appears on p. 103,
Vol. LXXXIV., 1883.

Next I would mention--besides Mr. Sambourne's admirable Jubilee picture
of "The Mahogany Tree," in which the Proprietors and Staff are gathered
round the Table as they toast triumphant _Punch_ (_see_
Frontispiece)--another cartoon which, nobly conceived, if not quite so
fine in execution, under the title of "Forlorn Hope" (October,
1893--proposed by Mr. Milliken), has been held by some as second only to
"Dropping the Pilot." It is the pathetic picture of Mr. Gladstone at
the moment of his retirement leading the attack against the House of
Lords. A grand old fortress crowning an enormous cliff stands out
strongly in evening light against the distant sky, and the grand old
warrior, in coat of mail, is struggling up the steep and slippery
side--a hopeless task, eloquent of the courage of despair.

[Illustration: THE POLITICAL MRS. GUMMIDGE.

(_The finished Sketch by Sir John Tenniel for the "Punch" Cartoon, 2nd
May, 1885. By Permission of Gilbert E. Samuel, Esq._)]

Last of all upon this list, on May 15th, 1895, was the grand design,
also suggested by Mr. Milliken, entitled "The Old Crusaders!"--Mr.
Gladstone and the Duke of Argyll "brothers-in-arms again" in their
crusade against the Turkish persecutions in Christian Armenia--the full
significance being insisted on by parallel dates--"Bulgaria 1876:
Armenia 1895." There is an air of unsurpassable dignity in the design of
the two old comrade-statesmen, mounted knights armed _cap a pie_, riding
forth, representative of Christendom and the nation's conscience.
Immediately on seeing the week's _Punch_ the Marquis of Lorne
telegraphed from Windsor to Sir John Tenniel, asking to be allowed to
acquire the original drawing; but he had been forestalled by the other
Champion's son, Mr. Henry Gladstone, who was then in town, and had
secured the prize for his family an hour or two before.

It must not be imagined that the _Punch_ cartoons have a