Punch, or The London Charivari | Page 4

expressed
himself:--"After the inflammawhig character of the orawhig of the
nominees of the Carlton Club, it is quite supererogawhig for me to state
(it being no_whig_ous) that all conciliawhig measures will be rendered
nugawhig."
NATIVE SWALLOWS.
A correspondent to one of the daily papers has remarked, that there is
an almost total absence of swallows this summer in England. Had the
writer been present at some of the election dinners lately, he must have
confessed that a greater number of active swallows has rarely been
observed congregated in any one year.
LORD MELBOURNE TO "PUNCH."
My Dear PUNCH,--Seeing in the "Court Circular" of the Morning
Herald an account of a General Goblet as one of the guests of her
Majesty, I beg to state, that till I saw that announcement, I was not
aware of any other general gobble it than myself at the Palace.
Yours, truly, MELBOURNE.
* * * * *
[Illustration: Horace Mayhew. Richd. Doyle. John Leech. Mark Lemon.
W.M. Thackeray.
Percival Leigh. Gilbert A. à Beckett. Tom Taylor. Douglas Jerrold.
Prince de Joinville. Geo. Hudson. Shaw Lefevre. Prince Albert. B.
Disraeli. Col. Sibthorp. Sir Fredk. Trench. Emperor of Russia.
Sir R. Peel. Sir J. Graham. D. O'Connell. Jenny Lind. Lord John
Russell. Louis Philippe. The British Lion. Mehemet Ali. Duke of
Richmond.
Richd. Cobden. Lord George Bentinck. Gen. Tom Thumb. THE
QUEEN. MR. PUNCH. Lord Brougham. Duke of Wellington.
MR. PUNCH'S FANCY BALL. 1847.]
* * * * *
[Illustration]
Yes, the lion THACKERAY had joined the Table, and thenceforth for
many years he illumined my pages with his keen wit and ripe wisdom,
his graceful prose, his polished verse, and his characteristic pictures.
"The frontispiece to Volume V. (1843) was by RICHARD DOYLE, a
plain foreshadowing of the celebrated design which was ever after to
form the familiar Cover of the Punch Number. DOYLE had now joined

the Staff, and for many years his fine fancy was allowed full play in my
pages.
"At the end of the same Volume, upon page 260 of a supplement,
entitled, '_Punch's_ Triumphal Procession,' appeared TOM HOOD's
never-to-be-forgotten 'Song of the Shirt.' It is one of _Mr. Punch's_
pleasantest Reminiscences that this gentle genius, this true poet,
contributed this famous masterpiece to his pages.
"The scholarly, accomplished, and warm-hearted TOM TAYLOR was
the next to join the Table, and his 'Spanish Ballads' (in 1846),
admirably illustrated by DOYLE, made their mark, as did later his
'Unprotected Female.' In Volume XVI. PERCIVAL LEIGH
commenced his 'Mr. PIPS, his Diary, or, Manners and Customs of ye
Englyshe in 1849,' characteristically illustrated by RICHARD DOYLE
at his graphic best. The same year was remarkable for the appearance
of LEECH's most delightful character, the simple-minded, sport-loving,
philistine paterfamilias, Mr. BRIGGS, first met with in connection with
'The Pleasures of Housekeeping,' though subsequently associated
especially with humorous sporting scenes.
"The frontispiece to Volume XIX., for the second half of the year 1850,
was by a 'new hand,' none other than JOHN TENNIEL the 'Cartoonist'
_par excellence_, whose work henceforth was to be--as happily it still
is--the pride of _Mr. Punch_ and the delight of the British Public.
TENNIEL's first Cartoon, 'Lord JACK the Giant-Killer,' graced _Mr.
Punch's_ 499th Number, he having taken, at short notice, the place of
RICHARD DOYLE, who after many years of excellent work had
voluntarily withdrawn from the Table, owing to certain religious
scruples, not wholly unconnected with the subject of his successor's
first 'Big Cut.'
"Another member of my little army about this time was GEORGE
SILVER, and my next recruits were the polished and witty SHIRLEY
BROOKS, and, one who was to develop into the greatest master of
Black-and-White Art this country has produced, CHARLES KEENE to
wit, our dear, picturesque, unsophisticated 'CARLO,' lost to the
Table--an irreparable loss!--but a few months ago.
"At the opening of Volume XXVII. for the second half of the year 1854,
you will observe, Mr. ANNO DOMINI, a Picture by JOHN TENNIEL
(reproduced above), in which the then existing Staff of Punch are

humorously sketched. They are engaged in somewhat varied sports and
pastimes. _Mr. Punch_ is keeping wicket in a game in which
THACKERAY wields the bat, and PERCIVAL LEIGH is bowling;
MARK LEMON, and GILBERT À BECKETT are playing at
battledore and shuttlecock, and DOUGLAS JERROLD is having a
solitary game of skittles, the 'pins' being the CZAR of RUSSIA, &c.
SHIRLEY BROOKS, MAYHEW, and TOM TAYLOR are playing at
Leapfrog, TOM TAYLOR 'overing' MAYHEW, whilst SHIRLEY
BROOKS is following up. In the background JOHN TENNIEL is
sketching the Good Knight Punchius upon a wall, whilst in the
immediate foreground JOHN LEECH, upon a hobby-horse, is leaping
over an easel. These were the chief of my 'Young Men' at this time. In
front of the tent are two gentlemen, one in a