,,john ,,leech',s ,,pictures ,,of ,,life
 ,,and ,,character   ,by ,william       
,makepeace ,thackeray    99 ,reprinted  
from the ,quarterly ,review1 ,no4 #aia1 
,dec4 #ahed1 by permission of ,mr4 ,john
 ,murray4    ,we1 who can recall the    
consulship of ,plancus1 and quite       
respectable1 old-fogyfied times1        
remember amongst other amusements which 
we had as children the pictures at which
 we were permitted to look4 ,there was  
,boydell's ,shakspeare1 black and       
ghastly gallery of murky ,opies1 glum   
,northcotes1 straddling ,fuselis6 there 
were ,lear1 ,oberon1 ,hamlet1 with      
starting muscles1 rolling eyeballs1 and 
long pointing quivering fingers2 there  
was little ,prince ,arthur 7,northcote7 
crying1 in white satin1 and bidding good
 ,hubert not put out his eyes2 there was
 ,hubert crying2 there was little       
,rutland being run through the poor     
little body by bloody ,clifford2 there  
was ,cardinal ,beaufort 7,reynolds7     
gnashing his teeth1 and grinning and    

howling demoniacally on his death-bed 7a
 picture frightful to the present day72 
there was ,lady ,hamilton 7,romney7     
waving a torch1 and dancing before a    
black background1--a melancholy museum  
indeed4 ,smirke's delightful ,seven     
,ages only fitfully relieved its general
 gloom4 ,we did not like to inspect it  
unless the elders were present1 and     
plenty of lights and company were in the
 room4  ,cheerful relatives used to     
treat us to ,miss ,linwood's4 ,let the  
children of the present generation thank
 their stars ,,that tragedy is put out  
of their way4 ,miss ,linwood's was      
worsted-work4 ,your grandmother or      
grandaunts took you there and said the  
pictures were admirable4 ,you saw the   
,woodman in worsted1 with his axe and   
dog1 trampling through the snow2 the    
snow bitter cold to look at1 the        
woodman's pipe wonderful3 a gloomy      
piece1 that made you shudder4 ,there    
were large dingy pictures of woollen    
martyrs1 and scowling warriors with     

limbs strongly knitted2 there was       
especially1 at the end of a black       
passage1 a den of lions1 that would     
frighten any boy not born in ,africa1 or
 ,exeter ',change1 and accustomed to    
them4  ,another exhibition used to be   
,west's ,gallery1 where the pleasing    
figures of ,lazarus in his              
grave-clothes1 and ,death on the pale   
horse1 used to impress us children4 ,the
 tombs of ,westminster ,abbey1 the      
vaults at ,st4 ,paul's1 the men in armor
 at the ,tower1 frowning ferociously out
 of their helmets1 and wielding their   
dreadful swords2 that superhuman ,queen 
,elizabeth at the end of the room1 a    
livid sovereign with glass eyes1 a ruff1
 and a dirty satin petticoat1 riding a  
horse covered with steel3 who does not  
remember these sights in ,london in the 
consulship of ,plancus8 and the wax-work
 in ,fleet ,street1 not like that of    
,madame ,tussaud's1 whose chamber of    
death is gay and brilliant2 but a nice  
old gloomy wax-work1 full of murderers2 

and as a chief attraction1 the ,dead    
,baby and the ,princess ,charlotte lying
 in state8  ,our story-books had no     
pictures in them for the most part4     
,frank 7dear old ,frank67 had none2 nor 
the ,parent's ,assistant2 nor the       
,evenings at ,home2 nor our copy of the 
,ami des ,enfans3 there were a few just 
at the end of the ,spelling-,book2      
besides the allegory at the beginning1  
of ,education leading up ,youth to the  
temple of ,industry1 where ,dr4         
,dilworth and ,professor ,walkinghame   
stood with crowns of laurel4 ,there     
were1 we say1 just a few pictures at the
 end of the ,spelling-,book1 little oval
 gray woodcuts of ,bewick's1 mostly of  
the ,wolf and the ,lamb1 the ,dog and   
the ,shadow1 and ,brown1 ,jones1 and    
,robinson with long ringlets and little 
tights2 but for pictures1 so to speak1  
what had we8 ,the rough old wood-blocks 
in the old harlequin-backed fairy-books 
had served hundreds of years2 before    
,,our ,plancus1 in the time of ,priscus 

,plancus--in ,queen ,anne's time1 who   
knows8 ,we were flogged at school2 we   
were fifty boys in our boarding-house1  
and had to wash in a leaden trough1     
under a cistern1 with lumps of fat      
yellow soap floating about in the ice   
and water4 ,are ,,our sons ever flogged8
 ,have they not dressing-rooms1         
hair-oil1 hip-baths1 and ,baden towels8 
,and what picture-books the young       
villains have6 ,what have these children
 done that they should be so much       
happier than we were8  ,we had the      
,arabian ,nights and ,walter ,scott1 to 
be sure4 ,smirke's illustrations to the 
former are very fine4 ,we did not know  
how good they were then2 but we doubt   
whether we did not prefer the little old
 ,miniature ,library ,nights with       
frontispieces by ,uwins2 for ,,these    
books the pictures don't count4 ,every  
boy of imagination does his own pictures
 to ,scott and the ,arabian ,nights     
best4  ,of funny pictures there were    
none especially intended for us         

children4 ,there was ,rowlandson's      
,doctor ,syntax3 ,doctor ,syntax in a   
fuzz-wig1 on a horse with legs like     
sausages1 riding races1 making love1    
frolicking with rosy exuberant damsels4 
,those pictures were very funny1 and    
that aquatinting and the gay-colored    
plates very pleasant to witness2 but if 
we could not read the poem in those     
days1 could we digest it in this8       
,nevertheless1 apart from the text which
 we could not master1 we remember       
,doctor ,syntax pleasantly1 like those  
cheerful painted hieroglyphics in the   
,nineveh ,court at ,sydenham4 ,what     
matter for the arrow-head1 illegible    
stuff8 give us the placid grinning      
kings1 twanging their jolly bows over   
their rident horses1 wounding those     
good-humored enemies1 who tumble gayly  
off the towers1 or drown1 smiling1 in   
the dimpling waters1 amidst the         
anerithmon gelasma of the fish4  ,after 
,doctor ,syntax1 the apparition of      
,corinthian ,tom1 ,jerry ,hawthorn1 and 

the facetious ,bob ,logic must be       
recorded--a wondrous history indeed     
theirs was6 ,when the future student of 
our manners comes to look over the      
pictures and the writing of these queer 
volumes1 what will he think of our      
society1 customs1 and language in the   
consulship of ,plancus8 ,corinthian1 it 
appears1 was the phrase applied to men  
of fashion and ton in ,plancus's time3  
they were the brilliant predecessors of 
the swell of the present                
period--brilliant1 but somewhat         
barbarous1 it must be confessed4 ,the   
,corinthians were in the habit of       
drinking a great deal too much in ,tom  
,cribb's parlor3 they used to go and see
 life in the gin-shops2 of nights1      
walking home 7as well as they could71   
they used to knock down ,charleys1 poor 
harmless old watchmen with lanterns1    
guardians of the streets of ,rome1      
,planco ,consule4 ,they perpetrated a   
vast deal of boxing2 they put on the    
mufflers in ,jackson's rooms2 they      

sported their prads in the ,ring in the 
,park2 they attended cock-fights1 and   
were enlightened patrons of dogs and    
destroyers of rats4 ,besides these      
sports1 the delassemens of gentlemen    
mixing with the people1 our patricians1 
of course1 occasionally enjoyed the     
society of their own class4 ,what a     
wonderful picture that used to be of    
,corinthian ,tom dancing with           
,corinthian ,kate at ,almack's6 ,what a 
prodigious dress ,kate wore6 ,with what 
graceful ,,abandon the pair flung their 
arms about as they swept through the    
mazy quadrille1 with all the noblemen   
standing round in their stars and       
uniforms6 ,you may still1 doubtless1 see
 the pictures at the ,british ,museum1  
or find the volumes in the corner of    
some old country-house library4 ,you are
 led to suppose that the ,english       
aristocracy of #ahbj ,,did dance and    
caper in that way1 and box and drink at 
,tom ,cribb's1 and knock down watchmen2 
and the children of to-day1 turning to  

their elders1 may say ,grandmamma1 did  
you wear such a dress as that1 when you 
danced at ,almack's8 ,there was very    
little of it1 grandmamma4 ,did grandpapa
 kill many watchmen when he was a young 
man1 and frequent thieves' gin-shops1   
cock-fights1 and the ring1 before you   
married him8 ,did he use to talk the    
extraordinary slang and jargon which is 
printed in this book8 ,he is very much  
changed4 ,he seems a gentlemanly old boy
 enough now4  ,in the above-named       
consulate1 when ,,we had grandfathers   
alive1 there would be in the old        
gentleman's library in the country two  
or three old mottled portfolios1 or     
great swollen scrap-books of blue paper1
 full of the comic prints of grandpapa's
 time1 ere ,plancus ever had the fasces 
borne before him4 ,these prints were    
signed ,gilray1 ,bunbury1 ,rowlandson1  
,woodward1 and some actually ,george    
,cruikshank--for ,george is a veteran   
now1 and he took the etching needle in  
hand as a child4 ,he caricatured ,boney1

 borrowing not a little from ,gilray in 
his first puerile efforts4 ,he drew     
,louis ,,xviii4 trying on ,boney's      
boots4 ,before the century was actually 
in its teens we believe that ,george    
,cruikshank was amusing the public4  ,in
 those great colored prints in our      
grandfathers' portfolios in the library1
 and in some other apartments of the    
house1 where the caricatures used to be 
pasted in those days1 we found things   
quite beyond our comprehension4 ,boney  
was represented as a fierce dwarf1 with 
goggle eyes1 a huge laced hat and       
tricolored plume1 a crooked sabre1      
reeking with blood3 a little demon      
revelling in lust1 murder1 massacre4    
,john ,bull was shown kicking him a good
 deal3 indeed he was prodigiously kicked
 all through that series of pictures2 by
 ,sidney ,smith and our brave allies the
 gallant ,turks2 by the excellent and   
patriotic ,spaniards2 by the amiable and
 indignant ,russians1--all nations had  
boots at the service of poor ,master    

,boney4 ,how ,pitt used to defy him6    
,how good old ,george1 ,king of         
,brobdingnag1 laughed at                
,gulliver-,boney1 sailing about in his  
tank to make sport for their ,majesties6
 ,this little fiend1 this beggar's brat1
 cowardly1 murderous1 and atheistic as  
he was 7we remember1 in those old       
portfolios1 pictures representing ,boney
 and his family in rags1 gnawing raw    
bones in a ,corsican hut2 ,boney        
murdering the sick at ,jaffa2 ,boney    
with a hookah and a large turban1 having
 adopted the ,turkish religion1         
c47--this ,corsican monster1            
nevertheless1 had some devoted friends  
in ,england1 according to the ,gilray   
chronicle1--a set of villains who loved 
atheism1 tyranny1 plunder1 and          
wickedness in general1 like their       
,french friend4 ,in the pictures these  
men were all represented as dwarfs1 like
 their ally4 ,the miscreants got into   
power at one time1 and1 if we remember  
right1 were called the ,broad-backed    

,administration4 ,one with shaggy       
eyebrows and a bristly beard1 the       
hirsute ringleader of the rascals1 was1 
it appears1 called ,charles ,james ,fox2
 another miscreant1 with a blotched     
countenance1 was a certain ,sheridan2   
other imps were hight ,erskine1 ,norfolk
 7,jockey of71 ,moira1 ,henry ,petty4   
,as in our childish1 innocence we used  
to look at these demons1 now sprawling  
and tipsy in their cups2 now scaling    
heaven1 from which the angelic ,pitt    
hurled them down2 now cursing the light 
7their atrocious ringleader ,fox was    
represented with hairy cloven feet1 and 
a tail and horns72 now kissing ,boney's 
boot1 but inevitably discomfited by     
,pitt and the other good angels3 we     
hated these vicious wretches1 as good   
children should2 we were on the side of 
,virtue and ,pitt and ,grandpapa4 ,but  
if our sisters wanted to look at the    
portfolios1 the good old grandfather    
used to hesitate4 ,there were some      
prints among them very odd indeed2 some 

that girls could not understand2 some   
that boys1 indeed1 had best not see4 ,we
 swiftly turn over those prohibited     
pages4 ,how many of them there were in  
the wild1 coarse1 reckless1 ribald1     
generous book of old ,english humor6    
,how savage the satire was--how fierce  
the assault--what garbage hurled at     
opponents--what foul blows were         
hit--what language of ,billingsgate     
flung6 ,fancy a party in a country-house
 now looking over ,woodward's facetiae  
or some of the ,gilray comicalities1 or 
the slatternly ,saturnalia of           
,rowlandson6 ,whilst we live we must    
laugh1 and have folks to make us laugh4 
,we cannot afford to lose ,satyr with   
his pipe and dances and gambols4 ,but we
 have washed1 combed1 clothed1 and      
taught the rogue good manners3 or       
rather1 let us say1 he has learned them 
himself2 for he is of nature soft and   
kindly1 and he has put aside his mad    
pranks and tipsy habits2 and1 frolicsome
 always1 has become gentle and harmless1

 smitten into shame by he pure presence 
of our women and the sweet confiding    
smiles of our children4 ,among the      
veterans1 the old pictorial satirists1  
we have mentioned the famous name of one
 humorous designer who is still alive   
and at work4 ,did we not see1 by his own
 hand1 his own portrait of his own      
famous face1 and whiskers1 in the       
,illustrated ,london ,news the other    
day8 ,there was a print in that paper of
 an assemblage of ,teetotalers in       
,sadler's ,wells ,theatre1 and we       
straightway recognized the old ,roman   
hand--the old ,roman's of the time of   
,plancus--,george ,cruikshank's4 ,there 
were the old bonnets and droll faces and
 shoes1 and short trousers1 and figures 
of #ahbj sure enough4 ,and there was    
,george 7who has taken to the           
water-doctrine1 as all the world knows7 
handing some teetotal cresses over a    
plank to the table where the pledge was 
being administered4 ,how often has      
,george drawn that picture of           

,cruikshank6 ,where haven't we seen it8 
,how fine it was1 facing the effigy of  
,mr4 ,ainsworth in ,ainsworth's         
,magazine when ,george illustrated that 
periodical6 ,how grand and severe he    
stands in that design in ,g4 ,c4's      
,omnibus1 where he represents himself   
tonged like ,st4 ,dunstan1 and tweaking 
a wretch of a publisher by the nose6    
,the collectors of ,george's            
etchings--oh the charming etchings6--oh 
the dear old ,german ,popular           
,tales6--the capital ,points of         
,humor--the delightful ,phrenology and  
,scrap-books1 of the good time1 ,,our   
time--,plancus's in fact6--the          
collectors of the ,georgian etchings1 we
 say1 have at least a hundred pictures  
of the artist4 ,why1 we remember him in 
his favorite ,hessian boots in ,tom and 
,jerry itself2 and in woodcuts as far   
back as the ,queen's trial4 ,he has     
rather deserted satire and comedy of    
late years1 having turned his attention 
to the serious1 and warlike1 and        

sublime4 ,having confessed our age and  
prejudices1 we prefer the comic and     
fanciful to the historic1 romantic1 and 
at present didactic ,george4 ,may       
respect1 and length of days1 and        
comfortable repose attend the brave1    
honest1 kindly1 pure-minded artist1     
humorist1 moralist6 ,it was he first who
 brought ,english pictorial humor and   
children acquainted4 ,our young people  
and their fathers and mothers owe him   
many a pleasant hour and harmless laugh4
 ,is there no way in which the country  
could acknowledge the long services and 
brave career of such a friend and       
benefactor8  ,since ,george's time humor
 has been converted4 ,comus and his     
wicked satyrs and leering fauns have    
disappeared1 and fled into the lowest   
haunts2 and ,comus's lady 7if she had a 
taste for humor1 which may be doubted7  
might take up our funny picture-books   
without the slightest precautionary     
squeamishness4 ,what can be purer than  
the charming fancies of ,richard ,doyle8

 ,in all ,mr4 ,punch's huge galleries   
can't we walk as safely as through ,miss
 ,pinkerton's schoolrooms8 ,and as we   
look at ,mr4 ,punch's pictures1 at the  
,illustrated ,news pictures1 at all the 
pictures in the book-shop windows at    
this ,christmas season1 as oldsters1 we 
feel a certain pang of envy against the 
youngsters--they are too well off4 ,why 
hadn't ,,we picture-books8 ,why were we 
flogged so8 ,a plague on the lictors and
 their rods in the time of ,plancus6    
,and now1 after this rambling preface1  
we are arrived at the subject in        
hand--,mr4 ,john ,leech and his         
,pictures of ,life and ,character1 in   
the collection of ,mr4 ,punch4 ,this    
book is better than plum-cake at        
,christmas4 ,it is an enduring          
plum-cake1 which you may eat and which  
you may slice and deliver to your       
friends2 and to which1 having cut it1   
you may come again and welcome1 from    
year's end to year's end4 ,in the       
frontispiece you see ,mr4 ,punch        

examining the pictures in his gallery--a
 portly1 well-dressed1 middle-aged1     
respectable gentleman1 in a white       
neck-cloth1 and a polite evening        
costume--smiling in a very bland and    
agreeable manner upon one of his        
pleasant drawings1 taken out of one of  
his handsome portfolios4 ,mr4 ,punch has
 very good reason to smile at the work  
and be satisfied with the artist4 ,mr4  
,leech1 his chief contributor1 and some 
kindred humorists1 with pencil and pen  
have served ,mr4 ,punch admirably4 ,time
 was1 if we remember ,mr4 ,p4's history 
rightly1 that he did not wear silk      
stockings nor well-made clothes 7the    
little dorsal irregularity in his figure
 is almost an ornament now1 so excellent
 a tailor has he74 ,he was of humble    
beginnings4 ,it is said he kept a ragged
 little booth1 which he put up at       
corners of streets2 associated with     
beadles1 policemen1 his own ugly wife   
7whom he treated most scandalously71 and
 persons in a low station of life2      

earning a precarious livelihood by the  
cracking of wild jokes1 the singing of  
ribald songs1 and halfpence extorted    
from passers-by4 ,he is the ,satyric    
genius we spoke of anon3 he cracks his  
jokes still1 for satire must live2 but  
he is combed1 washed1 neatly clothed1   
and perfectly presentable4 ,he goes into
 the very best company2 he keeps a stud 
at ,melton2 he has a moor in ,scotland2 
he rides in the ,park2 has his stall at 
the ,opera2 is constantly dining out at 
clubs and in private society2 and goes  
every night in the season to balls and  
parties1 where you see the most         
beautiful women possible4 ,he is        
welcomed amongst his new friends the    
great2 though1 like the good old        
,english gentleman of the song1 he does 
not forget the small4 ,he pats the heads
 of street boys and girls2 relishes the 
jokes of ,jack the costermonger and ,bob
 the dustman2 good-naturedly spies out  
,molly the cook flirting with policeman 
,x1 or ,mary the nursemaid as she       

listens to the fascinating guardsman4   
,he used rather to laugh at guardsmen1  
plungers1 and other military men2 and   
was until latter days very contemptuous 
in his behavior towards ,frenchmen4 ,he 
has a natural antipathy to pomp1 and    
swagger1 and fierce demeanor4 ,but now  
that the guardsmen are gone to war1 and 
the dandies of ,the ,rag--dandies no    
more--are battling like heroes at       
,balaklava and ,inkermann99 by the side 
of their heroic allies1 ,mr4 ,punch's   
laughter is changed to hearty respect   
and enthusiasm4 ,it is not against      
courage and honor he wars3 but this     
great moralist--must it be owned8--has  
some popular ,british prejudices1 and   
these led him in peace time to laugh at 
soldiers and ,frenchmen4 ,if those      
hulking footmen who accompanied the     
carriages to the opening of ,parliament 
the other day1 would form a plush       
brigade1 wear only gunpowder in their   
hair1 and strike with their great canes 
on the enemy1 ,mr4 ,punch would leave   

off laughing at ,jeames1 who meanwhile  
remains among us1 to all outward        
appearance regardless of satire1 and    
calmly consuming his five meals per     
diem4 ,against lawyers1 beadles1 bishops
 and clergy1 and authorities1 ,mr4      
,punch is still rather bitter4 ,at the  
time of the ,papal aggression he was    
prodigiously angry2 and one of the chief
 misfortunes which happened to him at   
that period was that1 through the       
violent opinions which he expressed     
regarding the ,roman ,catholic          
hierarchy1 he lost the invaluable       
services1 the graceful pencil1 the      
harmless wit1 the charming fancy of ,mr4
 ,doyle4 ,another member of ,mr4        
,punch's cabinet1 the biographer of     
,jeames1 the author of the ,snob        
,papers1 resigned his functions on      
account of ,mr4 ,punch's assaults upon  
the present ,emperor of the ,french     
nation1 whose anger ,jeames thought it  
was unpatriotic to arouse4 ,mr4 ,punch  
parted with these contributors3 he      

filled their places with others as good4
 ,the boys at the railroad stations     
cried ,punch just as cheerily1 and sold 
just as many numbers1 after these events
 as before4       99 ,this was written  
in #ahed4  ,there is no blinking the    
fact that in ,mr4 ,punch's cabinet ,john
 ,leech is the right-hand man4 ,fancy a 
number of ,punch without ,leech's       
pictures6 ,what would you give for it8  
,the learned gentlemen who write the    
work must feel that1 without him1 it    
were as well left alone4 ,look at the   
rivals whom the popularity of ,punch has
 brought into the field2 the direct     
imitators of ,mr4 ,leech's manner--the  
artists with a manner of their own--how 
inferior their pencils are to his in    
humor1 in depicting the public manners1 
in arresting1 amusing the nation4 ,the  
truth1 the strength1 the free vigor1 the
 kind humor1 the ,john ,bull pluck and  
spirit of that hand are approached by no
 competitor4 ,with what dexterity he    
draws a horse1 a woman1 a child6 ,he    

feels them all1 so to speak1 like a man4
 ,what plump young beauties those are   
with which ,mr4 ,punch's chief          
contributor supplies the old gentleman's
 pictorial harem6 ,what famous thews and
 sinews ,mr4 ,punch's horses have1 and  
how ,briggs1 on the back of them1       
scampers across country6 ,you see youth1
 strength1 enjoyment1 manliness in those
 drawings1 and in none more so1 to our  
thinking1 than in the hundred pictures  
of children which this artist loves to  
design4 ,like a brave1 hearty1          
good-natured ,briton1 he becomes quite  
soft and tender with the little         
creatures1 pats gently their little     
golden heads1 and watches with unfailing
 pleasure their ways1 their sports1     
their jokes1 laughter1 caresses4 ,enfans
 terribles come home from ,eton2 young  
,miss practising her first flirtation2  
poor little ragged ,polly making        
dirt-pies in the gutter1 or staggering  
under the weight of ,jacky1 her         
nursechild1 who is as big as            

herself--all these little ones1         
patrician and plebeian1 meet with       
kindness from this kind heart1 and are  
watched with curious nicety by this     
amiable observer4  ,we remember1 in one 
of those ancient ,gilray portfolios1 a  
print which used to cause a sort of     
terror in us youthful spectators1 and in
 which the ,prince of ,wales 7his ,royal
 ,highness was a ,foxite then7 was      
represented as sitting alone in a       
magnificent hall after a voluptuous     
meal1 and using a great steel fork in   
the guise of a toothpick4 ,fancy the    
first young gentleman living employing  
such a weapon in such a way6 ,the most  
elegant ,prince of ,europe engaged with 
a two-pronged iron fork--the heir of    
,britannia with a ,,bident6 ,the man of 
genius who drew that picture saw little 
of the society which he satirized and   
amused4 ,gilray watched public          
characters as they walked by the shop in
 ,st4 ,james's ,street1 or passed       
through the lobby of the ,house of      

,commons4 ,his studio was a garret1 or  
little better2 his place of amusement a 
tavern-parlor1 where his club held its  
nightly sittings over their pipes and   
sanded floor4 ,you could not have       
society represented by men to whom it   
was not familiar4 ,when ,gavarni came to
 ,england a few years since--one of the 
wittiest of men1 one of the most        
brilliant and dexterous of              
draughtsmen--he published a book of ,les
 ,anglais1 and his ,anglais were all    
,frenchmen4 ,the eye1 so keen and so    
long practised to observe ,parisian     
life1 could not perceive ,english       
character4 ,a social painter must be of 
the world which he depicts1 and native  
to the manners which he portrays4  ,now1
 any one who looks over ,mr4 ,leech's   
portfolio must see that the social      
pictures which he gives us are          
authentic4 ,what comfortable little     
drawing-rooms and dining-rooms1 what    
snug libraries we enter2 what fine      
young-gentlemanly wags they are1 those  

beautiful little dandies who wake up    
gouty old grandpapa to ring the bell2   
who decline aunt's pudding and custards1
 saying that they will reserve          
themselves for an anchovy toast with the
 claret2 who talk together in ball-room 
doors1 where ,fred whispers             
,charley--pointing to a dear little     
partner seven years old--,my dear       
,charley1 she has very much gone off2   
you should have seen that girl last     
season6 ,look well at everything        
appertaining to the economy of the      
famous ,mr4 ,briggs3 how snug1 quiet1   
appropriate all the appointments are6   
,what a comfortable1 neat1 clean1       
middle-class house ,briggs's is 7in the 
,bayswater suburb of ,london1 we should 
guess from the sketches of the          
surrounding scenery76 ,what a good      
stable he has1 with a loose box for     
those celebrated hunters which he rides6
 ,how pleasant1 clean1 and warm his     
breakfast-table looks6 ,what a trim     
little maid brings in the top-boots     

which horrify ,mrs4 ,b6 ,what a snug    
dressing-room he has1 complete in all   
its appointments1 and in which he       
appears trying on the delightful        
hunting-cap which ,mrs4 ,briggs flings  
into the fire6 ,how cosy all the ,briggs
 party seem in their dining-room3       
,briggs reading a ,treatise on          
,dog-breaking by a lamp2 ,mamma and     
,grannie with their respective          
needleworks2 the children clustering    
round a great book of prints--a great   
book of prints such as this before us1  
which1 at this season1 must make        
thousands of children happy by as many  
firesides6 ,the inner life of all these 
people is represented3 ,leech draws them
 as naturally as ,teniers depicts ,dutch
 boors1 or ,morland pigs and stables4   
,it is your house and mine3 we are      
looking at everybody's family circle4   
,our boys coming from school give       
themselves such airs1 the young         
scapegraces6 our girls1 going to        
parties1 are so tricked out by fond     

mammas--a social history of ,london in  
the middle of the nineteenth century4   
,as such1 future students--lucky they to
 have a book so pleasant--will regard   
these pages3 even the mutations of      
fashion they may follow here if they be 
so inclined4 ,mr4 ,leech has as fine an 
eye for tailory and millinery as for    
horse-flesh4 ,how they change those     
cloaks and bonnets4 ,how we have to pay 
milliners' bills from year to year6     
,where are those prodigious chatelaines 
of #ahej which no lady could be without8
 ,where those charming waistcoats1 those
 stunning waistcoats1 which our young   
girls used to wear a few brief seasons  
back1 and which cause ',gus1 in the     
sweet little sketch of ,la ,mode1 to ask
 ,ellen for her tailor's address4 ',gus 
is a young warrior by this time1 very   
likely facing the enemy at ,inkerman2   
and pretty ,ellen1 and that love of a   
sister of hers1 are married and happy1  
let us hope1 superintending one of those
 delightful nursery scenes which our    

artist depicts with such tender humor4  
,fortunate artist1 indeed6 ,you see he  
must have been bred at a good public    
school2 that he has ridden many a good  
horse in his day2 paid1 no doubt1 out of
 his own purse for the originals of some
 of those lovely caps and bonnets2 and  
watched paternally the ways1 smiles1    
frolics1 and slumbers of his favorite   
little people4  ,as you look at the     
drawings1 secrets come out of           
them1--private jokes1 as it were1       
imparted to you by the author for your  
special delectation4 ,how remarkably1   
for instance1 has ,mr4 ,leech observed  
the hair-dressers of the present age6   
,look at ,mr4 ,tongs1 whom that hideous 
old bald woman1 who ties on her bonnet  
at the glass1 informs that she has used 
the whole bottle of ,balm of            
,california1 but her hair comes off yet4
 ,you can see the bear's-grease not only
 on ,tongs's head but on his hands1     
which he is clapping clammily together4 
,remark him who is telling his client   

there is cholera in the hair2 and that  
lucky rogue whom the young lady bids to 
cut off a long thick piece--for         
somebody1 doubtless4 ,all these men are 
different1 and delightfully natural and 
absurd4 ,why should hair-dressing be an 
absurd profession8  ,the amateur will   
remark what an excellent part hands play
 in ,mr4 ,leech's pieces3 his admirable 
actors use them with perfect            
naturalness4 ,look at ,betty1 putting   
the urn down2 at cook1 laying her hands 
on the kitchen table1 whilst her        
policeman grumbles at the cold meat4    
,they are cook's and housemaid's hands  
without mistake1 and not without a      
certain beauty too4 ,the bald old lady1 
who is tying her bonnet at ,tongs's1 has
 hands which you see are trembling4     
,watch the fingers of the two old       
harridans who are talking scandal3 for  
what long years past they have pointed  
out holes in their neighbors' dresses   
and mud on their flounces4 ,here's a go6
 ,i've lost my diamond ring4 ,as the    

dustman utters this pathetic cry1 and   
looks at his hand1 you burst out        
laughing4 ,these are among the little   
points of humor4 ,one could indicate    
hundreds of such as one turns over the  
pleasant pages4  ,there is a little snob
 or gent1 whom we all of us know1 who   
wears little tufts on his little chin1  
outrageous pins and pantaloons1 smokes  
cigars on tobacconists' counters1 sucks 
his cane in the streets1 struts about   
with ,mrs4 ,snob and the baby 7,mrs4 ,s4
 an immense woman1 whom ,snob           
nevertheless bullies71 who is a favorite
 abomination of ,leech1 and pursued by  
that savage humorist into a thousand of 
his haunts4 ,there he is1 choosing      
waistcoats at the tailor's--such        
waistcoats6 ,yonder he is giving a      
shilling to the sweeper who calls him   
,capting2 now he is offering a paletot  
to a huge giant who is going out in the 
rain4 ,they don't know their own        
pictures1 very likely2 if they did1 they
 would have a meeting1 and thirty or    

forty of them would be deputed to thrash
 ,mr4 ,leech4 ,one feels a pity for the 
poor little bucks4 ,in a minute or two1 
when we close this discourse and walk   
the streets1 we shall see a dozen such4 
,ere we shut the desk up1 just one word 
to point out to the unwary specially to 
note the backgrounds of landscapes in   
,leech's drawings--homely drawings of   
moor and wood1 and seashore and ,london 
street--the scenes of his little dramas4
 ,they are as excellently true to nature
 as the actors themselves2 our respect  
for the genius and humor which invented 
both increases as we look and look again
 at the designs4 ,may we have more of   
them2 more pleasant ,christmas volumes1 
over which we and our children can laugh
 together4 ,can we have too much of     
truth1 and fun1 and beauty1 and         
kindness8