Page:Pen And Pencil Sketches - Volume I.djvu/188

Rh mounting the R D appears in company with Punch, grinning as he puts his finger to his nose, the melancholy Toby squatting on his many-volumed pedestal, and the bacchanalian procession, in which the little faun drags along by a string the mask of Brougham, a parody of an incident (not a compli- mentary one, by the way, to his Lordship) in Titian’s great picture of ‘Bacchus and Ariadne’ in our National Gallery.

“The present staff of Punch artists consists of Messrs. Leech, Tenniel, and Charles Keene. The name of Mr. Howard must also be placed on the list. His drawings of animals, birds, and insects are, I am told, popular with the public ; they may be known by the peculiarity of their style and the signature of a trident. Besides these gentlemen, there are occasional contributors, Mr. Julian Portch, Mr. G. Du Maurier, &c., &c. Foremost among all stands Mr. Leech. Connected as he has been with Punch from the first, he has been in a great degree instrumental in attaining and main- taining the position which it now enjoys. The heaviest blow that could fall on Punch would be the loss of Mr. Leech. His drawings are now the first things one looks for in opening a number. In saying this, I hope I am not wounding the feelings of any of the Punch writers ; but it must be confessed that the letterpress has not kept