ked, 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. a 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