f religion. Yes,
amid the ruins of Iona I have abjured the rigid philosophy which would
conduct us indifferent and unmoved over any ground that has been
dignified by wisdom, by bravery, and by virtue. I have stood on the
shores of Staffa,--I have seen the temple not built with hands,--I have
seen the mighty swell of the ocean,--the waves of the great Atlantic
beating in its inmost recesses, and swelling notes of praise nobler than
ever pealed from human organs." Well, other tourists besides the
statesman have stood on the summit of Ben Nevis and Ben Lomond,--have
visited Staffa and Iona,--and yet, the rigid philosophy which Sir Robert
credited himself for abjuring, has unconsciously conducted them
comparatively "indifferent and unmoved" over much ground that may have
been "dignified by wisdom, by bravery," and even "by virtue." The
stilted remarks of Sir Robert will serve to remind some of us of the
very original sentiments we find recorded in "visitors' books" of sundry
home and continentals hotels much affected by members of the gushing
order of travellers. Some such idea seems to have struck the artist; for
in his next satire Sir Robert very deservedly figured as _Dr. Syntax
setting out on his Humble but Faithful Steed in Search of the
Picturesque_.

As a rule the titles of these sketches, which reach the amazing number
of nine hundred and seventeen, afford no clue whatever to their subject
matter. Here are the titles of a few, taken at random from the general
bulk:--_An Affair of Honour_; _A Group of Sporting Characters at Epsom_;
_A Nice Distinction, or a Hume-iliating Rejoinder to a Warlike Ap-Peel_;
_A Political Ruse_; _Swearing the Horatii_; _Retaliation_; _Goody Two
Shoes turned Barber_; _State Cricket Match_; _Taking an Airing in Hyde
Park_;--and so on. A description, however short, of the events to which
these "Political Sketches" refer, would occupy probably a couple of
volumes; and, following the course which we have hitherto adopted, we
have preferred to make selection of a few which seemed to us--either
from the persons satirized or the scenes in which they figure--likely
to interest the general reader. Thackeray said of them at the time they
were appearing, "You never hear any laughing at HB, his pictures are a
great deal too genteel for that,--polite points of wit which strike one
as exceedingly clever and pretty, and cause one to smile in a quiet,
gentlemanlike kind of way." Forty-two years have elapse