" In the latter,
allusion is made to the Mexican war, rifle duelling and rowdyism,
repudiation, Lynch law, and the then but no longer "peculiar
institution." These will be found in the thirteenth volume, with a
design of great excellence, _Punch's Vision at Stratford-on-Avon_,
supposed to occur in the house of Shakespeare.

A new English (?) party had been growing up and gradually forcing itself
into English politics. This was the Peace-at-any-price party, the
members of which, oblivious of the fact that the best preservative of
peace is to be found in a perpetual state of readiness for war, erased
from their minds all remembrance of the position won for the nation by
our glorious army and navy, and ruled that national honour and national
obligations must now be considered subordinate to the interests of
peace, trade, and commerce. Conspicuous among these men of the new
school was Mr. Cobden, an able, earnest, but (so far as our foreign
policy was concerned) thoroughly mistaken enthusiast. He figures as
"Peace" in Doyle's cartoon of _John Bull between Peace and War_ (_i.e._
the Duke of Wellington). In _Gentlemen, make your Game while the Ball is
Rolling_ (1848), the best cartoon ever designed by Richard Doyle, the
various European monarchs are engaged at _roulette_ under the auspices
of _Punch_ himself. The ball is the world, and the edges of the board
are respectively inscribed, "Reform," "Progress," "Republicanism,"
"Equality," "Constitutional Government." "Anarchy," and "Liberalism."
Bomba of Naples having staked a large sum, he and other monarchs follow
the erratic movements of the ball with absorbing attention. In the
background may be seen the then Queen of Spain and Louis Philippe, who,
having staked their all and lost, are just leaving the apartment.
Another, following up the same subject, is the political sea serpent of
"Revolution" suddenly appearing above the surface of the sea and
upsetting, one after another, the cockle-shell boats in which the
various European sovereigns are endeavouring to get to shore. The writer
in the Catholic "Month" points out the fact that "this picture was drawn
in the earlier part of the year, before the Roman revolution, and the
Holy Father was still riding safely unharmed by the monster which is
working havoc in France and Germany, and Austria and Spain." In _The
Citizen of the World_ we find a capital skit upon the "admirable
Crichton" delusion which made my Lord Brougham fancy