nation, he declares, "It will go luckily with some four-faced
Christians, if, with the fullest belief in their own right of entry of
paradise, they are not '_stopped at the very doors_'"; and the parson,
in the case, gets but his deserts, when at his lugubrious sham-piety are
hurled stanzas like these:--

"Their little faces beamed with joy
Two miles upon their way,
As they supposed, each girl and boy,
About to see the play.
Their little cheeks with tears were wet,
As _back again_ they went,
Balked by a sanctimonious set,
Led by a Reverend Gent.

"And if such Reverend Gents as he
Could get the upperhand,
Ah, what a hateful tyranny
Would override the land!
That we may never see that time,
Down with the canting crew
That would _out of their pantomime_
Poor little children _do_!"

Punch is the friend of all who are friendless, and, with a generous
spirit of protection, gives credit to whom credit is due, whatever
conventionality, precedent, monopoly, or routine may say to the
contrary. During the Crimean War, he took care of the fame of the
rank-and-file of the army. The dispatches to Downing Street, reporting
the gallantry of titled officers, were more than matched by Punch's
imitative dispatches from the seat of war, setting forth the exploits of
Sergeant O'Brien, Corporal Stout, or Private Gubbins. He saw to it that
those who had the hardest of the fight, the smallest pay, and the
coarsest rations, should not be forgotten in the gazetting of the
heroes. Indeed, our comic friend's fellowship of soul with the humblest
members of the human family is a notable trait; it is so ready, and yet
withal so judicious. It is no part of his philosophy, as already
intimated, violently and rashly to disturb the existing order of things,
and set one class in rebellion against other classes. He simply insists
upon the recognition of the law of mutual dependence all round. This is
observable in his dealing with the vexed question of domestic service.
The prime trouble of housekeeping comes in frequently for a share of his
attention; and underneath ironical counsels, you may trace, quietly
insinuating itself into graphic sketches, the genial intent fairly to
adjust the relations between life above and life below stairs.
Accordingly, Punch sees no reason why Angelina may have a lover in the
parlor, whilst Bridget's engagement forbids her to entertain a fond
"f