good stead; it charmed his friends and
non-plussed his enemies. Of the latter, it must be admitted, he had more
than enough--or, at least, men to whom he was intensely antipathetic.
One eminent journalist--more eminent than Mark himself--writes him down
"a mealy-mouthed sycophant;" and another, hardly less popular, went
further still in his denunciation, and, if he were to be believed, Mark
Lemon must have been one of the most accomplished humbugs of his time.
"There was nothing good about Mark," said a distinguished draughtsman,
who worked with the _Punch_ Editor for many a long year, "but his
laugh." But against this criticism--which was that of men whose judgment
ought to be clear and sound, and was, moreover, shared by others--there
is an overwhelming mass of evidence in favour of Lemon's extreme
amiability, kindness, and geniality. He, naturally, was the butt of
rival comic papers, who would taunt him with his Jewish descent, with
the mildness of his jokes and humour, and the bitterness of his false
friendship. A favourite form was to print among supposed "Births" such a
line as this: "On Wednesday, the 26th ult., at Whitefriars, Mr. Mark
Lemon, of a joke, stillborn."

But Lemon could well afford to ignore all such attacks. Mr. George
Chester, his life-long friend, pronounced him the prince of cronies, and
I have seen many letters from him instinct with affection and jovial
humour. One of them, by the way, gives information that "our nursemaid
has the chicken-pock, and we expect to see her throw out feathers
to-morrow." When he entered the composing-room he was invariably
received with a cheer by the men, whom he called "my Caxtonian Bees."
Charles Dickens believed in him as "a most affectionate and true-hearted
fellow," and so described him to Sir A. H. Layard (in whose interest
Dickens arranged for Tenniel's fine "Nineveh Bull" cartoon to be
published); and though he quarrelled with him, because Lemon had the
courage, chivalry, and uprightness to take Mrs. Dickens's side against
her husband, he brought the estrangement to a close with a kindly
message when Lemon first appeared as Falstaff. Mr. Joseph Hatton carries
his friendly admiration almost to the point of Lemonolatry; and the man
who could inspire such friendship must assuredly have been endowed with
sterling qualities and with a lovable nature.

"Mr. Lemon impressed me," writes Mr. E. J. Ellis, "as the kindest and
most lovable elderly boy I had ever seen.