The Project Gutenberg EBook of Punch, Or The London Charivari, VOL. 100.
Feb. 28, 1891, by Various

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net

Title: Punch, Or The London Charivari, VOL. 100. Feb. 28, 1891

Author: Various

Release Date: August 3, 2004 [EBook #13098]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PUNCH ***

Produced by Malcolm Farmer, William Flis, and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team.

PUNCH,

OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.

VOL. 100.

February 28, 1891.

SPECIMENS FROM MR. PUNCH'S SCAMP-ALBUM.

NO. II.--THE LITERARY "GHOST."

[Illustration]

We will assume, simply for the purposes of this argument, that you,
reader, are an innocent-minded elderly lady, and a regular subscriber
to the Local Circulating Library. You are sitting by your comfortable
fireside, knitting a "cross-over" for a Bazaar, when your little maid
announces a gentleman, who says he has not a card-case with him, but
requests that you will see him.

"You are sure he _is_ a gentleman, MARY ANN?" you will inquire, with a
slight uneasiness as to the umbrellas in the hall.

"Oh, a puffict gentleman, Mam," says MARY ANN--"with a respirator."

Upon this testimony to his social standing, you direct that the
perfect gentleman shall be shown in.

MARY ANN has not deceived you--he has a respirator, also blue
spectacles, and a red nose. He apologises with fluent humility for
intruding upon you without the honour of a previous acquaintance, and
takes a chair, after which he shifts his respirator to his chin, sheds
a pair of immense woollen gloves into his hat, and produces a bundle
of papers, over which he intreats you to cast an eye. On perusing
them, they prove to be letters from various eminent authors, whose
names are, more or less, familiar to you. These documents are more
interesting as autographs than from any intrinsic literary merit, for
they all refer to remittances for various amounts, and regret politely
that the writer is not in a position to obtain permanent employment
for his correspondent. While you are reading them, your visitor pays
assiduous court to your cat--which impresses you favourably.

"Possibly, Madam," he suggests, "