Vile hand, that brandest murder on a strife, Whate"er its grounds, stoutly and n.o.bly striven; And with the martyr"s crown crownest a life With much to praise, little to be forgiven!
[Ill.u.s.tration: MRS. NORTH AND HER ATTORNEY.
MRS. NORTH. "YOU SEE, MR. LINCOLN, WE HAVE FAILED UTTERLY IN OUR COURSE OF ACTION; I WANT PEACE, AND SO, IF YOU CANNOT EFFECT AN AMICABLE ARRANGEMENT, I MUST PUT THE CASE INTO OTHER HANDS."]
From that time forward _Punch_ took seriously to heart the lesson he had taught himself, and his relations with Brother Jonathan were thereafter of a very different and a far more cordial kind.
[Ill.u.s.tration: COLUMBIA"S SEWING-MACHINE. MRS. BRITANNIA. "AH, MY DEAR COLUMBIA, IT"S ALL VERY WELL; BUT I"M AFRAID YOU"LL FIND IT DIFFICULT TO JOIN _THAT_ NEATLY."]
That these verses made a profound impression in the United States is undoubted. It has even been opined that they were largely instrumental in preventing an imminent war between Great Britain and the United States.
[Ill.u.s.tration: THE BLACK DRAFT.]
Perhaps the effect would have been less if we on this side had known how grudgingly the amende was offered. Mr. A. H. Layard in his recent "Life of Shirley Brooks" has invited us to take a peep behind the _Punch_ curtain. He shows that the editorial staff of the paper was divided in the matter, Shirley Brooks leading the opposition against the publication of the poem. In Brooks" diary Mr. Layard discovered the following entry:--
"Dined _Punch_. All there. Let out my views against some verses on Lincoln in which T. T. (Tom Taylor) had not only made P. eat humble pie, but swallow dish and all."
[Ill.u.s.tration: THE FEDERAL PH[OE]NIX.]
[Ill.u.s.tration: GRAND TRANSFORMATION SCENE FOR THE END OF THE YEAR 1864.]
[Ill.u.s.tration: THE THREATENING NOTICE.
ATTORNEY LINCOLN. "NOW UNCLE SAM, YOU"RE IN A DARNED HURRY TO SERVE THIS HERE NOTICE ON JOHN BULL. NOW, IT"S MY DUTY, AS YOUR ATTORNEY, TO TELL YOU THAT YOU _MAY_ DRIVE HIM TO GO OVER TO THAT CUSS, DAVIS----" (_Uncle Sam Considers._)]
[Ill.u.s.tration: VULCAN IN THE SULKS.
BRITANNIA. "IF YOU TURN SULKY, AND WON"T MAKE MY ARMOUR, HOW SHALL I BE ABLE TO RESIST MARS?"]
[Ill.u.s.tration: THE AMERICAN GLADIATORS--HABET!]
[Ill.u.s.tration: BRITANNIA SYMPATHISES WITH COLUMBIA.]
[Ill.u.s.tration: PEACE.
MR. PUNCH"S DESIGN FOR A COLOSSAL STATUE, WHICH OUGHT TO HAVE BEEN PLACED IN THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION].