A Tempest in a Glass of Water.
By Gill.
In the pages of Punch from July, 1870, until the spring of 1871, one may follow very closely the history of the Franco-Prussian War and of the Commune. The first of the cartoons on this subject, published just before the declaration of war, is entitled "A Duel to the Death." In it the King of Prussia and the French Emperor are shown as duellists, sword in hand, while Britannia is endeavoring to act as mediator. "Pray stand back, madam," says Napoleon. "You mean well, but this is an old family quarrel and we must fight it out." Punch seemed to have an early premonition of what the result of the war would be, for, before any decisive battle had been fought, it published a striking cartoon entitled "A Vision on the Way," representing the shade of the great Napoleon confronting the Emperor and his son on the warpath, and bidding them "Beware!" The departure of the Prince Imperial to the front is made the subject of a very pretty and pathetic cartoon called "Two Mothers." It shows the Empress bidding farewell to her son, while France, as another weeping mother, is saying: "Ah, madam, a sure happiness for you, sooner or later; but there were dear sons of mine whom I shall never see again."
A Duel to the Death.
By Tenniel in "Punch."