27.—PLEASANT FOR THE YOUTH. BY LEECH, 1853.
28.—A SUPPOSITITIOUS RUSSIAN ACCOUNT OF OUR DISTRESS DURING THE CRIMEAN WAR, 1854.
As regards the source of this famous joke, Mr. Spielmann, with characteristic thoroughness, gives a long account of the many claims to its paternity, and finally makes this statement:—
... chance has placed in my possession the authoritative information; and so far from any outsider, anonymous or declared, paid or unpaid, being concerned in it at all, the line simply came in the ordinary way from one of the Staff—from the man who, with Landells, had conceived Punch and shaped it from the beginning, and had invented that first Almanac which had saved the paper's life—Henry Mayhew.
29.—A STREET-ARAB OF 1854.
No. 27 is a very clever drawing by Leech—they are all clever of course, but this seems specially good. The youth [on Westminster Bridge—time, two on a foggy morning] white with fear walks on perfectly straight without taking any notice of the rough who asks: "Did you want to buy a good razor?"—but he is taking a lot of notice though. The youth walks exactly like one does walk when a beggar pesters as he slouches alongside just behind one, but here the frightened youth has good cause indeed for the shaking fear that Leech has by some magic put into these strokes of his pencil. The "Reduced Tradesman" too is exactly good—but let the picture speak for itself, it wants no words of mine.
30.—OUT OF THE RAIN. 1854.