Volume II.

The cartoon shown in No. 6 contains the first picture of Queen Victoria in _Punch_, and it represents Sir Robert Peel sent for by the Queen to form an Administration in place of the beaten Ministry of Lord Melbourne. This was in the autumn of 1841. The words, The Letter of Introduction, at the bottom of the cartoon, are the title of "a MS. drama, called the 'Court of Victoria,'" on page 90 of Volume I. of _Punch_, which commences:--

SCENE IN WINDSOR CASTLE.

[_Her Majesty discovered sitting thoughtfully at an escritoire._]

_Enter_ the Lord Chamberlain.

LORD CHAMBERLAIN: May it please your Majesty, a letter from the Duke of Wellington.

THE QUEEN (_opens the letter_): Oh! a person for the vacant place of Premier--show the bearer in, my lord. [_Exit Lord Chamberlain._]

THE QUEEN (_muses_): Sir Robert Peel--I have heard that name before, as connected with my family. If I remember rightly he held the situation of adviser to the Crown in the reign of Uncle William, and was discharged for exacting a large discount on all the State receipts; yet Wellington is very much interested in his favour. Etc., etc., etc.

In facsimile No. 7 we see the first mention in _Punch_ of the Prince of Wales. It is the first part of a full-page article on page 222 of Volume I., which records the birth of the Prince on November 9, 1841, and which also refers to the disappointment caused to the King of Hanover by the birth of the Queen's second child. _Punch_ writes: "There are now two cradles between the Crown of England and the White Horse of Hanover." How many British Royal "cradles" are there now between the two things named by _Punch_?

12.--A SUPPOSITITIOUS CONVERSATION BETWEEN THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON AND THE PRINCE DE JOINVILLE (OF THE FRENCH NAVY). 1844.]

This comical sketch in No. 8 was, I suspect, suggested to Mr. Punch by one of the many offers of unsolicited "outside" contributions which have always been severely discouraged. Mr. Punch prefers to rely upon his own staff, although he is always on the alert for fresh talent, and amongst the clever men who have thus been invited to contribute to _Punch_ are Mr. H. W. Lucy ("Toby, M.P."), Mr. R. C. Lehmann (who wrote "The Adventures of Picklock Holes"), Mr. Bernard Partridge (the brilliant successor to Mr. du Maurier), and Mr. Phil May.

We see in No. 9 the first _Punch_ picture of the Prince of Wales. This cartoon was drawn by Kenny Meadows. The Queen is standing at the left of the infant Prince, and points to the first tooth, the doctor blows a toy-trumpet and offers some soldiers, while the lady who kneels is offering a baby's coral with a _Punch's_ head as its chief attraction.

No. 10 is a very clever sketch of "The Whistling Oyster." A full account of this supposititious discovery is given on page 142-3 of