on crime, and the cult of monstrosity _Punch_ waged unceasing war, but he was no prude. Those who were always on the look out for offence were sure to find it: "certain it is that whenever a father of a family visits a theatre, something verging on impropriety takes place." So again he falls foul of the inconsistent prudery which allowed a performance of _La Dame aux Camélias_ at Exeter Hall in 1857, but prohibited an English translation of the words. [Footnote 22: "As well hope to touch, Memnon-like, the statue of Queen Anne into mourning music, as to awaken generous impulses in the House of Hanover towards art, or science or letters." The payment of 13s. 4d. each to actors at a Royal Command performance provokes a sarcastic reference to the Court Almoner Extraordinary.] [Sidenote: _"Punch's" Respect for Decorum_] Many of the broader aspects of early Victorian social life remain with us to-day, though modified or amended. "The broad vein of plush that traverses the whole framework of English society," as _Punch_ flamboyantly gibed, if not wholly obliterated is at least less conspicuous. Jeames and Jenkins are dead. If we cannot say the same of bullying at schools, "ragging" in the Army, the unnecessary expense of uniforms and the costly pageantry of funerals--all of which were strenuously condemned by _Punch_--it may at least be contended that public opinion is more vigilant in arraigning and bringing to light offences against humanity, good taste and common sense. Modern critics have not been wanting who charge _Punch_ with prudery and squeamishness, but this is not the place to discuss whether the popularity of the paper would have been enhanced, or its influence and power fortified by following the example of _La Vie Parisienne_ or of _Jugend_. Certainly during the period under review reticence and respectability were combined on occasion with a remarkable freedom of comment, and the tragedy of "The Great Social Evil" was frankly admitted in Leech's famous picture. Though an isolated reference it was worth a hundred sermons. If _Punch_ preferred to be the champion of domesticity and decorum in public and private life, he was reflecting an essential feature of the age--a feature which no longer exists. It was an age of patriarchal rule and large families. Nothing strikes one more in turning over the pages of old numbers of _Punch_ than the swarms of young people who figure in the domestic groups so dear to John Leech. The numbers, more than the precocity of the rising generation, impress the reader. The type represented is mainly drawn from well-to-do middle-class households, but all classes were prolific. If one needs proof, there is the evidence of Debrett and of the tombstones in our country churchyards. [Sidenote: _Mr. Quiverfull_] [Illustration: Scene: A Public-house, Bury St. Edmunds, after the Dinner given by the Mayor of Bury to the Lord Mayor of London.