Lay the imperial style apart; Leave it to the lords of legions: Queen in every English heart, Be thou Queen in Eastern regions. Keep thy style and state serene-- Who so great as India's Queen? [Illustration: "THE QUEEN WITH TWO HEADS" MR. BULL: "No, no, Benjamin, it will never do! You can't improve on the old 'Queen's Head'!"] Another set of verses printed a month or so later go so far as to call "Emperor" a "name accursed." The old title was good enough for _Punch_:-- Still "King" or "Queen," from earliest days, To British understanding A sense of rank supreme conveys That brooks no rash expanding. Symbol august of royal state With Freedom's spirit blended; Can title so securely great Be altered or amended? The Queen's visit to Lord Beaconsfield at Hughenden in December, 1877, is treated in a spirit of genial irony with an undercurrent of distrust in the Premier's flamboyant imagination. _Punch_ wonders what the tree was that the Queen planted: possibly "of some Asian order from a Hebrew root." In the accompanying picture it is labelled, "Conditional Neutrality," and Gladstone is shown looking on, with his axe, as though he would like to cut it down. Opposition to the Royal grants was again vocal in 1878 in connexion with the Duke of Connaught's marriage, when Sir Charles Dilke's motion was defeated by 320 to 33 votes. Dilke's view was that there was no instance of the Crown holding out for a marriage portion--except in the case of marriages in a manner forced to raise Royal issue--before the present reign. The Government and the Opposition, backed by Gladstone, contended that the precedents did not apply. _Punch_ advocated an overhauling of the existing arrangements as soon as they ran out. In the memorial stanzas on Princess Alice, the Grand Duchess of Hesse Darmstadt, _Punch_ abstains from prophecy, a fortunate abstention in view of the tragic future in store for her daughters; and pays a well merited tribute to a good woman, above reproach whether as daughter, wife, mother and sovereign. He applauds the Duke of Albany for a speech in 1879 warning the British working man not to be outstripped by foreign competitors in industry, intelligence and taste, and welcomes the Prince as following in the steps of his father. The Duke of Connaught's marriage in the same year is celebrated in verse, _Punch_ declaring that he can't _gush_, but feels glad; a sentiment tempered by an ironical description of the Royalties and nobilities present at the wedding and of their cheap and homely presents. [Sidenote: _Loyalty with Reserves_]