_Patience_ in 1881 specially appealed to _Punch_ because it was aimed against the æsthetes. His general appreciation of the Savoy Operas was, however, tempered by criticism. For example, he pronounces _Iolanthe_ in 1882 to be "not within a mile of _Pinafore_ and not a patch upon _Patience_." _The Gondoliers_ in 1890 is placed third in order of excellence after the _Mikado_ and _Pinafore_. The unfortunate temporary estrangement between the collaborators which led to the severance of their partnership in the same year, and which was alleged to have grown out of a dispute over a carpet, is treated in "A Chapter of Dickens up to Date," with Gilbert as Mrs. Gamp and Sullivan as Mrs. Prig. _Punch's_ view of the merits of the dispute may be gathered from the fact that he gives the last word to Mrs. Prig, who, after alluding to a tempest in a teapot, observes: "Wich I don't believe there's either rhyme or reason in sech an absurd quarrel!" Yet when the _Court Circular_ of March 9, 1891, recorded the performance at Windsor Castle of _The Gondoliers_, "a Comic Opera composed by Sir Arthur Sullivan," with full details of the programme, performers, etc., but no mention of Gilbert at all, _Punch_ rubs in this conspicuous absence in his most sarcastic vein. Mr. D'Oyly Carte, it seems, was presented to the Queen after the performance, and _Punch_ goes on:-- Did R. D'Oyly think of mentioning that "the words" were by W.S.G.? And then it is told how D'Oyly refused to take any payment for the performance. Noble, generous-hearted, large-minded and liberal D'Oyly! Sir Arthur Courtly Sullivan's name was to the Bill, and so his consent to this extra act of generosity may be taken for granted. But what said Sir Brian de Bois Gilbert? By the merry-maskins, but an he be not pleased, dub me Knight Samingo! Will D'Oyly be dubbed Knight? And what sort of Knight? Well, remembering a certain amusing little episode in the more recent history of the Savoy Theatre, why not a "Carpet Knight"? If _Punch_ kept most of his friendships in good repair, it must be admitted that he also displayed on occasion a positive genius for impish malice. [Sidenote: _Liszt, Rubinstein, Pachmann_] Among the musical celebrities who visited us in these years _Punch_ had a special word for Joachim, to whom England was almost a second home, and Madame Schumann, whose portrait with that of the great violinist appears in 1881. M. Pachmann's performance at a concert in 1883 is described with more fidelity than reverence:--