The Earl of Iddesleigh, better known as Sir Stafford Northcote, died in January. There is an unmistakable reference to Lord Randolph Churchill's treatment of his one-time leader in the verses in which _Punch_ paid homage to a statesman "worn yet selfless, disparaged and dispraised," yet a "pattern of proud but gentle chivalry":-- So the arena's coarser heroes mocked This antique fighter. And his place was rather Where Arthur's knights in generous tourney shocked Than where swashbucklers meet or histrions gather: Yet--yet his death has touched the land with gloom; All England honours Chivalry--at his tomb. Here the reference to Lord Randolph is inferential though unmistakable. But an opportunity for having a dig at him is never missed. When the Bulgarian throne was offered to Prince Ferdinand, and his cautious and diplomatic tactics resulted in long delays, _Punch_ in pure malice suggested that the crown should be offered to Lord Randolph. He may be forgiven, however, in view of the remarkably accurate estimate which he formed of the slyness, timidity and meanness of "Ferdinand the Fox," and the alternations of servility and insolence in his attitude towards Russia. Bismarck again comes in for honorific notice this year in the guise of Sintram, accompanied and menaced by Socialism (the Little Master), but confidently riding along on his steed Majority. But 1888 was a momentous year for Germany--the year in which two Kaisers died and a third succeeded to the heritage of the Hohenzollerns. The old Emperor Wilhelm, the "_Greise Kaiser_," died on March 9; within a hundred days his son, the "_Weise Kaiser_," had fallen to the fatal malady which had sapped his splendid physique, to be succeeded in turn by the "_Reise Kaiser_," the nickname bestowed on Wilhelm II for his passion for movement and travel. At the moment of his accession _Punch_ was not inclined to be critical. The cartoon of "The Vigil" in June of that year expresses no misgivings, but only sympathy for one called to bear so heavy a burden. And this view is amplified in the verses in which the lessons of the past are used to fortify the hopes of the future:-- THE VIGIL "Verse-moi dans le coeur, du fond de ce tombeau Quelque chose de grand, de sublime et de beau!" _Hernani_, Act iv, Scene 2.