between the odours from different parts of the House, and declared that he could tap and draw off a specimen of the atmosphere on the Government benches, the Opposition side, or the Radical seats, at will. "There, my boy! eh? Pretty thick, aint it? That's the Scotch lot. Now hold your nose. I open this door and we get the Irish draught. Ugh! Come on, come on quickly--mixture of Irish, working-men M.P.'s, and Rads. Kill a horse!" The table of the House, which Mr. Disraeli erroneously described as "a solid piece of furniture," is in reality--like so many arguments which are flung across it--perfectly hollow; and one evening when I arrived with Dr. Percy and found that in consequence of the winding-up speech of Mr. Gladstone in a great debate the Press Gallery was full and all the seats under the gallery were occupied, Dr. Percy kindly allowed me to sit _inside the table_. I was sorely tempted to try the effect of inserting my pencil through the grating which forms the side of the table, and tickle the shins of the right hon. gentleman. Anyway, I looked straight into the faces of the Ministers and those on the front bench, and not only heard every word, but the asides and whispers as well. [Illustration: DR. PERCY. "THE HOUSE UP." _From "Punch."_] I only once caricatured Dr. Percy in _Punch_ (December, 1886), after there had been a sort of earthquake in the Inner Lobby of the House, and the tesselated pavement was thrown up. I made a drawing, "The House up at last." Dr. Percy "is personally directing the improvements." It is interesting to know that some of the pavement taken up on that occasion is laid in the hall of an hon. Member's house in the country, not far from West Kirby, Cheshire. [Illustration: MR. PUNCH'S PUZZLE-HEADED PEOPLE. MR. GOSCHEN. _From "Punch."_] THE VILLAIN OF ART. One frequently hears the remark, "Caricature is so ugly." Well, certainly pure caricature is the villain of art, and the popular draughtsman, like the popular actor, should, to remain popular in his work, always play the virtuous hero. If the leading actor _must_ play the villain, he takes care to make up inoffensive and tame. So the villain caricaturist need not be "ugly"--but then he cannot be strong. Nor is it left to an actor--unless he be the star or actor-manager--to remain popular by being tame and pretty in every part. So is the caricaturist, if he is not the star, liable to be cast to play the villain whether he likes it or not, and if he is a genuine worker he will not shrink from the part, merely to remain popular and curry favour with those deserving to be satirised. [Illustration: MR. PUNCH'S PUZZLE-HEADED PEOPLE. "ALL HARCOURTS." _From "Punch."_]