It may perhaps come as a surprise to many, seeing how long Punch has persisted, to learn that in Italy he was not one of the important characters in the original plays, but his choice as the hero of the puppet-show depended rather on the fact that he had not so much to do as some of the others--the harlequin, for instance. Therefore his character could be better portrayed under the restricted conditions that prevailed in such an entertainment as the Punch and Judy show. It will be obvious also that only two characters can be acting at one time, as the showman has only two hands. Mr. Heppel could only trace one instance of Punch figures being worked by wires like other marionettes. This is a figure in a little book no larger than a playing-card, entitled "Scènes de Polichinelle," in the Art Library at the South Kensington Museum. The showman in the case of the French Punch on occasion makes a virtue of necessity, and when the hero of the puppet-show is about to be tried for murder, the performance is interrupted in order that the following apology may be made:--"The scene which we are about to have the honour to put before you requires a tolerably large number of characters. It is, indeed, impossible to suppose that so important a prisoner as Guignol should be tried without due ceremony and by a single judge, but as the director of this theatre, like the generality of mankind, has but two hands, the actors in this scene will most of them remain quite still. This need not in the least interfere with the truth of the representation, for this stillness gives the administration of justice an additional solemnity. We may suppose that the judges are asleep, which will enable them to decide free from passion, and that the officials of the court are paralysed by the majesty of the court and the magnitude of the issues to be determined." [Illustration: FIG. 149.--The Oscan Pulicinella of 1731, without a long nose. The dress is very similar to that figured in 1630 (after Riccoboni).] The Punch and Judy show went on in Italy side by side with the farces that were represented by living actors, but the idea of puppet-shows is very much more ancient than this. The clothes of Punch were plain, and illustrations made in 1630 are similar to others made a hundred years later (see Figures 149 and 150). [Illustration: FIG. 150.--The Calabrian Giangurgolo of 1731, with the long nose. The dress is very similar to that figured in 1630 (after Riccoboni).] Originally, also, Punch does not seem to have had a long nose. The exaggerated nose is, however, found on the representative of Punch which flourished in Calabria, and which went by the name of "Giangurgolo" (see Figure 150). The French Punch is called Guignol, of which the derivation cannot be directly traced, but Mr. Heppel has made an interesting suggestion that in the name of this character is to be found that of Giangurgolo in a contracted form.