5 JANUARY 1901, Page 3

The fine cartoon in this week's Punch—Time checking the chariot

of Bellona—is the last that will appear from the pen of Sir John Tenniel, who retiree, after an unbroken connec- tion of fifty years, from the active staff of the journal so long and brilliantly illumined by his genius. Viewed merely as works of art, his cartoons have long commanded admira• Lion by their foroe and grandeur of conception and their dignity of treatment. But beyond that, Sir John Tenniel's work has always seemed to us to reflect the national temper at its best. His satire was never disfigured by rancour, his sentiment was always wholesome and manly, his indignation never unnecessary. Of him it may be said in all sincerity that he was invariably "on the side of the angels," that, as a writer in the Pall Mall Gazette puts it, over and over again he touched the heart of the nation. The genial valedictory remarks which the editor of Punch addresses to Sir John Tenniel this week will be echoed by thousands of readers who have looked to his weekly cartoons for enlightened and inspiring comment on the great events of the day.