Note 16 — VIII The Humour of the "Man on the Cars"

In an English issue of Artemus Ward, apparently edited by Mr. John Camden Hotten (Chatto and Windus), this passage is accompanied with the following gloss: "Here again Artemus called in the aid of pleasant banter as the most fitting apology for the atrocious badness of the painting."

This note is an excellent illustration of English obtuseness—if needed, on the part of the reading public; if needless, on the part of the editor.