Genre:

News-Commentary, Drollery

Subjects:

Spiritualism, Psychology, Government, Nutrition

    Discusses the possibility that the aldermen of London exert a 'daemonic influence' (a term that Punch attributes to Johann W von Goethe) over judges, 'to the augmentation of their gravity, composure of their feelings, [and] support of their minds'. Speculates on the nature of 'this extraordinary something [...] which, irrespectively of moral character and intellectual ability [...] some individuals appear to be endowed with'. Believes the influence derives from their consumption of cognac and other spirits which give them 'an atmosphere imbued with moral qualities'.