1-150-410 - The Cartoon Collector/Heritage-Images

'Queen Hermione', 1865. Britannia as Paulina unveils the statue and remarks Tis Time! Descend; Be Stone No More! On behalf of the nation Britannia draws back the curtain and reveals Queen Victoria as a statue, frozen in time, and commands her to 'be stone no more'. This is a line from Shakespeare's A Winter's Tale, Act V, Scene 3. For some four years, Queen Victoria had maintained a life of absolute retirement from public life following the untimely death of her beloved Prince Albert. Here, Punch expresses the view that it is now time for Her Majesty to re-enter the world. In A Winter's Tale Queen Hermione disappears in the third act and does not reappear until the last scene. From Punch, or the London Charivari, September 23, 1865.