He  went  to  New  York  in  i860,  where  he  first  assisted
and  then  succeeded  Leland  as  editor  of  Vanity  Fair,  a
humorous  paper  in  which  many  of  his  best  contribu-
tions were  given  to  the  public.  When  Vanity  Fair  ceased
to  exist  Artemus  Ward  entered  the  lecture  field  and  was
successful  from  the  first.  As  lecturer  he  traveled  exten-
sively in  the  United  States  and  finally  went  to  England,
where  he  was  enthusiastically  received :  "Charles  Reade,
the  novelist,  was  his  warm  friend  and  enthusiastic  ad-


354  STUDIES  IN  AMERICAN  LITERATURE

mirer,  and  Mr.  Andrew  Holliday  introduced  him  to"  the
'Literary  Qub/  where  he  became  a  great  favorite.  Mark
Lemon  came  to  him  and  asked  him  to  become  a  contrib-
utor to  Punch,  which  he  did.  His  Punch  letters  were
more  remarked  than  any  other  current  matter.  There
was  hardly  a  club  meeting  or  a  dinner  at  which  tfiey
were  not  discussed.  ...  It  was  admitted  that  Punch
had  contained  nothing  better  since  the  days  of  'Yellow-
plush.'  This  opinion  was  shared  by  the  Times,  the  lit-
erary reviews,  and  the  gayest  leaders  of  society.  The
publishers  of  Punch  posted  up  his  name  in  large  letters
over  their  shop  in  Fleet  street,  and  Artemus  delighted  to
point  it  out  to  his  friends."'*'  About  this  time  he  wrote  to
a  friend  in  America :

"This  is  the  proudest  moment  of  my  life.  To  have  been  as
vrell  appreciated  here  as  at  home;  to  have  written  for  the  oldest
comic  journal  in  the  English  language,  received  mention  with
Hood  and  Jerrold  and  Hook,  and  to  have  my  picture  and  my
pseudonym  as  common  in  London  as  in  New  York,  is  enough  for

'*  Yours  truly,

*'A.  Ward."

Artemus  went  to  England  in  1866.  Besides  writing
for  Punch  he  gave  a  series  of  lectures  on  the  "Mormons."

The  crowds  which  flocked  nightly  to  hear  him  became
larger  and  larger,  hundreds  being  turned  away,  but  con-
sumption claimed  the  maker  of  so  much  innocent  mirth
for  her  own  and  in  the  seventh  week  of  his  engagement
his  lectures  were  discontinued.  He  died  at  Southampton  in
March,  1867,  and  a  large  number  of  friends  and  admirers
attended  his  funeral.  His  body  was  brought  back  to
America  and  buried  beside  that  of  his  father  in  Water-
ford.
