Conkling vs. Trumbull

Nast casts two Republican U.S. Senators as dueling Shakespearean Scots. On the left, Macduff Conkling—Roscoe Conkling of New York, drawn tall and bearded in Highland armor—advances sword in hand. Facing him, the smaller, wild-haired Macbeth Trumbull—Illinois's Lyman Trumbull—brandishes his own blade and declaims the play's final challenge: "Lay on, Macduff, and damn'd be him that first cries hold, enough." Both swords are labeled INVESTIGATION, the real weapon in play. A note dryly reminds readers that in Shakespeare, Macbeth does not cry enough—implying Trumbull won't either. Behind them, a congressional committee sits in session. The cartoon mocks the era's Senate investigation culture: both men wield the same procedural sword, their rivalry more theatrical performance than principled combat.