'A Good Soldier': Lieutenant-General G.W.A. Higginson, CB

Leslie Ward ('Spy') presents Lt-Gen George William Adolphus Higginson, CB, as Men of the Day No. 302. The chromolithograph shows a silver-haired, mustachioed officer in full dark undress uniform: double-breasted frock coat with gold epaulettes and buttons, a gold-and-crimson sash, cavalry boots, and a dress sword resting at his side. The caption below reads simply "a good soldier" — understated even by Vanity Fair's clipped standards, suggesting reliable competence rather than martial brilliance. Ward's caricature is notably gentle: Higginson's pince-nez and slight paunch are exaggerated with affection rather than malice, reflecting the magazine's broadly sympathetic treatment of senior British Army figures in this period.