John Locke, M.P. — 'The only man who is ever known to make Mr. Gladstone smile'

Plate No. 145 in the Statesmen series, this chromolithograph by James Tissot caricatures John Locke, Liberal M.P. for Southwark. The rotund figure wears a straining brown frock coat, one hand thrust into the breast in a mock-Napoleonic pose, the other dangling a glove — a studied portrait of self-important conviviality. The caption identifies Locke's political currency as pure social charm: he alone could coax a smile from the notoriously grave Prime Minister Gladstone. Tissot exaggerates Locke's bulk and florid, jowly face; the joke lampoonsacks a backbencher whose chief parliamentary gift was apparently good humour.