'A man Right Reverend and Well-Beloved' — The Bishop of Ripon

Leslie Ward ('Spy') renders William Boyd Carpenter, Bishop of Ripon, in the understated clerical uniform of late-Victorian high office: a long black frock coat, knee breeches, dark stockings, and buckled shoes. Hands clasped behind his back, the bishop stands with mild self-possession against Ward's characteristic grey wash background. The caricature's exaggeration is restrained — a ruddy, fleshy face atop a compact, slightly stout frame — befitting a churchman who was a popular court preacher and a favourite of Queen Victoria. The caption, 'A man Right Reverend and Well-Beloved,' signals genuine admiration rather than satire. The plate belongs to Vanity Fair's reverential mode, reserved for establishment figures the editors wished to honour rather than puncture.