Northern Looking Glass #6

In "Politics," Charles X of France is shown at St Cloud in 1825, where his mornings unfold in a surreal blend of pomp and satire. Wearing his crown and dressing-gown, he listens to newspapers read aloud by courtiers, the royal ears amplified by ear-trumpets, as caricatures of him—eating, praying, lounging, and being outmaneuvered by his grandchildren—play out across the pages.

In "null," a coat with a life of its own becomes a silent witness to fleeting moments of dignity, absurdity, and hunger. From serving as a scarecrow for crows to being worn proudly by a boy whose coat seems too big for his small frame, the story traces the coat’s journey through chance encounters and quiet transformations. The narrative unfolds in three brief, poignant vignettes—each a small act of meaning in a world that barely notices.

In the eerie stillness of a moonlit churchyard, a spectacled skeleton marches forward, drumming a rhythm that echoes through the stones, followed by another in tow bearing a banner that reads Popular Anatomy Mechanics Institution. The air thrums with urgency as a ragged crowd of mechanics and a waving woman chase behind, while elsewhere, in a dimly lit room, resurrectionists rest and drink—unaware of the escape unfolding beyond the wall, where a lone figure flees with a sack and a secret burden.