W.E. Gladstone in the character of Mr Pecksniff gestures away a persistent newspaper seller (C.S. Parnell?). Colour lithograph by Tom Merry after himself, 17 March 1888.

Pecksniff in Charles Dickens's 'Martin Chuzzlewit' is mean and miserly. Gladstone seems to be represented as having the character of Pecksniff because he refuses to buy the views of Parnell. However, "They [Gladstone and Parnell] held two meetings, one in March 1888 and a second more significant meeting at Gladstone's home in Hawarden on 18–19 December 1889. On each occasion, Parnell's demands were entirely within the accepted parameters of Liberal thinking, Gladstone noting that he was one of the best people he had known to deal with" (Wikipedia). Their relationship ended in 1890 as a result of Parnell's citation in a divorce case