The Project Gutenberg EBook of Rowlandson the Caricaturist. First Volume, by
Joseph Grego
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Title: Rowlandson the Caricaturist. First Volume
A Selection from his Works
Author: Joseph Grego
Illustrator: Thomas Rowlandson
Release Date: June 15, 2014 [EBook #45980]
Language: English
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ROWLANDSON THE CARICATURIST
_FIRST VOLUME_
LONDON: PRINTED BY
SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW STREET SQUARE
AND PARLIAMENT STREET
[Illustration: Tho^s Rowlandson]
ROWLANDSON THE CARICATURIST
_A SELECTION FROM HIS WORKS_
WITH ANECDOTAL DESCRIPTIONS OF HIS
FAMOUS CARICATURES
AND
A Sketch of his Life, Times, and Contemporaries
BY
JOSEPH GREGO
AUTHOR OF 'JAMES GILLRAY, THE CARICATURIST; HIS LIFE, WORKS, AND TIMES'
[Illustration:
DUCHESS OF DEVONSHIRE--HON. CHARLES JAMES FOX--LORD NORTH]
_WITH ABOUT FOUR HUNDRED ILLUSTRATIONS_
IN TWO VOLUMES--VOL. I.
London
CHATTO AND WINDUS, PICCADILLY
1880
[_The right of translation is reserved_]
DEDICATED
TO
ALL LOVERS OF HUMOUR
PREFACE.
'Tuâ nobis est gratiâ.'--CIC.
We have need of your favour.
The Editor recognises that the admirers of Rowlandson's peculiar
graphic productions, and those fortunate amateurs who are able to
indulge their taste for collecting caricatures and works embellished
with humorous illustrations, will not expect any excuse for the
preparation and appearance of the present work: he anticipates that--in
spite of much that he would improve--the two volumes devoted to a
_résumé_ of the great Caricaturist, with the multifarious, ludicrous,
and grotesque creations which emanated from his fertile fancy,
will be accepted as, in some degree, supplying that which, without
being absolutely indispensable, has frequently been instanced as a
compilation likely to be acceptable to the appreciators of graphic and
literal satire.
To the initiated few this sketch of a famous delineator of
whimsicalities, with the review of his works, times, and
contemporaries, is offered with the conviction that the intentions of
the Author are not liable to be misconstrued by them; nor has he any
grounds to dread that the subjects represented run the risk of being
questioned at their hands on the grounds of propriety.
Fuller consideration is due to the many to whom the name of Rowlandson
conveys no more than a perception of 'oddity' or of license of
treatment which approaches vulgarity, to whom the innumerable
inventions of the artist represent foreign ground--a novel, strange
land, populated with daring absurdities, according to their theories.
It is felt that some justification is needed for the writer's temerity
in volunteering as a pioneer to conduct the unsophisticated through
the devious and eccentric intricacies which characterise the progress
of pictorial satire, as demonstrated in the subject of the work now
submitted to the public with all due deference.
The neophyte, it is anticipated, will be somewhat startled at the first
glance of the surroundings amidst which he will wander; but it is
believed that, in the course of his journey through an anomalous past,
he will alight on discoveries, more or less interesting in themselves,
which provide abundant food for the student of humanity.
The writer deprecates a hasty conclusion, with the assurance that those
who have the moderation to reserve their opinions until they have fully
acquainted themselves with the materials, may possibly suffer their
critical instincts to be modified in the process.
We have taken the liberty of scrutinising somewhat closely--with a view
to the portrayal of its salient features--a generation which was marked
with a colouring more intensified than those who live in our time are
prepared to adopt. Of this age, diversified with much which has been
discarded, we accept Rowlandson as the fitting exponent. His works
epitomise a state of being comparatively recent in actual fact, but,
from the circumstances of change, so distantly removed in appearance,
as to constitute a curious experience to the majority.
With every qualification to ensure success, Rowlandson, as his story
indicates, deliberately threw away the serious chances of life, to
settle down as the delineator of the transitory impressions of the
hour. 'There is wisdom in laughter,' says the sage; and--without
precisely regarding life as a 'stale jest'--our artist drew mirth
from every situation, and illustrated from his own fecund resources
that, while nearly every circumstance has its grotesque as well as its
sinister aspect, the ludicrous elements of any given event are often
more enduring than the serious ones.
Good-natured pleasantry, we may remind the reader, is held to be
wholesome. Rowlandson's shafts, so far as our judgment serves, were
never pointed with gall: while he possessed the faculty of seizing the
weak or ridiculous side of his subject, he seems, unlike Gillray, his
best-known contemporary, to have been an utter stranger to acrimonious
instigations. A fuller acquaintanceship reveals the Caricaturist--as he
was described in his day--'an inexhaustible folio of amusement, every
page of which was replete with fun'--perhaps the most genial travelling
companion who could be selected in traversing the ways of life led
by our ancestors, for the half-century which witnessed the gradual
extinction of the quaint, old-fashioned Georgian era, and inaugurated
the less picturesque generation to which our immediate predecessors
belong.
Be it recorded, concerning the part played in the world by the
satirists, pictorial and literal--'the less they deserve, the more
merit in your bounty.' We would modestly suggest the sapient axiom
embodied by the great master, 'Fancy's favourite child,' relative to
the transient jesters whose lot it has been 'to hold, as't were, the
mirror up to nature' upon the mimic stage: 'Let them be well used; for
they are the abstracts and brief chronicles of the time: after your
death you were better have a bad epitaph, than their ill report while
you live.'
CONTENTS
OF
THE FIRST VOLUME.
(1774-1799.)
_BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH._
PAGE
The prevalent taste for pictorial satires--Contributions to the
literature and history of caricature--Collections of caricatures
in national museums--Rowlandson's publishers--Scarcity of his
works and the avidity of collectors--Difficulties in the way of
forming a collection of Rowlandson's engraved plates--Rowlandson
regarded as an artist in water-colours--Examples of his
productions to be found in picture galleries--Establishes
himself as a serious artist, 1777 to 1781--His contributions
to the Royal Academy as a portrait-painter in oils--His
female likenesses--His versatile acquirements and imitative
fidelity--Rowlandson considered as a landscape artist--As a
painter of marine subjects--George Cruikshank's estimation of
Thomas Rowlandson--General review of Rowlandson's caricatures:
Gambling, the Westminster Election, 1784; political struggles
between the Whigs and Tories, Pitt and Fox, the King and the
Prince, fashions, the clergy, the Bar, usures, doctors, quackery,
John Bull, foreigners, cockneys, countrymen, the Universities,
collegians, the military, the navy, seaport sketches, amusements
of the _bon-ton_, Vauxhall, the Opera, theatres, card-playing,
sharpers, drinking, feasting, sport, fox-hunting, horse-racing,
prize-fighting, rural sports, masquerading, picnic revels,
fortune-hunters, elopements, Gretna Green, travesties, parodies,
and burlesques, trials, scandals, housebreaking, highway
robberies, the passions, the Royal Family--Imitations of the old
masters: Female studies, _croquis_ taken in France, Holland,
Belgium, Germany, England and Wales, the metropolis--The Regency
struggle--Admiral Lord Nelson--The miseries of human life--The
Great French Revolution--Napoleon Buonaparte--The Delicate
Investigation--The Royal Academy, &c., &c.--Manifold production
of drawings--Contributions to book illustration--Portraits
of the caricaturist--The artist and his relatives--His
schoolfellows--A student in Paris--At the Academy schools--His
early friends Bannister and Angelo--Tricks on the Royal
Academicians--His friends Pyne and John Thomas Smith--Studies
of Continental character--Between London and Paris--Is left a
fortune--His passion for the gambling-table--The integrity of
his conduct--Successive exhibits at the Royal Academy--Portraits
in oil--His travels at home and abroad; the companions of
his excursions; Mitchell the banker and Henry Wigstead
the magistrate--Congenial spirits--Vauxhall Gardens--Lord
Barrymore--Nocturnal frolics--Play--Successive drawings of social
satires, contributed to the Royal Academy Exhibitions--Rowlandson
robbed--Identifies a thief--Lord Howe's victory--French
prisoners--Sketches of the embarkation of the expedition for
La Vendée--Sojourns in Paris with Angelo, John Raphael Smith,
Westmacott, and Chasemore--Sketching in the Netherlands and
Germany with Mitchell--John Bull on his travels--Night auctions
of pictures, drawings, and prints--Old Parsons, 'Antiquity'
Smith, Edwin, Greenwood, Hutchins, Heywood--Relaxations
of the period--Nights at Mitchell's--Wigstead and 'Peter
Pindar'--Wolcot's stories--Dinners with Weltjé at
Hammersmith--The Prince of Wales--Theatrical worthies, Munden,
Palmer and Madame Banti--Convivialities--The Prince's Maître
d'Hôtel: his cooking and anecdotes--Excursions in England: views
in Cumberland, Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Norfolk, Suffolk,
Kent, Hampshire, &c.--Studies in the Universities: views of the
Colleges of Oxford and Cambridge--Malcolm's 'Historical Sketch
of the Art of Caricaturing'--Wright's 'History of Caricature
and Grotesque in Literature and Art'--Rowlandson as an etcher
of the works of amateur caricaturists: his own spirit lent
to the productions of Wigstead, Nixon, Woodward, Bunbury,
Collings, &c.--Sketches of contemporary caricaturists: William
Henry Bunbury, George Moutard Woodward, Henry Wigstead, the
facetious John Nixon--The Beef-steak Club--The 'well-bread
man'--Collings, artist and editor of the 'Public Ledger'--Caleb
Whiteford--'Ephraim Hardcastle'--James Heath--George
Morland--James Gillray--Allusions to Rowlandson in the 'Life of
James Gillray, the Caricaturist, with the Story of his Works
and Times'--The position of caricaturists in relation to their
contemporaries--Henry Angelo, the fencing master--Personal
characteristics of satirists--Rowlandson's publisher, Rudolph
Ackermann: sketch of his life--_Conversazioni_ at the 'Repository
of Arts'--Special qualities of Rowlandson's productions--Esteem
in which he was held by contemporaries--His death and funeral 1
1774-1781.
_EARLY PRODUCTIONS._
A Rotation Office--The Village Doctor--A Scene at
Streatham--Bozzy and Piozzi--Special Pleading--The Power
of Reflection--E O, or the Fashionable Vowels--Gambling
Tables--Charity Covereth a Multitude of Sins--Bob
Derry--Luxury--Political and social caricatures for 1781 96
1782-1783.
Amputation--The Rhedarium--The Discovery--Interior of a
Clockmaker's Shop--The Times--Political and social caricatures
for 1783 107
1784.
_POLITICAL CARICATURES._
The Pit of Acheron--The Fall of Dagon--The Coalition--Fox and
North Ministries--Britannia Roused--The East India Company--The
Apostate Jack Robinson--The Champion of the People--Master
Billy's Procession to Grocers' Hall--The State Auction--The
Westminster Election--The Hanoverian Horse and the British
Lion--The Canvass--The Rival Duchesses--The Rival Candidates:
Hon. Charles James Fox, Lord Hood, Sir Cecil Gray--The
Devonshire, or most Approved Manner of Securing Votes--The
Poll--Fox, the Westminster Watchman--Honest Sam House--Lords of
the Bedchamber--The Court Canvass of Madame Blubber--Wit's Last
Stake, or the Cobbling Voter and Abject Canvassers--Monsieur
Reynard--The Case is Altered--The Hustings--Procession of
the Hustings after a Successful Canvass--Lord Lonsdale--The
Westminster Mendicant--The Westminster Deserter Drumm'd out
of the Regiment--Court Influence--Preceptor and Pupil--Secret
Influences Directing the New Parliament--For the Benefit of the
Champion--The Petitioning Candidate--Christopher Atkinson, a
'Rogue in Grain'--John Stockdale, the 'Bookselling Blacksmith' 111
_SOCIAL CARICATURES._
A Sketch from Nature--English Curiosity--Counsellor and
Client--La Politesse Françoise--1784, or the Fashions of
the Day--The Vicar and Moses--Money-lenders--Bookseller
and Author--The Historian Animating the Mind of a Young
Painter--Billingsgate--Illustrations of Conveyances--Rowlandson's
imitations of modern drawings 145
1785.
The Fall of Achilles--The Golden Apple, or the Modern
Paris--Defeat of the High and Mighty Balissimo Corbettino
and his Famed Cecilian Forces--The Wonderful Pig--The
Waterfall--Comfort in the Gout--VAUXHALL GARDENS: Vauxhall
Characters--Vincent Lunardi: Aërostation Out at Elbows, or
the Itinerant Aëronaut--Too Many for a Jew--An Essay on the
Sublime and Beautiful--The Maiden Speech--Captain Epilogue--Col.
Topham Endeavouring with his Squirt to Extinguish the Genius of
Holman--Persons and Property Protected by Authority--Intrusion on
Study, or the Painter Disturbed--Courtship--Filial Affection, or
a Trip to Gretna Green--The Reconciliation, or the Return from
Scotland--Lord Eden and Gen. Arnold--Harmony--Sympathy--John
Gilpin--Tastes Differ--Nap in the Country--Nap in Town--Sea
Amusement, or Commander-in-Chief of Cup and Ball on a
Cruise--Opera Boxes 152
1786.
Box Lobby Loungers--Love and Learning--Sketch of Politics in
Europe, January 1786--Uncle Toby (the Duke of Richmond)--An
Ordnance Dream, or Planning Fortifications--Luxury--Misery--The
Morning Dram--Count Boruwloski (the Polish Dwarf) Performing
before the Grand Seigneur--Brewers' Drays--Youth and Age--Sailors
Carousing--A Theatrical Chymist--The Return from Sport--A Box
Lobby Hero--Werter--Covent Garden Theatre--Illustrations to the
poems of 'Peter Pindar' (Dr. Wolcot)--'Picturesque Beauties of
Boswell' 180
1787.
Uncle George and Black Dick--Illustration to Peter
Pindar's poems, 'The Lousiad,' 'Peter's Pension,' 'Odes
for the New Year'--The Triumph of Sentiment--The Triumph
of Hypocrisy--Transplanting of Teeth (Baron Ron)--The
Village Forge--A Brewer's Dray--A Posting Inn--A Rural
Halt--Haymakers--A Sailor's Family--A College Scene, or a
Fruitless Attempt on the Purse of Old Squaretoes--Tragedy
Spectators--Comedy Spectators--Love in the East--The Art of
Scaling--Modish--Prudent--Cribbage Players 199
1788.
Hunting Series--The Meet--The Humours of St. Giles's--Warren
Hastings--Ague and Fever--Lord Hood--The School for Scandal--The
King's Illness--Filial Piety--The Prospect before us--The Regency
Struggle--The Restrictions--The Addresses--The Word-Eater--Blue
and Buff Loyalty--Housebreakers--Love and Dust--Luxury and
Desire--Lust and Avarice--Stage Coach and Basket--An Epicure--A
Comfortable Nap in a Post-chaise--A Fencing Match--The
Pea-Cart--A Print Sale 223
1789.
The Regency Restrictions--The Modern Egbert, or the King
of Kings--The Pittfall--The Propagation of a Truth--Loose
Principles--State Butchers--A New Speaker--Britannia's
Support, or the Conspirators Defeated--Going in State to the
House of Peers--A Sweating for Opposition--Irish Ambassadors
Extraordinary--Address from the Parliament of Ireland to the
Prince of Wales--The Prince's Answer--The King's Recovery--Irish
Ambassador's Return--Rochester Address--Grand Procession to
St. Paul's on St. George's Day, 1798--Sergeant Kite (Duke of
Orleans) Recruiting at Billingsgate--Grog on Board--Tea on
Shore--Interruption, or Inconvenience of a Lodging House--A
Sufferer for Decency--The Start--The Betting Post--The
Course--The Mount--Bay of Biscay--Chelsea Reach--La Place des
Victoires, Paris--A Dull Husband 242
1790.
Tythe Pig--A Roadside Inn--Frog-Hunting--A Butcher--Repeal of
the Test Act--A French Family--Kick-up at a Hazard Table--Who
Tells First for a Crown--Philip Thicknesse--'An Excursion to
Brighthelmstone, made in the year 1789'--Saloon at the Pavilion,
Brighton--Waiting for Dinner--At Dinner--After Dinner--Preparing
for Supper--Four o'clock in Town--Four o'clock in the
Country--Fox-Hunters Relaxing--John Nichols--Miniature groups and
scenes 268
1791.
The Pantheon--The Prospect before us, Nos. 1 and 2--Chaos is
Come Again--Sheets of picturesque etchings--The Attack--Bardolph
Badgered--An Imperial Stride--The Grand Battle between the
Famous English Cock and the Russian Hen--A Little Tighter--A
Little Bigger--Damp Sheets--English Barracks--French
Barracks--Slugs in a Sawpit--The Prince's jockey, Chiffney--How
to _Escape_ Winning--How to _Escape_ Losing--Angelo's Fencing
Rooms--Notorious Fencers--The Inn-yard on Fire--A Squall in
Hyde Park--Illustrations to Fielding's 'Tom Jones'--Smollett's
'Adventures of Peregrine Pickle'--'Délices de la Grande Bretagne' 283
1792.
St. James's and St. Giles's--Work for Doctors' Commons--Six
Stages of Marring a Face--Six Stages of Mending a Face--Ruins
of the Pantheon--Hogarthian Novelist: 'Adventures of Roderick
Random'--Philosophy Run Mad--On her Last Legs--Studious
Gluttons--Cold Broth and Calamity--An Italian Family--The
Hypochondriac--Benevolence--The Contrast: which is Best? British
Liberty, or French Liberty? 306
1793.
Reform Advised: Reform Begun: Reform Complete--New
Shoes--Illustrations to Smollett's novels--Illustrations to a
'Narrative of the War'--Illustrations to Fielding's novels 319
1794.
The Grandpapa--The Foreigner Stared out of
Countenance--Traffic--The Invasion Scare: Village Cavalry
Practising in a Farmyard--A Visit to the Uncle--A Visit to the
Aunt--Bad News upon the Stock Exchange 321
1795.
Harmony: Effects of Harmony: Discord--A Master of the Ceremonies
Introducing a Partner 326
1796.
Sir Alan Gardiner--Portraits--An Impartial Narrative of the War 327
1797.
Theatrical Candidate--Views in the Netherlands--'Tiens bien ton
Bonnet, et toi, defends ta Queue'--Cupid's Magic Lanthorn 330
1798.
The Hunt Dinner--Illustrations to the 'Comforts of Bath,' in
twelve plates--'The New Bath Guide, or Memoirs of the Blunderhead
Family; in a series of poetical epistles,' by Christopher
Anstey--Views of London--The Invasion Panic: Volunteers and
Recruiting--The Hungarian and Highland Broadsword Exercise--The
Glorious Victory obtained over the French Fleet off the Nile,
August 1, 1798, by the gallant Admiral Lord Nelson of the
Nile--High Fun for John Bull, or the Republicans put to their
Last Shift--The Discovery--'Annals of Horsemanship'--The Academy
for Grown Horsemen--'Love in Caricature' 333
1799.
Cries of London--A Charm for a Democracy--An Artist Travelling
in Wales--Nautical Characters--An Irish howl--Etchings
after the old masters--St. Giles's Courtship--St. James's
Courtship--Connoisseurs--Horse Accomplishments--Comforts of
the City--Procession of a Country Corporation--Forget and
Forgive--A Note of Hand--Legerdemain--A Bankrupt Cart, or the
Road to Ruin in the East--Subjects engraved after designs
by Bunbury--Distress--Hungarian and Highland Broadsword
Exercise--Loyal Volunteers of London and the Environs 354
_ROWLANDSON THE CARICATURIST._
Buyers and readers of books, all admirers of pictures, drawings, and
engravings--in a word, the intelligent, and, let us hope, larger
proportion of the community--are well aware, if they are inclined
to search for information in respect to the celebrities of art, or
would inquire into the personal careers of the renowned pioneers and
practitioners of the serious branches of the profession, of whatever
period, school, or nationality, that numerous sources of reference,
tolerably easy of access, are open to the seeker without being driven
far abroad in his quest.
[Illustration]
There exist, as we are all thoroughly aware, abundant lives of artists,
dictionaries of painters, and other prolific sources of information
upon the practisers of the sober walks of pictorial art, with rich
collections of engravings from their works, in fact, a complete library
of delightful literature, which goes far towards proving that the
world at least acknowledges a slight interest in individuals as well
as works, and that people care to learn some particulars of the men
who spent their industrious existences, and devoted the gifts of their
admitted genius and application to the humanising walks of life, and to
the fitting illustration of the world's universal passions and history,
or to the delineation of the ever-varying beauties of nature under
picturesque aspects.
Wealthy collectors, the cultivated patrons of material refinement,
frequenters of picture galleries, those who love pictures by instinct,
art amateurs, and the hopeful and fervent student, have alike a
provision prepared for them in this regard, which happily leaves little
to be desired. The memoirs of artists--men whose domestic and inner
lives in so many instances teach lessons of gentleness, simplicity,
and singleness of purpose, of perseverance under difficulties; making
manifest to a world which is often slow to give them credit for the
gifts that are in them, the strong impulses of talent under untoward
conditions--are, for the most part, tender memorials, labours of love,
cherished productions of biographers, whose own natural qualifications
and trained appreciation of the subtler attractions of art have brought
them into more intimate communion with the memorable subjects of their
studies.
It has ever been a source of regret to the writer, since his youthful
fancies were first won by the marvels of grotesque art, and the
pleasant creations of the graphic humourists, that while the names of
the designers, familiarly known as _caricaturists_--who have enriched
the more playful branches of the profession--are household words, no
fitting memorials are to be found of the careers of these draughtsmen
of true genius; they knew their generation, as is instanced in the
inexhaustible memorials they have bequeathed their descendants in
their works, and while they were themselves thoroughly familiar with
the varied aspects and workings of the social life with which they
were surrounded, their generation knew them not, and took no care to
preserve any record of the capricious wits whose pleasant inventions
had often afforded them enjoyment. The humourists, who did so much
to contribute towards the amusement of others, have been suffered to
pass away, in too many cases, as impersonalities. The works of their
fanciful and fertile imaginations have been accepted on all hands
and allotted their recognised position among the other agreeable
accessories of life, while the gifted professors have, with one or
two notable exceptions, which make the reverse the more marked, been
pretty generally passed over, if they are thought of at all under
the relationship of realistic characters, as mythical beings, less
tangible--as regards their connection with the living people of their
generations, of whose persons, habits, and follies they have bequeathed
animated instances to posterity--than the most weird and fantastic
creations of their own pencils or etching-points, emanations of the
mind, whose utmost substance amounts to paper, and printing-ink, and
ideas.
[Illustration]
The whimsical conceptions which owe their origin to Gillray,
Rowlandson, Bunbury, Ramberg, Woodward, Dighton, Nixon, Newton, Boyne,
Collings, Kingsbury, Isaac Cruikshank, his son, 'the glorious George,'
the veteran calcographist, who has just passed away full of years and
reputation, Lane, Heath, Seymour, and a bevy of their contemporaries,
were in their day tolerably familiar, their etchings and sketches
were in the hands of the print-buying public of the period, and they
enjoy, as far as these relics of the past are concerned, a posthumous
reputation which varies according to the merits of their productions,
a generation or two having assigned them their just relative positions
on the ladder of fame; all the inimitable amusing travesties which
reproduce the manners, and even the sentiments of past celebrities
and perished generations, owe their creation to artists who were
suffered to labour in partial obscurity; while the creatures of their
brains were in the hands of every one, their contemporaries, for the
most part, did not trouble themselves sufficiently to reflect whether
the designers had any real existence, possibly classing the actual,
practical, living, and working men under the category of abstract ideas
in their own minds, impalpable atomies, less substantial than their
tangible satirical pictures, which enjoyed a popular circulation.
The late Thomas Wright, F.S.A. (with the collaboration of an earnest
worker in the same field, the late F. W. Fairholt, F.S.A., who
contributed the valuable aid of his pencil), has done a great deal for
the subject in his 'History of the Grotesque in Literature and Art,'
and still more in his 'Caricature History of the Three Georges.' 'The
Caricature History of the Fourth George,' which offers a still wider
field of selection, as regards political and pictorial squibs and
satires, has yet to appear.
[Illustration]
A preliminary contribution to the history of caricature, as an attempt
to repair in some measure the oversight of indifferent contemporaries,
'The Works of James Gillray the Caricaturist, with the Story of his
Life and Times,' published under the auspices of Messrs. Chatto and
Windus, has already met with a favourable reception at the hands of the
press and the public; the present writer devoted several years to the
completion of the volume, with the solitary end in view of associating
the artist more intimately with his works, in the estimation of the
public, before it was too late. Mr. Thomas Wright, as an indefatigable
pioneer in a comparatively unbeaten track, deserved personal
recognition on the strength of his important contributions, bearing on
the political history of the House of Hanover, as duly set forth in the
present writer's introduction, and to his name was offered such repute
as was conferred by the editorship.
The writer, from his gleanings in the same direction, has been able
to offer the public a sketch of the 'Life of Henry Bunbury the
Caricaturist,' with slighter _croquis_ of his contemporaries. During
the interval since the first intention of compiling the present
volume as a further contribution to the literature of caricature
assumed a definite form, some ten years back, the preparation of
the work, imperfect and incomplete as it confessedly must remain--a
mere _ébauche_ at best--has been proceeding by slow and toilsome
stages, the self-imposed task being rendered a more difficult one
than in the instance of James Gillray,[1] from the disheartening
circumstance that it is utterly impossible to arrive at anything
approaching a comprehensive view of the works of Rowlandson; no
adequate collection being in existence, as far as the writer has
discovered, with the possible exception of an accumulation in the
hands of Mr. Harvey of St. James's Street, the advantages of which
gathering (it has been going on steadily for years) have hitherto
remained inaccessible to the editor, the possessor's time having been
too occupied by the requirements of his other engagements to permit
him to arrange the prints as he wishes. This circumstance is to be
regretted, since Mr. Harvey admits the personal interest he feels in
caricature, upon which, when communicatively inclined, he is able to
furnish very valuable information, in part the results of his own wide
experience as a purchaser, and still more, perhaps, of painstaking
investigations conducted for his private delectation; as his position
and opportunities enable him to gratify his tastes in this direction
to the fullest extent, it is hinted that on occasions he may feel
disposed to furnish the critic with certain valuable facts of a special
nature, drawn from the results of his own practical investigations in
directions not generally available. This gentleman is, undoubtedly,
an authority, and as, it is believed, he possesses unrivalled
opportunities for forming a unique collection of prints by any master
whose works he may fancy, the writer has, from season to season for
the past six years, deferred the completion of his volume on the faith
of a generous-sounding promise that he should be allowed to consult
Mr. Harvey's collection of prints by Rowlandson, which, according to
his knowledge, must be both interesting and valuable, and may possibly
contain a great deal that has escaped his previous researches, however
zealously they may have been instituted.
[Illustration]
The sacrifice of time, labour, and patience involved in attempting
to compile anything approaching a fairly compendious summary of
Rowlandson's etchings is simply incredible. The desire to furnish a
complete catalogue, though seemingly reasonable in itself at the first
glance, is discovered upon experience to be practically impossible, and
hence out of the question as regards arrangement; the productions of
the artist, multiplied by pen, graver, and etching-point, as supplied
by the hand of the master, or reproduced by other engravers, are
legion, and where the examples are scattered no amount of application
can adequately ascertain.
As far as kindly assistance is concerned, the writer has to
acknowledge, with sincere gratitude, that where his previous experience
has taught him to anticipate courtesies, he has been gratified in the
highest degree, and he is proud to record that he once more finds
himself indebted for cordial sympathy to the best qualified experts of
the day.
[Illustration]
Mr. G. W. Reid,[2] the respected keeper of the prints and drawings
in the British Museum, with Messrs. Fagan and Donaghue, urbane
members of his staff, have at all times made his access easy to
the invaluable collection of social and political caricatures in
his department; Mr. George Bullen (whose affability and scholarly
acquirements are proverbial), the respected keeper of the printed
books in the same magnificent national institution, has been able to
facilitate the writer's quest of illustrations and caricatures by
Rowlandson, so far as they come within the scope of the important
department which that gentleman so efficiently administers; the
obliging and accomplished custodian of the superb collection belonging
to the _Bibliothèque Nationale_ of France has most readily allowed
the writer to avail himself of the select and valuable gathering of
caricatures by Rowlandson, which are to be found under his charge.
It must be mentioned that the caricature resources of the royal
collection in the museum at Brussels were as courteously placed at his
service by the well-informed custodian, who, it may be added, takes
a considerable individual interest in this branch as illustrative of
men and manners under special aspects. The writer has pursued his
perquisitions as far as the national state collection of engravings
contained in the Trippenhuizen Museum, Amsterdam. These magnificent
national institutions are all, more or less, rich in caricatures of
an historical description, but unfortunately, as regards the success
of the present undertaking, the works of Rowlandson, numerous as
they are, happen to be the reverse of the strong features of their
collections of satirical prints, either political or social. The writer
has accordingly been thrown back, to a dispiriting extent, on his own
necessarily restricted resources; and the numerous illustrations which
accompany this volume are for the most part unavoidably drawn from his
own folios.
The principal source from whence it was hoped the best information
could be detached proved utterly and exceptionally valueless; the
writer refers to the important publishing establishments (and the
successors who carry on the firms at the present day), whence the
far-famed caricatures were originally issued. The firms of the
Humphries, Hollands, Jackson, J. R. Smith, and others under whose
auspices the artist's earliest, and in several instances most finished
and ambitious works, first secured their lasting reputation, have long
become extinct, as far as the editor is informed. But three leading
print-publishing houses, established by Rowlandson's principal patrons,
to whom the publication of the major part of his works was due, are
still flourishing, under conditions modified to harmonise with the
requirements of the present age, by descendants and successors of
the well-known founders. These resources have proved, however, a
disappointing failure, as far as assistance towards the compilation of
a catalogue of the artist's productions is concerned. To Mr. Rudolph
Ackermann, the respected inaugurator of the 'Repository of Arts,' a
truly liberal and enterprising gentleman, who will be referred to at
greater length in the course of this volume, Rowlandson (with many
other professional artists and authors) was deeply indebted both for
business-like co-operation, for the pains he took to sell the artist's
countless original drawings, for personal encouragement, untiring
friendship, and pecuniary accommodation. Messrs. Ackermann have
unfortunately preserved no account of the numerous publications due to
the hand of the caricaturist, and issued for half-a-century by their
respected firm, nor have they any collection of impressions from the
plates they gave to the public.
[Illustration]
The same observation applies to Mr. William Tegg, whose father, the
indefatigable and well-known Thomas Tegg of Cheapside, published
hundreds of the satirist's later and cruder caricatures, which were
more generally familiar in the windows of printsellers, &c., since
copies were multiplied to a larger extent than was practicable in the
case of delicately finished aquatints, which gave fewer impressions,
and commanded higher prices. Consequently, Rowlandson is better known
to the public by his least desirable prints, and under his most
common-place aspect. Mr. S. W. Fores seems to have issued an important
proportion of Rowlandson's larger and more valuable plates, with the
addition of an immense number of small subjects etched by Rowlandson,
and finished by clever aquatinters, published in a more costly form
than was generally the custom of the time. The successors of this
gentleman have mentioned that the firm has not preserved any list
of the publications issued under its original and well-recognised
standing, in respect to satirical production, as _Fores' Caricature
Museum_, but it is understood that, at the present writing, there
still remains in the house a collection, in huge volumes, of early
impressions from the multitudinous plates issued from the establishment
under its earlier auspices--a publisher's summary, in short, such as,
it is to be regretted, is rarely preserved for any length of time.
Unfortunately, owing to the exigencies of their modern print business,
the writer has not been permitted to consult this highly interesting
collection; he has, however, been informed, as an equivocal sort of
consolation for his discomfiture, by the member of the firm to whom his
application was addressed, that the major part of the prints, as far as
the works of Rowlandson are concerned, are of a political character,
and that the interesting and valuable social engravings are wanting; he
also learns that nothing of importance by Rowlandson is to be found in
this collection.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
It is worthy of note, that the majority of the caricatures described in
the present work, as published by S. W. Fores, belong almost entirely
to the more attractive order of social satires, and pictorial skits
at home and abroad, or cartoons levelled at the leaders of fashion,
holding up the prevalent follies of the hour to legitimate ridicule.
The writer confesses that he is inclined to feel a deeper regret
at his inability to describe these political prints, presuming his
informant, who certainly ought to know, is correct in this conclusion,
since he is unable to account for their existence, as amongst the
immense number of caricatures published by S. W. Fores, he has not
hitherto lighted upon the series in question. Rowlandson's political
prints--which, as the reader will realise in the progress of this
compilation, are numerous enough in all conscience--were mostly
published, as regards the early examples, by Humphries (a few of the
somewhat hackneyed Westminster Election set, 1784, were due to S. W.
Fores, it is acknowledged); while his later productions in this field,
such as the succession of plates attacking Buonaparte, were issued from
Ackermann's Repository of Arts, or circulated by Thomas Tegg (like the
series treating of that _Delicate Investigation_, the Clarke scandal),
according to the circumstances of the artist's employment or the cost
of the plates. Popular prices being a requisition in the case of the
sets published from the City, a coarser method of execution, with
unmistakable instances of haste, detract in an unqualified degree from
the interest of these prints, as instances of the artist's ability,
which is exhibited to greater advantage in productions where his skill
was allowed a more liberal exercise, as is evidenced in the capitally
executed plates published by the West End print-selling firms.
The hopeful chances of aid from fountain-heads, upon experience,
diminished to zero; and, while obstacles multiplied, the writer
found it necessary to redouble his energy. As it proved that his own
collection must, in the end, serve as the main source of reliance,
fresh efforts were made to increase his gathering, and valuable
additions were gradually secured. The process was somewhat tedious
and costly withal, but it was the only course left open, unless the
intention was renounced after the work had been advertised in progress.
Print-sellers' shops, at home and abroad, were ransacked, and auctions
of engravings were attended, whenever the alluring word _caricatures_
occurred in the catalogue. The supply was remarkably limited, the
demand considerable and increasing; and prices, from the nature of the
request, shortly became unreasonable. Choice caricatures, or those
in fairly good condition, were pushed up to nearly the prices of the
original drawings, and even at these enhanced rates but few examples
were forthcoming. In Paris, Brussels, and London, a five-pound note
became about a fair equivalent for a moderately fine impression after
Rowlandson, if the plate were large and the subject important or
curious, while for certain of the more sought-after examples, this rate
was doubled; for such plates as _Vauxhall Gardens_, dealers expect a
still larger price--indeed, five-and-twenty pounds have been demanded
in many instances. The chances of fresh examples by Rowlandson coming
into the market have decreased, and possibly the competition will relax
when there is no longer a chance of exciting it.
[Illustration]
The writer has necessarily made the acquaintance of several gentlemen
who are fervent collectors of Rowlandson's works, and he by no means
ignores his obligations to those happy possessors of rarer specimens,
who have frequently carried them off with an air of conquest from
discomfited rival amateurs, the condition of their purses, and the
artistic enthusiasm aroused at the moment, rendering similar triumphs
comparatively facile, when incidental questions as to actual worth are
too insignificant to engage the attention.
Certain collectors of eminence, who are discriminating selectors of
caricatures, well qualified to judge of their technical merits, and
who, further, are well posted up in curious and out-of-the-way points
of the political and social histories of the times thus illustrated,
have volunteered the results of their researches; these good-natured
offers have arrived too late to be available, but the writer is not the
less indebted to the kindness which prompted the action; in an earlier
and preparatory stage, these advances would have been of considerable
value and assistance.
[Illustration]
So much for the materials; perhaps too much stress has been laid,
as far as the reader's patience is concerned, on the preliminary
difficulties which have hindered and weakened the execution of the
writer's desire to reproduce, by pencil and pen, a fair gathering of
the works of our greatest humorous designers, an idea long cherished,
and tardily carried out, as regards the first part of his task,
_James Gillray_; and beset, as he has recounted, in respect to THOMAS
ROWLANDSON, the concluding portion, by unforeseen impediments and
technical difficulties which it would be tedious to enumerate; they
may, however, in a minor degree, be taken into consideration as a
plea for the obvious shortcomings of this laborious compilation, and,
while inclining rigid specialists to be less exacting, induce critics
to regard the unavoidable faults of the performance with lenient
forbearance.
[Illustration]
For the space of a century, Rowlandson's caricatures, which are more
properly _croquis_ of the life which surrounded him, have continued
to afford delight to the appreciators of graphic humour, from the
date, 1775, when he sent his first contribution to the Royal Academy.
It was only this year (1878) that a pair of his remarkably spirited
drawings, _Faro Table at Devonshire House_, and _A Gaming Table_,
attracted considerable praise and attention on the walls of the
Grosvenor Gallery. Although the artist was master of the most elegant
refinement, both of delineation and colouring, and produced the most
delicious female heads with that lightness and daintiness of touch
which was his peculiar gift, bringing all the graces, sparkle and
animation of the French school to bear upon the models of winsome
female beauty our own favoured isles produced for the exercise of his
pencil, we are constrained to admit, thus early in our summary, that
too many of his productions are strongly tinctured by that coarseness
of subject and sentiment which has been held to disfigure the works
of contemporary humorists; his wit, it must be remembered, was of the
jocose school of Smollett and Fielding, and in justice it must be taken
into consideration that his designs, even in their most uncompromising
and grosser aspects, simply reflect the colour of a period which was
the reverse of squeamish, and, as has been pertinently observed by the
late Thomas Wright, 'of a generation celebrated for anything rather
than delicacy.'
[Illustration]
The artist was pretty generally recognised as the famous illustrator
of _Doctor Syntax_ and _The Dance of Death_, and in this relation
he is fairly acknowledged by posterity; this limited view, as the
present volume is designed to demonstrate, being far indeed from an
adequate acknowledgment of his proper artistic standing. Rowlandson's
higher qualifications, as a draughtsman in water-colours of remarkable
merit, a portrait-painter of felicitous promise, and the originator
of countless witty and pointed conceptions, were discovered more
tardily. His surprising facility for representing the human figure,
with knowledge and freedom of execution, his marvellous power of
combining groups and crowds of figures in active movement, his grasp of
expression, and fluency of colour and handling, were more particularly
admitted (though in a sense they have since been lost sight of)
after the Exhibition of 1862, where two of his truly characteristic
subjects, of considerable size, made their appearance on the walls,
to the amazement and delight of the spectators, who had no previous
acquaintance with his whimsical genius. These two drawings, which
opened the eyes of the world to his gifts for a little season, are
entitled _An English Review_ and _A French Review_; they originally
formed a very noticeable feature on the walls of the Royal Academy in
1786; it is believed that eventually they came into the possession of
the Prince of Wales, and, with the rest of George IV.'s collection,
have remained in keeping of the royal family ever since, her gracious
Majesty, the Queen, being pleased to lend them, with other fine
representative examples of art, to the Exhibition Commissioners of 1862.
The _English Review_, and its companion drawing, a _French Review_,
hang at Windsor Castle, where we are informed there is a very large
accumulation of caricatures, drawings and prints, put away in a closet,
in the order of their appearance; which, it is likely, have remained
undisturbed for generations. It is not impossible that, hidden away
in this mass of satirical productions, may be found the series of
drawings, notoriously of a free tendency as regards subject, which
Rowlandson is understood to have produced for the delectation of George
IV. A collection of a similar description was, as we learn from the
same authority, destroyed by a nobleman well known for his princely
liberality, on the death of the patron who had selected the subjects.
In the unrivalled collection of water-colour drawings of the English
school, which are found on the walls of the sumptuous permanent
Museum of Art at South Kensington, are exhibited three characteristic
examples of Rowlandson's talents in the caricature direction. _The
Parish Vestry_, 1784, a humorous and spirited drawing, belonging to
the artist's best time, formed part of the munificent gift made by Mr.
William Smith to the nation; as did the second example, entitled _Brook
Green Fair_, which we should assign to about the year 1800. The third
drawing, representing _The old Elephant and Castle Inn, Newington_, is
also due to a liberal donor, being the gift of G. W. Atkinson, Esq.
[Illustration]
As has been related, the caricaturist produced thousands of capital
drawings, delicately tinted, excelling in all styles; and from these
original designs, he executed in turn thousands of spirited etchings
with his own hand, which were frequently coloured to reproduce the
first sketches, or aquatinted by engravers (sometimes by himself), in
imitation of drawings tenderly shaded in Indian ink, to which, in some
instances, the resemblance is sufficiently faithful to deceive the eye
of anyone who is not familiar with this method of reproduction.
It must be borne in mind--and we insist the more earnestly on this
point, as, from some incomprehensible wilfulness, it has seemingly been
suffered to sink out of sight for a time--in treating of Rowlandson,
that the man was essentially an artist; it is undoubtedly true that
he was gifted (perhaps we might consider fatally as far as his proper
estimation is concerned) with the faculty known as _caricature_, and
he excelled in burlesque, but his successes were sufficiently high
in other branches of the artist's profession to indicate that he was
equally qualified by original talents, by academic training which he
might have turned to the best advantage, by a sense of the beautiful
unusually keen, and a happy power of expressing his first impressions,
to take a foremost place amongst the best recognised masters of the
early English school, to whose body he might have been an ornament, if
he had not preferred his chosen calling of 'a free-lance' with a roving
commission to work mischief. His remarkable gifts of originality, ever
fertile, and apparently exhaustless, and facile powers of invention,
either pleasant or terrific, which seemed spontaneous, were in his
case insurmountable hindrances, instead of promoting his advancement
and reputation as a painter of acknowledged value and eminence. He had
the calamity--so fatal, in his and many other instances, to serious
application--to succeed without sensible effort; from the very first
his progress was a series of triumphs; none of the students of the
Academy could draw such ludicrous and yet life-like figures, and thus
his popularity with his fellow-labourers was assured; his studies from
the nude, both in London and in Paris, were wonderful for the rapid
ease and talent with which they were executed, and hence arose another
source of glorification, and although personal vanity has never been
mentioned in connection with the artist (he being thoroughly blind to
everything but his own particular hobbies), the professors at home
and abroad, and the members of the Academy themselves, were proud
to patronise in their classes such precocious ability, which could
accomplish the most difficult delineations without effort, and thus
reflected credit on their schools; and the prodigy who drew from the
life, in his youth, as vigorously and well as the most painstaking
adepts in their maturity, could not fail to receive a dangerous amount
of admiration, which tempted him to depend upon trifling exertions, and
left his ambition without a spur.
[Illustration]
While yet in his boyhood he was recognised as a genius, and was
unhappily flattered into becoming a wayward one; the very fluency of
his pencil, and the fidelity of his memory towards the grotesque side
of things proved his stumbling-blocks. It is with more than a passing
shade of regret that we reflect, with his far-seeing colleagues at
the Academy and elsewhere, how eminent a painter was lost in the
development of a _caricaturist_, admirable and unsurpassed in his own
branch as Rowlandson must admittedly remain. The gifts which were
in the man were marvellous, and beyond this he possessed nerve to
persevere, and manly resolution to sustain his exertions, as he proved
in his youth, and subsequently demonstrated when past life's meridian,
times then being less prosperous, since fortunes and legacies had long
ceased to fall in adventitiously, but the very excitement of setting
the little world wondering, and making the public smile, while his
tickled audience accorded him the cheapest popularity by crowding in
admiration round his travesties, turned the wilful artist away from
serious application, where no immediate fun was to be secured for
either the limner or his following.
Rowlandson's sense of feminine loveliness, of irresistible graces of
face, expression, and attitude, was unequalled in its way; several of
his female portraits have been mistaken for sketches by Gainsborough
or Moreland, and as such, it is possible, since the caricaturist is
so little known in this branch, that many continue to pass current.
From 1777 to 1781, five years of Rowlandson's residence in Wardour
Street, with all the freshness of his academic studies, and the
laurels unfaded he had won in the schools, with golden opinions, as
a youth of paramount promise, indulged by the most eminent of the
Royal Academicians and the French professors, the artist practised
the more laborious and prosaic, but surer branch of portrait-painting
with success, and his pictures were duly received by his patrons and
well-wishers amongst the omnipotent Forty, and found their place on
the walls of the Royal Academy Exhibition without a break--no barren
compliment when it is remembered that his compeers were Reynolds,
Gainsborough, and Hoppner, and that of the two or three hundred works
selected for the gallery at the period referred to, the superb canvases
of the artists named constituted an average of over ten per cent. of
the entire exhibits.
[Illustration]
If we but think for a passing instant over the winsome portraitures
of fair women, whose faces live, for the delectation of all time,
on the canvases of Sir Joshua Reynolds, Gainsborough, Romney, and a
few lesser luminaries, it is cruel to realise that Rowlandson, from
sheer wantonness (promoted by what seemed a happy hit in 1784),[3]
neglected his opportunities in the direction of portraiture, with an
indifference which, while proving his disinterestedness and superiority
to mere profit, is the more exasperating when we are frequently told,
as every one of Rowlandson's contemporaries who has mentioned the
caricaturist never fails to reiterate, that the successive presidents
of the Royal Academy, the great Reynolds, the royally patronised West,
the courtly and fashionable Lawrence, the very men we have mentioned
who were, it must be conceded, the most competent judges on the point,
pronounced their conviction that his abilities entitled to acceptance,
as one of themselves, a brother artist whose addition to their ranks
they would have gloried to acknowledge, since he had the undoubted
genius to reflect a lustre on the Academy, if he had exerted his
talents in the recognised channels, and withstood the impulse of his
notoriety for producing irresistibly droll novelties, which, as they
foresaw, must infallibly prove pernicious to the practice of sober
portraiture.
The versatile acquirements of our artist may, in a sense, be looked
upon as an infirmity, a theory which had been thoroughly established
while the subject of it remained in the flesh, and enjoyed a certain
perverse gratification in contributing to support its soundness and
perspicacity.
[Illustration]
In landscape art we discover Rowlandson successfully rivalling the most
respected practitioners in water-colours amongst his contemporaries,
and helping the younger professional generation, that carried the art
to perfection, to discard the obsolete theories of blackness for clear
translucid colouring. His studies after nature are much esteemed, and
are to be occasionally recognised in galleries and collections. It
is a sufficiently capricious circumstance which has come within our
experience--we have heard it asserted confidently more than once--that
Rowlandson, the simple harmonious colourist and ready draughtsman,
whose brush with limpid tints so deftly translated on paper the charms
of sylvan scenes; the truthful artist who pictured the forest, fall,
and glade, the distant hamlets amidst the foliage, the picturesque
windings of the silver stream, the rustic cottages, the cattle wending
leisurely through the fertile pastures, the mellow atmosphere, and the
far-extending horizon, is often held a distinct individual from that
other universally known Rowlandson--of equivocal reputation, it is
hinted--whose daring reed-pen produced grotesques which perhaps were
inimitable, but which, it is certain, were often indefensibly vulgar.
The artist's facility was so considerable that, had he been less
scrupulous (his horror of fraud and imposition, especially in their
pecuniary reference, was implacable, in spite of, or perhaps in
contradistinction to, his other levities), he could have allowed his
own productions, in the manner of his reputable contemporaries, and
even of deceased celebrities, whose subjects and method he chose to
imitate as a question of pure ingenuity--(while his own style is above
all difficult to reproduce)--to pass current as veritable originals by
the masters. A book of etchings consisting entirely of these imitations
is described in the course of this work, and he has managed to assume,
without copying any particular picture, the _modus operandi_ of the
artists, and has varied his own manner of execution and disguised
his salient individualities with such subtlety, that, even to the
etching-point, slight trace of Rowlandson remains to betray the
acknowledged imposition.
In his sketches after nature, as we have ventured to advance in
respect to his female portraits and delicious studies from life, in
many instances it is difficult to distinguish between the artless
rustic groupings and charming pastoral drawings by George Moreland
and Thomas Gainsborough, let alone those of Barrett, Hills, Howitt,
Pugh, and other of his associates (who executed pictures lightly
outlined with a reed-pen, shaded with a warm tint and delicately washed
with transparent water-colours, as was then the process),[4] and the
acknowledged contributions of our versatile genius to this department,
in the earlier stages of the captivating art of water-colour drawing.
[Illustration]
The writer, in the course of his preparation for this work, has been
at the pains to consult more than one well-recognised artist of
reputation and authority; seeking for hints from professors whose
celebrity extended well back towards the beginning of the nineteenth
century; these respected ancients, who are now nearly all gathered to
the shades to join the subject of this volume, being from their age,
knowledge, and experience, as well as from the traditions of their
earlier masters, most likely to know and remember circumstances of a
special character bearing upon the subject. Some of these worthies were
actually working as contemporaries of the caricaturist who departed
fifty years ago. The last time the writer met George Cruikshank, a
few months before that truly splendid old gentleman passed away, full
of years and honour, to his well-earned repose, he took occasion to
allude to the veteran's acknowledged admiration for the works of his
extraordinarily endowed predecessor, James Gillray, in whose footsteps
he had very literally commenced his career, being selected during the
lifetime of the gifted caricaturist (when Gillray's genius had proved
too exacting for the tension of his faculties, and his reason had
unhappily departed, never to be restored beyond an occasional lucid
flitter) to complete several plates which the attacks of his malady
had suspended. George Cruikshank, the most deservedly popular of the
name, was not a little proud of having been thought worthy, while
still a very young man (Gillray's faculties were deranged in 1811), to
take up the plates of the first genius that has adorned his art. With
the earnestness of his disposition, and perhaps with characteristic
partiality, he regarded the unfortunate Gillray as the greatest man, in
his eyes, who ever lived, indisputably 'the prince of caricaturists,'
as he has appropriately christened him, and this title, won from a
loving disciple, who, in his turn, became still more famous, is likely
to last as long as the great caricaturist is remembered.
[Illustration]
George Cruikshank voluntarily called on the writer to express the
interest he good-naturedly felt in certain slight records of past
caricaturists then publishing, and to communicate some valuable facts
about the works of his father, a meritorious artist whose reputation
would be widely increased if his pictures, exhibited at the Royal
Academy, were better known. On a subsequent occasion the cheery veteran
imparted various anecdotes on the subject within his knowledge,
but confessed that he had never been admitted to terms of personal
familiarity with either Gillray or Rowlandson in the flesh. It was his
father, Isaac Cruikshank--for whose graphic powers in the same walk
he expressed the best deserved and truest filial respect--who enjoyed
their intimacy, and it was he who related (with a genial force happily
done justice to by his descendant) to his deeply interested son the
circumstances with which George was acquainted.
The writer was naturally eager to gather, while there was yet time,
any facts which might be of importance for the furtherance of his
contemplated sketch of Rowlandson's career, which was then occupying
all his energies, from the last representative of the famous
caricaturists, who formed, in himself, so desirable a link with the
generation of the Georgian epoch, which had been dissolved into the
thinnest elements for three-fourths of a century back. Cruikshank
expressed the most cordial interest in the undertaking, and genially
declared, by way of an encouragement, which is the writer's most
appreciated reward, that he should look forward to its successful
completion, and further promised that if, in revising his notes, and
the personal memoirs, touching upon such kindred topics (which, as
he imparted, had long employed his leisure), he could discover any
allusions of an interesting description to his gifted contemporary
Rowlandson, or any similar memoranda left by his father, he would
communicate them for the benefit of the present volume. His death has
unfortunately prevented the accomplishment of this valued service,
which was volunteered spontaneously with his well-known readiness to
confer favours.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
The point about Rowlandson which had most impressed George Cruikshank
is somewhat original, and properly belongs to this part of our
subject; hence we have been glad to have an opportunity of quoting the
trustworthy authority of the aged caricaturist. 'Rowlandson,' said
George, 'was a remarkable man in most respects;' the waywardness of
his youth and the notoriety of his gambling days seemed to have rather
prejudicially influenced the mind of his simpler successor, who had
taken his place in 1827, as he had, almost of right, succeeded to
the working-table and unfinished plates of James Gillray, many years
before. Cruikshank, moreover, considered that Rowlandson's academical
successes, his successful rivalry of Mortimer in depicting the nude,
the knowledge of his art and the fluency he had acquired, were
altogether exceptional features in the profession of a caricaturist,
to his English views; but, according to his kindly creed, mellowed by
age--his steel a trifle tempered since his own youth, when his shafts
too were not without poignancy--'Rolley' was somewhat unreflecting,
and reckless in exposing the infirmities of others, having but scant
regard for his own reputation or the feelings of society, and further
he had suffered himself to be led away from the exercise of his
legitimate subjects, to produce works of a reprehensible tendency,
which respectable dictum will probably find numerous subscribers.
[Illustration: A SHIPPING SCENE.]
Strangely as it may sound, it was not as a caricaturist that Rowlandson
had gained Cruikshank's admiration; he appreciated the artist
enthusiastically as an accomplished water-colour painter, the equal in
his opinion of most of the founders of our special school. Rowlandson's
masterly power over the delineation of the figure, and his happy
gift, amounting almost to inspiration, of portraying female charms
of face and person, deserved high regard in Cruikshank's estimation;
his peculiarly felicitous pictures of quaint Continental life, and
the examples his free and scholarly handling held out, as admirable
models of style to the French caricaturists of his day; the social
sketches produced in Paris at the beginning of the century, though
remarkable for neatness and delicacy, being laborious, formal, timid,
and wanting in that racy comicality, and dashing power of expression,
characterising the drawings under consideration, to which George
accorded unqualified praise.
[Illustration]
It was chiefly for his skill in landscape delineation that Cruikshank
respected the artist under discussion, and more especially, as he
declared, warming with his reminiscences of the drawings he called
to mind, he had never seen anything superior, in his estimation,
to Rowlandson's water-side and maritime sketches, for their clear
freshness and simple air of fidelity to nature; the banks of the
river, the 'pool' filled with vessels, wharves, landing-places,
ports, and naval stations, with the noble men-of-war lying off; and
the bustling craft, travelling between the fleet and the shore; the
groups of busy figures, far and near, happily introduced in a state of
seeming activity; the shipping, which he drew with picturesque ease
and dexterity, his far-spreading landscapes and distant horizons, the
treatment of the water, the movement of his skies, and the general
sense of expanse and atmosphere, were beautiful in the extreme, all
noted down, as they were, without apparently a second thought, with the
slightest possible labour, recalling in a forcible degree the drawings
of William Vandevelde, who was, in Cruikshank's opinion, the only
artist whose marine studies could be quoted in comparison with those of
Rowlandson.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: THE QUAY.]
We are necessarily anxious to avoid the suspicion of attempting to
prove too much, and it must be admitted that we do not pronounce
Rowlandson a Rubens, a William Vandevelde, a Reynolds, and a Moreland,
all at once; any more than we can be deluded into the belief that
his landscape drawings might be claimed by Turner, Girtin, De Wint,
Fielding, or David Cox. In treating of our artist in relation to the
truly great names which have been frequently put into contrast with his
own, it must not be forgotten that his works are spoken of, as they
exist, under their modest condition of sketches manipulated in the very
slightest manner possible, and, if considered at all in juxtaposition
with those of the higher luminaries, it is only by the side of
studies executed under similar circumstances; it would be a piece of
pretension, entirely out of character on our part, to even suggest
submitting Rowlandson's attempts in the most respectable exercise of
his talents in competition with the more substantial finished and
ambitious pictures bequeathed us by the select few of really eminent
painters, whose unrivalled works cannot fail to afford the most
unqualified delight to all cultivated lovers of art of whatever school.
_Their_ productions are admitted to stand alone, even though there
exist diversities of opinion, schisms, and heresies in regard to the
generality of the profession.
* * * * *
In resuming our summary of Rowlandson's conceptions in the _caricature_
branch, we must notice, while contemplating his strongly characterised
works, that, while the rest of his competitors in the grotesque walk
have in most examples left no record of their prints beyond the plates
on which they were executed, for every subject he has produced of
his own designing, at least one corresponding drawing has existed,
and frequently three or four variations of leading ideas are worked
out as completed pictures, without, however, any appearance of
experimentalising under difficulties of execution--technical points
never puzzled his skill; and such daring flights as Rubens ventured
with the brush, in the way of foreshortened and difficult attitudes,
Rowlandson's reed-pen accomplished right merrily, as if by its own
volition, and without a thought on the part of its highly-trained
wielder, about such common-place requirements as the posing of living
models or preparatory sketches. The original notions of Rowlandson's
whimsical inventions are in the generality of instances far worthier of
attention than the most spirited etchings he thought fit to circulate
after them; and it is well to keep in mind that the artist has produced
some thousands of humorous conceptions (placing his more serious
studies out of the question), of which no engraving has ever appeared;
and amongst these unpublished delineations may be included several
of the most ingenious and attractive pictures executed by his hand,
especially from the year 1790, that is to say, for more than two-thirds
of his professional life--a circumstance with which every collector of
original drawings by this artist is thoroughly conversant.
The career of Rowlandson may be divided into periods; the work
belonging properly to the several stages is tolerably distinctive as to
general characteristics. An adept can positively determine, within a
year or two, the particular section to which his designs, when the date
happens to be wanting, may be justly assigned, and, as his manifold
sketches and etchings extend over the space of half a century, this
circumstance is a trifle remarkable in itself.
The first period, as far as his published plates are concerned,
includes his smaller social and political satires; the execution,
though free and fluent, as his productions uniformly were, exhibits
indications of care which is not so traceable as his method grew
mellower, and practice confirmed the facility which came to him as a
gift. These juvenile etchings bear more affinity to Gillray's manner of
manipulation than is traceable in his subsequent cartoons. A view of _A
Hazard Table_ and its frequenters (_E.O. or the fashionable Vowels_,
October 28, 1781) offers perhaps the best indications of his growing
powers, between 1774 and 1783. His publishers were Humphrey, Holland,
Jackson, and a few others; and he further appears, in conjunction with
J. Jones, to have gone into the publishing way himself, at 103 Wardour
Street.
[Illustration]
In 1784 the excitement of the famous Westminster Election seems to
have carried him more thoroughly into political satires, and, as we
observe, his humour discovered an unflagging source of impulse round
the parliamentary candidates, Fox, Wray, and Hood; the fair Duchess of
Devonshire, Lady Duncannon, and honest Sam House, the Whig canvassers,
and their opponents on the ministerial side, the Hon. Mrs. Hobart
(Lady Buckinghamshire), and the Duchess of Gordon; together with the
whimsicalities of the polling-booth. If we were asked to select his
most noticeable social and satirical effusions, we should incline
to particularise _English Curiosity, or the Foreigner stared out of
countenance_; 1784, _or the Fashions of the Day_; and _A Sketch from
Nature_ (January 24, 1784).
In 1784, Rowlandson realised the full extent both of his powers of
fancy and his mastery of the art of water-colour delineation. He
discontinued the practice of sending portraits to the Exhibition of
the Royal Academy, in which he had persevered for five years, and
contributed in their places three mirth-provoking drawings, which
must have produced no little sensation amongst the visitors, who
were unaccustomed to such works. These were the inimitable _Vauxhall
Gardens_, which reveals his talents at their best, _An Italian Family_,
and _The Serpentine River_.
In 1785 appeared some of John Raphael Smith's graceful publications
after Rowlandson's more refined originals, notably _Vauxhall_, _Opera
Boxes_, _Toying and Trifling_, _An Italian Family_, _A French Family_,
_Grog on Board_, _Tea on Shore_; _Filial Affection, or a Trip to
Gretna Green_; _Reconciliation_; _Intrusion on Study, or the Painter
disturbed_; _Comfort in the Gout_; and several other excellent subjects
in his most finished manner, besides an animated scene after Henry
Wigstead, _John Gilpin's Return to London_.
Rowlandson sent five important and highly humorous drawings, displaying
advanced qualities in the direction of execution, to the Royal Academy
in 1786; those of the first consequence were _An English Review_, _A
French Review_, the pair exhibited at the International Exhibition
1862; _Opera House Gallery_, under which designation, as we suspect, we
recognise his _Box Lobby Loungers_, published the very same year; _A
French Family_ (published the year previous); and _A Coffee House_, of
which we can discover no further record.
Among the engraved works for the same year we must refer to the
print of _Box Lobby Loungers_, already mentioned, and _Covent Garden
Theatre_, as the most noticeable as to size, subject, and the numerous
figures introduced.
[Illustration]
Rowlandson sent four known works to the Royal Academy, the season
following (1787). They were _French Barracks_, a superlative drawing,
_Grog on Board a Ship_, _Countrymen and Sharpers_ (engraved by
Sherwin as _Smithfield Sharpers_), and _The Morning Dram, or Huntsman
rising_, engraved as _Four o'clock in the Country_, S. W. Fores
(October 20, 1790). All Rowlandson's contributions for this year have
been published; indeed, it is very possible, from the popularity of
the caricaturist's novel exhibits, that all the pictures he sent to
the Royal Academy were straightway issued on copper. There are two
exceptions, _The Serpentine_ and _A Coffee House_, of which the writer
has never succeeded in meeting impressions, but it by no means follows
that sooner or later they may not come to light, and it does not seem
unlikely that the first named, _The Serpentine River_, may be another
version of _Cold Broth and Calamity_ (published in 1792).
Amongst the engraved works of 1787, the writer instances _Baron Ron's
Dental Surgery, or Transplanting of Teeth_, and a series of five
_Hunting Scenes_, _The Morning_, _The Meet_, _The Run_, _The Death_,
and _The Dinner_, published in a folio size, and now somewhat rarely
met with as a set.
In the two succeeding years Rowlandson again threw his etching-point
into party conflicts, and came out with a shower of political squibs
on the amenities of the _Regency Struggle_. Nothing very ambitious in
the way of social satires appeared in 1788. Among minor subjects we may
allude to _Housebreakers_, _A Cart Race_, _The School for Scandal_, _A
Fencing Match_, _A Print Sale_, _Lust and Avarice_, and _Luxury and
Desire_, as being slightly above the average. In 1789 and 1790 but few
works of exceptional character were issued to gratify Rowlandson's
devoted admirers or the general public. _She don't deserve it!_ _Don't
he deserve it?_ _A Racing Series_, _The Course_, _The Betting Post_,
_The Mount_, _The Start_, and _A Fresh Breeze_, take the lead. _La
Place des Victoires à Paris_ belongs to 1789, and, in the writer's
estimation, it is perhaps one of the most attractive subjects due to
the artist's pencil, exhibiting, as it does, the quaint surroundings of
Parisian life, as noted by the caricaturist before the Revolutionary
era--delineations of feminine beauty, and studies of real character,
such as no effort of the imagination could fabricate, unless assisted
by travel, a familiar acquaintance with the locality, and keen
observation. A fitting companion is given to this delightful subject in
another important drawing, crowded with diversified life and animated
groups, produced in 1800; _The Thuilleries in Paris_, a reminiscence of
previous studies in the French metropolis, of manners noted anterior to
the destruction of antiquated fashions; the dainty _belles_ of _ton_,
and the picturesque society which might be discovered flourishing under
the reign of Louis XVI., before the inauguration of the all-devouring
Republic, which worked more change in a few feverish months of
turbulence, in which all the recognised phases of the past were lost,
than many sober decades had effected in their better regulated courses.
[Illustration]
The best of Rowlandson's publications for 1790 were _A Kick-up at a
Hazard Table_, in which, as may be supposed, he was perfectly at home;
_Four o'clock in the Morning in Town_, which was also in the artist's
way, and its companion, _Four o'clock in the Morning in the Country_;
_Frog-hunting_ (Gallic _gourmets fins_), and _Tythe Pig_, a fine old
English equivalent.
The year 1791 was richer in those more ambitious plates, which the
writer is seeking to identify, and several of the caricaturist's
choicer subjects appeared, etched by his hand, and finished in
aquatint, to facsimile the meritorious original drawings. _A Squall in
Hyde Park_ is one of the score or two of delineations of the highest
type, which adequately demonstrate the exceptional qualifications of
the artist; and these, we have no hesitation in averring, have never
been excelled in their walk, as far as executive ability, sense
of loveliness, grouping, movement, grasp of character, powers of
observation, and diverting qualities are concerned. Another remarkable
subject of extraordinary ability, founded on Rowlandson's Continental
studies, entitled _French Barracks_ (exhibited in 1787), and its
pendant, _English Barracks_, were issued this year. _An Inn Yard on
Fire_, belonging to the same important series; _The Attack_; _The
Prospect before us_; _The Pantheon_; _Chaos is Come Again_, in allusion
to the dilapidated state of Drury Lane theatre condemned by the
surveyors; _Toxophilites_; _House breakers_; _Damp Sheets_ and _Slugs
in a Saw Pit_, among the numerous lesser subjects, bring up the total
of the truly estimable works which gratified the public in 1791.
_Cold Broth and Calamity_, a skating scene representing disasters in
the park, from a ludicrous point of view; _A Dutch Academy_, drawn
from the caricaturist's experiences in the Netherlands; and _Studious
Gluttons_ were the leading plates published in 1792.
[Illustration]
_New Shoes_, a small, but delicate subject, belongs to 1793.
In 1797 appeared the admirable plates published after Rowlandson's
studies in the Netherlands; we cannot too highly commend such
inimitable originals as _Fyge Dam, Amsterdam_; _Stadt House,
Amsterdam_; _Companion View, Amsterdam_; and _Place de Mer, Antwerp_.
_Admiral Nelson Recruiting with his Brave Tars after the Glorious
Battle of the Nile_, was published in 1798; a series of _London Views_,
of considerable merit and importance, entrances to the great metropolis
from the four leading turnpikes; and a series of twelve plates
portraying the _Comforts of Bath_, are most worthy of attention in
the same year, as were some large studies of reviews of the Volunteer
Forces, held under the threat of the anticipated French invasion.
_Distress_, from a large picture, indicating the horrors of shipwreck
with tragic impressiveness, is assigned to 1799.
_Summer Amusement, a Game at Bowls_; _Doctor Botherum, the Mountebank_;
_Preparations for the Academy_; _and A French Ordinary_, were among
the noticeable features of the artist's publications in 1800; the
peculiarly interesting panorama of the Parisian world anterior to
the French Revolution, entitled _The Thuilleries in Paris_ was also
produced this year.
Rowlandson's skill as an etcher had further, about this time, provided
him with abundance of work in executing the humorous conceptions of
Woodward and Bunbury after his own characteristic fashion.
Rowlandson's plate of _The Brilliants_, and a long series of subjects
designed by Woodward, with many originals of his own, sufficiently
excellent in their order, but not of the first consequence, found
their way to the public in 1801. The leading print-publishers at the
West End, Rudolph Ackermann, S. W. Fores, Williamson, and Rowlandson
himself,[5] at his residence, 1 James Street, Adelphi, issued an
inexhaustible collection of highly ludicrous social satires, and
numerous patriotic and political subjects, during intervening years;
and in 1807 the name of Thomas Tegg of Cheapside was added to the
print-publishers who employed the remunerative talents of the
indefatigable caricaturist. Rowlandson also continued to execute
the whimsical conceptions of less qualified draughtsmen, and swarms
of comicalities--by Woodward, Bunbury, Wigstead, Nixon, and other
fashionable amateurs, who possessed the humorous vein, but lacked
the skill to give their ideas a fitting form for presentation to the
public--were put into acceptable shape, and etched by our artist at
this period.
[Illustration]
In 1808 appeared the long succession of _Miseries of Human Life_,
of which examples occur in previous years; and Rowlandson settled
down, somewhat grimly, under worthy Mr. Ackermann's auspices, to take
up the gauntlet against the dreaded Buonaparte, the great little
Corsican, against whom Gillray had waged such savage warfare until his
powers dwindled into vacancy, and George Cruikshank stepped valiantly
into the place of the colossus of caricaturists, and carried on the
combat with unflagging zeal and whimsicality on his own account.
Rowlandson's ludicrous attacks upon the ambitious 'disturber of the
peace of Europe' were duly appreciated by his audience, and the
demand for these blood-and-thunder caricatures increased monthly,
to the extreme delectation of the great British public, whose
antipathies to the conquering general were, at least, founded on sound
and excusable principles, and if the overflowing excess of their
detestation sometimes blinded the people to points of detail, and
wilful misrepresentations passed current, and rather swamped their more
generous sentiments--which were put out of sight for awhile--it must be
remembered that this patriotic zeal was well directed against the man
who had announced his august intention of subjugating England, and was,
by accord, considered as the common enemy, and anyone who had indulged
the temerity of openly acknowledging the grander elements of his
character, since pretty tolerably established, would have been flouted
by acclamation, and we are not sure but the national scorn would have
fittingly signalised such an unpatriotic enormity.
It is certain that the caricaturist's travesties of the little emperor,
his burlesques of his great actions, and grandiose declarations
(which, in themselves, occasionally overdid the heroic, and trenched
hazardously on the ludicrous), his figurative displays of the mean
origin of the imperial family, with the cowardice and depravity
of its members, won the popular applause; as did the satirist's
representations of the hollowness of Boney's vaunted victories, and
the treachery of his designs in the days of his success; and, when
disasters began to cloud the career of the mighty Napoleon, and
cherished projects were met with sickening failures--as army after
army, collected for the slaughter by schemes, lies, fraud, and force,
melted away, and the prostrate powers of the Continent plucked up
courage, singly at first and finally in legions, until the end of the
Corsican's glory arrived--the artist lent his skill to celebrate the
delight of the public, and the rejoicings over the discomfiture of
the traditional bugbear; glib cartoons were hurried off by Ackermann
and often by Tegg--the City competing with the West End in the loyal
contest of proving the national enmity to Buonaparte, by buying every
caricature--the more extravagant the better relished--that the artists,
who toiled like Trojans while the harvest lasted, could contrive to
furnish in season for the demand.
[Illustration]
A suspicion crosses our mind that, in too many cases, the incentive
was to gratify the hatred of the Corsican, rather than any remarkable
inherent merit that could be discovered in the satires; the best
of which were but feeble vehicles for the exhibition of the jovial
abilities of the designers; who, we dare venture to hint, found
themselves a little out of their element, plunged, as it were, in the
'blood and iron' theory, striking out with their etching points with
the most approved pantomimic vengeance! Very few of these mock-heroic
sallies imprint themselves on the recollection by the sheer force of
their own brilliancy, as was the case in the single instance of James
Gillray, in the past, and as happened--an undeniable test of the
veritable fire of genius--frequently with the cartoons of John Tenniel
within our own experience, when the magnitude of the occasion has
conjured up the inspiration, and rekindled the latent flame.
Our reflections upon the bellicose creations of Rowlandson and
Cruikshank, while their hostile vapourings continue irresistibly droll,
never stir the more passionate emotions or reach impulses which lie
below the surface; being risible, it is true, but the reverse of
inspired; and although many a hearty laugh may be enjoyed over the
ludicrous turn the twain caricaturists have, in spite of themselves,
given to situations of an avowedly tragic tendency, their very fury
seems an unctuous jest, their simulated earnestness takes a farcical
turn, and the result of a careful review, as the writer has made quite
recently, of their prolific slaughterous sallies, is the conviction
that, often unconsciously to themselves, they have chiefly succeeded,
from the inevitable bent of their innate humoristic impulses, in
burlesquing the fiery feeling abroad, which the public were contented
to gratify in pictorial guise.
It is certain that those discriminating critics best qualified to
appreciate the talents of Rowlandson and Cruikshank, who worked up the
anti-Corsican crusade contemporaneously, are continually disposed to
regret that the wondrous inventive abilities of these fertile designers
were not exercised in a more congenial field.
[Illustration]
Our caricaturist worked away, fierce and implacable, following every
turn of Boney's fortunes with a show of savage ardour, until the
idol fell in 1815. Rowlandson, in addition to the immense mass of
caricatures which he fabricated with unflagging energy, came out
brilliantly with several large transparencies, painted for public
exhibition, outside Ackermann's Repository, on the occasion of the
general illuminations, which fittingly signalised the successes of the
allied armies after Leipsig, the final downfall of the Emperor after
Waterloo, and the subsequent peace rejoicings.
A fresh subject for the exercise of Rowlandson's caricature
capabilities was furnished in 1809 by the scandalous revelations which
were disclosed, as evidence at the bar of the House of Commons, during
the 'inquiry into the corrupt practices of the Commander-in-Chief, in
the administration of the army.' With ill-advised weakness the popular
Duke of York seems to have transferred the exercise of the patronage
legitimately invested in his department, to Mrs. M. A. Clarke, a
clever and unscrupulous mistress, whose extravagances he had for
awhile contributed to support at Gloucester Place. The demand for this
exciting pabulum was sufficiently eager to induce the caricaturist to
bring out a fresh pictorial satire almost daily, and sometimes two or
more appeared on the same day, while the 'delicate investigation' was
proceeding, and the public interest in the circumstances remained at a
boiling heat. We are not inclined to argue that any of these ephemeral
compositions, superior as they were to the ruck of contemporaneous
productions, were worthy, in any degree, of the artist's graphic
powers, or were likely to contribute to his celebrity. For some time
Rowlandson's ambition seemed to cool down, and although he was working
hard, and producing a fair average of results, he appeared satisfied
to turn his skill to the most prosaic account, as the means of earning
a livelihood. He made no fresh efforts to astonish his admirers,
or to sustain his fame by novel efforts of genius, such as we have
particularised as appearing before the commencement of the nineteenth
century.
Among the countless caricatures, good, bad, and indifferent, according
to the circumstances of their publication, produced between 1809
and the close of the designer's career, nearly twenty years later,
we cannot direct the reader's attention to many subjects above the
generality of similar productions by Rowlandson's hand. It must be
borne in mind that the artist's opportunities for graceful delineation
had been considerably curtailed; the fair leaders of the old
picturesque generation, whose effigies beam so charmingly on Reynolds's
canvases, and the days of powder, flowing locks, silk coats, laces,
lappels, and their accompaniments, had gradually disappeared, and left
a prosier people, of sober exterior, in their stead. The difference
between the exteriors of Rowlandson's lively personages, at the earlier
part of the career, is so distinct from the outward appearance of his
surroundings, and of the world which continued to exercise his pencil,
at the close of his years, that it is extremely difficult, with the
evidence before our eyes, to credit that such extreme changes could
take place within the lifetime of one individual. The wanton cruelty of
time in dealing thus harshly with the delicious models, which at one
period seemed expressly constituted for the exercise of Rowlandson's
pencil, may have discouraged the artist, and given him a distaste for
exertions of ambition in which his heart had no part, while his fancy
still hovered round his retrospects of the brilliant scenes, at home
and abroad, that had met his sight in his gallant youth.
[Illustration]
A few of Rowlandson's plates in 1811 recall his best days, but we are
not too confident that the originals veritably belong to the year which
is engraved upon the plates; indeed, in two cases at least, _Exhibition
Stare Case, Somerset House_, and _Royal Academy, Somerset House_,
the caricatures are most probably reprints, with the dates altered.
This practice, common enough in his day, is productive of no slight
confusion; all Rowlandson's most popular conceptions, 'the palpable
hits' which held their own in the public favour, and were eagerly
secured, were republished from year to year, to meet the demand, and,
in most cases, the plate was freshly dated, as if the print had only
then appeared for the first time. This principle has complicated our
task, as it is most difficult to secure even a solitary impression of
the finer works, and but scant means exist of tracing them back to the
actual date, in the absence of any considerable collections to which
the student may apply for purposes of reference and comparison. If
the reader will be at the pains to consult the 'Appendix,' containing
the nearest approach to an arrangement of Rowlandson's works, under
the years of publication, the writer could arrive at under existing
circumstances, it will be seen that the same caricatures frequently
reappear, with altered dates, for successive years.
In the latter part of the artist's career, although he executed a great
many works of interest in themselves, and his inexhaustible social
satires are often meritorious, and always ingenious, his best talents
were devoted to the production of original drawings for immediate
sale. They were chiefly disposed of through the assistance of Rudolph
Ackermann, 101 Strand; and S. W. Fores, Piccadilly. Both these steady
patrons of the declining years of a genius, who must, in a sense, have
found the close of his life exposed to somewhat chilling influences,
are reported, on good authority, to have held hundreds of Rowlandson's
original drawings, scrap-books, and portfolios, filled with his
admirable sketches at the time of his death; but these collections have
of course been since dispersed.
[Illustration]
In addition to the immense gathering of water-colour drawings left by
Rowlandson, which had accumulated in the possession of those respected
gentlemen with whom he held business relations, there were several
fine collections, formed about the same period, to be found in the
possession of his intimates. Mitchell the banker, his constant friend
in town, with whom Rowlandson frequently travelled on the Continent,
had secured the most remarkable gallery of the artist's diversified
views abroad, and particularly his sketches of life and character in
France and the Netherlands, the latter being the most remarkable for
broad humour. Henry Angelo, the fencing-master, and Bannister, the
comedian, ancient school-fellows of the caricaturist, and, as will be
seen, faithful comrades through life, were also steady collectors of
his picturesque eccentricities, and many noblemen, and celebrities
of the day--among them is mentioned the name of the dashing, and
somewhat irrepressible, Lord Barrymore--took a pride in filling their
folios with his works, which, as we are told, they justly esteemed 'an
inexhaustible fund of amusement.'
A few later collections, with the names of the owners, and the titles
of the leading subjects, are mentioned at the end of this volume, with
a view to completing the interest of the subject, and affording a
slight indication of the whereabouts of many of his productions.
* * * * *
It appears from the statements of Rudolph Ackermann, Rowlandson's
industry was such that the considerate owner of the fashionable
Repository--favourite lounge of the dilettanti as it was--at last
found it difficult, as regards the selling department, to keep pace
with his friend's creative abilities. In short, the artist produced
drawings faster than the public, as it seems evident, felt inclined to
purchase them for the time being, and it became a perplexing problem
how to increase the demand proportionately to the supply; for the
multiplication of the sketches for awhile--probably under the spur of
some emergency, or the pressure of apprehensions for the future--became
so overwhelming that the worthy publisher, in his relation as a
practical man of business, fancied he foresaw the approaching
depreciation of the value of Rowlandson's drawings making such strides,
on the strength of an overstocked market, he was afraid, in the end,
the artist's remuneration would be so seriously diminished, that it
would not be worth his while to persevere, unless a new line could be
successfully struck out.
[Illustration]
These anticipations were probably well founded, and we cannot but
acknowledge that our artist had discarded prudence, and become
thoroughly reckless--at least, as far as we can judge by appearances,
for possibly he had more confidence in the ultimate request for his
studies than was entertained by his friendly employers, and time has
proved the soundness of his judgment. If the story we are told of his
novel method of multiplying his drawings is serious, it will strike
the reader that Mr. Ackermann had reason to feel anxious, on his
_protégé's_ account. It is related that Rowlandson would saunter from
his neighbouring lodgings in the Adelphi, round to the _Repository
of Arts_, and, as the title of Mr. Ackermann's establishment was no
misnomer, every possible appliance was therein found ready to hand.
The artist would then order a saucer of vermillion, and another of
Indian ink, ready ground, from the colourist's room, with reed pens,
and several sheets of drawing-paper; he would then combine his inks
in the proportions he thought proper, in the flesh lines vermillion
predominated, in draperies Indian ink, shadows were a warm mixture of
the two, and distant objects were faintly rendered in Indian ink alone.
The outline was filled in on this principle, but, as the designer's
own manual and dexterous rapidity had ceased to satisfy him, he
had ingeniously discovered an expeditious method of multiplication
sufficient for his purpose, without resorting to the sister art of
engraving. The drawing was made on the principle essential in any
engraving which has to give impressions, that is, the subject was
reversed, right being changed to left--the only extra care required;
the outline was somewhat stronger, and the reed-pen more fully
charged than was the usual practice, and when the design was completed
it formed the _matrix_ from which, before the ink became fixed, by
means of a press, and paper damped to the proper consistency, it was
easy to print off duplicates as long as the ink held out. We are
rather inclined to speculate that, ingenious as the process seems,
in description, it would by no means turn out a perennial flowing
fountain, and two or three decent replicas would exhaust the original,
however judiciously manipulated. The copies obtained by this manifold
contrivance were corrected and strengthened, according to their
requirements; the series of impressions were then shaded with Indian
ink, so as to lend the figures contour and solidity, and express the
lighter distance; and then came the final tinting, in delicate washes
of colour, and the completed works were ready for introduction to
the public. The writer does not believe that this _modus operandi_
was ever followed up systematically; that it has been resorted to on
occasions, his own observations have demonstrated; and he confesses
to a passing acquaintance with a collection of drawings by the artist
(belonging to a gentleman of distinction, who is quite satisfied as to
their merits), which are for the most part the results of this system,
and he has more than once, in the course of his peregrinations, come
across the _matrix_ design, very spread and mysterious as to outline,
having been exhausted in the working, but shaded with spirit, coloured,
and sent into the world, a shameless left-handed production, craftily
smuggled into circulation to confuse collectors, and throw discredit
on its dexter counterparts. This accounts for a certain proportion of
the duplicates after Rowlandson, which are of frequent occurrence; and
often have purchasers felt their self-esteem lowered, when another
possessor of the same design in a firmer outline has assured them that
they have been deceived into buying a mere copy, oblivious that the
guilty pair are both due to the hand of the master, and that possibly
other members of the same illicit family are lurking in the folios
of rival amateurs. A grand central gathering of works by Rowlandson,
presuming a person of sufficient enterprise could be found to prosecute
the scheme of a comprehensive exhibition of the artist's works, would
reveal some curiosities in the way of reproductive capability.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
For the credit of our artist, and the comfort of collectors, we can
record our assurance that this crafty method was never persevered in,
the replicas issued under this illegitimate contrivance are confined
to a brief period, the temptation to flood the market was kept within
restricted limits, and Mr. Ackermann's business aptitude quickly
discovered a method of enhancing the caricaturist's reputation and
augmenting his means, without the necessity of resorting to tricks
of ill-advised ingenuity. The successful projection of a series of
monthly publications allowed the indefatigable projector--who exercised
a princely liberality in his dealings, as publishers go--to pay his
friend, the artist, so handsomely, that he was relieved from the
necessity of multiplying his sketches in any inordinate profusion, and
enabled him to take more time and pains, both in seeking his subjects,
and working them out at his ease. The results of this happy conception,
_The Poetical Magazine_, the three _Tours of Doctor Syntax_, and _The
Dance of Death_, enjoyed unqualified popularity. They were followed
by other works of a corresponding description, which were also well
received. The publisher had his reward; we have every reason to believe
that Rowlandson enjoyed his fair share of these successful ventures;
and continued to furnish book-illustrations, steadily following up the
new branch he had discovered for the exercise of his abilities. Mr.
Ackermann's enterprise provided him ample occupation. These octavo
prints were produced on the same principle as the superior plates
after his _chefs-d'oeuvre_ of the Academy period: a neat and carefully
finished drawing of the original design was first prepared (these
studies were afterwards purchased by Mr. Ackermann), and Rowlandson
etched the outline sharply and clearly on the copper plate, an
impression from the 'bitten-in' outline was printed on drawing-paper,
and the artist put in his shadows, modelling of forms and sketchy
distance, with Indian ink, in the most delicate handling possible; the
shadows were then copied in aquatint on the outlined plate, sometimes
by the designer, but in most cases by an engraver who practised this
particular branch, which a few experts were able to manipulate with
considerable dexterity and nicety. Rowlandson next completed the
colouring of his own Indian ink shaded impression in delicate tints,
harmoniously selected; his sense of colour being of a refined order
as regarded the disposal of tender shades agreeable to the eye.
His aptitude in this respect is quite as remarkable as his ease of
delineation; and, if his outlines can be copied with any approach
to deceiving the eye of a connoisseur, an attempt to imitate his
colouring, simple as it remained in its characteristics, is tolerably
certain to betray the fraud.
The tinted impression, which was intentionally finished with greater
delicacy and elaboration than the artist generally displayed, served as
a copy for imitation, which was handed to Mr. Ackermann's trained staff
of colourists, the publisher finding constant employment for a number
of clever persons whom he had educated expressly for this skilled
employment. These artists had worked under his auspices and personal
supervision for years, until, by constant practice, and the pains which
were taken by the publisher to improve their abilities, they attained a
degree of perfection and neatness never arrived at before, and almost
beyond belief in the present day, when the system has fallen into
comparative disuse. The assistants did their best to reproduce the
effect of the original drawings, and the number of impressions required
to satisfy the public must have kept them constantly at work, and
occasionally jeopardised their high finish.
[Illustration]
There is an amazing contrast between the plates issued from the
Repository, worked out like elaborate water-colour drawings, in
subdued, well-balanced tints, with the utmost lightness and skill of
touch, and the lurid chromatic daubs which pass current to the present
day, as Rowlandson's caricatures were issued from Cheapside '_price one
shilling coloured_,' after a school of vulgarity to which the panorama
of the Lord Mayor's Show _at one penny_, with its four yards of florid
tenuity, is quite a refined work of art.
We are not inclined to offer uncharitable reflections on Rowlandson's
City publisher; the caricatures--excepting always certain rougher
specimens, loosely executed enormities after designs by some of the
amateurs of the period, which indubitably belong to the slip-shod
order--are fair enough in their way, when one is lucky enough to meet
with uncoloured copies; it is the bad taste of his customers, the
respectable dealer evidently stooped to flatter, with which we are
inclined to disagree, and we think justifiably; for although it was
very good of the gentleman in question to issue so many copies of
his plates, with a providential eye to the future, that impressions
are sufficiently numerous to this day, all print-buyers must deplore
the waste of staring colour expended in making his publications
abominable to the sight of modern purchasers, and ruinous to the fair
fame of the designer, by the uncompromising use of three positive
pigments, red, blue, and yellow, to which, with an occasional brown,
the colour-box seemed restricted, in most cases liberally plastered
over the etchings-figures, sky, buildings and background being
treated to the same smart hues in undiluted garishness, which utterly
confuses the mind as to the meritorious qualities of the subjects so
bespattered, and has the sinister effect, deplorable in itself, of
compelling persons of chaste dispositions to dread caricatures as being
on the surface something worse than scarlet abominations, fiendishly
aggravated with additional lurid iniquities of a depraving tendency.
We have introduced Rowlandson in his later relation to the arts, as
a skilful and popular contributor of book illustrations; we cannot
leave this portion of our subject without offering a cursory review of
his various labours in this capacity, since the wider circulation of
printed publications has made his name more familiar to the great world
than the finest masterpieces already alluded to, which seem doomed to
remain unknown and inaccessible to the bulk of the public.
[Illustration]
The first independent publication we have to notice was simply a
gathering of subjects, extending over three or four years, collected
in 1788, and issued as _Rowlandson's Imitations of Modern Drawings_,
folio; including imitations of the styles of Gainsborough, Wheatley,
Mortimer, Barrett, Gilpin, Bartolozzi, Zucchi, Cipriani, &c.
In 1786, Rowlandson supplied G. Kearsley, the publisher of those
well-known satirical effusions of Dr. Wolcot, _The Poems of Peter
Pindar_, with illustrations to the first volume of the quarto edition
of these familiar works. This publication was continued the next
year. In a burlesque strain, Rowlandson also came out with twenty
illustrations, the drawings suggested by Collings,[6] caricaturing
passages in Boswell's _Journal of a Tour in the Hebrides_, published
by E. Jackson, small folio (1786). Our artist further supplied certain
plates in parody of incidents in the _Sorrows of Werther_, also from
suggestions by Collings, who designed a capital series of drolleries
in travesty of passages literally extracted from Lord Chesterfield's
_Polite Letters_.
G. and J. Robinson, in 1790, published the results of a trip to
Brighton, which the artist had enjoyed in company with his friend, the
frequent companion of his wanderings and frolics, Henry Wigstead, Esq.,
the sitting magistrate at Bow Street--_An Excursion to Brighthelmstone
made in the year 1782_, by Henry Wigstead and Thomas Rowlandson, with
eight engravings by Thomas Rowlandson, oblong folio.
There also appeared, in this and the following years, a series of
_Miniature Groups and Scenes_, published by M. L., Brighthelmstone,
and H. Brookes, Coventry Street, London; and a series of _Sheets of
Picturesque Etchings_, published by S. W. Fores. Rowlandson also
furnished numerous book-plates, octavo, to the series of novels
published by I. Siebbald, Edinburgh; among the works thus illustrated
we must particularise the novels of Fielding and Smollett.
The succeeding year (1792) our artist also contributed illustrations,
in large size folding plates, designed after suggestions by Henry
Woodward, to a quarto edition of Smollett's Novels. _Cupid's Magic
Lantern_, with illustrations, etched by Rowlandson, also after designs
by Henry Woodward, was published in 1797.
_The Comforts of Bath_, and the folio _Views of London_, belong to
1798. The same year the name of W. Wigstead, Charing Cross, appears as
the publisher of the following works:--
_Annals of Horsemanship_, with seventeen copperplates by Henry Bunbury,
Esq. Engraved by Thomas Rowlandson.
_The Academy for Grown Horsemen_, with twelve copperplates, by Henry
Bunbury, Esq. Engraved by Thomas Rowlandson.
_Love in Caricature_, with eleven plates by Thomas Rowlandson.
[Illustration]
The handsome and expensively got-up publications inaugurated by Mr.
Ackermann, began to occupy our artist in 1799. The first of this
well-executed series, with which Rowlandson was connected, was a set of
plates, accurately coloured in _fac-simile_ of the original drawings,
in square folio, described as,
_The Loyal Volunteers of London and Environs_, with eighty-seven
plates, designed and etched by Thomas Rowlandson.
Martial ardour being the key-note this year, when foreign invasion
menaced our shores, Henry Angelo and Son, who were appointed
fencing-masters to the Light Horse Volunteers of London and
Westminster, collected a series of subjects which the artist had
prepared under their direction, and issued the results of their joint
ingenuity as a supplement to the elder Angelo's _Treatise on Fencing_,
under the title of, _Hungarian and Highland Broadsword Exercise_, with
twenty-four plates designed and etched by Thomas Rowlandson, oblong
folio.
Another publication, issued by Ackermann in 1799, appeared as
_Delineations of Nautical Characters_, in ten plates by Thomas
Rowlandson.
In 1800, the results of an excursion to North and South Wales,
undertaken in concert by the author and artist, were given to the
public under the following description: _Remarks on a Tour to North and
South Wales in the year 1797_, by Henry Wigstead, with plates by Thomas
Rowlandson, Pugh, Howitt, &c. Published by W. Wigstead, Charing Cross.
Rowlandson also supplied some illustrations to _The Beauties of
Sterne_, a selection of choice passages from the works of that author.
A series of _Views in Cornwall, Dorset, &c._, appeared as a separate
publication in 1805. The artist contributed serious book-plates to an
edition of the _Sorrows of Werther_, in 1806. A smaller edition of
the witty _Annals of Horsemanship_ and _Academy for Grown Horsemen_
(portions of which are attributed to the pen of the convivial Captain
Grose, the well-known antiquary, author of _The Military Antiquities_,
etc.--the original design of the work with the illustrations belonged
to Henry Bunbury) was issued in a cheap form by Thomas Tegg in 1800,
the etchings being executed in a reduced form by Thomas Rowlandson, and
published under the title of _An Academy for Grown Horsemen and Annals
of Horsemanship, by Geoffry Gambado_, octavo. A collection of plates
portraying _The Miseries of Human Life_, consisting of fifty etchings
by Thomas Rowlandson, small folio, was published in a reduced form the
same year.
[Illustration]
The principal work, however, which appeared in 1808, was, and must
remain, a fitting instance of the enterprise and good taste of
Rudolph Ackermann, his liberal employment of artists whose abilities
were of the first order; while demonstrating the popularity of his
publications, which could guarantee the most considerable outlays, with
a successful return of the capital invested.
We refer to the splendid _Microcosm of London, or London in Miniature_,
with 105 illustrations by Pugin and Rowlandson, in three volumes,
quarto. A more extended notice of this valuable series is given in its
proper place in this volume, under the description of works for 1808;
although we believe the actual preparation of the plates extended over
some years.
We have also to notice:--
_The Caricature Magazine, or Hudibrastic Mirror_, published by Thomas
Tegg, and continued to 1810, 386 plates, in five volumes, oblong folio.
_The Art of Ingeniously Tormenting_, with illustrations by Rowlandson
and Woodward, octavo; published by Thomas Tegg, Cheapside, 1808.
_A Lecture on Heads_, by George Alexander Stevens, with twenty-five
illustrations by Rowlandson and Woodward, octavo, published by Thomas
Tegg, Cheapside, 1808.
_Chesterfield Travestie; or School for Modern Manners_, with ten
caricatures engraved by Rowlandson from drawings by H. Woodward (who
supplied the letterpress), duodecimo, was also published by Thomas
Tegg, Cheapside. 1808.
[Illustration]
In 1809, appeared numerous book-plates supplied by the artist to
publishers. Thomas Tegg issued an edition of _Sterne's Sentimental
Journey_, and _The Beauties of Sterne_, in a separate volume; both
_embellished with caricatures by T. Rowlandson_. This gentleman
also published an edition of _The Surprising Adventures of the
renowned Baron Munchausen_, with numerous original engravings by
Thomas Rowlandson; _The Annals of Sporting by Caleb Quizem_, with
illustrations by Rowlandson and Woodward; _Advice to Sportsmen,
selected from the Notes of Marmaduke Markwell_; with sixteen
illustrations by Rowlandson; _The Trial of the Duke of York_, with
Rowlandson's collected caricatures on the subject, in two volumes;
_Investigation of the Charges brought against H.R.H. the Duke of York,
&c._, with fourteen portraits by Rowlandson, two volumes; and Butler's
_Hudibras_, with five illustrations by William Hogarth, engraved by
Thomas Rowlandson.
Beresford's _Antidote to the Miseries of Human Life_, octavo, is also
advertised in 1809.
_The Pleasures of Human Life_, by Hilari Benevolus & Co., with five
plates by Thomas Rowlandson, &c., was published by Longmans, 1809.
It was in 1809 that Ackermann projected his _Poetical Magazine_, royal
octavo, which, it was arranged, should appear in consecutive monthly
parts, as a means of affording his friend, the artist, substantial
and progressive employment. The generous thought which prompted
this enterprise was fittingly rewarded by the successful reception
this venture secured at the hands of the public, and the patrons of
Ackermann's 'Repository of Arts.' _The Poetical Magazine_ was quite
a feature amongst novel publications; the famous plates supplied by
Rowlandson (two monthly), and the verses felicitously written up to
the caricaturist's designs by William Coombe, under the title of _The
Schoolmasters' Tour_, and introducing the highly popular _Doctor
Syntax_, formed the only important contributions to the Magazine, which
came to a conclusion (at the fourth volume), with the end of the first
_Picturesque Tour_.
The success which attended the appearance of the familiar _Tour_ was
altogether beyond the expectations of either publisher, artist, or
author. The etchings on the plates to _The Poetical Magazine_ were
worked fairly away and renewed. In 1812, _The Tour of Doctor Syntax in
Search of the Picturesque_, with thirty-one illustrations by Thomas
Rowlandson, was published in a separate form in royal octavo, a fresh
set of the much-admired plates, with but the slightest variations,
being prepared expressly, and these in turn proved insufficient to
supply the number of copies demanded by the delighted public. The
_Tour_ had a still larger success in its independent form, and several
editions appeared in one season; the request continued for years, and
was sufficiently encouraging to induce the projectors to follow it up
with a new series, _The Second Tour of Doctor Syntax, in Search of
Consolation_, with twenty-four illustrations by Thomas Rowlandson,
which also appeared in monthly parts, and was issued in a collected
form in one volume, royal octavo, in 1820. A third tour, in _Search of
a Wife_, was ventured in 1822, but this was evidently intended to be
the final sequel, as the hero, 'Doctor Syntax,' is removed from life's
scene at the close.
Returning to Rowlandson's successive contributions of
book-illustrations, we find a satirical work, _Munchausen at Walcheren_
issued in 1811; and a _Tale of the Castle_ (Dublin), published
by Stockdale in 1812, as _Petticoat Loose, a Fragmentary Poem_,
illustrated with four plates by Thomas Rowlandson, quarto.
The artist also issued a series of _Views of Cornwall_ in the form of
an independent volume the same year.
Mr. Ackermann had introduced, some years before, an illustrated
Miscellany to his subscribers, which ran a long and highly successful
career, under the title, borrowed from the circumstances of its
publication, of _Ackermann's Repository of Arts, Literature, Fashion,
and Manufactures_.
[Illustration]
In the pages of this admirable magazine were given many continuous
contributions of a valuable and interesting character, the contents
being as diversified as the description of the undertaking. Among
the serials were numerous essays of merit, which, in the projector's
opinion, were entitled to the distinction of separate publication,
and, at intervals, the discriminating proprietor of the _Repository_
selected various series of articles by his best qualified and most
respected colleagues in the work, and re-issued their contributions,
with the enhanced attraction of fresh pictorial embellishments, as
separate publications. In this manner a succession of _Letters from
Italy_, which had appeared in the _Repository_, between 1809 and 1813,
furnished by Lewis Engelbach (who supplied reviews of music; it has
been said his criticisms may be usefully studied by the most successful
living contributors to the press), were republished in 1815 in one
volume, royal octavo, as _Letters from Naples and the Campana Felice_,
with seventeen illustrations by Thomas Rowlandson.
Another deserving work, published by R. Ackermann, in the same
finished style, with coloured engravings in aquatint, delicately
completed by hand to resemble water-colour drawings, as were the major
part of the illustrations to this series, appeared under the title of
_Poetical Sketches of Scarborough_, with twenty-one illustrations by J.
Green; etched by Thomas Rowlandson, 1813.
In 1815 was published The _Military Adventures of Johnny Newcome_, with
fifteen illustrations by Thomas Rowlandson, royal octavo, printed for
Patrick Martin, 198 Oxford Street. This work is written in Hudibrastic
metre, by 'An Officer' in imitation of the flowing lines supplied by
Coombe to the _Tours of Doctor Syntax_. Another volume (1815 and 1816)
was published by Thomas Tegg, Cheapside, also composed after the model
of the same easy versification, under the description of _The Grand
Master, or Adventures of Qui Hi in Hindostan, a Hudibrastic poem in
eight cantos, by Quiz_, illustrated with twenty-eight engravings by
Thomas Rowlandson.
[Illustration]
The principal triumph of our artist's later years appeared in 1815
and 1816, Rowlandson inventing the subjects, and Coombe supplying the
descriptive versification, as was their usual method of proceeding in
the entire succession of publications, undertaken under this artistic
and literary co-partnership, and issued by R. Ackermann.
We refer to the _Dance of Death_, which had first been offered the
public in monthly parts under the old and highly successful system,
between 1814 and 1816. This production, which repays the most careful
consideration, received a flattering reception, and, in spite of the
grim nature of the subject, enjoyed surprising popularity, and added
considerably to the reputation of those concerned in its appearance.
We have no hesitation in recording our impression that the ingenuity
and invention displayed in the seventy-two plates illustrative
of the _Dance of Death_ are considerably in advance, in point of
invention, of the pictures supplied to its more genial and popular
rival _Doctor Syntax_. Both artist and author had arrived at a period
of mature experience, which qualified and disposed them to bring
their finest faculties to the treatment of this melodramatic theme,
in which they must have discovered morbid fascinations; since it has
enabled them to rise above their average efforts. As we have noticed,
although the conception is monumental, not to say sepulchral, in its
characteristics, and on occasions, ghastly in its humour, the result
is a masterpiece to the memories of Rowlandson and Coombe; the fires
of their early inspirations were rekindled from their decline; and
the _Dance of Death_ has always impressed us as the last flicker of
expiring genius; a fitting memorial of the vast and almost forgotten
faculties of the projectors.
A fuller account of this impressive and truly remarkable work, will
be found under the year 1810, where we have endeavoured to do justice
to the exceptional qualities of a performance which, in our modest
conviction, surpasses any previous treatment of the same subject.
In 1816 Rowlandson commenced a series of charming little pictures
designed in outline, avowedly intended as an assistance to
landscape-artists in the direction of suggesting, and supplying
animated groups of figures, suitable for introduction into drawings.
The etchings were executed with exceptional neatness, ease, and spirit,
and the entire collection is highly interesting; it appeared under
the title of _The World in Miniature, figure subjects for Landscapes,
Groups, and Views_, and was published by Mr. Ackermann at 'The
Repository.' A series of a similar description was commenced under the
same designation by Rowlandson in 1821, and finished by W. H. Pyne in
1826; the set was somewhat diffusive, if it extended to 637 parts, as
we are told.
Our artist's illustrations to the _Beauties of Tom Brown_ belong to
1809.
Rowlandson also contributed a frontispiece to another of Tegg's
publications in 1816, _The Relics of a Saint, by Ferdinand Farquhar_.
[Illustration]
Rowlandson found a congenial exercise for his skill, taste, and
mirth-imparting qualities in the illustration of Oliver Goldsmith's
_Vicar of Wakefield_, in 1817, when the famous tale re-appeared,
embellished with twenty-four designs by the artist. Mr. Ackermann
was induced to republish this delightful story as a vehicle for the
display of the delicate humoristic, and more refined qualifications
of the caricaturist (who, by the way, had almost ceased to deserve
this epithet). Nothing could be more artless than the pathos of this
fiction, its simple humour is ever fresh, and Rowlandson has executed
his portion of the undertaking in a congenial spirit, indeed the happy
impulses of the author seem spontaneously embodied in the picturesque
designs.
The success of the _Dance of Death_ was so considerable that the
publisher endeavoured to share its popularity with a successor. The
two volumes constituting the first work were, however, executed in a
superior manner; and more pains were taken to bring the plates to the
utmost perfection, as reproductions of the original drawings, than was
the case with later publications. _The Dance of Life_, illustrated
with twenty-eight coloured engravings by Thomas Rowlandson, published
by R. Ackermann, royal octavo, appeared in 1817, and although fairly
executed, neither the conceptions of Rowlandson, nor the verses of
Coombe, rose above the commonplace; it is evident that the sentiment
which had inspired their gifted faculties in the former subject found
no revival in the present volume, which is somewhat disappointing after
the talent which is manifested in its predecessor.
A pendant to the _Military Adventures of Johnny Newcome_ was issued in
1818 as _The Adventures of Johnny Newcome in the Navy_, a poem in four
cantos, with sixteen plates by Rowlandson from the author's designs,
by Alfred Burton, published by Simpkin and Marshall, Stationers'
Hall Court, Ludgate Hill. More attention was paid to the artistic
preparation of the succeeding portion of _The Second Tour of Doctor
Syntax in Search of Consolation_, with twenty-four illustrations by
Thomas Rowlandson, royal octavo, which Mr. Ackermann introduced to the
public in a collected form as the companion to the popular first volume
in 1820.
Rowlandson also furnished illustrations to certain pamphlets or
chapbooks in 1819; we may particularise one under the title of _Who
killed Cock Robin?_--a tract on the Manchester Massacre, published by
John Cahnac. We have also to notice his contribution to a chapbook
which appeared the same year, as, _Female Intrepidity, or the Heroic
Maiden_.
The same year appeared _Rowlandson's Characteristic Sketches of the
Lower Orders; intended as a Companion to the New Picture of London_
containing fifty-four coloured plates, printed by S. Leigh, 18 Strand,
1820.
[Illustration]
Another contribution, _A Tour in the South of France_, drawn from
the excellent serial publication, 'Ackermann's Repository of Arts,
Literature, Fashion, and Manufactures,' originally supplied to its
pages in instalments between the years 1817 and 1820, was republished
in a completed form in 1821, with additional attractions, in the way of
fresh embellishments, by the unflagging hand of our artist, under the
title of _A Journal of Sentimental Travels in the Southern Provinces of
France_, illustrated with eighteen coloured engravings from designs by
Thomas Rowlandson, royal octavo, published by R. Ackermann, 101 Strand.
A French version of 'Doctor Syntax's Tour in Search of the
Picturesque,' _Le Don Quichotte Romantique, ou Voyage du Docteur
Syntaxe à la Recherche du Pittoresque et du Romantique_, also appeared
in Paris this year, with twenty-eight illustrations, drawn on stone,
after the original designs of Rowlandson, by Malapeau, lithographed by
G. Engelmann.
The final complement of 'The Tours,' prepared under the same auspices
as the earlier peregrinations, reached completion as an additional
volume in 1822, and the monthly instalments were then reissued in a
collected form to join the two predecessors as _The Third Tour of
Doctor Syntax in Search of a Wife_, with twenty-five illustrations by
Thomas Rowlandson, royal octavo, published by R. Ackermann.
A further instance of the universal popularity enjoyed by _The First
Tour of Doctor Syntax in Search of the Picturesque_ was afforded,
in 1822, by the appearance of an edition translated into German and
freely adapted as _Die Reise des Doktor Syntax um das Malerische au
Frusuchen_ with Rowlandson's famous illustrations imitated on stone and
lithographed by F. E. Rademacher, Berlin.
The interest which it was found, on experience, still surrounded
the grotesque prototype _Dr. Syntax_, induced the energetic
projectors--publisher, artist, and author--under their old,
well-defined relations, to venture on a farther extension of the
familiar framework, and a fresh volume, which had, like the preceding
publications, found its way to the public in monthly instalments, was
inaugurated in 1822 under the description of _The History of Johnny
Quæ Genus: The Little Foundling of the late Doctor Syntax--a poem by
the author of The Three Tours_ (William Coombe)--embellished with
twenty-four coloured engravings by Thomas Rowlandson.
[Illustration]
The same year our artist issued another distinct volume of landscape
subjects of his execution under the title of _Rowlandson's Sketches
from Nature_; a collection of seventeen plates, drawn and etched by the
artist and aquatinted by Stradler. _Crimes of the Clergy_, an octavo
volume, with two plates by our artist, also appeared in 1822.
As a further proof that the numerous editions in royal octavo of the
illustrious schoolmaster's wanderings were insufficient to satisfy the
requirements of his patrons, Mr. Ackermann offered the public a fresh
copy, in three volumes 16mo. of _The Three Tours of Dr. Syntax, Pocket
Edition_, with all Rowlandson's plates, executed on a smaller scale to
suit the convenience of enthusiasts, who might require to carry the
volumes about with them ready for immediate reference, or for perusal
on their travels and at odd moments, if such an opportunity should be
in request.
In 1825 Charles Molloy Westmacott, an intimate friend of the
caricaturist, in whose company we learn he visited Paris, thought
proper to edit a publication under his pseudonym of 'Bernard
Blackmantle,' a collection of whimsical extracts from the press,
which had appeared in print in the previous season. The description
of his production is as follows: _The Spirit of the Public Journals
for the year 1824, with Explanatory Notes_. Illustrations on wood
by T. Rowlandson, R. and G. Cruikshank, Lane, and Findlay. London;
published by Sherwood, Jones, and Co., Paternoster Row, 1825. Our
artist contributed eleven highly humorous cuts to this publication, his
drawings being engraved on wood--a novel process as far as the designs
usually supplied by Rowlandson are concerned.
A notable plate was furnished by the caricaturist in 1825 to _The
English Spy_, a work also produced under the auspices of 'Bernard
Blackmantle,' after the description of the better-known _Life in
London_. The major part of the plates are due to the hand of Robert
Cruikshank. Rowlandson's name is given on the title-page as having
contributed a portion of the illustrations on wood, but the only
example of his skill we have been able to identify is an adaptation of
his drawing (now the property of Mr. Capron), _The Life School at the
Royal Academy_, which he originally presented to his old friend John
Thomas Smith, of the British Museum. Plate 32.--_R. A--ys of Genius
Reflecting on the True Line of Beauty at the Life Academy, Somerset
House_, by Thomas Rowlandson; and this illustration is undeniably the
most interesting to be found in the entire contents of the two octavo
volumes of which Mr. Westmacott's _English Spy_ is composed; further
particulars of this subject are given under the year 1825.
[Illustration]
After the caricaturist's death in 1827 the admirable publications,
of which his coloured plates formed the principal attractions, were
discontinued; the taste of the public had changed. Wood blocks and
steel plates came into fashion. Cheap annuals illustrated with
woodcuts came into favour for a season, until the appearance of the
more elaborately prepared 'Gift Books,' with fine steel engravings,
'Keepsakes,' 'Gems,' &c., subsequently took their place. The folios of
Mr. Ackermann were still sufficiently rich in studies by Rowlandson to
furnish the framework for a fresh publication. A choice was made from
the large collection of original drawings, published and unpublished,
which still remained, after the artist's decease, in the possession of
the indefatigable proprietor of the 'Repository'; and these sketches,
which of necessity, for the most part, are assignable to Rowlandson's
declining period, when his drawings became looser in execution and
less picturesque in point of subject, were selected as the materials
for a new venture, with a departure from the old popular style of
reproduction in facsimile of the artist's pictures coloured by hand.
The subjects culled from Mr. Ackermann's portfolios were redrawn
on a reduced scale, either as a whole, or striking portions of
caricatures, and prominent figures or groups were adapted, transferred
to wood-blocks, and put into the hands of an engraver. In cutting
the designs a considerable amount of the original spirit, with the
individuality of execution peculiar to the master, have unfortunately
been sacrificed; the engravings are heavy and poor; however, they offer
a rough idea of the nature of the studies which happened to remain
in the hands of the publisher, and some interest attaches to this
circumstance, as the major part of these designs have never been issued
on copper.
Mr. W. H. Harrison was engaged to write up to the pictorial sketches,
and he has constructed various small fictions founded on the
suggestions offered by the engravings; but the entire work is somewhat
clumsy in contrivance, both as respects the illustrations and the
literary setting intended to assist their interest in the eyes of the
public; the editor's inventions are neither original nor brilliant.
The title of the annual produced on this compound principle was _The
Humourist, a Companion for the Christmas Fireside, embellished with
fifty engravings, exclusive of numerous vignettes after designs by the
late Thomas Rowlandson_: published by R. Ackermann, 96 Strand, and
sold by R. Ackermann, junior, 191 Regent Street, 1831. _The Humourist_
contained sixty-seven illustrations in all; the titles of these, and a
brief description of the various subjects, will be found at the close
of the present volume, under the year 1831.
* * * * *
Although Rowlandson was so well known as an artist, no fitting
memorials of his career are extant; and while, as we have related, the
task of discovering a collection of works by the artist, worthy of
illustrating his exceptional abilities, is surrounded by unforeseen
difficulties, the operation of culling personal traits, or records
of the life and adventures of the caricaturist, demands even greater
extensions of patience. Nothing short of sincere appreciation for the
vast talents of the man, and of a lasting conviction of the original
qualities of his works, could have encouraged the writer to prolong his
researches, the chances in this case of alighting on any discoveries of
note being so problematical.
The person of Rowlandson was familiarly recognised amongst his
contemporaries from his youth, when he was first admitted as a
student at the schools of the Royal Academy (about 1770), through his
diversified fortunes, till his death, which occurred on April 22, 1827.
His figure, we learn, was large, well set-up, muscular, and above the
average height--in fact, his person was a noticeable one; his features
were regular and defined, his eye remarkably full and fearless, his
glance being described as penetrating, and suggestive of command;
his mouth and chin expressed firmness and resolution; the general
impression conveyed to a stranger by his countenance, which was
undeniably fine and striking in its characteristics, was that of the
inflexibility of the owner.
[Illustration: SMITHFIELD SHARPERS; OR THE COUNTRYMAN DEFRAUDED.
Old Trusty, with his Town-made Friends,
To gentle sleep himself commends,
With Tray upon his knees;
Whilst Tom, his son, all eager, gaping,
Expects each moment he'll be scraping
The treasure up he sees.
Meanwhile the Harpy Tribe are plotting,
By forcing liquor, winking, nodding,
To cheat the youth unlearn'd;
Who, to his cost, will quickly find
Nor watch, nor money, left behind,
And Friends to Sharpers turn'd.]
Two or three portraits of the caricaturist are traceable, besides
numerous burlesque transfers of his own effigy to his imaginary
personages. In common with Cruikshank, Thackeray, and many other
humorists of the brush and etching-needle, he was prone to introduce
the presentment of his own lineaments in whimsical juxtapositions. The
most generally recognised likeness, from which a separate plate has
been published by Mr. Parker, occurs in a clever eccentric drawing,
exhibited by the artist at the Royal Academy Exhibition in 1787, under
the title of _Countrymen and Sharpers_ (No. 555).
This subject was subsequently engraved by J. K. Sherwin, whose portrait
also figures therein, in the person of the pigeon, while Rowlandson
has chosen to represent himself as the leading sharper, he who, with
blustering front, is fleecing the simple youth at cards, in defiance
of his well-accepted reputation for rigid integrity; for although the
gaming table long held the caricaturist an enslaved votary, ready to
make the most reckless sacrifices to tempt the fickle favours of the
gambler's fortune, it is recorded by those of his acquaintances who
have mentioned this disastrous failing (which by the way he shared
with all the wealthy, distinguished, and witty celebrities of his
day), and deplored the havoc it made with his means, and professional
pursuits, that his sense of honour was ever of the keenest, his word
was always regarded as sufficient security, and he possessed a delicacy
of feeling, and a sense of independence, which would not allow him to
remain under a debt or an obligation.
At the time Rowlandson sent his drawing of _Countrymen and Sharpers_[7]
for exhibition, he was 31 years of age, and according to the portrait,
looks manhood personified, with a fine comely figure, and a face that
imprints itself on the recollection, his hair in a profusion of wavy
tresses, worn long, and 'clubbed' as was the fashion of the period. His
bold and piercing eyes set under massive and somewhat prominent brows.
The next attributed portrait belongs to 1799, when Rowlandson was 43
years of age. In the design, _An Artist travelling in Wales_, the
result of a journey he made with his friend, the convivial Henry
Wigstead, he has represented himself, with a due allowance for
burlesque, looking older than his years; the long hair is still there,
but its curls are thinned, time and a struggle with seasons less rosy
than his youth of many fortunes, are telling on the outward man, but
the brows, eyes, mouth and chin have diminished nothing of their
resolute characteristics--indeed, they are more marked--and the strong
nervous figure is beginning to look gaunt.
_The Chamber of Genius_ appeared in 1812 with the appropriate
quotation:--
Want is the scorn of every wealthy fool;
And genius in rags is turned to ridicule.--Juv. _Sat._
The head of the caricaturist is strongly defined on the shoulders of
the gifted occupant of a garret, and the likeness is just what might
be supposed from the countenance, as given in 1787, viewed through the
intervening quarter of a century of struggles, and disenchantments,
when cares of the hour, and incidental anxieties, touching provision
for the future, had commenced to take the place of the artist's
original careless hardihood.
The last portrait to which we shall at present refer is by another
hand; and was sketched when the health of the caricaturist was a grave
source of apprehension, since we learn that during the last two years
of his life he was a severe sufferer. It represents the figure of a
large and powerful-looking old gentleman, of impressive presence; the
main characteristics, and the marked profile have gathered force with
increasing years, the brows are even firmer, and the features more
defined; this _croquis_ of the veteran was drawn by his old friend,
and erst fellow-pupil, John Thomas Smith, the keeper of the drawings
and prints in the British Museum, and the study was taken while the
caricaturist was looking over some prints, on one of his visits to the
treasures in his friend's department. The sketcher, who has written the
circumstances under which it was taken, below the portrait, has given
Rowlandson's age at seventy,--within a year, in fact, of his death.
The caricaturist's flowing locks are considerably shorn by the hand
of the inevitable mower, and his penetrating eyes do not disdain the
assistance afforded by a pair of huge tortoiseshell-rimmed spectacles,
in which they are framed; but as far as the visible flight of time
goes, regarding the outward man, he might be assumed to possess powers
of vitality sufficient to carry him over another score years.
If our memory does not deceive us, a sketch of the caricaturist's
figure, from the life, and drawn in chalks, was exhibited some time ago
at Bethnal Green, in the Loan Collection, formed under the auspices of
the Science and Art Department.
* * * * *
We learn that our artist, who is perhaps the most popularly recognised
practitioner of the caricature branch, was born in the Old Jewry, in
July 1756, that is to say, just a year before his remarkable compeer
James Gillray. The members of the Rowlandson family, according to
the little we can trace of their personal history, seem to have been
highly respectable people of the middle class in life. The name is not
of common occurrence. There is a tract relating certain misfortunes
which attended two bearers of this cognomen; a pious and worthy couple
who in the seventeenth century went evangelising to New England,
where they suffered incredible persecutions, and escaped all sorts
of dismal tortures amongst the aboriginal Indians, in whose hands
they had the mischance to fall; the succession of hardships which
they encountered, and their final miraculous deliverance, are duly
recorded for the encouragement of the faithful. The narrative, which
is simple and circumstantial, forms an item of 'improving reading'
not without its interest in the present age. There is nothing to
prove the relationship of this faithful and much-enduring pair to
our caricaturist, beyond the circumstance of the similarity of name.
Rowlandson the elder was assuredly at one time a man of fair substance,
as we are informed--'some say a city merchant,' but his disposition,
like that of his son, seems to have been tinctured with recklessness.
Mention is made of an uncle Thomas Rowlandson, who was godfather
to the subject of our notice; also, as far as we can discover,
connected with mercantile pursuits. This relationship was destined to
serve the caricaturist in good stead, if he had only exercised the
commonest prudence in husbanding the resources which he derived from
this connection. We discover that, before Rowlandson had arrived at
man's estate, his chances of inheriting a provision to help him on
his way, together with the prospect of any future support, so far as
the paternal resources were concerned, had melted away; the elder
Rowlandson's 'speculative turn' had taken a sinister bent, considerable
sums had been sunk, and still more portentous liabilities had been
incurred, 'by experimenting on various branches of manufacture,' which
were attempted on too extensive a scale for the means at his command;
and, his resources becoming exhausted, before the fruition of his
schemes, pecuniary embarrassments involved his career, and he failed
to realise the considerable fortune which his sanguine temperament
had anticipated. The natural talents of the son, and the professional
training which had cultivated his gifts, were the only contributions
he received, on attaining manhood, towards his future maintenance, as
far as the help he could derive from his father was concerned. Other
adventitious aids came to the artist's assistance, indeed, in spite of
the untoward direction which the previous prosperity of the elder had
taken, Rowlandson was to a large degree the spoiled child of fortune
throughout his early career.
[Illustration: HOW TO TREAT A REFRACTORY MEMBER.]
We are not informed whether the paternal estate was restored to
solvency. Among the various 'valuable legacies' which, it is related,
fell to the caricaturist's share (only to be scattered broadcast), it
is very possible that, in some sort, an inheritance from his father
formed part of these unexpected 'good gifts.' It seems, although we
have no direct records of the remaining relatives, that Rowlandson had
a sister, since we learn that his brother-in-law was Howitt, famous
as an artist for his delineation of animals, for his spirited hunting
subjects, being eminent as a sportsman, rider, and angler; and, like
the caricaturist, somewhat of a spoiled child--a wayward genius--of a
congenial soul, and vivacious impulses, a trifle too given to yield to
careless convivial company, or the allurements which the hour might
hold forth, oblivious of sober consequences to follow.
Thomas Rowlandson, the uncle, had married a certain Mademoiselle
Chattelier, who was, it is evident, a lady with some command of wealth;
and from the partiality and indulgence of this aunt, our artist, we are
told, 'derived that assistance which his father's reverse of fortune
had withheld.'
Another reference to the family name further occurs amongst the
announcements of marriages for September 1800 (_Gentleman's Magazine_,
vol. 70, p. 898), where we find that Thomas Rowlandson, Esq., of
Watling Street, espoused Miss Stuart, daughter of George Stuart, Esq.,
of the Grove, Camberwell, Surrey. It is obvious that Rowlandson senior
intended to give his son a sound training. As a school-boy, the future
celebrity wandered into the precincts of that Soho district to which he
afterwards clung in his varying fortunes with the persistence developed
by habit.
[Illustration]
The caricaturist began to draw his first instalments from the fount of
knowledge at the scholastic symposium of Doctor Barvis in Soho Square,
'at that time, and subsequently, an academy of some celebrity.' We are
told this establishment was kept by Doctor Barrow when young Rowlandson
was pursuing his studies. The respectability of the school, and its
soundness as an educational institution, is satisfactorily demonstrated
to our mind from the circumstance that the great Edmund Burke had
elected to confide his beloved son, with whose training, it is well
known, the philosopher took especial pains, to the charge of Doctor
Barrow; and Richard Burke, the gentle gifted youth whose untimely death
hastened the decease of his patriotic father, was a school-fellow
of our artist. J. G. Holman, who was destined to acquire reputation
as a dramatic writer and performer, was another school-fellow. It
appears that, within the walls of this academy, Rowlandson made
the acquaintance of John Bannister, whose inimitable talents were
afterwards to delight the town, and whose name is a lasting ornament to
the histrionic profession; it was, further, in Soho Square that young
Rowlandson and young Angelo, the son of the well-known Henry Angelo
(one of the best recognised and most respected foreigners domiciled in
London of his day), fencing-master to the Royal Family, became fast and
firm friends. The intimacy existing between this worthy trio, dating
from these early days, continued steadfastly through life. All these
lads were, in different degrees, enthusiasts of the graphic art; Angelo
and Bannister had strong predilections for the arts, and both drew as
amateurs in their subsequent careers, although, with Rowlandson, they
originally meditated following up the artist's profession seriously.
As to our friend Rolley, like all beginners gifted with the pictorial
vein, he could make sketches intuitively before he had learnt to
do anything else, as seems the rule with youths who possess the
artistic faculty and an imaginative temperament; his powers of fancy
directed his hand at a precociously juvenile age to the practice of
exercising his abilities with pencil and pen. 'From the early period
of his childhood,' it is recorded, 'Rowlandson gave presage of his
future talent;' he could make sketches before he learned to write,
and, according to the usual course, 'he drew humorous characters of
his master and many of his scholars, before he was ten years old. The
margins of his school-books were covered with these his handiworks.'
Rowlandson's genius was of the rapid order, his powers were matured
before the average of students have sounded the direction of their
inclinations. Young Henry Angelo left Doctor Barrow's and Soho Square,
for Eton, while Bannister and Rowlandson quitted the seminary of polite
learning to follow the arts at the Schools of the Royal Academy; here
our artist made rapid strides, and gave convincing proofs of his
ability, dexterity, and quickness of parts, during the short interval
his name was entered as a probationer.
[Illustration]
In his sixteenth year, somewhere about 1771, Rowlandson had the
advantage of being sent to Paris to continue his education; we
learn that he 'spoke French like a native.' It was his aunt, _née_
Mademoiselle Chattelier, residing in the French metropolis, a widow
with what would have then been considered, in that capital, a handsome
fortune, who invited her hopeful nephew over to the very centre of
gaiety, dissipation, and luxurious refinement--Paris in the latter
days of Louis the Fifteenth's reign being a very Capua for a youth of
light and picturesque disposition such as our artist possessed. The
impulse for purposeless frivolities, so deleteriously nourished amidst
the gaieties of Parisian life, seems to have been kept in tolerable
subjection by his earnest intentions to work hard at his adopted
profession, which certainly must have sustained Master Rolley during
his earlier residence on the Continent, until the cup of pleasure was
raised to his lips by an unexpected accession of means. The student
did a wonderful deal of real solid work and thoroughly steadfast
application, before, like Moreland, he allowed himself to be whirled
into the eddy of fashionable distractions; in Paris he was inscribed
as a student in one of the drawing-academies there, and his natural
abilities, aided by the excellence of the methods practised around
him, to which his gifts moulded themselves quite naturally, enabled the
probationer to make rapid advances in the study of the human figure,
and laid the foundation for his future excellences. During his first
sojourn, which lasted for nearly two years, Rowlandson became a perfect
French buck, with a decided leaning, however, towards the fine-art
section of the condition, and a pride in his professional calling; he
learned to draw with fidelity to nature, with the graceful ease, and
_abandon_, and the sparkle of style which marks French pictorial art of
the period immediately antecedent to the reign of Louis the Sixteenth,
the very ideal of luxury and refinement. It is related that, during
his abode in Paris, 'he occasionally permitted his satiric talents the
indulgence of portraying the characteristics of that fantastic people,
whose _outré_ habits perhaps scarcely demanded the exaggerations of
caricature.'
[Illustration]
Rowlandson returned to London for a season; and, while still a youth in
years, his studies at the Academy were resumed; his progress was now
so marked that he was set up as a friendly rival to Mortimer, another
talented student, who had won the admiration of professors and pupils
alike, by his skilful drawings after the nude figure. Our artist seems
to have been highly popular with the two sections of academicians
and students; the former appreciated his masterly endowments, the
latter were won by his whimsicalities, his spirit of mischief, and the
marvellous gift he possessed of turning every situation to comical
account in the production of exhaustless graphic satires, which seemed
to flow from his pen of their own sweet wilfulness.
John Bannister, who, as we have seen, had evinced an equal predilection
for the graphic art, with powers, however, of lesser brilliancy, was
then studying in the antique school, their old friendship was renewed,
and a fresh alliance for fun and frolic was straightway entered into.
These hopeful aspirants were a great acquisition to the mirth of the
schools, but both these eccentric geniuses must have sorely tried the
patience of their venerated pastors and masters. The nature of their
drolleries, which were incessant, is exposed in an extract from the
_Reminiscences_ of Henry Angelo, who formed the third person of this
waggish trio.
'At the period when Wilson held the appointment of Librarian to the
Royal Academy, the students were accustomed to assemble in the library;
Bannister and Rowlandson were students, and both being sprightly
wights, Wilson kept a watchful eye upon their pranks. The one was apt
to engage the attention of his fellow-disciples by caricaturing the
surly librarian, never forgetting to exaggerate his mulberry nose;
whilst the other, born to figure in the histrionic art, a mimic by
nature, used to divert them, in his turn, by playing off the irritable
'Old Dick.' Michael Moser was keeper at Somerset House while Bannister
and Rowlandson were students of the Royal Academy, at which period
the drawing-school was held in a part of the old palace, Somerset
House, just behind the site of the present institution. Moser, in
virtue of his office as keeper, had apartments there, which included
accommodations for a housekeeper, and other female domestics.
'Bannister and Rowlandson, as before observed, were prankish youths.
The latter once gave great offence by carrying a pea-shooter into the
life academy, and, whilst old Moser was adjusting the female model, and
had just directed her contour, Rowlandson let fly a pea, which, making
her start, she threw herself entirely out of position, and interrupted
the gravity of the study for the whole evening. For this offence,
Master Rowlandson went near getting himself expelled.
'Bannister, who at this time drew in the plaster academy, not having
gained the step that admitted to the drawing from the life, used to
amuse Moser with his mimicry, and he was, indeed, a pet of the worthy
keeper.
[Illustration]
'One evening, observing that the student had vacated his seat at his
desk, the keeper went to seek him, and, hearing an unusual giggling and
confusion in the basement storey he descended to learn the cause; when
he discovered the young artist romping with the servant-maids.
'What are you doing, sir, hey?' inquired the keeper, taking him gently
by the ear; 'why are you not at the _cast_? You are an idler, sir.'
Bannister met his reproof with an arch smile, and whispered, 'No, kind
sir, I only came down to study from the _life_!'
In dealing with this part of the subject, every scrap of information
has its interest, the resources in this direction being unfortunately
most restricted. The task of writing on Gillray, and that within
the lifetime of the subject, was likened to the toil 'of bondsmen
commanded to make bricks without straw,' a comparison with which we
have a lively sympathy, as we have realised to the fullest extent
the difficulties which surrounded that undertaking. The obstacles to
be surmounted in the instance of the first caricaturist are found to
be rather more vexatious in the case of the companion volume, taken
up under similar auspices, to elucidate the works of Rowlandson,
and to trace the artist's career as far as lies within the writer's
capabilities. Sixty years ago it was declared while treating of the
first-named genius, in reference to contemporaneous indifference: 'It
is a scandal upon all the cold-hearted scribblers in the land to allow
such a genius as Gillray to go to the grave unnoticed; and a burning
shame that so many of his works should have become ambiguous for want
of a commentator. The political squibs have lost half of their point
for want of a glossary, and many of the humorous traits of private
life, so characteristic of men and manners, are becoming oblivious to
ninety-nine hundredths of those who perambulate the streets of this
mighty town.' This remark, so appropriately applied to Gillray (before
Thomas Wright, and successive elucidators, had contributed to render
the reading of these pictorial fables fairly clear, and the solutions
easy of access), is equally striking as respects its undoubted truth in
its application to Rowlandson--in his instance the pioneering remained
to be accomplished--although his works are less complex in themselves,
a description of them has hitherto proved too perplexing an attempt,
since, how were the subjects to be collected?
We feel a glow of gratitude to that worthiest old authority, _The
Gentleman's Magazine_, which contained a capital obituary notice on the
caricaturist's decease, April 22, 1827, written by 'one who had known
him for more than forty years;' this article has been copied literally
in all subsequent notices of Rowlandson.
[Illustration]
W. H. Pyne, the artist, who, under a pseudonym as _Ephraim Hardcastle_,
conducted the earliest of English fine-art reviews, _The Somerset House
Gazette_, 1824, was one of the intimates of the caricaturist, and he
has left slight allusions to Rowlandson, both in his _Gazette_ and in
another publication of his enterprising, _Wine and Walnuts, or After
Dinner Chat_, by Ephraim Hardcastle, 1823.
John Thomas Smith, as we have shown elsewhere, was on terms of personal
friendship with Rowlandson throughout his life; but strangely enough,
in his Nollekens and his Times, and his second volume, _Memoirs of
several Contemporary Artists from the time of Roubiliac, Hogarth and
Reynolds, to that of Fuseli, Flaxman, and Blake_, no mention is made
of his much-esteemed associate. A passing allusion to his 'friend and
fellow-pupil' Rowlandson, occurs in 'Antiquity' Smith's _Book for a
Rainy Day_.
Henry Angelo, the early schoolfellow and constant comrade of our
artist, a gentleman of varied accomplishments, obliged the reading
public with his _Reminiscences_ in 1830, a chatty, interesting, and in
some respects highly valuable book, of which we wish there were more,
since the two volumes are, as described by the title, filled with
_memoirs of his friends, including numerous original anecdotes and
curious traits of the most celebrated characters that have flourished
during the last eighty years_. Unlike the author of _Nollekens and
his Times_, Angelo has given due prominence to his recollections
of the caricaturist's works and career, and his terms of familiar
intimacy have supplied him with many entertaining details, trivial or
unimportant in themselves perhaps, but very much to the purpose from a
biographical point of view, as aids to the effort of reproducing the
subject in his wonted aspect, as he struck the men amongst whom he
passed his life. The spirit of Angelo's _Reminiscences_ will not bear
dilution, and so we think it better to offer his memoirs of the artist
as they were published.
'Thomas Rowlandson, John Bannister, and myself, having early in life
evinced a predilection for the study of drawing, we became acquainted
whilst boys, and were inseparable companions.
[Illustration]
'Everyone at all acquainted with the arts must well know the caricature
works of that very eccentric genius, Rowlandson; the extent of his
talent, however, as a draughtsman is not so generally known. His
studies from the human figure at the Royal Academy were made in so
masterly a style that he was set up as a rival to Mortimer, whom he
certainly would have excelled, had his subsequent study kept pace with
the fecundity of his invention. His powers, indeed, were so versatile,
and his fancy so rich, that every species of composition flowed from
his pen with equal facility. His misfortune, indeed, was, as I have
been assured by capable authorities who noticed his juvenile progress,
that of possessing too ready an invention; this rare faculty, strange
as it may seem, however desirable to the poet, often proves the bane
of the painter. "The poet," as Milton says, "can build the lofty
rhyme," even with a dash of his pen. The painter, however easily he may
conceive the structure of a mighty building--be it a temple, or be it a
ship--must describe the subject perfectly with all its parts; he must
set to work _doggedly_, as the great lexicographer, Johnson, said, and
labour at the thing with the patience of the philosopher. Rowlandson
was no philosopher, and so his uncontrollable spirit, sweeping over the
prescribed pale, took its excursive flights and caught its thema on
the wing. Hence I think it may safely be averred that he has sketched
or executed more subjects of real scenes in his original rapid manner,
than any ten artists his contemporaries, and etched more plates than
any artist, ancient or modern.
'Few persons--judging from the careless style of drawing and etching
which he so fatally indulged in, too soon, after acquiring the first
rudiments of his art--would believe the possibility of his being the
author of some of his earlier designs; for although all are too slight,
yet there are certain subjects of his composition carried through
with a compatibility of style so truly original, and so replete with
painter-like feeling, that Sir Joshua Reynolds and Sir Benjamin West
pronounced them wonders of art.'
On this same head we have the testimony of Ephraim Hardcastle in the
_Somerset House Gazette_. A certain weight, beyond the mere evidence
of partiality, is due to the opinions of such authorities as Henry
Angelo and W. H. Pyne, who at least deserve the credit of understanding
the subject; both were familiar with the best works of their day, and
in the case of the latter we respect the opinion of an artist of wide
experience and well-known repute.
'Thomas Rowlandson, the merry wag, he who has covered with his
never-flagging pencil enough of _charta pura_ to placard the whole
walls of China, and etched as much copper as would sheathe the British
navy. Of his graphic fun and frolic we have seen, Heaven knows, full
many a ponderous folio.
[Illustration]
'Master Roley, so friendly dubbed by many an old _convive_, would
have taken higher flights of art had he so willed, for he could draw
with elegance and grace; for the design, no mind was ever better
stored with thought--no genius more prolific. Nothing, even allowing
for caricature, could exceed in spirit and intelligence some of the
off-hand compositions of this worthy.
'Predilections for outline and the pen have ruined many a genius who
would have done honour to the arts. Mortimer, Porter, and many other
artists have sacrificed their talents and their fame to the indulgence
of doing that with the pen (confound both goose-quill, crow-quill, and
the reed!) that should have occupied that fitter instrument the pencil,
aforetime called the painting-brush.'
Angelo affords us occasional glimpses of Rowlandson in Paris, and
frequently alludes to the artist's travels on the Continent. It seems,
at various stages of his career, he roved about sometimes in search of
subjects, at others, on parties of pleasure. We have seen the young
student sent to Paris to pursue art; later on Angelo finds him there,
at nineteen, still earnest and hard-working.
'The subjects of his humorous designs were not sought in England alone.
He travelled early in life to France, Flanders, and Holland; and stored
his portfolios with sketches highly characteristic of the habits and
manners of the people, at every town through which he passed. Paris,
as viewed under the old _régime_, opened a prolific source for his
imitative powers. Nothing can exceed the fun and frolic which his
subjects display, picked up among every class, from the court down to
the _cabaret_. He mixed in all societies, and speaking French fluently,
made himself acquainted with the habits of thinking, as well as those
of acting, in that city, where everything to an English eye bore the
appearance of burlesque.
'Hogarth had already pronounced Paris "all begilt and befouled."
Rowlandson found it so; and taking that as a sort of maxim which
governed all things, physical as well as moral, in the polite city, he
burlesqued even the burlesque.
'His drawings of _The Italian_ and _The French Family_, from which
John Raffael Smith made engravings, had great merit. My friend John
Bannister had one of the originals. I remember the last time I saw
poor Edwin the comedian (I mean the elder), was on occasion of his
wishing me to procure for him these originals. He was too late in
his application, and was obliged to solace himself with the coloured
prints, which were touched upon by the hand of Rowlandson. They were
handsomely framed and hung in his dining-room on the first floor
of one of the houses on the north-east piazza, Covent Garden. They
subsequently became the property of Lord Barrymore.
'It would be difficult to enumerate the many choice subjects which he
depicted even in these first tours to the Continent. Those descriptive
of Parisian manners would now be viewed with tenfold interest, as the
general external appearance of things was infinitely more original and
amusing before the period of the commencement of the Revolution than
since. Indeed, I can speak of these changes from my own observation,
whilst two years in that city, and in the midst of its ever-varying
gaieties, more than half a century ago.[8]
'During my residence there, Rowlandson came over in company with an
Englishman of the name of Higginson, whom he got acquainted with at
Dover; a pleasant companion, but, as it fell out, one who seemed to
live on his wits.
'Their arrival in Paris was immediately after the death of Louis the
Fifteenth at the moment of the putting on public mourning (1774). Mr.
Higginson had letters of introduction (like Sylvester Daggerwood) to
several persons of distinction, and resided at an hotel adjacent to my
quarters. He sent the _valet de place_ with a civil note to request
the loan of my black suit, which he knew would fit him to a T. On the
written assurance that it would be returned in time for me to pay a
promised visit in the evening, I readily consented. Rowlandson lost
sight of him for two days and nights; on the morning of the third day
he returned, and I went, not over well pleased, to demand restitution,
when on entering his apartment, he received me with, "Ah! _mon ami_, is
it you?" seated under the frosting powder-puff of a French _friseur_,
having his hair frizzled and powdered _à la mode_, in my mourning suit.
Rowlandson sketched the group, and subjoined a motto, "Free and Easy."
I had many of the drawings made by my friend Roly at this time.'
It is most likely that our artist's first contribution to the Royal
Academy (it was the seventh exhibition) arrived from Paris; in 1775
there appeared, under the catalogue Number 253, a certain drawing
entitled _Delilah payeth Sampson a visit while in prison at Gaza_, by
Thomas Rowlandson; the exhibitor's address is given '_at_ No. 4 Church
Street, St. Ann's.'
This, no doubt, like his contributions up to 1784, was of a serious
character.[9]
From 1777 we find Rowlandson settled down to portrait-painting, his
address being given at Wardour Street; his contributions to the Academy
were as follow:--
1777. No. 302. A Drawing.
1778. " 259. Portrait of a Young Gentleman, whole length.
1779. " 275. An Officer, small, whole length.
" " 276. A Gentleman.
1780. " 373. Landscape and Figures.
1781. " 334. Portrait of a Lady in a fancy dress.
" " 339. Portrait of a Gentleman.
It is improbable, however, that the artist's disposition for change
would allow him to vegetate in one spot for any length of time, and
we are not surprised to discover that his tours to the Continent
became frequent; as far as we can judge of his extended travels, it
appears it was in 1778--while his youthful ardour was still fresh,
when his sprightly faculties had not been jaded by the allurements of
fashionable life, and his hand had not been betrayed into the careless
execution which determined some time after his decisive rejection of
serious art for the indulgence of uncompromising caricature--that he
went very earnestly to work; travelling in Flanders and through the
cities of Germany; making clever studies and finished pictures of
the incidents of his journeys; noting the travellers he encountered,
their mode of conveyance, the foreign nobility and their equipages,
the townsfolks and the country people, coaches, waggons, and, above
all, horses (which he then drew with great fidelity and spirit from
life), as far as the figure subjects which enlivened his pictures were
concerned; while his views were faithful representations of the places
he visited, worked out with the completeness of landscape art.
[Illustration]
The drawings of this period evince the excellence of his talents.
There is sufficient spice of character introduced into the groups, and
incidents which give action to his pictures, to raise his subjects
above the average treatment, but the comic element is subordinated
to the general harmony of the whole conception; and we have every
opportunity of forming our opinion, from the numerous interesting
series of studies which have come under our attention, that it was
not until about 1782 that our artist began to cut himself adrift from
the more legitimate occupation of his vast abilities in the regions
of serious art, for the allurements which the readier exercise of his
talents as a caricaturist held out for the indulgence of his eccentric
and wayward tendencies. As we have seen, his early bias was undoubtedly
towards the simply ludicrous; then intervened his academic training in
London and Paris, the maturing of his powers necessitating an immense,
and indeed almost incredible amount of sterling hard work, such as
fitted him to excel in any branch of his calling he elected to pursue;
followed by an attempt towards his establishment as a serious artist
and portrait-painter, and then a relapse in the direction of his early
impulses. This inclination was fostered by the encouragement of his
friends, and the influence of their example. His cronies were, as was
most natural, the humorous designers. There was the great and gifted
Gillray, the prince of caricaturists, whose works created an impression
on the public justified by their remarkable qualities. The friendship
of this man, whose reputation was so wide, and whose mastery of the
situation appeared extraordinary, encouraged Rowlandson to strike out a
pathway in the same direction; bringing original qualifications to bear
on this impetus, which in no degree clashed with the strongly marked
intentions of Gillray's scathing inventions. There was his constant
friend Henry Wigstead, a man of social standing, profusely liberal
in his house, a jovial companion out of doors; who, richly endowed
with the vein of humorous invention allied to powers of observation,
and a refined sense of the beautiful, as well as a ready knack of
seizing the comic features of a situation, entrusted his sketches to
Rowlandson, that they might be produced in fitting form; and to the
proper execution of these whimsicalities Rowlandson willingly lent the
full force of his own trained skill. Another amateur of distinction,
whose example and influence must have had considerable weight with our
artist, was Henry Bunbury, the caricaturist, a man of family, of means,
and, above all, of high culture. The celebrated Bunbury seemed formed
expressly to be courted by the most eminent of his contemporaries; he
had married one of the beautiful Miss Hornecks; the Duke and Duchess of
York were delighted with his company; amongst the brilliant assemblies
at Wynnstay, Bunbury's society was the most relished; Walpole, Garrick,
Reynolds, and Goldsmith were constantly laying adulation at his feet,
or exchanging gallant little pleasantries with this favoured child of
fortune; West and Reynolds were respectfully solicitous that he should
send his contributions to the Royal Academy; the writers of the day
were given to deplore that the occupations of town and country life,
the court, the hunting-field, and the ceremony of receiving company at
his country-house or paying visits to the seats of his noble friends,
sadly interfered with the exercise of his artistic abilities.
[Illustration]
The instance of Bunbury, who was Rowlandson's senior by six years,
no doubt had considerable influence upon our artist's career; the
praise and adulation lavished upon the amateur sketches of the man
of fashion, and the prophecies which writers were in the habit of
recording, that, if Bunbury had not, from his birth and station, been
indifferent to mere monetary advantages, the pursuit of his talents
must have infallibly produced him a large access of fortune (which he
did not need, by the way, since his means were ample) possibly helped
to turn Rowlandson from quietly persevering in the less congenial study
of portraiture, and induced him to show the public what could be done
in the grotesque walk. Nor must we forget Mitchell the banker, whose
friendship was always at our caricaturist's service, his travelling
companion to the Continent, where Rowlandson and his patron passed for
the veritable representatives of John Bull. There was 'the facetious
Nixon,' the pleasant and witty John, 'a choice member of the celebrated
Old British Beef-Steak Club, honorary secretary, and sometime providore
to that society of native gourmands;' further, like his friend Bunbury,
distinguished as a man of talent and taste, possessed of original
gifts in the humorous department of graphic art, he was an honorary
exhibitor at Somerset House for many years: this gentleman, who had
perfected the study of how to get the largest possible amount of
enjoyment out of existence, also came to Rowlandson to put his drawings
into acceptable shape, and to introduce his eccentric pleasantries
to the public. Nor must the well-known amateurs and choice spirits,
Woodward and Collings, be omitted from the list of those familiars
of the artist who, by precept and example, encouraged him to devote
his accomplishments to the comic branch. It is not surprising that
the tendency of this influence, allied to the strong original bias
natural to our artist, drew him farther away from the steady pursuit
of art, and plunged him into the tempting career of a caricaturist,
a pursuit which held out peculiar attractions to an artist gifted
with his whimsical inclinations. We must do Rowlandson the credit to
admit that, at the outset, he distinguished himself marvellously. His
first contributions, under his changed profession, were by no means
discreditable to his great qualifications; indeed these drawings,
from the successful impression they produced on the public, appeared
to justify the resolution the artist had taken, and to prove that he
was evidently more at home in the fanciful branch than any of his
predecessors or contemporaries. In 1784 Rowlandson contributed three
somewhat ambitious subjects to the Royal Academy Exhibition; according
to the Catalogue No. 462, _An Italian Family_; No. 503, _Vauxhall_; No.
511, _The Serpentine River_.
_Vauxhall Gardens_, which is possibly the best recognised of
Rowlandson's more aspiring compositions, was engraved by R. Pollard,
aquatinted, to resemble the drawing, by F. Jukes, and published under
the auspices of John Raphael Smith, also a convivial companion, a
leading spirit amongst the careless souls who formed Rowlandson's
social surroundings; the well-known printseller, who was 'a
jack-of-all-trades' according to his own admission, was celebrated for
his liberality to artists; he personally practised the arts both of
engraving and painting, and he excelled in executing spirited portrait
sketches, in crayons, 'miniatures in large' as they were called, of the
fashionable personages of his day.
The Study of _Vauxhall_ is replete with character; the persons of
the principal frequenters are, it is believed, portraits of numerous
celebrities of the period.
Angelo, in his _Reminiscences_, which touch upon every topic of the
time, among other interesting allusions, recounts the partiality which
he and Rowlandson entertained for the popular resort of the past, and
the attractions which, according to his admission, its diversions held
out to the pair.
'_Vauxhall._--I remember the time when Vauxhall (in 1776, the price of
admission being then only one shilling) was more like a bear garden
than a rational place of resort, and most particularly on Sunday
mornings.
'It was then crowded from four to six with gentry, demireps,
apprentices, shop-boys, &c. Crowds of citizens were to be seen trudging
home with their wives and children. Rowlandson the artist and myself
have often been there, and he has found plenty of employment for his
pencil.
'The _chef-d'oeuvre_ of his caricatures, which is still in print,
is his drawing of Vauxhall, in which he has introduced a variety of
characters known at the time, particularly that of my old schoolfellow
at Eton, Major Topham, the macaroni of the day. One curious scene he
sketched on the spot purposely for me. It was this:--A citizen and his
family are seen all seated in a box eating supper, when one of the
riffraff in the gardens throws a bottle in the middle of the table,
breaking the dishes and the glasses. The old man swearing, the wife
fainting, and the children screaming, afforded full scope for his
humorous pencil.
'Such night scenes as were then tolerated are now become obsolete.
Rings were made in every part of the gardens to decide quarrels; it
no sooner took place in one quarter, than by a contrivance of the
light-fingered gentry, another row was created in another quarter to
attract the crowd away.'
[Illustration]
Before taking leave of Rowlandson and Angelo, the most agreeable of
companions, at Vauxhall, we must add a further note of another of their
holiday jaunts, once more borrowed from the _Reminiscences_.
'Mrs. Weichsel (Mrs. Billington's mother) was the favourite singer
at Vauxhall; upon one occasion she had her benefit at the little
theatre in the Haymarket. Her daughter and son added considerably
to the entertainment that night; though the former could not have
been fourteen years old, her execution on the pianoforte surprised
everyone. The son, then a little boy, played a solo on the fiddle in
such peculiarly fine style that the audience were both astonished and
delighted. Exhibiting his early abilities standing on a stool, I was
present that night with Rowlandson the artist, who made a sketch of him
playing, which he afterwards finished for me, and which, within these
few years, was within my collection.'
We will leave Rowlandson rejoicing in the popular impression his
drawings had produced in the Exhibition of the Royal Academy for
1784, where, as his friends were inclined to prophesy, his fame and
fortune were both assured, and turn to the subject of another fortune
which seems to have come into his possession about this period. We
have said that the artist was a spoiled child of prosperity; his
contemporaries record their impression that the indulgences of his
aunt, the ex-Mademoiselle Chattelier already referred to, as the
kindly patroness of her wayward nephew's budding talents, who supplied
him incautiously with money, when he would have been better without
it, paved the foundation of those careless habits which attended his
manhood; and to her injudicious generosity his biographer affects to
trace that improvidence for which, says our authority, poor Rowlandson
was remarkable through life. After this aunt's decease, she left
him seven thousand pounds, much plate, trinkets, and other valuable
property. He then indulged his predilections for a joyous life, and
mixed himself with the gayest of the gay. Whilst at Paris, being of a
social spirit, he sought the company of dashing young men; and among
other evils, imbibed a love for play. He was known in London at many
of the fashionable gaming houses, alternately won and lost, without
emotion, till at length he was minus several thousand pounds. He thus
dissipated the amount of more than one valuable legacy. It was said
to his honour, however, that he always played with the feelings of a
gentleman, and his word passed current even when with an empty purse.
Rowlandson assured the writer of the memoir which appeared, on his
death, in the obituary of _The Gentleman's Magazine_ for June 1827,
that he had frequently played throughout a night and the next day;
and that once, such was his infatuation for the dice, he continued at
the gaming table nearly thirty-six hours, with the intervention only
of the time for refreshment, which was supplied by a cold collation,
presumably consumed on the spot and during the intervals of play.
This uncontrollable passion for gambling, strange to say, did not
pervert his principles. He was scrupulously upright in all his
pecuniary transactions, and ever avoided getting into debt. He has
been known, after having lost all he possessed, to return home to
his professional studies, sit down coolly to produce a series of new
designs, and to exclaim, with stoical philosophy, 'I have played the
fool; but,' holding up his pencils or the reed pen with which he traced
his flowing outlines, 'here is my resource.' Such was his dexterity of
hand, combined with the richest fertility of imagination, and graphic
mastery over the movements of the human figure, that in a few hours
he produced inimitable pictures, replete with his best qualities of
humour, form, and colour, with incredible rapidity; and these ingenious
productions, invented in endless variety, were at once put into
circulation, and excited the competition of collectors of drawings and
caricatures, who eagerly accumulated every sketch which his facile hand
designed, too often under the pressure of the actual necessities of the
hour, or the careless effusions of the intervals in his pleasures or
dissipations.
Rowlandson's contributions to the Academy in the succeeding years were
as follows:--
1786. No. 560. A French Family.
" " 566. Opera House Gallery.
" " 575. An English Review.
" " 583. A French Review.
" " 599. Coffee House.
1787. " 525. The Morning Dram, or Huntsman rising.
" " 529. Grog on Board a Ship.
" " 531. French Barracks.
" " 555. Countrymen and Sharpers.
It was about this time that our caricaturist met with a somewhat
disagreeable adventure, which is thus related by his friend Angelo:--
'_Rowlandson robbed._--Having walked one night with Rowlandson towards
his house, when he lived in Poland Street,[10] we parted at the corner.
It was then about twelve o'clock, and before he got to his door a man
knocked him down, and, placing his knees on his breast, rifled him
of his watch and money. The next day he proposed that we should be
accompanied by a thief-taker, to try to find him out, as he was certain
he should know him again. We first repaired to St. Giles's, Dyot
Street, and Seven Dials, but to no purpose. In one of the night-houses,
four ill-looking fellows, _des coupes-jarrets_, so attracted our
attention, that whilst we sat over our noggin of spirits, as he always
carried his sketch-book with him, he made an excellent caricature group
of them for me, introducing a prison in the background. An idea may
be formed from the caricature, of the different gradations which lead
to the gallows--petty larceny, house-breaking, foot-pad and highway
robbery; and he afterwards finished it for me in his best style,
superior to the greater part of his works; this was about 1790. The
coloured drawing once was included in my collection, in a room crowded
with various subjects, the greatest part caricatures by my old friend
Rowly--his general appellation among his friends.
[Illustration]
'Our first interview originated in Paris (about 1775); he was then
studying in the French school. Lately, having to dispose of my
collection (I may say unique), my friend Bannister purchased it of me,
and it was added to his many choice and valuable drawings of the first
masters, which were so very superior that the four thieves ought to
have esteemed it an honour to be placed in such good company.[11]
'The next night a gentleman was robbed in Soho Square in like manner.
Soon afterwards several suspicious characters were taken to an office
then in Litchfield Street, Soho, suspected of street robberies, and
Rowlandson and myself went there out of curiosity, accompanied by
many others who had been robbed. They were all placed before us, but
none were identified. Rowlandson was particularly called upon to look
around him, but to no purpose. One man in particular made himself more
conspicuous than all the others, treating his curiosity with contempt,
saying, "I defies the gemman to say as how I ever stopped him any
_vare_." "No; but you are very like the description of the ruffian,"
answered Rowlandson, "who robbed a gentleman last Wednesday night in
Soho Square." This was a thunderbolt to the man, who instantly looked
pale and trembled. The gentleman was immediately sent for, and as soon
as he entered the room, though there were several for examination, he
fixed directly on the man that had been suspected. At the sessions
following he was found guilty of robbery, and hanged. This pleased my
friend mightily; "for, though I got knocked down," said he, "and lost
my watch and money, and did not find the thief, I have been the means
of hanging _one_ man. Come, that's doing something."'
[Illustration]
We incidentally learn a few particulars of subjects which found their
way into Angelo's gallery, the collection which subsequently came into
the possession of his excellent friend Bannister.
'_Black and White._--Being fond of the arts and particularly of
caricatures, I had by me a great number of Rowlandson's, to one of
which I was puzzled to give a name. The subject was an old man, at
breakfast, seated near the fire, his gouty leg on a stool, and the
kettle boiling over; the water is falling on his leg, and he is ringing
the bell. The room door is open behind him, and a black servant is
kissing the maid, who is bringing in the toast. I requested Theodore
Hook to write a title to it, and he put, "_Chacun à son goût_."'[12]
We are further afforded an opportunity of recording Rowlandson's
enthusiasm for his profession. The details of a certain visit he
paid, with Angelo, to Portsmouth, and the unflinching nerve he
exhibited under circumstances which were calculated to distress a less
robust constitution, are thus recounted by his friend and travelling
companion:--
'The general rumour, after Lord Howe's action on June 1, 1794, was that
he would return to Portsmouth. I was anxious to see the sight, for it
was expected he would bring the French prizes with him.
'The evening after my arrival, according to promise, Rowlandson the
artist came to join me.
'The morning following we saw, on the Gosport side, the landing of the
French prisoners, numbers of different divisions filing off to the
different stations allotted them. As for the wounded, previous to their
quitting the boats, carts were placed alongside, and when filled, on
the smack of the whip, were ordered to proceed. The sudden jolting made
their groans appalling, and must have occasioned the wounds of many
to produce an immediate hemorrhage. The sight was dreadful to behold:
numbers were boys, mutilated, some not more than twelve years old, who
had lost both legs. In the evening we went to Forton Prison. Those who
were not in the last engagement were in high spirits in their shops,
selling all sorts of toys and devices, made from shin-bones, &c. In one
of the sick-wards we saw one of the prisoners, who, an officer told
us had been a tall, handsome man, previous to the battle; but, having
received a shot that had lacerated his side, a mortification had taken
place. He was then making his will; his comrades were standing by,
consoling him, some grasping his hand, shedding tears.
'This scene was too much for me, and made such an impression on my mind
that I hastened away; but I could not persuade Rowlandson to follow
me, his inclination to make a sketch of the dying moment getting the
better of his feelings. After waiting some time below for my friend,
he produced a rough sketch of what he had seen:--a ghastly figure
sitting up in bed, a priest holding a crucifix before him, with a group
standing around. The interior exhibited the contrivance of the French
to make their prison habitable. When finished, it was added to my
collection, a memento of the shocking sight I beheld at Forton Prison.
'Our curiosity not stopping here, we entered another sick-ward, but
the stench and closeness of the place, crowded as it was, prevented
our remaining there more than a very short time. The next day, having
seen quite enough, I returned to town. Rowlandson went to Southampton,
where he made a number of sketches of Lord Moira's embarkation for _La
Vendée_. I saw them afterwards, and was delighted, for it appeared he
had taken more pains than usual, and he must have portrayed them well,
from having been on the spot himself at the time. The shipping and
the various boats filled with soldiers were so accurately delineated,
that I have often since regretted that I did not at that time purchase
them. Mr. Fores of Piccadilly, who had by him many of the very finest
drawings executed by Rowlandson in his best days (for latterly they
were inferior), fortunately purchased them. He was one of his first and
best patrons; and I understand he had twenty-five folio volumes of the
most choice caricatures of the last and present centuries, which must
have been an invaluable _recueil_, showing not only what we have been,
but the age we lived in. Had Rowlandson gone with the expedition then
landing in _La Vendée_ as a draughtsman, the attack at Fort Penthièvre,
and the incident that followed, would have furnished us with many
eventful scenes of that fatal expedition.'
[Illustration]
As we have related, Rowlandson was no stranger to the Continent; in the
early part of his career he was constantly abroad. We have shown how
he studied in Paris; afterwards we find him wandering farther afield,
and taking in Germany and the Netherlands. Then we are introduced
to him as a man of fashion, bowling through the legacies which had
fallen to his lot, both in the French metropolis and in London, calmly
sitting down to gamble away his fortune by the shortest route with the
best will in the world. Anon he accompanies his friend Mitchell the
banker on a wider tour. Then we hear of his sojourning in Paris with
other congenial spirits, and making the most of the passing season
with his friends John Raphael Smith, Westmacott, and Chasemore: on all
these occasions he produced drawings innumerable; his most frequent
travelling companion seems, however, to have been his steadfast
patron the banker, and it was this liberal collector who rejoiced in
the opportunity of securing the artist's most desirable Continental
studies. Our oft-quoted authority Angelo, who, happily for those who
entertain an interest in the caricaturist, never tires of telling
little anecdotes of his chum Roley, in his own familiar manner relates
a few particulars of the figure these worthies made in the eyes of the
_Monsieurs_, amongst whom their visits were favourably received.
'Mr. Mitchell, however, possessed the best collection of Rowlandson's
French and Dutch scenes. Among those were many in his most humorous
style, particularly a _Dutch Life Academy_, which represents the
interior of a school of artists, studying from a living model, all
with their portfolios and crayons, drawing a Dutch Venus (a _vrow_) of
the make, though not of the colour, of that choice specimen of female
proportion, the _Hottentot Venus_, so celebrated as a public sight in
London, a few years since.
'This friend and patron of Rowlandson, Mr. Mitchell the quondam banker,
of the firm of Hodsol and Co., was a facetious, fat gentleman--one
of those pet children of fortune, who, wonderful as it may appear,
seem to have proceeded through all the seven ages (excepting that of
the _lean_ and slippered pantaloon), without a single visit from that
intruder upon the rest of mankind, yclept _Care_. In him centred, or
rather around him the Fates piled up, the wealth of a whole family.
He was ever the great gathering _nucleus_ to a large fortune. He was
good-humoured and enjoyed life. Many a cheerful day have I, in company
with Bannister and Rowlandson, passed at Master Mitchell's.'
Under the auspices of this great banker, Rowlandson subsequently made a
tour to France, and other parts of the Continent. 'His mighty stature
astonished the many, but none more than the innkeepers' wives, who, on
his arrival, as he travelled in style, looked at the larder, and then
again at the guest. All regarded him as that reported being, of whom
they had heard, the veritable Mister Bull. His orders for the supplies
of the table, ever his first concern, strengthened this opinion, and
his operations at his meals confirmed the fact.
'Wherever he went he made good for the house.
'On this tour, Rowlandson made many topographical drawings, in general
views of cities and towns; amongst others, the High Street at Antwerp,
and the Stadt House at Amsterdam, with crowds of figures, grouped with
great spirit, though his characters were caricatures.
'The most amusing studies, however, which filled the portfolio of his
patron were those that portrayed the habits and customs of the Dutch
and Flemish, in the interior scenes, which they witnessed in their
nocturnal rambles in the inferior streets at Antwerp and Amsterdam.
Some of these compositions, drawn from low life, were replete with
character and wit. One of the most spirited and amusing of these
represented the interior of a _Treischuit_, or public passage-boat,
which was crowded with incident and humour.'[13]
Another reminiscence of Rowlandson and Mitchell is found in the
_Somerset-house Gazette_, edited by Ephraim Hardcastle (W. H. Pyne),
an intimate associate of the caricaturist and a member of the artist's
circle of friends.
'I look back with pleasure to former days, when old Mr. Greenwood
used to hold the print auctions by candle-light, and have a perfect
recollection of his good-humour and upright dealing. I well remember,
too, a number of artists and amateurs who constantly attended his room,
to purchase etchings of the old masters for themselves and friends.
'Old Parsons, as he was called, and young Bannister, the celebrated
comedians, were both collectors and amateur artists: the latter was
considered an excellent judge of prints. Rowlandson, the humorous
draughtsman, and his friend and patron Mr. Mitchell the banker, of the
firm of Hodsols, were also frequently of this evening rendezvous of
artists, amateurs, and connoisseurs.'
John Thomas Smith, the whilom pupil of Nollekens the sculptor
(with whose life he favoured the public), and one of Mr. Reid's
predecessors as Keeper of the Print Room of the British Museum, in his
loquacious _Book for a Rainy Day_ rambles into the subject of picture
sale-rooms, and notes the eccentric characters, collectors, and their
individualities, to be met with thereat in his time. On this subject
'Antiquity Smith's' account tallies with that given by Angelo. We have
confined our extract to the paragraph which introduces the caricaturist
as a crony and erst fellow-pupil of the versatile chronicler.
'I must not omit to mention another singular but most honourable
character, of the name of Heywood, nick-named "Old Iron-wig." His dress
was precise, and manner of walking rather stiff. He was an extensive
purchaser of every kind of article in art, particularly Rowlandson's
drawings; for this purpose he employed the merry and friendly Mr.
Seguier, the picture-dealer, a school-fellow of my father's, to bid for
him.
'I shall now close this list by observing that my friend and
fellow-pupil, Rowlandson, who has frequently made drawings of Hutchins
and his print auctions, has produced a most spirited etching, in which
not only many of the above described characters are introduced, but
also most of the print-sellers of his day.'
The editor of this work has seen a drawing by Rowlandson of this very
auction, the _cognoscenti_ gathered round the long tables lighted with
flickering candles, and peering over the engravings, glasses on nose,
while the auctioneer was endeavouring to excite the interest of the
company in the prints brought to his rostrum.
Before we pass on to other contemporaries of the caricaturist, we think
it advisable to introduce the reader to the society which Rowlandson
shared round the hospitable mahogany of the banker, who, like Wigstead,
Nixon, Weltjé, and certain other generous hosts of our artist's
acquaintance, appears to have kept open house for the entertainment
of choice friends, where the enjoyments of social intercourse were
prolonged to the verge of dissipation, and the fun, which enlivened
their hours of relaxation, was frequently kept up until the next
day was well advanced; the associates being loth to interrupt the
pleasures of their sitting, protracted as their gaieties might be
considered according to the more staid usages of a better regulated
age, such as we have been taught to regard our own.
'Mr. Mitchell resided for many years in Beaufort Buildings, Strand,
and occupied the house tenanted by the father of Dr. Kitchiner, of
eccentric memory. Here, after the closing of the banking-house, he was
wont to retire, and pass a social evening, surrounded by a few chosen
associates whose amusements were congenial, and whose talent well paid
the host for his hot supper and generous wine. Often, even beyond the
protracted darkness of a winter's night, he and his _convives_ have sat
it out till dawn of day, and seen the sun, struggling through the fog,
from the back windows, shed its lurid ray on the rippling waters of the
murky Thames.
[Illustration]
'Well do I remember sitting in this comfortable apartment, listening
to the stories of my old friend Peter Pindar, whose wit seemed not to
kindle until after midnight, at the period of about his fifth or sixth
glass of brandy and water. Rowlandson, too, having nearly accomplished
his twelfth glass of punch, and replenishing his pipe with choice
_oronooko_, would chime in. The tales of these two gossips, told in
one of these nights, each delectable to hear, would make a modern
_Boccaccio_.'
Angelo, in his capital chatty _Memoirs_, relates an anecdote of one
of Wigstead's pranks played off on the satirist Peter Pindar, whose
trenchant wit spared 'nor friend nor foe;' but, in his turn, Dr.
Wolcot did not relish ridicule, especially when it happened to be
excited at his own expense. It was discovered that, eminently satirical
as was the bard with his pen, he was not emulous to shine as a wit
in colloquial intercourse with strangers, or even amongst his most
intimate associates. It was asserted, with some fidelity, that 'Dr.
Wolcot's wit seemed to lie in the bowl of a teaspoon.' 'I could not
guess the riddle,' writes the discursive and cheerful author of the
_Reminiscences_, 'until one evening, seated at Mitchell's, I observed
that each time Peter replenished his glass goblet with cognac and
water, that, in breaking the sugar, the corners of his lips were curled
into a satisfactory smile, and he began some quaint story--as if,
indeed, the new libation begot a new thought.
'Determined to prove the truth of the discovery which I fancied I had
made, one night after supper, at my own residence in Bolton Row, he
being one among a few social guests, I made my promised experiment.
One of the party, who delighted in a little practical joke, namely
Wigstead, of merry memory, being in the secret, he came provided with
some small square pieces of alabaster. Peter Pindar's glass waning
fast, Wigstead contrived to slip the fragments of spurious sweetness
into a sugar-basin provided for the purpose, when the Doctor reaching
the hot water, and pouring in the brandy, Wigstead handed him the
sugar-tongs, and then advanced the basin of alabaster. "Thank you,
boy," said Peter, putting in five or six pieces, and taking his
tea-spoon, began stirring as he commenced his story.
'Unsuspicious of the trick, he proceeded: "Well, sirs,--and so, the
old parish-priest.--What I tell you (then his spoon went to work)
happened when I was in that infernally hot place, Jamaica (then another
stir). Sir, he was the fattest man on the island (then he pressed the
alabaster); yes, damme, sir; and when the thermometer, at ninety-five,
was dissolving every other man, this old slouching, drawling, son of
the Church got fatter and fatter, until, sir--curse the sugar! some
devil-black enchanter has bewitched it. By ---- sir, this sugar is part
and parcel of that old pot-bellied parson--it will never melt;" and
he threw the contents of the tumbler under the grate. We burst into
laughter, and our joke lost us the conclusion of the story. Wigstead
skilfully slipped the mock sugar out of the way, and the Doctor, taking
another glass, never suspected the frolic.'
Let us take a further glimpse of the social meetings which Rowlandson
shared in company with Angelo, who duly set down the outlines of the
evenings' diversions in his _Memoirs_. As this anecdote introduces
a personage who figures somewhat prominently amidst the more lively
records of the period, we must be allowed to say a word or two about
the giver of the feast, where we are admitted by favour and enabled to
watch the proceedings from a distance.
Another excellent friend, occasional host, and boon companion of our
caricaturist was, as we have mentioned, Weltjé, the Prince of Wales'
cook and steward, a German of eccentric proclivities, who was pretty
universally recognised as a character in his generation. The huge
person of this worthy is frequently introduced into the social satires
of the period; the artistic and literary wags alike delighted to make
the figure of the old _bon-vivant_ conspicuous; it seems that Weltjé
was in no wise offended at this popularity, however unflattering might
be the intentions of the wicked wights; he was a calm humoristic
philosopher, whose composure was not easily deranged, and in return for
their mischievous sallies, which only amused him, he made the wits, who
grew waggish at his expense, his guests at his residence Hammersmith
Mall; where he kept such a table as attracted all classes of society,
and to which his friends were ever welcome. Weltjé's culinary
accomplishments, united with his hospitable proclivities, rendered him
a truly remarkable host; his good humour was imperturbable, his store
of anecdotes inexhaustible, and his German bluntness rather added to
the charm of his pleasantries; even that superfine Sybarite and highly
sensitive exquisite, the Heir Apparent, Mr. Weltjé's patron and
employer, was glad to dissemble his offended dignity when his precious
and immovable cook was the assailant. Angelo, who declares he owed many
a convivial day to the kindness of this rough diamond, assures us in
his _Reminiscences_: 'Whether at Carlton House or his own, Weltjé was
always remarkable for singularity. I have been told that when Alderman
Newnham was one day dining at Carlton House, the Prince said to him,
"Newnham, don't you think there is a strange taste in the soup?" "It
appears so to me, your highness." "Send for Weltjé." When Weltjé made
his appearance, the Prince observed that the soup had a strange taste.
Weltjé called to one of the pages, "Give me de _spoone_," and putting
it in the tureen, after tasting it several times, said, "Boh! boh! tish
very goote," and immediately left the room, leaving the spoon on the
table, without taking further notice of the complaint.'
[Illustration]
It is not, however, with the worthy Weltjé at Carlton House, but at
his own villa, that we have to deal. Angelo introduces us to a capital
dinner-party which took place at Hammersmith Mall, when the old
associates, Rowlandson, Bannister, and Munden, were among the guests;
Madame Banti the opera-singer, and Taylor, also of the Opera House,
with Mr. Palmer of Bath, contributed to make up a tolerably festive
party. The dinner was long and _bien recherché_; the dishes choice,
and cooked in superior style; the sprightly conversation, in which the
company delighted, had been somewhat suspended during the discussion
of a great variety of _entremets_, which were duly appreciated by
all the guests, and especially by Madame Banti, who not only tasted
of every dish, but, in addition to a quantity of strong ale, drank a
bottle of champagne. The guests were preparing for that flow of wine
and conversation which were the _agrémens_ of social intercourse at
the period. The repast was concluded as everyone imagined, and nobody
felt disposed to touch another morsel, when Weltjé's grand piece of
the entertainment made its appearance--a huge boar's head, at which
delicacy everyone stared in consternation.
Weltjé plunged into his element, mixing up _sauces piquantes_ at table,
of such ingredients as oil, lemon, cayenne, and different concomitants.
The guests, already lavishly regaled, were inclined to expostulate.
'Indeed, Weltjé, we have had more than enough.' 'Boh!' responds the
entertainer, 'I vill make you all hungry again; two heads gomed to
dis gontry, von for me, toder for de Queen, dat de Prince of Bronsvick
sent;' and away proceeded the compounding of sauces. The long interval
occupied in Weltjé's culinary preparations was shortened by droll
anecdotes, peculiar to his own description, introduced for the purpose
of distracting the attention. Such was his account of his adventure on
his return home to Hammersmith, in his carriage, from Carlton House.
'Fon I gote to de fost dumbpike beyond Kensington, from town, de goach
stobed some time, fon me say, "Godam, ged on:" fon de dumbike say,
"Sir, dere be nobody on de bokes." I was very much fraightened, so I
did ged up mine-self. The next day gome de goachman: "Pray, sir, fon
am I to ged the carriage ready?" "Tartifle, what become of you last
night?"' The coachman, it appears, had fallen off the box in a drunken
stupor; unhurt, he had, never troubling himself about his charge,
taken a nap all night under a hedge, and attended on his master the
next morning to receive orders as coolly as if nothing unusual had
happened. The _sauce piquante_ is ready by the time the host has raised
a few laughs; clean plates are handed round; a large dish is filled
with slices of the boar's head, swimming in provocative mixtures; and
the guests fall to again; verifying, as Angelo relates, the French
proverb that, _l'appétit vient en mangeant_, or, as Hamlet says, 'As if
increase of appetite had grown with what it fed on.' The second repast
proved so excellent that the plates were continually replenished.
The poets, painters, actors, musicians, and others, who crowded
Weltjé's liberal entertainments, with 'those whose superior station
was more suited to a palace,' then gave themselves up to unrestrained
mirthfulness. The dinner Angelo describes will serve as a type of the
many similar entertainments at which our caricaturist assisted. With
the dessert Madame Banti became somewhat lively, from her repeated
libations of champagne, being, as Angelo informs us, 'in higher spirits
than any French woman I had ever seen. With the enthusiasm of a true
John Bull, she sang "God save the King," that she might have been heard
on the other side of the river. Munden, whom she had never seen before,
sang the "Old Woman of Eighty;" and to give effect to the song, tied
his pocket-handkerchief round his head, though his superior humour
needed no addition. When he had finished his song, Banti left her seat
in ecstasy, and went to the other side of the table, where he and I
were sitting, and was so pleased with his mummery (it could be nothing
else, for Joe never was an Adonis), that she came behind his chair and
kissed him; which, however, did not excite a blush, but an agreeable
surprise. What with the songs, the choice wines, the delicious fruits
(from Weltjé's hothouse), and the zest given to the entertainment by
Banti, it formed such a delightful treat, that the evening passed too
quickly, and it was time to depart long before we were sated with "the
feast of reason and the flow of soul."'
To return to the working life of our caricaturist: it must be borne in
mind that Rowlandson's journeys were not confined to the Continent;
from drawings which have come under our attention, we find he must
have seen the Lakes; it is highly probable that he paid a visit
to Henry Bunbury, who, towards the close of his life, settled at
Keswick, where he died in 1811. We also know, from his works, that
our artist was familiar with England and Wales: his tours, with his
friend Henry Wigstead, have produced many interesting _souvenirs_; we
have described how they travelled to Wales, and how, too, they saw
Cheshire, Cornwall, Devon, and Somerset; we find them scampering off to
the newly established Brighthelmstone, and to the more old-fashioned
watering-places on the coast of Kent. It was at Margate that Rowlandson
lost his most congenial associate, who having gone there, in the autumn
of 1800, for the benefit of his health, did not live to return; the
death of Henry Wigstead was a serious bereavement to the caricaturist,
the earliest of those losses of his cherished associates which
influenced his spirits considerably.
[Illustration]
We can also catch glimpses of Rowlandson on the Scarborough coast, and
in Norfolk. Yarmouth seems to have been a favourite spot with him. We
find him studying at seaports along the south coast; with Plymouth,
Portsmouth, and Southampton he was thoroughly familiar. Of the Thames
and the Medway, and the shipping to be encountered thereon in war-time,
he has left sketches innumerable; he has visited the fishing spots on
the former, and drawn the pretty towns which mark the valley of the
river. With London, and its diversified spots of interest, from east to
west, and north to south--the centre, and the outskirts alike--he had
the most intimate acquaintance. We have already spoken of the drawings
he made in the two University cities, and his series of views of the
noble colleges.
An Historical Sketch of the Art of Caricaturing was written by the
well-known antiquarian J. P. Malcolm, F.S.A., and published in 1813.
This book, which might, had the author so willed, have supplied
the curious with valuable hints, drawn from personal acquaintance,
concerning professors of the art then living, is confined to the
briefest recapitulation, as far as concerns contemporary works, the
book being retrospective in principle; and it is difficult to discover
any allusions of value to those Caricaturists lately deceased or
who were still alive. Malcolm's appreciation of grotesque art was
somewhat catholic, but he does not seem as familiar as might reasonably
be supposed the case, with the masterpieces of the men who were
flourishing in his time, or perhaps their _chefs d'oeuvre_ were then so
generally familiar as to need no further recognition. The compiler of
the Historical Sketch was evidently an amateur of humorous productions,
and could describe the progress of grotesques, but he does not seem to
have completely carried out the scheme of his treatise.
We have borrowed a paragraph from this excellent antiquarian, as an
instance of his criticisms on the subject of the present volume.
'_Rowlandson's Views in Oxford and Cambridge_, 1810, deserve notice
for the slight and pleasing manner with which he has characterised
the architecture of the places mentioned; but it is impossible to
surpass the originality of his figures; the dance of students and
_filles de joie_ before Christ Church College is highly humorous, and
the enraged tutors grin with anger peculiar to this artist's pencil.
The professors, in the view of the Observatory at Oxford, are made as
ugly as baboons, and yet the profundity of knowledge they possess is
conspicuous at the first glance; and we should know them to be Masters
of Arts without the aid of the background. The scene in Emanuel College
Garden, Cambridge, exhibits the learned in a state of relaxation;
several handsome lasses remove apples from a tree, and the indolent
curiosity with which they are viewed by these sons of ease is very
characteristic.'
[Illustration]
While considering Rowlandson in relation to his contemporaries, we
have chiefly to deal with those gifted gentlemen who were, like
himself, generally spoken of in their generation as _caricaturists_,
and to whose works our artist was able, from his more considerable
acquirements, to give a presentable form, and put into circulation
through the medium of his proficiency with the etching-needle.
Foremost among these we must speak of Henry Bunbury, so many of whose
felicitous conceptions have derived additional force and popularity
alike through the agency of our artist.
In speaking of the caricaturist's treatment of these amateur works,
we are glad to be able to offer our readers the respectable testimony
of Thomas Wright in support of our own modest opinion, with which
intention we quote a few paragraphs from our late friend's _History of
Caricature and Grotesque in Literature and Art_.
'At various periods certain of Bunbury's designs were engraved by
Rowlandson, who always transferred his own style to the drawings he
copied. A remarkable instance of this is furnished by a print of a
party of anglers of both sexes in a punt, entitled _Anglers of 1811_
(the year of Bunbury's death). But for the name, "H. Bunbury, del.,"
very distinctly inscribed upon it, we should take this to be a genuine
design by Rowlandson; and in 1803 Rowlandson engraved some copies of
Bunbury's prints on horsemanship for Ackermann, of the Strand, in which
all traces of Bunbury's style are lost.
'There was much of Bunbury's style in that of Woodward, who had a
taste for the same broad caricatures on society, which he executed in
a similar spirit. Some of the _suites_ of subjects of this description
that he published, such as the series of the _Symptoms of the Shop_,
those of _Everybody out of Town_, and _Everybody in Town_, and the
specimens of _Domestic Phrensy_, are extremely clever and amusing.
Woodward's designs were also not unfrequently engraved by Rowlandson,
who, as usual, imprinted his own style upon them. A very good example
of this practice is seen in the print entitled _Desire_, in which the
passion is exemplified in the case of a hungry school-boy, watching
through a window a jolly cook carrying by a tempting plum pudding.
We are told in an inscription underneath: "Various are the ways this
passion might be depicted; in this delineation the subjects chosen
are simple--a hungry boy and a plum pudding." The design of this
print is stated to be Woodward's; but the style is altogether that of
Rowlandson, whose name appears on it as the etcher. It was published by
R. Ackermann on January 20, 1800.'
[Illustration]
In transferring the works of other caricaturists to the copper,
Rowlandson was in the habit of giving his own style to them in such a
degree that nobody would suspect they were not his own if the name of
the designer were not attached to them.
We cannot take leave of the Caricaturists without offering a few slight
particulars concerning the respective careers of the most eminent and
appreciated practitioners of the graphic art in its grotesque bearings.
The fecundity of invention displayed in the works of Henry Bunbury
entitles him to rank among the first in this class of designers. The
happy faculty which he possessed of 'reading character at sight,' and
the rare felicity with which he could embody whatever his observation
or fancy suggested, with that scrambling style which was entirely his
own, evince that he was born with a genius to make a figure in this
pursuit. This gentleman may be instanced as a proof, too, that where
there is an original faculty for any peculiar art, it will develop
itself, though the possessor may be entirely unacquainted with the
scientific principles of art. Nothing could be farther removed from
legitimate art than the style exhibited in the drawings of Bunbury;
yet no one has hit off the peculiarities of character, or expressed
with less exaggeration those traits which constitute the burlesque.
Bunbury, indeed, may be said to have steered his humorous course
between sterling character and caricature. When he appears to outrage
nature by representing distortion of figure or form, the fault is not
intentional. Those who have not properly studied the drawing of the
human figure, must occasionally, in spite of themselves, render their
objects preternatural.
It should be added, in honour to the memory of this gentleman, that he
never used his pencil at the expense of personal feeling. His satire
upon the French people was not individual, but national; and the
characters which he introduced in his humorous designs at home, were
characteristic of a class, but never the individuals of a species.
[Illustration]
Henry William Bunbury, the caricaturist, was born in 1750. He was
educated at Westminster, whence he was removed to St. Catherine's Hall,
Cambridge. On leaving the university he devoted himself, with some
enthusiasm, to the fine arts. He was passionately fond of out-door
sports, and, as in the instance of Leech in our own days, the saddle
held out attractions superior even to the pleasure of exercising his
fancy. His contemporaries were much given to deplore that he preferred
the excitement of risking his neck in the hunting field to the
cultivation of the profession his skill should have adorned. His taste
and invention were admired not only by the most gifted and elevated
persons of his time, but artists and critics alike lavished their
encomiums on the favoured designer. Horace Walpole coveted the sketches
which Bunbury exhibited on the walls of the Academy, while Sir Joshua
Reynolds and Sir Benjamin West combined to pay their finest compliments
to the artist, and to publish abroad their flattering sense of his
merits. Bunbury appears to have spent the greater part of his time on
the estates belonging to his family, varied by trips to the Continent
and visits to his patrons the Duke and Duchess of York, at Richmond and
other residences, with occasional sojourns in Wales, the scenery of
which had considerable attractions for his sense of the picturesque. He
was a frequent guest of Sir W. W. Wynne, and his pencil has celebrated
the theatrical gatherings at Wynnstay. We also meet him in town,
surrounded by illustrious friends, and we find Goldsmith, Garrick,
and other notabilities corresponding with the kindly and generous
caricaturist during his sojourns at his country seat.
Henry Bunbury was married, August 26, 1771, to Catherine, daughter
of Kane William Horneck, Esq., lieutenant-colonel of the army of
Sicily. This lady bore him two sons, and one of them, Sir Henry
Bunbury, we believe, represented the county of Suffolk in Parliament,
after the decease of his uncle Sir Thomas Charles Bunbury, who had
previously enjoyed the distinction. Bunbury, the artist, was elected
lieutenant-colonel of the West Suffolk regiment of militia. His manners
were most popular, and it was remarked that he carried his cheerful
and vivacious spirit into every society he frequented. He died at
Keswick, in Cumberland, where he had settled towards the close of his
life, and his sketches of the mountain scenery in his vicinity are said
to have displayed the hand of a master, and to have gained universal
appreciation for their effect and truthfulness.
As a delineator of character, it is stated 'that his sketches
approached nearest to Hogarth of any painter of his period, in the
representation of life and manners; his pencil never transgresses the
limits of good taste and delicacy, and had he been under the necessity
of pursuing art for profit, instead of amusement and pleasure only,
he would probably have made a great fortune by the produce of his
genius, which the print-sellers have found a lucrative source of gain,
engravings and etchings after his works having always been eagerly
demanded.'
The high estimation in which the caricaturist was personally held is
confirmed by the obituary notice which appeared on his decease in the
_Gentleman's Magazine_; the praise seems to be spontaneous, and its
object, from all we can gather, richly merited the friendly testimony.
'May 7, 1811.--At Keswick, Henry William Bunbury, Esq., second son
of the Rev. Sir William Bunbury, Bart., of Mildenhall, and of Great
Barton, in the county of Suffolk, and brother to the present Sir
Thomas Bunbury, Bart. He was distinguished at a very early age by a
most extraordinary degree of taste and knowledge in the fine arts.
The productions of his own pencil have, from his childhood, been the
admiration and delight of the public. The exquisite humour of some of
his drawings, and the grace and elegance of the rest, were unrivalled;
and he is, perhaps, the only instance in which excellences of such
various and almost opposite character have been united in the same
subject in an equal degree. But though he possessed in this respect
a peculiar genius, he neglected no branch of polite literature. He
was a good classical scholar, and "endowed with the love of sacred
song." The Muses were to him _dulces ante omnia_. He was an excellent
judge of poetry; and the specimens remaining of his own composition
put it beyond a doubt that he would have been as eminent with his
pen as with his pencil, if his natural modesty, underrating his own
powers, had not prevented him from pursuing it with more application.
These accomplishments were conspicuous, and obtained for him universal
esteem. His social and moral qualities, while any of those remain who
shared his friendship, will continue the objects of fond admiration
and regret. No ribaldry, no profaneness, no ill-natured censure, ever
flowed from his lips, but his conversation abounded in humour and
pleasantry; it was charming to persons of all descriptions. No one was
ever in his company without being pleased with him; none ever knew
him without loving him. His feelings were the most benevolent, his
affections the most delicate, his heart the most sincere. He was void
of all affectation, alive to praise, but not obtrusively courting it.
Conscious, but not ostentatious of merit; of unblemished honour; full
of that piety and liberal-handed charity which influences the heart,
and seeks the witness, not of the world, but of his Maker.'
The writer of the obituary notice expressed a conviction, confirmed, as
he stated, by an intimacy of fifty years' standing:--
'All who had,' concludes the memorial, 'the slightest acquaintance
with him, will bear witness to the extraordinary tenderness of his
disposition, to his kind and active friendship, to his universal
benevolence, practically displayed through his entire career.'
[Illustration]
The name of Woodward occurs so frequently in caricatures to which
_Rowlandson sculpsit_ is added, that our readers will probably not
consider the following sketch of this eccentric gifted celebrity either
out of place, or entirely superfluous.
Recapitulating his recollections of humorous artists, Angelo informs
us that--'The inventive genius of one burlesque designer was
exhaustless--George Moutard Woodward, commonly designated by his merry
associates, Mustard George. This original genius was the son of the
steward of a certain wealthy landholder, and resided with his father
in a provincial town, where _nothing_ was less known than _everything_
pertaining to the arts. He was, as his neighbours said, a "_nateral
geni_;" for he drew all the comical _gaffers_ and _gammers_ of the
country round; and having, to use his own words, "_taken off_ the
bench of justices, wigs and all, _shown up_ the mayor and corporation,
_dumb-foundered_ the parson of the parish, silenced the clerk, and
made the sexton laugh at his own _grave_ occupation," he thought it
expedient to beat up for new game in the metropolitan city.
'"A caricaturist in a country town," said George, "like a mad bull in a
china-shop, cannot step without noise; so, having made a little noise
in my native place, I persuaded my father to let me seek my fortune in
town."
'It appears that the caricaturist came not to London, like many another
wit, pennyless; his father allowed him an annuity of first fifty, and
augmented the sum to a hundred pounds. With this income, and what he
obtained by working for the publishers, he was enabled to enjoy life in
his own way; and might be _met_, with a tankard of Burton ale before
him, seated behind his pipe, nightly at Offley's; or, if not there,
smoking the fragrant weed, at the _Cider Cellar_, the _Blue Posts_,
or _The Hole in the Wall_. Latterly, his rendezvous was transferred
to _The Brown Bear_ at Bow Street, where he studied those peculiar
species of low characters, the inhabitants of the round-house, and
the myrmidons of the police. Enamoured with the society of these able
physiognomists, he ultimately took up his quarters at the _Brown Bear_,
and there, to the lively grief of these tenderhearted associates, one
night died in character, suddenly, with a glass of brandy in his hand.
[Illustration]
'The wit and invention of this artist places him above all others
in the personification of low scenes of humour. Among his earliest
productions were those series of groups entitled _Effects of Flattery_,
_Effects of Hope, &c._, which were illustrated by scenes of truly
dramatic excellence, and upon which might well be built farces for
the stage which could not fail to delight the town. His _Babes in the
Wood_, _Raffling for a Coffin_, _The Club of Quidnuncs_, as pieces
of original humour, have never, perhaps, been equalled. Had this low
humourist studied drawing and been temperate in his habits, such was
the fecundity of his imagination and perception of character, that
he might have rivalled even Hogarth. His style, always sufficiently
careless, latterly even outraged the _outré_. Yet there were those,
and men of taste too, who insisted that the humour of his pieces was
augmented by the extravagance of this defect.'
The name of Henry Wigstead will be met with pretty constantly in the
course of this volume; his designs approach the nearest to those of
Rowlandson as far as regards humorous qualities, a cultivated sense
of beauty and grace, and a decided grasp of character, without that
violent divergence from the semblance of humanity as ordinarily
recognised, to which failing the old-fashioned caricaturists were
somewhat over-addicted, as we are inclined to suspect; but, like many
worthy amateurs of his period, his own hand lacked the skill to express
all that his eye saw and his taste appreciated. In the guise of a
skilled translator of crude ideas, our Caricaturist, with ready ease,
and that dexterity which was peculiarly his own, came to the rescue
most efficiently, and his etchings and scrapings have preserved many
a capital design, due to the esteemed Wigstead, which otherwise would
have been lost; the sterling excellence to be detected in many of these
pictorial scenes and satires, renders the action meritorious, which
has enabled posterity to judge how far those praises which partial
contemporaries lavished upon all these non-professional humourists,
were justified by the actual merits of their subjects. We have already
recounted certain jocose and whimsical traits in the disposition and
career of this genial son of merriment; we have nothing to add but
the brief notice from the obituary of _The Gentleman's Magazine_ for
October 1800, which informed many a congenial friend of the loss
society had sustained, and made many a heart feel saddened by the
stroke which had fallen on the kindliest and best of comrades.
'At Margate, where he went for the benefit of his health, Henry
Wigstead, Esq., of Kensington, an active magistrate for the county of
Middlesex.[14] He was a man of considerable talent, and contributed to
the celebrity of the Brandenburgh theatre, both by his pen and his
pencil. He was a good caricaturist, which naturally made him more
enemies than friends. He was hospitable and generous to a degree of
extravagance. He married the daughter of Mr. Bagnal, of Gerard Street,
with whom he had a good fortune, and by whom he leaves two children, a
son and a daughter.'
Another eminent humourist, in whose praise contemporaries were
enthusiastic, but whose biography no one has taken the pains to
collect, was John Nixon, _the facetious Nixon_, as he is generally
entitled in the memoirs and scribblings of the period; beyond the
kindly appreciative anecdotes of this worthy, set down by Angelo,
barely any record exists. Pleasant John Nixon was an Irish factor,
and resided for many years in Basinghall Street, where, over his
dark warehouses, he and his brother Richard kept 'bachelors' court.'
The elder brother, John, however, was the principal mover in all the
convivialities and Bacchanalian revels celebrated in this old-fashioned
dwelling; 'which was not too large for comfort, and yet sufficiently
spacious in the first floor, at least, to spread a table for twelve.
Who that were witty, or highly talented of the days that are gone, who,
loving a social gossip, over a _magnum bonum_ of capital wine, had not
been invited to his hospitable board?' The Nixons were wealthy, and had
the felicity to be well enabled to enjoy life according to their own
liking.
John Nixon, besides possessing a well-deserved reputation for social
qualifications of no ordinary calibre, was a man of taste and talent,
and an amateur performer in various arts, his accomplishments being
multifarious.
As a man of business he was highly respected, as a man of pleasure
universally sought, and as generally esteemed. Sedulous in his
commercial pursuits, in the counting-house his maxim was that there is
time for all things, and he found leisure daily, when the ledger was
closed, to open his heart to the enjoyments of friendly intercourse. 'I
have no objection to placing my knees under another man's table,' the
social _convive_ would say, 'but I had rather seat him at my own.'
Nixon was at home at the Beef-steak Club, where he was made honorary
secretary and providore, a well-bestowed distinction, since he was
a first-rate connoisseur of wines, and a capital judge of a rump of
beef. 'My lord duke,' he would say to the noble president, 'he who
would invite Jupiter to a feast on a steak, should select a prime cut
of little more than half-an-inch thick, from a Norfolk-fed Scot,' and
this, says Angelo, became statute law in that glorious club.
[Illustration]
Among other pursuits for which Nixon obtained notoriety among the
_haut ton_, he was known for his fondness for the stage. An excellent
amateur performer, he shone as one of the stars of the celebrated
private theatricals held at Brandenburgh House, when in the possession
of the Margrave and Margravine of Anspach. It was under the splendid
roof of these entertainers, on an occasion when all the amateurs were
celebrating their host's anniversary, that Nixon was honoured with
his cognomen of 'the well-bred man.' On his late arrival in a piebald
uniform, his blue dress-coat, with the gold buttons of the Beef-steak
Club, being considerably powdered, the wearer, who was not in the least
disconcerted or embarrassed, related, on taking his seat at the table,
a droll tale of adventures on the road, to the hearty amusement of the
company, while the servants were in convulsions of laughter, as Nixon
described how the post-horses were knocked up, and he was obliged to
complete his journey and his engagement in the cart of a baker, where
he got completely dusted with flour; whence the Margravine facetiously
dubbed him the 'well-bread man.'
John Nixon's original talent for the humorous department of the graphic
art was well known; as an honorary exhibitor at the Royal Academy
for many years, his grotesque scenes such as _Bartholomew Fair_, and
village fêtes, abounding with character, diverted the public. Angelo,
in recording the comical celebrity of his friend, mentions, 'Nixon had
the reputation of introducing, through his inventive faculty, that most
amusing species of caricature, the converting spades, hearts, clubs,
and diamonds into grotesque figures and groups, which he designed
with a whimsicality of appropriateness, that Gillray, or even George
Cruikshank himself, might have envied.'
The list of amateur artists, who enjoyed Rowlandson's friendship, and
whose designs received the advantages which his assistance was able
to lend them, will not be complete without the name of Collings, well
known in the regions of Covent Garden, and some time editor of the
_Public Ledger_, who was a lively satirist, both with his pencil and
his pen. 'When Boswell's _Tour to the Hebrides_ was ushered forth,
it was celebrated by as many crackers and squibs as the _Burning of
the Boot_ (Lord Bute). Among other assailants, the impenetrable Bozzy
had to expose his front to this lampooner's shafts. A whole series
of designs were published by this witty wag, the heroes of which,
or rather the knight and the esquire of his drama, were Johnson and
Boswell. The knight, it is likely, never saw them; and, as for the
squire, his love of notoriety rendered him, if not vain of, at least
not vulnerable to, these successive attacks.[15]
'The Laird of Auchinlek, indeed, had a large collection of these
satires upon "self and company," as he used facetiously to inscribe
them, and boasted at the judge's table that his _History_ would be more
copiously illustrated than even the Lord High Chancellor, Clarendon's.'
Caleb Whiteford, another crony of the caricaturist, was an excellent
judge of paintings (especially works by the old masters) and was
generally known as a fervent admirer of George Moreland's pictures;
he was the reputed discoverer of 'cross readings,'[16] and a dabbler
in verse. It was he who, as everyone will remember, received such a
complimentary notice in the postscript to the mock epitaphs known
as Goldsmith's _Retaliation_, that there were not wanting those who
contributed to the flattery by suspecting that the additional epitaph
was due to Caleb's own pen.
Old Caleb Whiteford, the witty wine-merchant and 'connoisseur in old
masters,' knew everyone of any reputation, and was well-received at
the various hospitable boards to which allusions have been made in the
course of these discursive notes; he was a welcome guest at numerous
convivial gatherings of the artistic and literary coteries of the
period, whose jovial meetings and good cheer have been suffered to pass
into oblivion, unrecorded by the scribes who shared 'the cakes and
ale,' in the palmy days of sociable festivities and kindly familiar
intercourse.
'Mr. Ephraim Hardcastle, citizen and drysalter,' as he whimsically
elected to style himself--in sober fact, W. H. Pyne, the artist to
whose literary ventures we have already referred--has on occasions come
to the rescue in his _Wine and Walnuts, or after-dinner Chit-Chat_.
Here is the report of a conversation concerning Rowlandson, which is
supposed to have taken place between Whiteford and the caricaturist's
jolly friend Mitchell, culled from the _Chit-Chat_ in question, which
was published in 1823.
'Well, Master Caleb Whiteford[17] was on his way up the hill in
the Adelphi to his post at the Society of Arts, and who should he
stumble upon at the corner of James Street, just turning round from
Rowlandson's, but Master Mitchell, the quondam banker of old Hodsoll's
house. He had, as usual, been foraging among the multitudinous sketches
of that original artist, and held a portfolio under his arm, and as
he was preparing to step into his chariot, Caleb accosted him: "Well,
worthy sir; what! more choice bits--more graphic whimsies to add to the
collection at Enfield, eh? Well, how fares it with our friend Roly?" (a
familiar term by which the artist was known to his ancient cronies).
[Illustration]
'"Why, yes, Master Caleb Whiteford, I go collecting on, though I
begin to think I have enough already, for I have some hundreds of
his spirited works; but somehow there is a sort of fascination
in these matters, and--heigh--ha--ho--hoo!" (gaping) "I never go
up--up--bless the man, why will he live so high? It kills me to climb
his stairs"--holding his ponderous sides--"I never go up, Mister Caleb,
but I find something new, and am tempted to pull my purse-strings. His
invention, his humour, his--his oddity is exhaustless." "Yes," said
Whiteford, "Master Roly is never at a loss for a subject, and I should
not be surprised if he is taking a bird's-eye view of you and me at
this moment, and marking us down for game. But it is not his drawings
alone; why, he says he has etched as much copper as would sheathe a
first-rate man-of-war; and I should think he is not far from the mark
in his assertion.'
'"Yes," replied the banker, "he ought to be rich, for his genius is
certainly the most exhaustless, the most--the most--no, Mister Caleb,
there is no end to him; he manufactures his humorous ware with such
increasing vigour, that I know not what to compare his prolific fancy
to, unless it be to the increasing population....
'"Roly has promised to come down. I would have taken the rogue with me,
only that he is about some new scheme for his old friend Ackermann,
there, and he says he must complete it within an hour. You know Roly's
expedition."'
James Heath, also a caricaturist, and a delineator of sporting
sketches, was another of Rowlandson's intimates; a Good-Friday jaunt,
or an Easter excursion, was for many years indulged by these worthies,
who with genial Bannister, the comedian, and their faithful chronicler,
Henry Angelo, the fencing-master, annually kept up the practice of
proceeding on a jovial expedition at this season, some distance from
town, Staines, Windsor, or some similar starting-point, being the
rendezvous selected by these congenial spirits.
The list of Rowlandson's friends would be incomplete without the name
of George Moreland, who, with all his eccentricities and shortcomings,
was another favoured child of fortune, whose inheritance was natural
genius; and though the fairy gift was turned to the very worst account,
dragged through the mire of dissipation, and sordidly made to supply
the means of that social degradation, which lowered the possessor
beneath his worst associates, the power remained in the poor shattered
wreck, and did not forsake him until, in a state of premature decay, he
perished miserably before his easel.
A sketch of Moreland's career is by no means called for in this
place. His erratic disposition was not without its whimsical traits;
sufficient anecdotes exist of the wayward painter to prove that,
beyond his happy qualifications for his art, there was found in his
composition a spice of pleasantry that did not always degenerate into
buffoonery or horse-play, with occasional flashes of wit and sprightly
allusions which, to say the least of them, were remarkably apposite.
Perhaps too much stress has been laid upon Moreland's deficiencies,
while his more agreeable traits have been somewhat slighted. Putting
aside the numerous anecdotal sketches of the painter, we have only
to record, in this place at least, that a friendship existed between
the subject of this volume and the man to whose sketches those of
our caricaturist frequently offer a suggestive resemblance, it being
actually difficult to distinguish between the unsigned etchings and
drawings of the two artists, in the walk practised by Moreland. The
similarity of their talent is more evident perhaps in the larger
hunting scenes, and the studies of female heads, tinted in colours,
than in any other direction; although, with the pencil or the chalk,
their rustic landscapes, from the freedom of their respective
handlings, are remarkably alike, both in the choice of subjects and the
spirit of the execution.
As we have already noticed, the most characteristic portrait of
Moreland, and the one which appears to offer us the most life-like
representation of the capricious painter, is due to the skill of
Rowlandson. We are informed, in a note which we gather from Angelo,
that Moreland, in his various flittings round the metropolis in
dread of creditors, when he took sanctuary with any intimate whose
residence he happened to remember, gave his colleague the caricaturist
the opportunity of exhibiting his friendship by harbouring him in
his lodgings under one of these emergencies, which were of tolerably
frequent occurrence. 'Rowlandson, the artist, lodged at Mrs. Lay's
printshop, a few doors from Carlton House, Pall Mall. One morning
when I called upon him, we heard a loud knock at the street door, and
looking out of the window, he said, "There's Colonel Thornton----knock
again! He may be at this fun three months longer; he is come for his
picture, but Moreland, having touched fifty pounds in advance, is never
at home to him now. He's in the next room, which he has for painting.
You had better go and do the same with him, and drink gin and water;
he'll like your company, and make you a drawing for nothing." This was
in the middle of the day.'
We are inclined to think that the most memorable of the caricaturist's
associates was James Gillray, whose age was within a year of that of
Rowlandson; it is a coincidence that two unrivalled geniuses, and
in such eccentric walks, should have been both contemporaries, and
steady-going friends, never clashing in the course of their respective
careers. In this work various allusions will be noticed to the intimacy
which subsisted between these remarkably gifted men, each perfectly
original in his fashion, and both possessing singular points of
resemblance in their characters.
[Illustration]
We content ourselves with mentioning that they occasionally entered
into friendly alliances, but that, when pitted against each other,
they had more regard for friendship than for party warfare, which they
utterly despised, except as an opening for the exercise of their skill.
Gillray and Rowlandson were, perhaps, never properly appreciated in
their generation, the higher capacities which distinguished both these
spoiled pets and wilful sons of Momus, were comparatively slighted, if
not completely ignored; all that was vulgar, wayward, and wild in their
dispositions was fostered and enlarged upon; their errors, and their
occasional lapses into downright coarseness, were, according to the
lights of the day, flattered and encouraged as flights of the raciest
humour; the crude, careless, and commonplace, received too frequently a
hearty and undeserved recognition, which their ambitious efforts failed
to inspire; the very productions they scorned were exalted, while, when
they felt the magic fire warming their imaginations, the results were
misunderstood too commonly.
Their keen intellects, and their satiric sense of the almost constant
unfitness of things as they found them, the gnawing of the vanity of
vanities, ever present, must have made their temperaments peculiarly
sensitive to such slights as the want of discrimination in their
admirers which occasionally shocked and continually disheartened
them--evils which the want of culture, or consideration on the part of
their audience, continually brought in their train.
It is no matter of surprise that the enchantments which they saw before
them at the opening of their careers, vanished all too soon, and left
them chilled, and inclined to become misanthropes; the very genius,
which promised to be a delight to themselves and to mankind, proving a
bitter curse.
When the satirists, who felt alike and were sympathetic on most points,
met, it seems their intercourse was the reverse of boisterous--in fact,
they were rather inclined to be depressed, or, at least, they shrunk
within themselves with a more marked contrast to the conduct which
should, it was supposed, distinguish notorious pictorial humourists,
and became, perhaps, a trifle more retired and undemonstrative
than ordinary--possibly to the disappointment of the less-informed
_habitués_, who evidently thought they were defrauded of a diversion,
and had a right to anticipate, these gentlemen being in a sort graphic
jesters by profession, that in private life they would feel themselves
impelled to play off a little whimsical jugglery for the entertainment
of the company. These professional tricks belonged to the lesser
lights, and we warrant that Woodward, Collings, Newton, and the smaller
following of the eccentric art, were infinitely more amusing to the
taste of their auditors.
It is certain Gillray was grave and self-contained, and Rowlandson,
in his degree, participated in his friend's humour, slightly at
first, perhaps, as a passing depression, and, later in life, with an
intensified and growing grimness, and a gathering gloom, as friends
dropped off, and age crept on, and the caricaturist's world was
materially altered for him, as his work seemed over.
'For years Gillray occasionally smoked his pipe at _The Bell_, _The
Coal-Hole_, or _The Coach and Horses_; and, although the _convives_,
whom he met at such dingy rendezvous, knew that he was that Gillray
who fabricated those comical cuts, the very moral of Farmer George and
Boneyparty, of Billy Pitt and Black Charley, he never sought, like
that low coxcomb Moreland, to become king of the company. He neither
exacted, nor were they inclined to pay him, any particular homage.
In truth, with his associates, neighbouring shopkeepers and master
manufacturers, he passed for no greater wit than his neighbours.
Rowlandson, his ingenious compeer, and he, sometimes met. They would,
perhaps, exchange half-a-dozen questions and answers upon the affairs
of copper and aquafortis; swear all the world was one vast masquerade,
and then enter into the common chat of the room, smoke their cigars,
drink their punch, and sometimes early, sometimes late, shake hands at
the door, look up at the stars, say "It is a frosty night," and depart,
one for the Adelphi, the other to St. James's Street, each to his
bachelor's bed.'[18]
Our friend Angelo, a bright chirpy spirit, who retained his liveliness
unimpaired, let us hope, to the last of his long days, not having any
pretensions to be a genius, was exempt from the sinister tendencies
which too frequently attend its possession. Although, as he confesses
in his _Memoirs_, not precisely the 'rose' himself, he had lived near
it, and his association with men of an admittedly high type, as far
as gifts of fancy and versatile talents were concerned, had taught
him to observe the drawbacks not unusually allied to distinguishing
attainments; and he records a few sober axioms for the enlightenment of
those who have been excluded from his privileges.
'Those who at a distance contemplate characters like these, so
professedly eminent for invention, wit, and satirical humour, naturally
suppose their society must be universally sought; and that such must,
of necessity, be the life and soul of the convivial board. Men,
however, who see much and speculate but little, know better. Among the
dullest in company could be pointed out those who are "wondrous witty"
by themselves; and this not from pride of their superior faculty to
please, but from a constitutional shyness or modest desire to avoid
notice or applause--or from indolence, or actually from conscious
dulness when absent from the study and the desk, when without the
pencil and the pen.
'Peter Pindar was witless, even over his bottle, with his most intimate
cronies. Anthony Pasquin was sour, and not prone to converse. Churchill
was a sulky sot. Butler was lively neither drunk nor sober--a choice
companion only when "half gone;" hence, as the witty Duke of Buckingham
observed, "he was to be compared to a skittle, little at both ends, but
great in the middle!" Burton, who had no less humour than Cervantes,
and the learning of a whole university to boot, was neither a cheerful
companion, nor endurable to himself. A hundred more could be named,
whose aptitude and promptness to discover the ridiculous side of human
action, has astonished the grave; and yet, these men who have thus
exposed folly to the laughter of mankind, have been themselves the
dullest dogs alive. Gillray was always "hipped," and at last sunk into
that deplorable state of mental aberration which verifies the couplet,
so often quoted, wherein the consanguinity of wit to madness is so
eminently proved, to the comfort of those who thank God for their own
stupidity.'
Perhaps the most constant friend, and certainly the best adviser, our
caricaturist retained to the grave was his principal publisher, Mr.
Rudolph Ackermann. We have mentioned this gentleman last among the
personal associates of Rowlandson, as his untiring services only ended
with the life of the artist.
The name of Rudolph Ackermann, who died March 30, 1834, is worthy
of more than a passing mention; he has been cited as one of the
first natives of Germany who, by far-sighted and active occupation,
accompanied by philanthropic exertions for the benefit of his
fellow-creatures, raised the character of his nationality to a high
point of esteem in other countries. An account of his energetic and
charitable career appeared in the _Didaskalia_, Frankfurt-am-Main,
No. 103, April 13, 1864, and was adopted by the writer (W. P.) of
an excellent notice upon the well-known publisher, in the pages of
_Notes and Queries_, (4th S. iv., August 7 and 14, 1869). The son of a
coach-builder, Rudolph Ackermann was born April 20, 1764, at Stolberg,
in the Saxon Hartz. We are told 'his sympathies with the misfortunes
of others were so warmly excited by the misery seen around him in the
famine of 1772-73, that he frequently in later years excused the zeal
which he showed on other occasions, by pictures of the distress that he
experienced when he, at the age of eight years, was employed for hours
daily in distributing food and money.' In 1775 his father removed to
Schneeberg. Rudolph received his education in the local school till he
was fifteen years old, and showed a decided predilection for literary
pursuits; but his father's pecuniary position precluding the choice
of a profession to more than one of his sons, he entered the paternal
factory. An elder brother, Frederick, instructed Rudolph in the use
of the drawing instruments, and he busied himself more willingly
in the offices than in the workshops, gaining an acquaintance with
details, which proved subsequently as important to his advancement
as were his visits to Dresden, the towns of the Rhine, and Hueningen
near Basle. He afterwards went to reside in Paris, where he became
the friend of Carrossi, the most esteemed designer of equipages of
his time, and Rudolph, who proved his best pupil, acquired sufficient
knowledge as a practical draughtsman to push his way in the world. From
Paris he proceeded to London in pursuit of fortune, and to turn his
talents to account: he was delighted to find that, in the metropolis,
carriage-building was one of the most successful occupations, and that
the exercise of his acquirements would be handsomely rewarded; so for
several years, until 1795, he was employed in furnishing the principal
coachmakers with designs and models for new and improved carriages.
The models of the state coach, built at the cost of nearly 7,000_l._,
for the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland in 1790,[19] and that for the Lord
Mayor of Dublin in 1791, exhibited his taste and skill. In 1805, the
preparation of the car that served as a hearse at the funeral of Lord
Nelson was entrusted to him; and during the years 1818-20 the patent
for a moveable axle for carriages engaged much of his attention.
It is not, however, in this connection that we have to consider
Ackermann, but rather in his relation to the arts as a print-seller
and publisher. On his marriage with an English lady, with commendable
prudence, he became desirous of establishing a business which would,
in case of his own premature decease, prove a suitable provision for
his family. He commenced the print trade at 96 Strand, and soon after
he secured a large apartment, 65 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 24 feet
high, at 101 Strand (erected upon the courtyard of Beaufort House),
which had been the drawing academy of William Shipley; it had then
passed to Henry Pars, and later passed into the hands of the Radicals,
and became notorious as the British Forum, when it was used by John
Thelwall for his oratorical lectures. These meetings exceeding the
bounds of reasonable political discussion, the Government instituted
prosecutions, and the Forum ceased to exist. On the ministerial
interference, October 1794, Mr. Ackermann was enabled to secure the
lease of the premises, and the room was again used as a school for
drawing. In 1796 the entire business was removed to 101 Strand. The
drawing academy seems to have flourished; and in 1806 there were three
masters engaged for figures, landscape, and architecture, and some
eighty pupils were resorting to the school, when the requirements of
the founder's business, as a publisher, printseller, and dealer in
fancy articles, papers, medallions, and artist's materials, had so
increased, that the convenience of this room as a warehouse became of
more consideration than the continuance of the school.
During the revolutionary era, and when French emigrants were numerous
in this country, Mr. Ackermann was one of the first to find a liberal
employment for the refugees; it is said that he had seldom less than
fifty nobles, priests, and ladies engaged upon screens, card-racks,
flower-stands, and other ornamental work.
His inventive faculties and his disposition to take up with new ideas
were marked by many improvements he introduced. At the beginning
of the century he was one of the first who arrived at a method of
waterproofing paper, leather, woollen stuffs, and felted fabrics, in
which he obtained for some time considerable traffic; this branch was
conducted in a factory he established at Chelsea for the purpose.
He further contrived an apparatus which was at least ingenious, both in
theory and intention. To counteract Napoleon's endeavours, by bridling
the newspapers, to keep the French nation in complete ignorance, as was
actually the case, of events that were disastrous to him, Mr. Ackermann
bethought himself of reviving, for the annoyance of the enemy, the use
made by the French in 1794-96 of aërostation in _L'Entreprenant_ and
the _Télémaque_; and he contrived a simple mechanism which would, every
minute, detach thirty printed placards from a packet of three thousand.
Three such parcels were attached to balloons thirty-six inches in
diameter, made of gold-beater's skin, and committed to the air in the
summer of 1807. The success of the experiment was proved at Woolwich
in the presence of a Government commission. With a southerly wind the
balloons passed over Salisbury and Exeter, and several of the placards,
as a proof of the practical working of the machinery, were returned to
London from various parts of the country.
Mr. Ackermann was one of the first inhabitants of London who adopted
the use of gas as a means of artificial light to his premises.
The establishment of lithography in England was another example of
his patient and persevering expenditure of money and time in the
introduction and improvement of a novelty. 'He was not content with
translating Alois Senefelder's treatise in 1819, but made a journey to
the residence of that inventor, in order to exchange the results of
their theory and practice before producing in 1822 a _Complete Course_.
The business relations between leading artists and Mr. Ackermann
enabled him to induce them to touch the lithographic chalk; so in 1817,
through Prout and others, the process became an acceptable, or rather
a fashionable mode of multiplying drawings; lithography, for want of
such advantages, when introduced into this country by Mr. Andréc, of
Offenbach, in its original and rude state, had failed to make its way,
and all its subsequent success may be attributed to Mr. Ackermann's
personal emulation of the advancement it made in Munich.'
In 1813, upon receiving an authentic account from Count Schönfeld
of the misery produced in Germany by Napoleon's wars, particularly
in Saxony, culminating in engagements at Leipzig (during the 'five
days' October 15-19, 1813), 'Mr. Ackermann temporarily abandoned the
oversight of his own multifarious occupations, in order to exert
all his strength in procuring aid for the sufferers. With the help
of the Duke of Sussex, he formed a committee in Westminster and in
the City; the first obtained a Parliamentary grant of 100,000_l._,
and the second furnished a larger sum in private contributions. This
was the occasion on which the use of Whitehall Chapel was granted
for a musical performance in aid of the subscription. For two years,
Mr. Ackermann undertook the task of corresponding with the German
committees for distributing these sums, examining into the urgency of
the appeals for help, and apportioning the fund. The members of "The
Westminster Association for the further relief of the sufferers by the
war in Germany," were anxious to commemorate their sense of the pains,
prudence, and probity Mr. Ackermann had displayed, by presenting him
with a testimonial in silver; this costly acknowledgment, together with
a vote of thanks proposed to be inscribed on parchment in gold, he
had the modesty to decline, begging that all thanks for his services
might be comprised in a few autograph lines from the Archbishop of
Canterbury.'
In his business relations we are told, 'the discretion which he
exercised in choosing his subordinates, and the liberal manner in which
he repaid their services, enabled him to produce several books which
deserve the notice of all those who know how to appreciate the merit
of these illustrated works in colour, relatively to others of similar
pretension, both of that time and of the present day.
'A long list might be formed by enumerating the literary, musical,
and scientific men of more or less eminence, who appeared as his
coadjutors, and who enjoyed his intimacy. Several of them owed to him
a helping hand, either in their first efforts or in their declining
fortunes. To the end of his days he retained a strongly-marked German
pronunciation of the English language, which gave additional flavour
to the banters and jests uttered in his fine bass voice; but he wrote
in English with great purity on matters of affection and business long
before middle life.
'From early in 1813, every Wednesday evening in March and April was
given to a reception, half a conversazione and half a family party, in
his large room, which then, as at other times, served as an exhibition
of English and foreign books, maps, prints, woodcuts, lithographs,
drawings, paintings, and other works of art and ornament, besides the
leading Continental periodicals. There on those evenings, by annual
invitation,[20] amateurs, artists, and authors were sure to find people
whom they knew, or wanted to know. Many an introduction grew to an
acquaintance; and the value of such evenings to foreigners was often
gratefully acknowledged by travellers, who, with any distinction in art
or literature, were welcome without any other introduction.
'His active assiduity and his spirited enterprise were suspended by a
weakness of sight, commencing from his charitable exertions in 1814,
which made his repose at Camberwell, and afterwards at Ivy Lodge in the
Fulham Road, first a matter of prudence, and later on of necessity. In
the spring of 1830 he experienced an attack of paralysis, and never
recovered sufficiently to exert his intelligence in business. He
removed for a change of air to Finchley, but a second stroke produced
a gradual decline of strength in the honourable old man; and March 30,
1834, saw an end put to the hearty kindness, constant hospitality,
and warm beneficence which had been inseparable from his unquestioned
integrity. He was interred on April 9 in the family grave, in the
burial-ground of St. Clement Danes.'[21]
* * * * *
The little that remains to be recorded of the Caricaturist is best
expressed by the kindly writer, a friend of nearly half a century's
standing, who contributed an obituary notice of the artist to the
_Gentleman's Magazine_ (June 1827).
It is not generally known that, although a considerable proportion
of Rowlandson's humorous political and social etchings are in many
instances strongly tinctured by an absence of refinement in taste, and
are roughly executed--the means simply of tiding over some pressing
necessity, or providing funds for further relaxations--his early works
were characterised by painstaking and conscientious application; and
his studies from the human figure at the Royal Academy were scarcely
inferior to the productions of Mortimer, then the most admired and
proficient among the Academic professors.
From the versatility of his talent, the fecundity of his imagination,
his command of composition, in which he equalled the greatest masters,
the grace and elegance with which he could design his groups, added
to the almost miraculous despatch with which he supplied his patrons
with perfectly original compositions upon every subject, it was a
theme of regret at his decease, that he had not sufficiently valued
his reputation, to which it has been suspected he was thoroughly
indifferent. It was universally admitted in his own days that, had he
pursued the course of art steadily, he might have become one of the
foremost and most celebrated historical painters of the English school.
His style, which was purely his own, was unquestionably original. His
bold, fluent, and spiritedly turned outlines were thrown off with easy
dexterity, with his famous reed-pen, in a tint composed of vermilion
and Indian-ink, the general effect was rapidly washed in, so as to
produce an effective _chiaro-oscuro_, and the whole was coloured in
tender tints with a most harmonious arrangement of colour.
His manner, though slight in almost every instance, is highly
effective; and it is known on indubitable authority that the presidents
of the Royal Academy, Sir Joshua Reynolds and Sir Benjamin West, whose
manners were most foreign to those of the Caricaturist, individually
asserted their conviction that many of his drawings would have done
honour to Rubens, or to the most esteemed masters of design of the old
schools.
For many years he was too indolent to seek new employment, and his
kind friend, and it may be added with justice, his best adviser, Mr.
Ackermann, the respected and leading publisher of Rowlandson's period,
supplied him with ample subjects for the exercise of his talent. The
many works which his pencil illustrated are existing evidence of this,
and books containing impressions from Rowlandson's etchings continue to
fetch high prices, and are industriously sought after. Many suggestions
for plates to enliven new editions of _The Travels of Dr. Syntax_, _The
Dance of Death_, _The Dance of Life_, and other well-known productions
of the pen of the prolific Coombe, the Defoe of the eighteenth century,
will remain esteemed and lasting mementoes of his graphic humour.
It should be repeated that his reputation had never reached its full
maturity in the life-time of Mr. Ackermann, his friend, patron, and
publisher. The inimitable water-colour drawings of Rowlandson, of which
he had a large collection, were justly appreciated by connoisseurs, and
his folios have often been viewed with admiration and delight by the
many professional artists and amateurs who frequented Mr. Ackermann's
conversazioni at his library at the old house in the Strand. No artist
of the past or present school, perhaps, ever expressed so much as
Rowlandson, with so little effort, or with so evident an appearance of
the absence of labour.
The artist's remains were followed to the grave by the two friends of
his youth, John Bannister and Henry Angelo, and his constant friend and
liberal employer, Rudolph Ackermann.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The preparation of _The Works of James Gillray, the Caricaturist,
with a Story of his Life and Times_ (376 pp. quarto), was in itself no
bagatelle; and three working years of steady application were invested
in its pages and illustrations.
[2] The Editor, among other special subjects, of a descriptive
catalogue of the works of George Cruikshank. 3 volumes quarto.
Published by Messrs. Bell and Sons, 1871. (Only 130 copies printed.)
[3] _Vauxhall Gardens_ (503), _An Italian Family_ (462), _The
Serpentine River_ (511); _vide_ Catalogue of the Royal Academy (1784),
Fourteenth Exhibition.
[4] In the early Exhibition Catalogues, studies in water-colours, where
the primitive sepia or Indian ink was supplemented by other tints, are
described as STAINED DRAWINGS.
[5] The artist's name frequently occurs upon his plates as his own
publisher, and, as might be anticipated, the prints produced under this
sponsorship are invariably of his most popular description.
[6] The original sketches of this series were recently bequeathed to
the South Kensington Museum, where they are attributed to Bunbury:
a contemporary advertisement (1786) announces the designs to the
forthcoming _Journal of a Tour in the Hebrides_ to be furnished by
Collings and Rowlandson.
[7] A somewhat different version of the origin of this caricature is
given in the _Memoirs of John Bannister, Comedian_, by John Adolphus
(8vo., 1839): 'His friend and fellow-student Rowlandson was, unhappily,
much addicted to games of chance, and Bannister used to remonstrate
with him on the subject with amiable but ineffectual perseverance. On
one of these occasions John Raffaelle Smith, the engraver, admonished
Bannister on the inutility of his efforts. "You may spare your sympathy
and advice also," he said; "for that Tom Rowlandson was, is, and ever
will be incurable." The artist, in merry revenge, brought out a print
called _Hawks and a Pigeon_, in which Smith, endowed for the occasion
with a most villanous aspect, the very personation of a sharper and a
knave, exhibited conspicuously.
'By way of reprisal, Smith produced a well-known and popular engraving,
in which Rowlandson and some others are represented as confederates in
fleecing an innocent. Bannister lent his aid in forming the group, and,
putting on for the occasion a face from which all appearance of sense
was effectually banished, sat for the young dupe. Parsons on seeing the
production said: "Why, Jack! you are the last of your fraternity that
I should have selected for the model of a flat. Why, when you were a
little Cupid in the green-room, Kitty Clive, who was not apt to mince
matters, used to say you looked as innocent as a little sucking devil."'
[8] This was written in 1830.
[9] A correspondent to _Notes and Queries_, who signs S. R. (4th
Series, IV., September 11, 1869, p. 224), while alluding to this
drawing, also mentions having seen a portrait of George III. by
Rowlandson, which possessed great art merit; and adds: 'I possess early
drawings by him, executed with a fine quill pen, and most tenderly
tinted, which are highly refined in style, excellent in drawing, and in
elegance and grace may be classed with the productions of Stothard.'
[10] According to the Royal Academy Catalogue, Rowlandson removed from
133 Wardour Street to 50 Poland Street, Pantheon, between 1786 and 1787.
[11] The drawing of the four ruffians is now, we understand, in the
possession of Mr. William Bates, B.A., &c., and forms one of an
interesting collection of caricatures by Rowlandson held by that
admirer of his works. _See Account of Original Drawings in the
Appendix._
[12] The main characteristics of this subject belong to _Careless
Attention_, 1789: a dashing son of Mars taking the place of the black
flunkey.
[13] Mr. Henry G. Bohn, the well-known publisher, informed the writer
that at one period he had a collection of drawings by Rowlandson,
chiefly fine Continental views, such as the Series in Holland and
Flanders, made for the artist's patron Mitchell the banker, numbering
nearly a hundred.
[14] Sitting magistrate at Bow Street.
[15] See Boswell (the Elder). _Twenty Caricatures by Collings and
Rowlandson in Illustration of Boswell's 'Journal of a Tour in the
Hebrides, 1786._'
[16] These cross-readings obtained such celebrity that the inventor
was tempted to distribute amongst his friends specimens, which 'he had
been at the expense of printing upon small single sheets.' We quote
a couple of examples from a slip, which was in the possession of J.
T. (_Antiquity_) Smith's family, and, being considered something of a
curiosity, is given in the pages of _Nollekens and his Times_.
Sunday night many noble families were alarmed--
By the constable of the watch, who apprehended them at cards.
Wanted, to take care of an elderly gentlewoman--
An active young man, just come from the country.
[17] Caleb Whiteford was Vice-President of the Society for the
Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce.
[18] _Somerset House Gazette and Literary Museum_, No. 26. By Ephraim
Hardcastle (W. H. Pyne). 1824.
[19] The reader may observe a similar chariot in the Museum at South
Kensington; it might readily be mistaken for the one referred to above,
and is of the most elaborate character. It is described as 'built
for the Lord Chancellor of Ireland (1780), the panels painted by W.
Hamilton, R.A.'
[20] According to Mr. Jerdan, the first _missive printed on stone_
(drawings having been printed by this process some while before), was
an invitation to one of Ackermann's conversaziones: 'Mr. Ackermann has
the honour to inclose a card of invitation to a Literary Meeting at
his Library, on Tuesday, the 20th February, at seven o'clock in the
evening; and on the same evening in each week, until the 10th day of
April inclusive.
[21] _Notes and Queries_, August 1869. See article signed W. P.
1774, 1780-81.
_June 8, 1774._ _A Rotation Office._--A chief magistrate is seated at
a table, and three justices, with their hats on, and sticks in their
hands, are seated beside him. To the left of the chief is the justice's
clerk; and behind the bench is a placard, 'Robbery and Murder. Reward
of Justice.'
[Illustration: THE VILLAGE DOCTOR.]
_June 8, 1774._ _The Village Doctor._ Published by H. Humphrey, Bond
Street.--This print appears to have been about the earliest recognised
specimen of Rowlandson's handiwork. The plate has a wash of aquatint,
all over it, and the etching is free and bold. As an early work it
evinces certain carefulness and discrimination, which promised well
for the artist's future if he persevered in the same direction. The
suggestion of the subject, according to the initials, is due to Henry
Wigstead, whose name appears on numerous fine examples of Rowlandson's
skill. The village practitioner, outside whose cottage is the sign of
a gilt pestle, has evidently been disturbed under false pretences on
previous occasions, and now a real client has knocked him up, for the
benefit of his professional services, his indignation is bursting forth
on the wrong object.
_1780. Scene at Streatham. Bozzy and Piozzi._
BOZZY.
Who, mad'ning with an anecdotic itch,
Hath said that Johnson called his mother, witch?
MADAME PIOZZI.
Who, from Macdonald's rage to save his snout,
Cut twenty lines of defamation out?
The scene of this animated dispute is the Library at the house lately
inhabited by the departed Thrale. Mrs. Piozzi (late Mrs. Thrale) and
Boswell are in high dudgeon over their respective memoirs of their
idol, the defunct Doctor Johnson. In both of their 'Lives' the trifling
weaknesses of the great Lexicographer are made ridiculous, under the
misguiding impulse of the 'anecdotic itch.' The rival biographers
are bouncing and stamping about the study, in a fine rage, ready to
pull one another to pieces. The learned lady's second husband, the
stout musician, Piozzi, with his violoncello by his side, is seated
in an easy chair, regarding the disputants with consternation, while
deprecating violence.
Peter Pindar's lines on the subject are appended to the plate; an
additional couplet or two are worth borrowing:--
BOZZY.
How could your folly tell, so void of truth,
That miserable story of the youth
Who, in your book, of Dr. Johnson begs,
Most seriously, to know if _cats laid eggs_?
MADAME PIOZZI.
_Who_ told of Mrs. Montague the lie--
So palpable a falsehood? Bozzy, fy!
* * * * *
BOZZY.
_Who_ would have said a word about Sam's wig;
Or told the story of the _peas_ and _pig_?
MADAME PIOZZI.
_Now_ for a _saint_ upon us you would palm him;
First _murder_ the poor man, and then _embalm him_!
BOZZY.
His character so shockingly you handle--
You've sunk your _comet_ to a _farthing candle_.
_March 1780._ _Special Pleading._ Published by A. McKenzie, 101 Berwick
Street, Soho.
Lovely Nymph, assuage my anguish,
At your feet behold a swain,
Begs you will not let him languish;
One kind word will ease his pain.
A stout knight (possibly a lineal descendant of Sir John Falstaff) is
the _Pleader_; he is lounging on an elegant sofa of the early Georgian
period, making inane love to a pretty girl placed by his side, dressed
in a picturesque Watteau-like costume, with a quilted petticoat and a
quaint mob-cap added; the amorous old trifler's hand is on the slim
waist of the beauty; the damsel is standing up in a negligently easy
pose, while she is toying with her antiquated admirer and waving his
enormous and elaborately curled double-tailed wig in the air. A dog
is at her side. The drawing of this picture is unusually graceful
and easy, even for Rowlandson; this is most noticeable in respect to
the pretty coquette. The etching is spirited and brilliant, and the
background and accessories are delicately aquatinted, to bear out the
resemblance to a sketch in Indian ink.
_July 18, 1780._ _The School of Eloquence._--The interior of a
fashionable debating society of the period; the members are the quality
of both sexes. The design was doubtless admirably worked out in the
original drawing; but it has suffered at the hands of an unknown
etcher. Published by Archibald Robertson, Savile Passage.
_September 1, 1780._ _Italian Affectation._ _Pacchierolti._--The
figures of two distinguished foreigners, as imported into this country
over a century ago, for the delectation of the _cognoscendi_ and
the leaders of high taste. A pair of overdressed Italian artists,
extravagantly posturing to one another in some operatic _scena_. A
spindle-shanked signor, hat in hand, is pouring out his ardour to
an affected and modish _prima donna_ in a love-making situation,
outrageously burlesqued.
_September 18, 1780._ _Sir Samuel House._--The full-length portrait
of 'Honest Sam House,' famous in his day for his zeal and patriotism,
the enthusiastic supporter of Fox, a character familiar to all the
electors of Westminster, as an indefatigable canvasser on behalf of
the 'Friend of the People;' during the contests for Westminster, Sam
kept open house for the friends of the Whig chief, and entertained all
the notabilities of the Whig party. Summer and winter, Sam dressed in
a clean nankeen jacket and breeches, and brightly polished shoes and
buckles; he wore no covering, neither hat nor wig, on a perfectly bald
head; his waistcoat was constantly open in all seasons, and he wore
remarkably white linen; his legs were generally bare, but when covered,
it was always in stockings of the finest silk.
In Rowlandson's spirited portrait old Sam is standing in his sturdy
fashion, clean, shaven, and bright, in his eccentric costume, with
his shining round poll, a pot with his cipher in one hand, and his
pipe in the other. In the rear is shown his public-house, with smokers
and customers indicated at the windows. This portrait, which seems to
have been deservedly popular, was published with variations. In one
impression (printed in sepia), is a barrel inscribed '_No Pope_,' and
in another, '_Fox for ever! Huzza!_' The second plate is crossed with
very fine stipple, and an old man is introduced in the background with
his hand on his bald head.
The prints are signed with the initials T. R. and J. J., and were
published by Thomas Rowlandson and J. Jones at 103 Wardour Street.
Under some impressions is the inscription, 'The first man who jumped
off Westminster Bridge.'
SAM HOUSE.
Not more the great Sam House, with horror, star'd,
By mob affronted to the very beard;
Whose impudence (enough to damn a jail)
Snatch'd from his waving hand his fox's tail,
And stuff'd it, 'midst his thunders of applause,
Full in the centre of Sam's gaping jaws;
That, forcing down his patriotic throat,
Of 'Fox and freedom!' stopp'd the glorious note.
_November 13, 1780._ _Naval Triumph, or Favours Conferred._--Admiral
Keppel is riding in triumph through the gates of Greenwich Hospital,
mounted on the shoulders of a veteran salt, on crutches, who has lost
both an eye and his legs in the service of his country. The Admiral,
with his riband and star, is condescending to give a helping hand to
another naval commander, who is dancing in merrily by his side.
The shake of the hand with such goodness and grace
Shows who is in favour, and who is in place.
At Greenwich the invalids poor will proclaim
What at present we do not think proper to name.
Poor disabled sailors are limping off on their crutches, disgusted
with the results of their sacrifices and the miserable rewards
for their services; while a drummer is drubbing in their favoured
and well-requited commanders. The composition of this subject is
particularly good, and it is worthy of remark that, in the coloured
impressions of this print, the tinting is arranged with considerable
success; and although, as is the general practice with caricatures,
none but the most vivid colours are employed, the arrangement is so
good and delicate that the general effect is as harmonious and artistic
as in the original drawings by Rowlandson's own hand.
[Illustration: THE POWER OF REFLECTION.]
_June 30, 1781._ _The Power of Reflection._ Published by J. Harris,
Sweeting's Alley, Cornhill.--This print is executed in mezzotint by
J. Jones, whose name appears several times in connection with that of
Rowlandson, on the series of plates which we shall particularise in the
progress of this work. The contrast is very marked between the Duenna,
the lines of whose face have fallen in under the assaults of time, and
the demoiselle, in all the pride of youth and attractiveness, aided
by the bravery of a fashionable and _piquante_ toilette. _The Power
of Reflection_ is probably intended to suggest a pictorial pun. While
the maiden is absorbed in the pleasing reflection of her own figure as
thrown back in the mirror, her senior, with a ponderous and probably
serious volume before her, is employing her thoughts on contemplations
of a more philosophical description.
_October 28, 1781._ _E O, or the Fashionable Vowels._--It may be
noticed, respecting the earlier works of Rowlandson, that his
efforts, soon after he left the Academy, were marked with more care
and elaboration than his later etchings; while the effects of his
training were still fresh in his mind, he evidently took more pains
in the direction of finish, and it is particularly in his management
of _chiaro-oscuro_ that we detect the superiority of the artistic
productions of his first period; although experience alone could give
him that special freedom and facility which render his best-known
productions remarkable.
In the early and clear impressions of the _E O Table_, and its
surroundings, the artist's skill is even more conspicuous than usual
in the spirited grouping; the attitudes and expressions of the several
gamblers are distinct with individuality and strongly-marked traits of
character. Every variety of emotion--cunning, credulity, confidence,
anxiety, stolid indifference, scheming, craft, stupidity, hectoring,
exaltation, and despair--we find pictured with an ability which
surprises us, contrasting as it does with the indifferent caricatures
and the dearth of humorous talent in the years which intervened between
the death of Hogarth and the appearance of the more ambitious subjects
by Gillray and Rowlandson, works executed while the talents of these
masters were at their best, and before they had grown careless of their
reputation.
The _E O Table_[22] was republished at various dates: in January 1786 it
re-appeared with a new title, as _Private Amusement_, and from time to
time it was reissued, the date of publication being altered to suit the
several occasions.
[Illustration: E O, OR THE FASHIONABLE VOWELS.]
_E O Tables._--'In the year 1781 there were swarms of E O Tables in
different parts of the town, where a poor man with a shilling only
might try his luck. They were open to everybody, till at last the Bow
Street police began to interfere.'
An attempt was made, at the commencement of 1731, to suppress some
of the most considerable gaming-houses in London and the suburbs,
particularly one, behind Gray's Inn Walks. The editor of the _St.
James's Evening Post_ observed upon this occasion: 'It may be matter
of instruction as well as amusement to present our readers with the
following list of officers which are established in the most notorious
gaming-houses:--
'A _Commissioner_, always a proprietor, who looks in of a night; the
week's account is audited by him and two others of the proprietors.
'A _Director_, who superintends the room.
'An _Operator_, who deals the cards at a cheating game called _Faro_.
'Two _Croupees_, who watch the cards and gather the money for the
bank.
'Two _Puffs_, who have money given them to decoy others to play.
'A _Clerk_, who is a check upon the _Puffs_, to see that they sink
none of the money given them to play with.
'A _Squib_ is a _Puff_ of a lower rank, who serves at half-salary
while he is learning to deal.
'A _Flasher_, to swear how often the bank has been stripped.
'A _Dunner_, who goes about to recover money lost at play.
'A _Waiter_, to fill out wine, snuff candles, and attend in the
gaming-room.
'An _Attorney_, a Newgate solicitor.
'A _Captain_, who is to fight any gentleman that is peevish for
losing his money.
'An _Usher_, who lights gentlemen up and down stairs, and gives the
word to the porter.
'A _Porter_, who is generally a soldier of the Foot Guards.
'An _Orderly-man_, who walks up and down the outside of the door,
to give notice to the porter and alarm the house at the approach of
constables.
'A _Runner_, who is to get intelligence of the Justices meeting.
'Link-boys, watchmen, chairmen, drawers, or others, who bring the
first intelligence of the Justices' meetings, or of the constables
being out--_half-a-guinea_ reward.
'Common-bail, affidavit-men, ruffians, bravoes, _cum multis aliis_.'
_November 27, 1781._ _Brothers of the Whip._ A. Grant, del.: published
by H. Humphrey.--In this engraving a good deal of Rowlandson's manner
is traceable, and the etching is at least due to his hand. The subject
represents a group of four _brothers of the whip_, whose persons and
features are marked with that discrimination for character and faculty
for grasping individual peculiarities distinctive of the caricaturist.
In the background are figured coach-horses, carriages, saddle-horses,
grooms, &c., all depicted in his own marked style.
[Illustration: CHARITY COVERETH A MULTITUDE OF SINS.]
_November 27, 1781._ _Charity Covereth a Multitude of Sins_, published
by H. Humphrey.--A dashing young officer is roving, in pursuit of
pleasure, in a dangerous vicinity. With a generous hand he is dropping
a gold-piece into the hat of a reduced sailor. Two Savoyards, a
man with an organ, and a girl with a hurdygurdy are soliciting the
contributions of the charitable.
_December 10, 1781._ _The State Watchman Discovered by the Genius of
Great Britain Studying Plans for the Reduction of America_, published
by J. Jones.--This subject is engraved within a circle, and, in point
of execution, it bears more resemblance to Rowlandson's later style; it
is not unlike Gillray's work of the same date.
The somnolent Lord North is fast asleep on his sofa, dreaming,
according to the caricaturist, of new theories for the recovery of
America.
The figure of _Britannia_, with her staff and cap of Liberty, is
well designed; she is crying, 'Am I thus protected?' A miniature
figure is introduced, who is endeavouring to arrest the sleeper's
attention--'Hallo, neighbour! what, are you asleep?' This officious
person is, it is believed, intended to represent
'_Sir Grey Parole_.'[23]
[Illustration: BOB DERRY, OF NEWMARKET.]
_No date._ _Bob Derry, of Newmarket._
[Illustration: LUXURY.]
_No date._ _Luxury._
FOOTNOTES:
[22] From Malcolm's _Manners and Customs of London during the
Eighteenth Century_ (1810). 'Mr. Carlton, Deputy Clerk of the Peace,
and Clerk to the Justices of Westminster, stated to a Committee of the
House of Commons, in 1782, that E O Tables were very numerous; that one
house in the parish of St. Anne, Soho, contained five, and that there
were more than three hundred in the above parish of St. James's: those
were used every day of the week, and servants enticed to them by cards
of direction thrown down the areas.'
[23] Lord North's Administration, which had the onus of conducting
the American War, was daily growing weaker and losing popularity;
it resigned in March of the year following, and the Rockingham
Ministry came into office. The first condition of this more liberal
Administration had obtained, through the negotiations of Lord
Shelburne, the consent of the King to 'peace with the Americans, and
the acknowledgment of their independence.' In a later caricature by
Gillray, which appeared on the resignation of Lord North--_Banco to
the Knave_, April 12, 1782--the figure of Sir Grey Cooper, one of the
Treasury Secretaries, is introduced, exclaiming, 'I want a new master.'
On this gentleman's chair is the name '_Sir Grey Parole_,' because,
it is understood, he usually sat on the left of Lord North on the
Treasury Bench; and when that statesman, who trusted to his memory for
the principal points elicited in the debates, had been overcome by the
constitutional somnolency which was a favourite subject of ridicule
with the satirists, the Secretary aroused his chief, and supplied the
deficiency of notes by suggesting the thread of argument, or _parole_,
as required.
1782-83.
_February 1783._ _Long Sermons and Long Stories are apt to lull the
Senses._ Published by W. Humphrey.
1783. _Amputation._ Republished by S. W. Fores, October 17, 1793.
[Illustration: AMPUTATION.]
1783 (?). _The Rhedarium, for the Sale of all sorts of Carriages,
by Gregory Gigg._--The auctioneer is in his pulpit, employed in
knocking down an assortment of vehicles to a small but sufficiently
eccentric-looking audience. A gouty individual, propped on crutches, is
making a bid for an antiquated kind of cabriolet, which the groom is
trotting up for inspection; around are curricles, travelling carriages,
and a general assemblage of the machines on wheels representative of
the past.
[Illustration: _The RHEDARIUM for the Sale of All sorts of Carriages By
GREGORY GIGG._]
1783. _The Discovery._--A small political print, a parody on
Shakespeare's 'Macbeth.' Lord North, who is the principal agent of the
'Witches' Incantation,' is crying:--
Call Fiends and Spectres from the yawning deep.
BURKE.
(_who is among the witches_).
Cast in your mite, each midnight hag;
Fill the Protector's poisoned Bag.
MOTHER WILSON.
Here's old Nick's nose.
JEFFERY.
Here's Devil's dung.
DUNSTAN.
The wind of Boreas,
Belial's tongue,
A Traitor's heart.
SAM HOUSE.
And Gibbets' blocks.
But hold, ye hags, for here comes Fox.
FOX
(_who has suddenly entered, and is standing in his ordinary
declamatory attitude_).
And set the ministers of Hell to work.
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF A CLOCKMAKER'S SHOP.]
_December 22, 1783._ _Great Cry and Little Wool._ Published by
Humphrey, Strand.--Somewhat in Sayer's style, the principal figures
giving indications of his manner. The personification of Evil, with
his horns, hoofs, pointed claws, and forked tail, has a firm hold of
Fox, and is shearing the 'Protector's' chest and clawing at his profuse
locks. The India Bill, under the Evil One's arm, indicates the source
of the satire. The surroundings are more especially in Rowlandson's
free handling; the India House is in the background, and the members
of the East India Corporation are performing a gleeful dance around a
memorable pile--the funeral pyre in effigy of their arch-enemy, treated
as a fox roasting on a gibbet.
1783 (?). _The Times._--This caricature represents the situation,
from a popular point of view, at the period of the struggle for the
Regency which occurred on the first illness of the King. According to
Rowlandson's print, right is prevailing and everything is to be settled
for the future happiness of the kingdom by the Prince of Wales's
accession to the throne; as will be remembered, it was for a short
period doubtful whether the King's health would ever be sufficiently
restored to enable him to resume the control of the State.
The heir-apparent is shown as the virtuous prince we read of in fairy
tales, endowed with all the graces both of mind and person. The
Prince is supported, at the foot of the throne, by such protection as
_Liberty_ and _Justice_ are placing at his disposal; his foot is on
the first step, the _Voice of the People_; the other steps are _Public
Safety_, _Patriotism_, and _Virtue_; the crown remains suspended over
his head, his right hand is on his heart, and _Britannia_ is leading
him to his place, while she is waving back the party which opposed his
assumption of an _ad interim_ Regency. The symbolical _Ruler of the
Waves_ is declaring: 'I have long been deceived by hypocrisy, but have
at last discovered an intention of sacrificing the rights of my people
to satisfy a private ambition.' The Queen and her German friends,
Madame Schwellenberg and others, are represented as disconcerted
Furies, waving hissing snakes, and begirt with _Falsehood_, _Envy_, &c.
Queen Charlotte combined with Pitt to oppose, by every stratagem within
their power, the assumption of the Regency by her eldest son. The Queen
is brandishing the torch of _Rebellion_; Pitt is thrown into despair,
and he is 'bidding a long farewell to all his greatness,' before his
retirement from public life, as reasonably might have been his case,
if the Prince's party had come into power. _Commerce_, allegorically
represented as a fair female, is applauding the elevation of the
Prince to the vacant throne, and a deputation from the Corporation of
the City is expressing these encouraging sentiments through the Lord
Mayor:--'Whilst we mourn the occasion, we must feel ourselves happy in
reflecting that we are blessed by a prince whose wisdom will protect
our liberties, whose virtues will afford stability to our empire.'
1784.
POLITICAL CARICATURES.
A few examples of the caricatures published by Rowlandson during the
famous contested election for Westminster in 1784 were included by
the present writer in his account of the works of _James Gillray the
Caricaturist_, as certain prints issued on this occasion were doubtless
due to a combination on the part of the two caricaturists; however,
those plates which bear special indications of Rowlandson's style were
set down to their proper author.
_January 1, 1784._ _The Pit of Acheron, or the Birth of the Plagues
of England._--This plate bears the initials _F. N._, 1784, in the
right-hand corner, but there is no doubt, judging from the evidence
of the style of execution, that the chief merit is due to Rowlandson.
During the progress of the struggle, in 1784, plates innumerable were
published anonymously, or with varying initials. Collectors who have
devoted time and observation to the subject, and such well-qualified
writers as the compiler of _The History of Caricature and Grotesque in
Art, The Caricature History of the Georges, &c._, seem agreed upon the
proportion of prints which are due to the skill of our artist, whose
handiwork is very prominent amongst the series of electioneering and
political satires which appeared on the occasion of Fox's renowned
campaign at the Westminster hustings, when the _Champion of the People_
contended successfully against the second Ministerial candidate, Sir
Cecil Wray, although the latter received all the assistance which Pitt,
with the influence of the King as well, unscrupulously exercised as it
was, could bring into play, legitimately or otherwise, to defeat the
popular Whig chief, and to inflict the mortification of a lost election
upon 'the party' and on their leader, who was at that time the pet
aversion of George the Third and idol of the people.
It will be remembered that Rowlandson was by no means a party
satirist; unlike Sayer, who was notoriously in the Ministerial pay, he
lavished his satire on both sides alternately, utterly regardless of
partisanship, and, often at the expense of consistency, we find his
cartoons alternately espousing and ridiculing the same section, Whig or
Tory, Ministerialist or Opposition, in plates of whimsically opposite
tendencies, which not infrequently bear the same date.
_The Pit of Acheron_, if we may trust the satirist, is not situated
at any considerable distance from Westminster; the precincts of that
city appear through the smoke of the incantations which are carried
on in the Pit. Three weird sisters, like the Witches in 'Macbeth,'
are working the famous charm; a monstrous cauldron is supported by
death's-heads and harpies; the ingredients of the broth are various;
a crucifix, a rosary, _Deceit_, _Loans_, _Lotteries_, and _Pride_,
together with a fox's head, cards, dice, daggers, and an executioner's
axe, &c., form portions of the accessories employed in these uncanny
rites. Three heads are rising from the flames--the good-natured face
of Lord North, the spectacled and incisive outline of Burke, and Fox's
'gunpowder jowl,' which is drifting Westminster-wards. One hag, who is
dropping _Rebellion_ into the brew, is demanding, 'Well, sister, what
hast thou got for the ingredients of our charm'd pot?' To this her
fellow-witch, who is turning out certain mischievous ingredients which
she has collected in her bag, is responding, 'A beast from Scotland
called an Erskine, famous for duplicity, low art, and cunning; the
other a monster who'd spurn even at Charter's Rights.' Erskine is shot
out of the bag, crying, 'I am like a Proteus, can turn to any shape,
from a sailor to a lawyer, and always lean to the strongest side!' The
other member, whose tail is that of a serpent, is singing, 'Over the
water and over the lee, thro' hell I would follow my Charlie.'
_January 4, 1784._ _The Fall of Dagon, or Rare News for Leadenhall
Street._ Published by William Humphrey, 227 Strand.
And behold Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before
the ark of the Lord, and the head of Dagon and both the palms of
his hands were cut off upon the threshold.
The image of Dagon, which in this case is borrowed to typify the
Coalition Ministers, has fallen from the overset _Broad Bottom_
pedestal, and is in the posture described by the quotation; its
double-faced head wears the profiles of North and Fox. Tower Hill is
represented in the background; a scaffold is erected, and the public
executioner is just bringing down his axe on the neck of a traitor--a
delicate compliment to the heads of the late Administration. John Bull
has changed the sign of his house to _The Axe_, and he is composedly
enjoying his pipe under its shadow.
_January 7, 1784._ _The Loves of the Fox and the Badger, or the
Coalition Wedding._ Published by W. Humphrey, 227 Strand.--Nine small
compartments, very neatly executed upon one plate, are employed to
portray the unpopular Coalition Ministry between Fox and North. (1)
_The Fox beats the Badger in the Bear Garden._ The unwieldy form of
the Badger (Lord North) lies, apparently asleep, on the floor of 'the
House;' the Fox, with his brush erect in triumph, is in command of the
situation. (2) The _Fox_ has been throwing dice on Hounslow Heath,
and he has a _dream_; the vision seems to indicate a choice between
a prison or a traitor's head on a spike. (3) The _Badger_, with his
riband, tucked up comfortably on a sofa, also indulges in a _dream_;
the objects offered for his selection are seemingly the gallows or
an executioner's block. (4) _Satan unites them_; the arch-fiend,
in person, is joining their paws and pronouncing the magic spell,
'_Necessity_.' (5) _They quarter their arms._ Their new escutcheon is
symbolical; above a scroll marked '_Money_' the twin supporters are
holding up a well-filled Treasury-bag, borne by John Bull, above whose
head flourishes a pair of donkey's ears. (6) _The priest advertises
the wedding._ The Devil, presiding at the pay-table, is enlisting the
advocacy of the press, and three editors, in return for substantial
considerations, are respectively promising: 'I'll _Chronicle_ the
Coalition,' 'We will _Post_ them,' 'Harry will take both sides.' (7)
_The Honeymoon or Eddystone Lighthouse_; the pair are making up a
flaming beacon. (8) _The New Orator Henley, or the Churching._ The
happy pair are now in their glory, seated on a throne in the '_Bear
Garden_,' and surrounded at a respectful distance by the heads (stuck
on poles) of the members of their new Parliament, and described as
a '_Mopstick majority_.' The churching is proceeding; the original
pastor is still present, and is prompting Orator Henley, whose tub
stands on a block, labelled, '_Honest Jack Lee_;' the Orator is holding
forth a parchment, and declaring, 'A charter is nothing but a piece of
parchment with a great seal dangling to it;' to which pious deduction
his clerk mounted on 'A Seat for Portsmouth,' is crying, '_Necessity_.
_Amen._' (9) _The Wedding Dance and Song._ The pair, now led by the
nose by their Satanic friend, are perforce compelled to execute a
pretty lively dance, as their conductor wills. They are singing this
appropriate _epithalamium_:--
Come, we're all Rogues together;
The people must pay for the play:
Then let us make Hay in fine weather,
And keep the cold winter away!
It seemed, at the beginning of 1784, as if Fox were completely master
of the political situation, and indeed he approached much nearer to
an absolute control of the Administration than he was ever destined
to reach again during the lifetime of his great opponent. The bold
manoeuvres of Pitt, backed by the royal favour--the King and his
friends condescending to dissimulation and subterfuge where honest
policy would not suffice their turn--were crowned with unexpected
success, and the Cromwell of the hour fell suddenly from his
influential eminence. Up to the famous Westminster Election, Fox was
paramount, both in Parliament and out of doors; for although Pitt was
actually Crown-Minister, both he and his party were almost powerless
when arrayed against the members of the ex-Coalition Ministry, their
opponents, led by Fox, and his strong following, who were the real
masters of the situation; thus we find a very characteristic portrait
of the _Friend of Liberty and of the People_ introduced, with an
allusion to Cromwell.
_January 19, 1784._ _His Highness the Protector._--The supplies are
kept with a tight hand; and Fox, taking advantage of his power, has put
a huge padlock on the door of the Treasury, the key of which he seems
determined to retain in his own keeping; a small dagger, held in the
popular champion's right hand, indicates that he is prepared to stand
on the defensive. His colleague Lord North, with his star round his
neck, appears as a bulldog, who is supporting his leader in keeping the
supplies inviolate.
The apprehensions of the Pittites (whose chances of retaining the reins
of administration in defiance of an Opposition too strong for their
policy, now seemed desperate), pictured forth the total subversion of
Throne and State; and it was under this influence that the King--whose
stubborn will was strengthened by contradiction--indulged his threat
of retiring to his German possessions, if he could not secure the
return to office of his particular friends, whose hopes of recovering
their lost control of the State were somewhat forlorn previous to the
election; while Fox, on the other hand, was endeavouring to force the
King to accede to the measures he had introduced for the restriction of
the royal prerogative. A very complete, but necessarily over-coloured,
view of the anticipations of 'the party' is thus pictured forth by
Rowlandson.
_January 23, 1784._ _The Times, or a View of the Old House in Little
Britain,--with Nobody going to Hanover._ Published by W. Humphrey, 227
Strand.--The Old House is seemingly in a bad way; the foundation is
_Public Credit_; the Funds, represented as a grilled gate, are secured
with a huge padlock; the Royal Crown and Sceptre are placed on a block,
and marked _for sale_; seated on another block, labelled _Protector_,
sits the fox, guarding the Treasury; round his waist is a chain secured
to the _Coalition-pillar_, which is depicted as rather a twisted
support. Lord North has perched his unwieldy person upon a turnstile,
and is crying, indifferent to consequences, 'Give me my ease, and do
as you please.' The upper part of the _Old House_ is raising more
cause for mistrust, since the old building is overweighted and crushed
with a mass of _Taxes_, piled on the roof, the accumulated pressure
of 'the accursed ten years' American war, fomented by the Opposition
and misconducted by a timid Minister.' A light balcony has been thrown
out, and therein things are proceeding in true showman style. Burke
is officiating as exhibitor, and blowing through a trumpet; another
statesman is doing the harlequin-business; merry-andrew 'Sherry' is
flourishing his bottle and dancing round the corner of the balcony, on
which is a placard announcing a wonderful combination of attractions:
'The Scarlet Woman of Babylon, the Devil, and the Pope.' 'The Man of
the People' is pictured as a feather,--on the flag of the party. The
sign of the _Old House, Magna Charta_, has fallen to tatters, and the
board is dropping down; two lawyers, who appear at the window, are
repairing the edifice according to their theories; one of the props of
the edifice, _the Lords_, is spared, but the other, _prerogative of
the Crown_, is being lopped off by one of the legal magnates. The King
is turning his back on the place, and starting in a state coach on his
way to Hanover, deaf and blind to the prayers of some of his subjects,
who are imploring the royal compassion on their knees. _The Sun of
England's Glory_ is setting in the distance, and an eye of light,
piercing through the clouds, is warning the retiring monarch to 'Turn
out these robbers and repair the House.'
_February 3._ _The Infant Hercules._--Another caricature was directed
against the ex-Coalition Ministers, representing them as twin serpents
whose tails ('American War' and 'East India Bill') are entwined; the
heads of Fox and North appear on the shoulders of the monster. Pitt is
figured as the infant Hercules; he has taken his seat on the 'Shield
of Chatham,' and has grasped the throats of the serpents, the tails of
which are already lopped off. 'These,' he cries, 'were your Ministers.'
Lord North, for twelve years, with his war and contracts,
The people he nearly had laid on their backs;
Yet stoutly he swore he sure was a villain
If e'er he had bettered his fortune a shilling.
Derry down, down; down, derry down.
Against him Charles Fox was a sure bitter foe,
And cried that the empire he'd soon overthrow;
Before him all honour and conscience had fled;
And vowed that the axe it should cut off his head.
Derry down, down; down, derry down.
Edmund Burke, too, was in a mighty great rage,
And declared Lord North the disgrace of the age;
His plans and his conduct he treated with scorn,
And thought it a curse that he'd ever been born.
Derry down, down; down, derry down.
So hated he was, Fox and Burke they both swore,
They infamous were if they enter'd his door;
But, prithee, good neighbour, now think on the end--
Both Burke and Fox call him their very good friend!
Derry down, down; down, derry down.
Now Fox, North, and Burke, each one is a brother,
So honest, they swear there is not such another;
No longer they tell us we're going to ruin,
The people they _serve_ in whatever they're doing.
Derry down, down; down, derry down.
But Chatham, thank heaven! has left us a son;
When _he_ takes the helm, we are sure not undone;
The glory his father revived of the land,
And Britannia has taken Bill Pitt by the hand.
Derry down, down; down, derry down.
[Illustration: BRITANNIA ROUSED, OR THE COALITION MONSTERS DESTROYED.]
_February 3, 1784._ _Britannia Roused, or the Coalition Monsters
Destroyed._--Britannia, the symbolical goddess, is fairly aroused, and
her greatness and power are effectually asserted on the persons of the
late Ministers. Her strong arm is throttling the lethargic Lord North,
and she has seized the body of Fox, whose person she is dashing over
her head, in a manner which threatens the extinction of the popular
idol.
The East India Company and its Corporation became, for a time, the
chief bone of contention. Fox had gone out of office on the rejection
of his provisions for the proper regulation of our Eastern Empire,[24]
and Pitt, on coming into power, introduced his own motion with the
same object. The view of the public on this point was expressed by
Rowlandson's satirical summary of the situation.
_February 7, 1784._ _Billy Lackbeard and Charley Blackbeard Playing at
Football._--Fox and Pitt are both kicking with a will; the football is
the old House of John Company, Leadenhall Street; the edifice is turned
upside down, and the rival players are succeeding in keeping the vast
concern suspended in the air between them. _Billy Lackbeard_ has just
turned from the study of Blackstone,--an allusion to the youth of the
Prime Minister. It is interesting to remember that Pitt had resigned
his ambitious mind seriously to the study and practice of the law,
in case the progress of events should deprive him of Parliamentary
significance. The commencement of his career was somewhat troublous,
especially during the 'Regency struggle,' when the state of the King's
health rendered the accession of the Prince of Wales probable, in which
case the governing power would have remained in the hands of his more
experienced rival. Behind Fox is a dicebox, and at his feet lie packs
of playing-cards, indicating that gambling was the only resource left
him, if he could not succeed in regaining office.
The influence which was being brought to bear, through illegitimate
channels, to strengthen the party of Pitt's followers, who found
themselves in such a minority as to be powerless at first, was
recognised and commented on out of doors. The satirists freely exposed
the Ministerial manoeuvres; it was evident that the Court party, and
especially the King, would count no sacrifice too great, could they but
contrive to prevent the return of the members of the late Coalition
Ministry to power, this hostility being intensified by the prejudices
borne in the royal mind against Fox.
So strongly did this influence work that we find in _The Morning Post
and Daily Advertiser_ for February 10, 1784, the names of twenty-two
members who had fallen under the spell of Ministerial beguilements.
The advertisement is quite simple, and appears without either comment
or explanation; the heading is pictorial, and represents a string of
rats--such as might preface an ordinary rat-catcher's advertisement--it
is placed above the name of Jack Robinson, in capital letters.
Then follow, in three short columns, the names of the twenty-two
Parliamentary rats who had gone over to the good pickings which
the King was able to hold forth as a temptation in return for the
allegiance of these renegades.
This curious advertisement is repeated in a satirical print which
Rowlandson prepared on the same subject.
[Illustration: THE APOSTATE JACK ROBINSON, THE POLITICAL RAT-CATCHER.]
_March 1, 1784._ _The Apostate Jack Robinson, the Political
Rat-catcher. N.B. Rats taken alive._--Before the door of the Treasury,
from whence the converter of rats draws his supply of baits and lures,
travelling cautiously on all fours and feeling his way, the political
rat-catcher is slily augmenting his captures. Round the apostate Jack's
waist hangs the _cestus of corruption_, in his pocket is a little
aide-de-camp, who is made to cry, 'We'll ferret them out!' On his back
is a double trap, baited with miniature coronets, places, &c.; one or
two rats have been secured in this; golden pieces strew the floor, and
with these the rats to be captured are playing and coquetting. A large
bait of pension is held to the nose of one grave old veteran, probably
intended for Edmund Burke, and the other rats are watching the bait
with longing looks. A placard is pinned on the wall, 'Jack Robinson,
Rat-catcher to Great Britain. Vermin preserved.' Under the heading of
'Rats of Note' is given the very list of apostates as published in the
_Morning Post_, beneath Jack Robinson's patronymic.
_Second Title._
Thus when Renegado sees a Rat
In the traps in the morning taken,
With pleasure he goes Master Pitt to pat,
And swears he will have his bacon.
_March 3, 1784._ _A Peep into Friar Bacon's Study._--A spectacle of
conjuration, which discloses matters of some historical moment. In the
centre of the picture stands the brazen head which is giving forth its
oracles. King George the Third, who has thrown a conjuror's cloak over
his star and riband, is holding out two divining-rods, and questioning
the head--'What is this?' To this the magic bust is giving forth these
oracle-like phrases: 'Time is, Time was, Time is past;' while three
luminous circles, each bordered with the word _Constitution_, help
to illuminate the obscurity of the revelation. The first view of the
Constitution, 'Time is past,' displays the King on his throne, with
a radiance like the sun; the other bodies of the State barely come
within the charmed circle; the Houses of Lords and Commons appear mere
'air balloons.' 'Time is' offers another view of the Constitution;
the King's circle has diminished, that of the House of Peers is
increasing in magnitude and becoming bound up with the royal circle;
the House of Commons, without infringing on either, has arrived within
the circumference of the Constitution; and in the third view we find
the three circles assimilated in size and working one within the
other--the Constitution in its perfected form, in fact. Behind the
King the members of the late Ministry are appearing at a door. Fox,
North, and Burke are in the front rank; they bid the monarch 'Beware!'
The King's friends, led by an imp of Satan, or, perhaps, by the Devil
in person, are finding their way down the back-stairs. Foremost is a
figure bearing a lantern, which is throwing a light on the movements of
the Opposition. Lord Temple, and other influential supporters of the
Ministry, are making their entry on the scene, and crying, 'We must
destroy this coalition,' 'A fig for the resolutions,' &c.
_March 8, 1784._ _Master Billy's Procession to Grocers' Hall._--Pitt
has, according to the picture, supplemented his Parliamentary tactics
by flattering the citizens, and bidding for the Corporation influence.
He is drawn going to _Grocers' Hall_ in state to receive the freedom of
the City in a gold box, which is carried at the head of the procession.
Great enthusiasm prevails, as a liberal gentleman, in the uniform of
a naval officer, is distributing handfuls of coin amongst the mob.
Banners are carried in the procession with the party watchwords,
'_Pitt and prerogative_,' and '_Youth is a most enormous crime_.' The
car of Sir Watney, drawn by satyrs comes first; then, in the middle,
perched up in a triumphal car, and with a feather in his hat, comes
Master Billy, drawn, of course, by _King's men_. Sir Barney follows,
drawn by his admirers, and shouting, 'Pitt and plum-pudding for
ever!' The show is passing the shop of 'Tommy Plume, grocer to his
Majesty;' this worthy, who is crying, 'O what a charming youth!' is
seen at his window, surrounded by shouting spectators. At the sign of
the _Lord Chatham_ is gathered another party of sightseers; they are
enthusiastically declaring that 'Master Pitt is very like his father!'
[Illustration: MASTER BILLY'S PROCESSION TO GROCERS' HALL.]
_March 11, 1784._ _The Champion of the People._--The sturdy figure of
Fox, clad in somewhat theatrical armour, and protected by the _Shield
of Truth_, is resolutely combating the overgrown _Hydra_ of patronage,
whose growing and unconstitutional power--it was hinted--would
shortly destroy the liberty of the subject. The monster, a compound
of the Pittite party and its royal supporter, is hissing and spitting
venom with all its various heads, _Tyranny_, _Assumed Prerogative_,
_Despotism_, _Oppression_, _Secret Influence_, and _Scotch Politics_;
while three heads have been already lopped off by the champion's
sword, _Duplicity_ and _Corruption_ are laid in the dust. The foreign
Powers are represented in alliance, and dancing round the _Standard
of Sedition_. Natives, of the subject East Indian races, are kneeling
and blessing their champion; and a compact array of _English and Irish
supporters_ is drawn up under the standard of '_Britannia and Universal
Liberty_.' Fox's followers are respectively declaring, 'While he
protects us, we will support him;' and 'He gave us a free trade, and
all we asked; he shall have our firm support!'
_March 26, 1784._ _The State Auction._--This print illustrates the
pass to which, as it was assumed, the Constitution was coming under
the evil effects of the undue extension of the royal prerogative. The
'State Auction' is held, under high patronage, in the '_Commission
warehouse; money advanced on all sorts of useless valuables, by Pitt
and Co., Auctioneers. N.B. Licensed by Royal Authority._' Pitt,
seated on his rostrum, under the royal arms, is knocking down 'State
property' in the capacity of auctioneer. The first lot is, it seems,
the most interesting one in the sale: 'The Rights of the People, in
558 volumes.' Pitt's friend Dundas is acting as sale porter. 'Show the
lot this way, Harry,' cries the auctioneer. 'Agoing, agoing; speak
quick, or it's gone. Hold up the lot, ye Dund ass!' To which invitation
the Scot, Dundas, who has been doing his best to help Master Pitt,
responds, 'I can hould it na higher, sir!' Pitt is favouring the
biddings of the 'Hereditary Virtuosi,' a compact knot of Peers and
'the King's friends;' at their head stands Lord Chancellor Thurlow,
who is disparaging the Opposition. 'Mind not the nonsensical biddings
of those common fellows.' The 'chosen representatives' of the people
are standing by themselves, apart from the bidders; their backs are
turned upon the entire proceedings, and they are apparently leaving the
sale-room _en masse_, by way of protest, at the same time exclaiming,
'Adieu to Liberty!' 'Despair not!' and 'Now or never!' Fox alone is
making a resolute stand; he cries, 'I am determined to bid with spirit
for lot 1--he shall pay dear for it that outbids me.' The lots are of
general interest. Lot 2 is _Magna Charta_; lot 3 is '_Obsolete Public
Acts_;' lot 4, the Sword of Justice; lot 5, the Mace; lots 6 and 7,
legal wigs and gowns, &c. The sale-clerk, recording the biddings on the
parchments of 'sundry Acts,' is declaring gleefully, 'We shall get the
supplies by this sale!'
_March 29, 1784._ _The Drum-Major of Sedition._--The portrait of
Major John Cartright, one of the most energetic and disinterested
Reformers, is given under this title. The Major is firmly grasping
a pole of Liberty in his right hand, and is holding forth in front
of the hustings erected for the election, round which are gathered
numerous voters and a crowd of others, who are being addressed from
the platform. Admiral Lord Hood is introduced, shouting, 'Two faces
under a Hood!' The speech made by the Drum-Major of Sedition has
a strong ironical tendency. 'All gentlemen and other electors for
Westminster who are ready and willing to surrender their rights and
those of their fellow-citizens to secret influence, and the _Lords
of the Bedchamber_, let them repair to the prerogative standard,
lately erected at the Cannon Coffee House, where they shall be kindly
received--until their services are no longer wanted. This, gentlemen,
is the last time of asking, as we are determined to abolish the power
of the House of Commons, and in future be governed by Prerogative, as
they are in France and Turkey. Gentlemen, the ambition of the enemy is
now evident. Has he not, within these few days past, stole the Great
Seal of England, while the Chancellor[25] was taking a bottle with a
female favourite, as all great men do? I am informed, gentlemen, that
the enemy now assumes Regal Authority, and, by virtue of the Great Seal
(which he stole), is creating of peers and granting of pensions. A most
shameful abuse, gentlemen, of that instrument. If you assist us to pull
down the House of Commons, every person who hears me has a chance of
becoming a great man, if he is happy enough to hit the fancy of Lord
Bute and of Mr. Jenkinson. Huzza! God save the King!'
_March 30, 1784._ _Sir Cecil's Budget for Paying the National
Debt._--Sir Cecil Wray, in spite of his Ministerial friends, does not
seem to have been a popular candidate after he had deserted the Liberal
party; indeed, he became the mere puppet of the hour, the Ministerial
struggles of the '_King's friends_' being not so much directed to
bringing in their nominee, as to inflict the mortification of a defeat
on Fox. Two unfortunate projects, which Sir Cecil Wray had originated,
were perpetually used against him by his opponents; these were his
proposals to abolish Chelsea Hospital and to tax maid-servants. In the
print '_Sir Cecil's Budget for paying the National Debt_' has been
accepted, and Chelsea Hospital is brought to the ground, involving in
its destruction all the disabled veterans for whom the country was
bound to provide. Sir Cecil is shown in the distance, exposed to very
humiliating treatment; a pensioner, who has escaped the downfall of the
Hospital, is whipping him forward with his crutch, while a group of
female servants, with pails and brooms, are visiting on his person, the
injustices they anticipated. 'Tax servant-maids, you brute, and starve
poor old soldiers--a fine Member of Parliament!' While in office Fox
had proposed a tax upon receipts, which was loudly cried down by his
Tory opponents; it was now written of Wray:--
For though he opposes the stamping of notes,
'Tis in order to tax all your petticoats;
Then how can _a woman_ solicit your votes
For Sir Cecil Wray?
For had he to women been ever a friend,
Nor by taxing _them_ tried our old taxes to mend,
Yet so _stingy_ he is, that none can contend
For Sir Cecil Wray.
The gallant Lord Hood to his country is dear;
His voters, like Charlie's, make excellent cheer;
But who has been able to taste _the small beer_
Of Sir Cecil Wray?
Then come, ev'ry free, ev'ry generous soul,
That loves a fine girl and a full flowing bowl,
Come here in a body, and all of you poll
'Gainst Sir Cecil Wray!
In vain all the arts of the Court are let loose,
The electors of Westminster never will choose
To run down a Fox, and set up a _goose_
Like Sir Cecil Wray.
[Illustration: THE HANOVERIAN HORSE AND BRITISH LION.]
_March 31, 1784._ _The Hanoverian Horse and the British Lion. A
scene in a new play, lately acted in Westminster with distinguished
applause._ Act ii., scene last.--The faithful Commons are still
suffering from the aggressive tendencies of the White Horse of Hanover,
which is trampling on '_Magna Charta_,' '_Bill of Rights_', and
'_Constitution_,' kicking, rearing, and driving the members of the
'faithful Commons' forth with his heels. The brute is neighing out
'_Pre-ro-ro-ro-ro-rogative_;' while Pitt, a remarkably light jockey, is
encouraging the excitement of the brute: 'Bravo! go it again; I love to
ride a mettle steed. Send the vagabonds packing.' The sturdy person of
Fox is safely astride the British Lion; the royal beast has quitted his
place in the army of England, leaving the notice, '_We shall resume our
situation here at pleasure.--Leo Rex._' He is keeping a watchful eye on
the Hanoverian Horse, and protesting, 'If this horse is not tamed he
will soon be absolute king of our forest.' Fox has come on the scene
prepared to render efficient assistance; he is provided with a bit and
bridle, and a stout riding-whip, to tame and control the high-mettled
Hanoverian steed. 'Prithee, Billy,' he is crying to Pitt, 'dismount
before ye get a fall--and let some abler jockey take your seat!'
_April 3, 1784._ _The Two Patriotic Duchesses on their Canvass;
requesting the favour of an early poll._--The zealous canvassers for
'the Champion of the people' are enlisting the sympathies of possible
voters. Their mode of procedure is shown at a butcher's stall,
according to the satirist's view of their patriotic exertions. The
Duchess of Devonshire, wearing the Prince of Wales's plume in her hat,
above an immense favour _for Fox_, has placed one arm round the waist
of a young butcher, and, with her left hand, is pushing a well-filled
purse into his pocket; at the same time she is cementing the compact
with a chaste kiss. Farther on is seen the Duchess of Portland, who is
attempting to beguile another butcher's apprentice; but she is less
successful, probably because her personal attractions will not bear
comparison with the graces of the winning Georgiana.
_April 4, 1784._ _The Incurable._--Fox, in a strait-jacket, with straw
disposed in his hair, is represented as mad beyond recovery; he is
singing in forlorn despair:--
My lodging is on the cold ground, and very hard is my case,
But that which grieves me most is the losing of my place.
Doctor Munro, the King's physician, in his court-dress, is examining
the patient through his eyeglass, and attesting, 'As I have not
the least hope of his recovery, let him be removed amongst the
_Incurables_.' Below the print the following lines occur:--
Dazzled with hope he could not see the cheat
Of aiming with impatience to be great.
With wild ambition in his heart, we find,
Farewell content and quiet of his mind;
For glittering clouds he left the solid shore,
And wonted happiness returns no more.
The poll was opened on April 1, and continued without intermission
until May 17.
_April 8, 1784._ _The Rival Candidates._--The three candidates who were
contesting the 'great fight' for the representation of Westminster
are represented according to their supposititious characteristics.
Fox, with his hand on his heart, and his arm held out in a
declamatory attitude, stands for _Demosthenes_; Hood is introduced
as _Themistocles_; and Wray is less flatteringly served up in the
character of _Judas Iscariot_. It must be remembered that '_the Knight
of the Back-stairs_' had been nominated for the previous Parliament
by Fox, with whom he had shared the representation of Westminster,
but Wray thought fit to desert to the Tories and oppose his political
leader, forsaking his friends and his principles for the sake of
promised Ministerial patronage.
[Illustration: RIVAL CANDIDATES.]
_April 10, 1784._ _The Parody, or Mother Cole and Loader._ (See
Foote's 'Minor,' page 29.)--The broad-spread figure of Lord North,
with a capacious hood round his head, is parodied as the sanctimonious
_Mother Cole_; a bottle of 'Constitution Cordial,' to sustain her
sinking spirits, is placed by her side. Fox, as _Loader_, with his
dicebox thrown to the ground, is listening, handkerchief in hand, to
_Old Moll's_ lamentations. 'Ay, I am going, a-wasting, and a-wasting.
What will become of the House when I am gone Heaven knows. No, when
people are missed, then they are mourned. Sixteen years have I lived
in St. Stephen's Chapel comfortably and creditably; and, tho' I say
it, could have got bail any hour of the day! No knock-me-down doings
in my House--a set of regular, sedate, sober customers--no rioters.
Sixteen did I say? Ay, eighteen years have I paid _Scot_ and _Lot_,
and during the whole time nobody has said, "Mrs. North, why do you say
so?"--unless twice that I was threatened with impeachment, and three
times with a halter!' Fox is moved to respond, 'May I lose deal, with
an honour at bottom, if Old Moll does not bring tears in my eyes.'
_April 12, 1784._ _The Devonshire, or most approved method of securing
votes._--The Duchess of Devonshire has taken to her arms the person
of a fat and greasy butcher, whom she is favouring with a salute in
the zeal of patriotism; another fair canvasser (possibly the Duchess
of Gordon), rejoicing in proportions more expanded than those of the
beautiful Georgiana, is seconding the proceeding; while, shouting
'Huzza, Fox for ever!' a lusty butcher, with his tray under his arm, is
cheering and hurrying up to share his possible reward.
[Illustration: THE DEVONSHIRE, OR MOST APPROVED MANNER OF SECURING
VOTES.]
_April 12, 1784._ _The Westminster Watchman._--Charles James Fox is
represented as the trusty guardian, standing unmoved and at his ease
amidst the 'Ministerial thunderbolts;' he wears on his head the _cap
of Liberty_, and his support is the _staff of 'uprightness_;' his
dog, the faithful companion of his rounds, is _Vigilance_; and his
lamp, which sheds its light on everything around, is _Truth_. A pair
of superannuated and useless watchmen are shuffling off--Hood 'for
Greenwich,' and Wray 'for Chelsea.'
The plate is inscribed to Fox's supporters--'To the independent
Electors of Westminster this print of their staunch old watchman, the
guardian of their rights and privileges, is dedicated by a grateful
Elector. N.B. _Beware of counterfeits, as the Greenwich and Chelsea
Watchmen are upon the look-out!_'
_April 12, 1784._ _The Poll._--The scene is still the polling-booth,
Covent Garden; the canvassers, committees, and mobs are giving their
entire attention to the performance carried on for their entertainment
between the fair rival advocates, who are balanced at either end of a
plank laid across a stone post. The Duchess of Devonshire is sent up
into the air; her end of the poll is carried over Fox's head; '_Duke
and no Duke, a play_,' is placarded above her.
[Illustration: THE WESTMINSTER WATCHMAN.]
The opposite extreme of _the poll_ is weighed down effectually by the
weight of a corpulent lady, described in these election squibs as
_Madame Blubber_, the Honourable Mrs. Hobart (Lady Buckinghamshire),
of _Pic-Nic_ notoriety. Hood is cheating by kneeling down and clinging
to the skirts of the Ministerial championess, he lends an additional
weight to his side of the balance; behind them is Wray, defying his
opponent. Over the heads of this group flutters a placard, '_The Rival
Candidates, a farce_.'
The Opposition party dwelt mainly upon Sir Cecil Wray's renegade want
of principle in turning against his leader, Fox. His liberality was
severely called in question, and there was a satirical story of his
keeping nothing in his cellar but small beer. The old symbolism of
slavery and France--wooden shoes--was revived for the occasion; much
stress was laid on the extensive polling of soldiers for Hood and Wray
at the beginning of the election, when on one occasion two hundred
and eighty of the Guards were sent in a body to give their votes as
householders. This, Horace Walpole observes, _was_ legal, 'but which
my father (Sir Robert) in the most quiet sessions would not have dared
to do.' All dependents on the Court were commanded to vote on the same
side as the soldiers. The following placard, which was put out early
in the canvass, is a fair example of the courtesies with which the
Ministerial manoeuvres were acknowledged by their opponents:--
'All _Horse Guards_, _Grenadier Guards_, _Foot Guards_, and _Black
Guards_ that have not polled for the destruction of _Chelsea Hospital_
and the _tax on maid-servants_ are desired to meet at the _Gutter
Hole_, opposite the Horse Guards, where they will have a full bumper of
_knock-me-down_ and plenty of _soapsuds_, before they go to the poll
for Sir Cecil Wray or eat.
'N.B. Those that have no shoes or stockings may come without, there
_being a quantity of wooden shoes provided for them_.'
[Illustration: LORDS OF THE BEDCHAMBER.]
_April 14, 1784._ _Lords of the Bedchamber._--The Duchess of
Devonshire, in her morning gown and cap, is favouring two privileged
visitors with a cup of tea in her boudoir.
The Duchess is attending to the tea urn; above her head hangs the
Reynolds portrait of her liege lord. Sam House, in his publican's
jacket, is seated, stirring a cup of tea, on the sofa beside Fox, who
is familiarly patting his friend and indefatigable ally on his bald
head by way of friendly encouragement.
Sam House was one of the most popular figures of his day, and he came
into especial prominence, as we have seen, during the Fox's canvass. He
is said to have kept open house during the Westminster Election at his
own expense, and was honoured by entertaining the great Whig nobility.
He was an indefatigable supporter of Fox, and his assistance was, as
may be supposed, of no trifling moment to the cause.
See brave Sammy House, he's as still as a mouse,
And does canvass with prudence so clever;
See what shoals with him flocks to poll for brave Fox;
Give thanks to Sam House, boys, for ever, for ever, for ever!
Give thanks to Sam House, boys, for ever!
Brave bald-headed Sam, all must own, is the man
Who does canvass for brave Fox so clever;
His aversion, I say, is to _small beer and Wray_!
May his bald head be honour'd for ever, for ever, for ever!
May his bald head be honour'd for ever!
_April 20, 1784._ _The Covent Garden Nightmare._--This subject is a
parody on a painting by Fuseli. Rowlandson has taken the idea and
fitted it to the purpose of an electioneering squib. Fox is represented
stretched in an uneasy slumber, nightmare-ridden. An unearthly
incubus oppresses his body and haunts his repose; a corpulent imp is
crouched on his hams pressing the great man's chest, while the head
and shoulders of a supernatural mare are shown making their appearance
through the bed-curtains. On a table by Fox's side are shown the dice
and dicebox, the satirist's inevitable resource when dealing with the
frailties of the 'man of the people,' who, it must be confessed, had in
his day committed sufficient excesses in the way of gambling; a vice
he absolutely renounced in after-life, but not before it had ruined
his purse, imperilled his reputation, and proved a fruitful source of
recrimination in the mouths of his enemies.
_April 22, 1784._ _Madame Blubber on her Canvass._--We find the Duchess
of Devonshire and the Honourable Mrs. Hobart--the most prominent of
the fair electioneering agents who threw the power of their personal
charms into the political arena--scandalised alternately; her Grace
the fascinating Georgiana was represented as a softening influence
by which the votes of the butchers were secured; we find Pitt's fair
champion, _Madame Blubber_ (Lady Buckinghamshire), endeavouring to
cajole the same classes in identical fashion. The lady, who, it must
be acknowledged, was somewhat stout, is trying her hand amongst the
rough sellers of meat; she is holding out a purse as a bait, saying,
'Hood and Wray, my dear butcher;' the butcher's dogs are regarding the
canvasser suspiciously; their master, at ease in his armchair, without
moving his pipe from his mouth, is puffing out bluntly, 'I'm engaged
to the Duchess!' 'Pho! give her a glass,' suggests the butcher's
friend, who is drinking punch with him from a bowl on which is the
figure of a fox, the chopping-block serving as their table. _Madame
Blubber_ has a train of appreciative butcher's men in her wake; one is
declaring that she is 'the fattest cattle he ever handled!' a drover is
observing, 'Lincolnshire, dammee!' and a lad with a tray pronounces her
a 'plumper!'
THE COURT CANVASS OF MADAME BLUBBER.
_To the Tune of 'The First Time at the Looking-glass.'_
A certain lady I won't name
Must take an active part, sir,
To show that DEVON'S beauteous dame
Should not engage each heart, sir.
She canvass'd all, both great and small,
And thunder'd at each door, sir;
She rummaged every shop and stall--
The Duchess was still before her.
Sam Marrowbones had shut up shop,
And just had lit his pipe, sir,
When in the lady needs must pop,
Exceeding plump and ripe, sir.
'Good zounds,' says he, 'how late you be!
For votes you come to bore me;
But let us feel are you beef or veal--
The Duchess has been before you.'
A fishmonger she next address'd
With many a soothing tale, sir,
And for his vote most warmly press'd,
But all would not prevail, sir.
'The finest cod's-head sure in town,
Of oysters send two score too.'
'Extremely, madame, like your own--
The Duchess has been before you.'
A grocer next, to make amends,
The dame with smiles accosted:
'You grocers all to PITT are friends,'
Of her connection boasted!
'For plums and raisins, ma'am,' said he,
'I'm willing for to score you:
In politics we shan't agree--
The Duchess was here before you.'
Sly Obadiah was at prayers
With many pious folk, sir;
His pretty maid on the _back-stairs_
She found, and thus bespoke her:
'This riband take, all interest make;
Your master will adore you,
For Hood and Wray pray kiss and pray.'
'Now, Duchess, I'm once before you.'
A stable-keeper to engage
She then her talents tried, sir;
He fell into a monstrous rage,
And all her smiles defied, sir.
'Are you a full moon or Court balloon?
Get out, you female Tory;
Tho' Courts prevail I'll not turn tail--
The Duchess was here before you.'
However courtiers take offence,
And cits and prudes may join, sir,
Beauty will ever influence
The free and generous mind, sir.
Fair DEVON, like the rising sun,
Proceeds in her full glory,
Whilst madame's duller orb must own
The Duchess moves before her.
_April 22, 1784._ _Wit's Last Stake, or the Cobbling Voter and Abject
Canvassers._--Every stratagem which could secure the popular voice for
either candidate was freely put in practice; but while the Pittites
resorted to threats and force, Fox and his adherents relied mainly on
persuasion and good humour. _Wit's last Stake_ shows the exertions made
in the canvassing department. Fox is in the centre of the picture,
giving his knee as a seat for his fair advocate, the Duchess of
Devonshire, who is resorting to a subterfuge commonly employed as a
precaution against actions for bribery at elections, by the stall of
a cobbler, who happens to be a voter: her Grace has discovered that
her shoe requires a stitch; the cobbler, with his tongue thrust out
at the side of his mouth, is working at the supposititious repairs
with pantomimic energy; meanwhile his wife is receiving in payment
for the job a handful of sovereigns from her Grace's purse. The scene
takes place in Peter Street, and the cobbler's board announces,
'_Shoes made and mended by Bob Stichett, cobbler to her Grace the
tramping Duchess_.' A fox's brush is being waved overhead out of the
first-floor window by a supporter, who has been provided with pipe
and pot at the Whig expense. Fox is giving his right hand to another
voter, a tattered and stupified-looking scavenger, to whom Sam House
is also administering comfort in the shape of a pot of porter. Among
other followers of the 'Man of the People' Rowlandson has introduced a
chimney-sweeper and his boy.
[Illustration: WIT'S LAST STAKE, OR THE COBBLING VOTER AND ABJECT
CANVASSERS.]
Fox's canvass was enlivened by the rough humours of the various classes
whose favour he required to enlist; his own good-nature was equal to
every emergency. One blunt tradesman, whose vote he solicited, replied,
'Mr. Fox, I cannot give you my support; I admire your abilities, but
d---- your principles!' To which the candidate smartly responded, 'My
friend, I applaud you for your sincerity, but d---- your manners!'
In another instance Fox's application to a saddler in the Haymarket
for his interest was met with a practical joke--the man produced
a _halter_, with which he expressed his willingness to oblige the
statesman. Said Fox, 'I return you thanks, my friend, for your intended
present; but I should be sorry to deprive you of it, as I presume it
must be a _family piece_.'
_April 22, 1784._ _King's Place, or a View of Monsieur Reynard's Best
Friends._--Another gathering of Fox's fair adherents. The Prince of
Wales, surrounded by fashionably-dressed nymphs, wearing one of Fox's
favours below his plume, and with a fox-brush in his hand, is speaking
in his friend's favour: 'He supported my cause!' A pleasingly-drawn
female--probably intended to suggest Mrs. Robinson, the _Perdita_
of the Prince's early love-story--is asserting, 'He is as generous
as a prince, and a prince should not be limited!' A group of Lady
Abbesses are also saying 'good things' in their candidate's favour: 'He
introduced his Royal Highness to my house!' 'I have taken many a pound
of his money. Fox for ever. Huzza!'
_April 22, 1784._ _Political Affection._--The Duchess of Devonshire
is still slandered by the satirists; according to the present unjust
version her 'political affection' is causing her to neglect her infant,
the heir of the Cavendishes, to lavish her tenderness on a hybrid
prodigy, a fox dressed up in the robes of an infant. By the side of a
neglected cradle is seen a cat, forgetting her kitten to lick the face
of a poodle.
This coarse hostility to the Duchess was probably popular in its day,
as we find a long series of allusions conceived in the same spirit.
_April 23, 1784._ _Reynard put to his Shifts._--The artists always
took care to draw the Duchess of Devonshire as handsome and graceful
as possible, even when their satires were most reckless and unsparing;
while they descended to outrage the lady's fair reputation by
innuendoes which were utterly unwarrantable. The beauteous Devon is
standing in the middle of the picture, filled, as usual, with animation
for the Whig cause; she is offering the shelter of her protection to a
panting and frightened fox, whose pursuers are following fast on his
brush. A huntsman is encouraging his hounds: 'Tally O! my good dogs!'
'No Coalition,' 'No India Bill,' and other party utterances are put
into the mouths of the pack.
_April 29, 1784._ _The Case is Altered._--The election has gone
against Sir Cecil Wray, and he has to turn elsewhere; Fox, it will be
remembered, in addition to his return for Westminster, was elected
for Kirkwall (Scotland), and in the print he is shown driving his
discomfited opponent to Lincoln.
The Ministerial candidate is not travelling with a flourish of
trumpets, but is smuggled off in the 'Lincolnshire caravan for
paupers;' the knight is reflecting over his reverses: 'I always was a
poor dog, but now I am worse than ever.' Fox is acting as charioteer;
he is saying, over his shoulder, 'I will drive you to Lincoln, where
you may superintend the _small beer and brickdust_.'
Lord Hood, who has come upon this conveyance suddenly, is moved with
pity for his late colleague; he cries, 'Alas! poor Wray.'
[Illustration: THE CASE IS ALTERED.]
As the increasing number of votes gave fresh spirit to the Foxites,
satirical squibs, and songs exulting over Wray's possible downfall
and his future fate, were plentifully put forth by the wits of the
Opposition. The following specimen will illustrate the nature of some
of the placards which were scattered about towards the close of the
election:--
_Oh! help Judas, lest he fall into the_ PITT _of ingratitude_!!!
_The_ prayers _of all bad Christians, Heathens, Infidels, and
Devil's agents are most earnestly requested for their dear friend_,
JUDAS ISCARIOT, _Knight of the Back-stairs,
Lying at the period of political dissolution, having received a
dreadful wound from the lovers of liberty and the Constitution, in
the poll of the last ten days at the Hustings, nigh unto the Place
of Cabbages._
_April 29, 1784._ _Madame Blubber's Last Shift, or the Ærostatic
Dilly._--This caricature pictures the hustings at Covent Garden, with
a distant view of Richmond Hill. _Madame Blubber_ has patriotically
contrived to convert herself into an air-balloon, for the collection
and conveyance of _outlying voters_, crying, 'This may save him,' an
allusion to some incident in the canvass. A brace of voters have been
secured in the parachute of this novel Ærostatic Dilly; these favoured
gentlemen are enabled to take a flying view from their elevation of
the hustings below. Wray and Hood are anxiously looking forward to the
arrival of their balloon. According to the inscription given on the
plate, in the artist's hand, the print represents 'The grand political
Balloon, launched at Richmond Park, on the--March, 1784, and discharged
by secret influence with great effect in Covent Garden at 12 o'clock on
the same day.
'As it may be necessary to explain to the public upon what principles
a body was conveyed twelve miles with so great velocity, it must
be understood that the lady, though ponderous, being of a volatile
disposition, out of decency sewed up her petticoats, which, being
filled with gas, immediately raised her to a considerable height
in the atmosphere, and, by the attraction of secret influence, was
conveyed to her desired object--the support of Hood and Wray and the
Constitution--and descended happily to the hustings with two outlying
and dependent voters.'
Tho' in every street
All the voters you meet
The Duchess knows best how to court them,
Yet for outlying votes,
In my petticoats,
I've found out a way to transport them!
Eight trips in this way,
For Hood and for Wray,
I'll make poll sixteen in one day.
Dear Wray, don't despair,
My supplies by the air
Shall recover our losses on Monday!
_April 30, 1784._ _Procession to the Hustings after a Successful
Canvass._ (No. 14.)--Fox's supporters, a body of highly respectable
householders, wearing huge Fox favours in their hats, are walking in
procession to the hustings, cheered by the mob, and preceded by a
marrowbone-and-cleaver accompaniment. At the head of the train marches
the famous Duchess, with a somewhat novel standard; the other fair
canvassers, whose portraits occur in the previous prints, are following
in the footsteps of their illustrious leader; one is carrying a
placard, '_Fox and the Rights of the Commons_;' another has a mob-cap
and an apron, borne fluttering on a pole, with the words, '_No tax
on Maid-servants_.' Behind follows a monster key--_the key of the
back-stairs_--carried to deride the defeated candidate and the Court
influence which had vainly been brought into play for his support.
[Illustration: PROCESSION TO THE HUSTINGS AFTER A SUCCESSFUL CANVASS.]
_May 1, 1784._ _Every Man has his Hobby-horse._--The successful
candidate is chaired in a novel and agreeable fashion; his noble
supporter, the Duchess of Devonshire, has taken him 'pick-a-back,' and,
with staff and scrip, is bearing the victor on his triumphant progress;
she is pausing at the door of _Mungo's Hotel, dealer in British
spirits_, and soliciting the hospitality of the proprietor, a black
man: 'For the good of the Constitution, give me a glass of gin!'
Various bacchanalian revels are proceeding around, on the strength
of Fox's triumphant return; the mob are huzzaing around two monster
standards, which are topped by the cap of Liberty, and inscribed,
'_Rights of the Commons. No prerogative_,' '_Fox and Liberty all over
the world_.' An ensign is introduced, as appropriate to the occasion,
significantly figuring forth a pair of executioner's axes, bound with a
wreath of laurel.
_May 6, 1784._ _Wisdom Led by Virtue and Prudence to the Temple of
Fame._--This print is ascribed to Rowlandson, and in various points
it offers a close resemblance to his style of execution. _Wisdom_
in the present case is personified by the successful candidate for
Westminster; the Duchess of Devonshire and Lady Duncannon, wearing
_Fox_ cockades in their head-dresses, are represented as _Virtue_ and
_Prudence_. The former lady is also carrying a fox's-brush; she is
crying:--
Let Envy rail and Disappointment rage,
Still Fox shall prove the wonder of the age!
To which Lady Duncannon is adding:--
Triumph and Fame shall every step attend
His king's best subject and his country's friend!
Britannia is seated, in an attitude of expectation, at the portal of
the _Temple of Fame_; she is bidding her patriotic son 'welcome to her
arms.' Sir Cecil Wray, represented as a disappointed Fury, is seen in
the distance; he is soliloquising:--
Now, by the ground that I am banish'd from,
Well could I curse away a winter's night.
_May 11, 1784._ _A Coat of Arms. Dedicated to the Newly-created Earl
of Lonsdale._--There is no publisher's name to the plate, which offers
a fanciful and by no means flattering design for an appropriate coat
of arms and supporters, gratuitously presented for the use of Sir
James Lowther, _the newly-created Earl of Lonsdale_. Two ragged and
semi-clad Volunteers, the one minus his _culottes_, the other without
shoes, with the initials W. M. on their crossbelts, form the supporters
of a shield, above which figures the earl's coronet. There are six
quarterings, each filled in with paper scrolls: 'False Musters,' 'False
Certificates for Volunteer Companies,' 'False Returns,' 'Retention of
Clothing,' 'Contract for building a man-of-war (cancelled and money
returned),' and 'Retention of Bounty.' The motto of this suggestive
escutcheon is, '_Who doubts it?_'
Pitt had obtained his first seat in Parliament (1781) through the
influence of Sir James Lowther, described by 'Junius' as 'the
contemptuous tyrant of the North.' In 1784, when the King and his Prime
Minister deemed it prudent to reward the adherents of their party, and
at the same time strengthen the Court influence, by creating a new
batch of peers, Pitt repaid his obligation to Lowther (the Duke of
Rutland, Pitt's fellow-student at Cambridge, had enlisted Lowther's
influence in his favour), by raising him to the House of Peers, under
the title of the Earl of Lonsdale, thus overleaping the two inferior
stages of the peerage. It might be supposed that this reward would
have been commensurate with his pretensions, but Earl Lonsdale's
name appearing at the bottom of the list of the newly-created earls
published in the _Gazette_, he threatened to reject the earldom, and
means were with difficulty found to appease his irritation.
The wits of the 'Rolliad' made the most of the circumstance: 'Hints
from Dr. Prettyman to the Premier's Porter.--Let Lord Lonsdale have _my
Lord_ and _your Lordship_ repeated in his ear as often as possible; the
apartment hung with garter blue is proper for his reception.'
My lords, my lords, a whisper I desire--
Dame Liberty grows stronger--some feet higher;
She will not be bamboozled as of late--
_Aristocrate et la Lanterne_
Are very often cheek by jowl, we learn,
Within a certain neigh'b'ring bustling State:
I think your lordships and your graces
Would not much like to dangle with wry faces.
PETER PINDAR'S _Ode to Lord Lonsdale_.
_May 11, 1784._ _The Westminster Mendicant._--The rejected candidate
for Westminster has been sent forth a wanderer. The figure of Sir Cecil
Wray is represented as a blind beggar; he is resting his head and
shoulders on a long staff; under his left arm is held a _Subscription
Scrutiny Box_, in allusion to the vexatious scrutiny set on foot by
his party; and he holds a spaniel by a string; a second begging-box is
attached to the dog's collar. The mendicant is issuing a doleful appeal
to the public:--
Pity the weak and needy, pray;
Oh! pity me; I've lost the day.
Above the head of the blind man's dog is the following:--
See here the dog, of all his kind
The fittest for a beggar blind:
The beast can bark, or growl as hog;
His name is Churchill,[26]--oh, the dog!
Below the title is engraved:--
Ye Christians, charitable, good, and civil,
Pray something give to this poor wandering devil.
By men cast out, perhaps by God forgiven,
Then may one Judas find a road to heaven.
The Irish chairmen--who had played such a conspicuous part in the
early riots, where they routed the sailor-mob brought up by Hood to
intimidate Fox's voters--had a fling at their discomfited enemy in a
'new' ballad, '_Paddy's Farewell to Sir Cecil_':--
Sir Cecil be aisy, I won't be unshivil;
Now the Man of the Paple is chose in your stead;
From swate Covent Garden you're flung to the Divil;
By Jasus, Sir Cecil, you've bodder'd your head.
Fa-ra-lal, &c.
To be sure, much avail to you all your fine spaiches;
'Tis nought but palaver, my honey, my dear;
While all Charlie's voters stick to him like laiches,
A friend to our liberties and our _small beer_.
Fa-ra-lal, &c.
Ah, now! pray let no jontleman prissent take this ill;
By my truth, Pat shall nivir use unshivil werds;
But my varse sure must praise, which the name of Sir Cecil
Hands down to oblivion's latest records.
Fa-ra-lal, &c.
If myshelf with the tongue of a prophet is gifted,
Oh! I sees in a twinkling the knight's latter ind!
Tow'rds the verge of his life div'lish high he'll be lifted,
And after his death, never fear, he'll discind.
Fa-ra-lal, &c.
_May 18, 1784._ _The Westminster Deserter Drumm'd out of the
Regiment._--This caricature brings the election scenes in Covent Garden
to an end; the Court party is defeated, and the Man of the People has
triumphed. Sir Cecil Wray is handcuffed as a deserter, and is being
drummed away from the hustings; he is exclaiming, 'Help, Churchill!
Jackson, help! or I am lost for ever!' It is worthy of record that Sir
Cecil Wray's figure disappears from the caricatures until 1791, when we
meet him again with a barrel of small-beer under his arm, assisting the
members of the Opposition (whose ranks he rejoined) to carry out the
'_hopes of the party_,' as set forth in a famous pictorial satire by
Gillray (July 14, 1791).
In the _Westminster Deserter_ 'honest Sam House' is drumming away
with a will, and Wray is obliged to run the gauntlet of a line of
exasperated Chelsea Pensioners, who are expressing a wish that '_all
public deserters may feel public resentment_;' a body of maid-servants
are marching in the rear, with shovels, mops, and brooms, brought out
in readinesss to sweep forth their antagonist. The electioneering mob
is divided between hooting the 'Deserter' and applauding the success of
the 'Champion of the People,' who is planting the standard of Britannia
and manfully acknowledging his gratitude to his supporters: 'Friends
and fellow-citizens, I cannot find words to express my feelings to you
upon this victory.'
Fox's difficulties, as regarded his seat for Westminster and the
hostilities of his opponents, the Court party, did not end with the
election; the Ministerialists had from the first declared their
intention of demanding a scrutiny if Fox succeeded, because it was
known that, under the circumstances, this would be a long, tedious, and
expensive affair. The returning officer acted partially, and upon Sir
Cecil Wray's application for a scrutiny declined to make his return
pending the investigation. Fox had secured a seat for Kirkwall,
so that he was not hindered from taking his place in the House; and
after some months' delay, and a great deal of fighting on both sides,
the High Bailiff, Thomas Corbett, was ordered to duly return Charles
James Fox as Member for Westminster, as is set forth in a caricature
by Rowlandson (_see_ March 1, 1785). Fox subsequently thought proper
to bring an action against the High Bailiff, and that functionary in
return for his perfidy was cast in heavy damages--a fresh triumph for
the Opposition.
[Illustration: THE WESTMINSTER DESERTER DRUMM'D OUT OF THE REGIMENT.]
_May 18, 1784._ _Secret Influence Directing the New Parliament._--King
George III. is complacently seated on his throne; once more
reassured on the subject of his Parliament, he is remarking, with
self-congratulation, 'I trust we have got such a Parliament as we
wanted.' _Secret Influence_ is represented on one side by a huge
serpent whispering secret counsel to the monarch. The head of the
reptile is that of Lord Temple. Lord Thurlow, on the other side of
the throne, still wearing his Chancellor's wig, his body represented
as that of a monstrous bird of prey, is observing, with his usual
overbearing roughness, 'Damn the Commons! the Lords shall rule,' while
the Scotch influence, in the person of Lord Bute, partially concealed
behind the throne, is echoing, 'Very gude, very gude; damn the Commons!'
Britannia, unconscious of her danger, is calmly reposing, with her
elbow resting on her shield, while Fox, who has recognised the dangers
which are threatening the liberty of the people, is trying to rouse
the slumberer, and crying, 'Thieves, thieves! Zounds, awake, madam, or
you'll have your throat cut!'
[Illustration: THURLOW. BUTE. GEORGE III. TEMPLE. BRITANNIA. FOX.
SECRET INFLUENCE DIRECTING THE NEW PARLIAMENT.]
_May 18, 1784._ _Preceptor and Pupil._
Not Satan to the ear of Eve
Did e'er such pious counsel give.--MILTON.
The Prince of Wales, wearing his plumed hat, has fallen asleep; Fox,
now represented as a toad, with a fox's brush for a tail--who has
crept from the concealment of some neighbouring sedges--is insinuating
pernicious counsel into the ear of the slumberer--
Abjure thy country and thy parents, and I will give thee dominion
over Many powers. Better to rule in hell than serve on earth.
_May 18, 1784._ _The Departure._--This affecting scene is taking place
outside the Prince of Wales's residence; his Royal Highness is watching
the departure of his friend from the window. Fox is mounted on a
patient ass, ready to ride the road to 'Coventry;' the High Bailiff,
having unlawfully refused to make his return until the conclusion
of the scrutiny which Sir Cecil Wray thought proper to instigate,
the caricaturist hints that, for the time, the Whig leader will be
'left out in the cold' until the question of his return is finally
settled. Fox has accordingly rolled up his India Bill, and is taking a
doleful farewell of his fair champions, the Duchess of Devonshire and
Lady Ducannon, on either side of his steed; the sorrowing ladies are
grasping his hand and crying--
Farewell, my Charley!--let no fears assail.
Ah, sister, sister, must he, then, depart?
To lose poor Reynard almost breaks my heart.
Fox is observing, before his departure--
If that a Scrutiny at last takes place,
I can't tell how 'twill be, and please your Grace!
Burke is standing, equipped as a postilion, in readiness to drive off
his ally, with a _plan of economy_ under his arm.
_May 25, 1784._ _Liberty and Fame Introducing Female Patriotism to
Britannia._
She smiles--
Infused with a fortitude from heaven.
SHAKESPEARE'S _Tempest_.
This print has nothing of the caricature about it, excepting, perhaps,
the unusual spirit, lightness, and ease of execution. All the figures
are graceful and elegant, and the attitudes leave nothing to be
desired. Britannia is on her throne, the British lion is at her feet,
and the ocean, with her ships riding triumphant, is extending as far as
can be seen; the figures of _Liberty_ and _Fame_, with their respective
attributes, are tripping up to the throne, leading the beautiful
Georgiana forward to receive the laurels of victory.
_May 20, 1784._ _For the Benefit of the Champion. A catch, to be
performed at the New Theatre, Covent Garden. For admission apply to the
Duchess. N.B. Gratis to those who wear large tails._
[Illustration: FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE CHAMPION.]
The 'catch' is performed by the Duchess of Devonshire, Fox, and Lord
North; the grief expressed by the singers is, of course, apocryphal.
The Duchess is leading; she wears a Fox favour in her hat, which is
further garnished with a fox's brush; she is pointing to a tombstone
topped with the death's head and crossbones, and inscribed, 'Here lies
poor Cecil Ray.' 'Look, neighbours, look! Here lies poor Cecil Wray.'
'Dead and turned to clay,' sings Fox; to which Lord North adds, 'What!
old Cecil Wray?' The sharp profile of Burke is thrust through the door.
The pictures hanging round the room are appropriate to the subject: a
committee of foxes are wondering over 'The Fox who has lost his tail;'
'The Fox and the Crow,' in which sly Reynard is represented as gazing
longingly at the cheese held in the crow's beak; 'Fox and the Grapes,'
and 'Fox and Goose.'
_May 28, 1784._ _The Petitioning Candidate for Westminster._--Designed
according to a note on the plate, by Lord James Manners, and
executed by Rowlandson. As we stated in an earlier caricature, due
precautions were employed that Fox should not be left without a place
in the newly-constituted Parliament, and accordingly in the present
print--nearly the last of the series put forth on the Westminster
Election for 1784--Fox, with a fox's head and brush, completely dressed
in a suit of tartan, is speeding along, on a Highland pony, away from
Kirkwall (for which he took his seat) back to London, flourishing his
plaid, and crying, 'From the heath-covered mountains of Scotia I come.'
We can now take leave of the caricatures called forth on the
Westminster Election and continue our review of the remainder of the
satirical prints issued by Rowlandson in the course of 1784.
_November 2, 1784._ _The Minister's Ass._ Vide _Gazetteer_, November
11, 1784. Published by S. W. Fores, 3 Piccadilly.--Three mounted
figures are shown crossing Wimbledon Common; one gentleman's donkey is
speeding along briskly; a gallant lady, mounted on a grey horse, is
riding between the two cavaliers and their donkeys; she is giving a
friendly cut with her whip at the animal bestridden by her left-hand
neighbour--the minister's ass, in fact, which is refusing to gallop
forward; the rider is wearing his blue riband. A figure in the rear
is endeavouring to reduce the refractory beast to reason with a
scientifically administered kick.
_December 10, 1784._ _Anticipation of an intended Exhibition, with
an excellent new ballad to be sung by a High Character, to the tune
of 'The Vicar and Moses.'_ Mark Lane, delin. and fecit. Published by
T. Harris, High Street, Marylebone.--This caricature sets forth by
anticipation the fate of Christopher Atkinson, M.P., who was sentenced
on November 27, 1784, and pilloried November 25, 1785. A print by
Gillray (August 12, 1782) gives a view of the trial under the title of
'_The Victualling Committee Framing a Report_.' Peter Pindar also makes
a poetical allusion to the circumstances. Christopher Atkinson, M.P.
for Heydon, Yorkshire, was convicted of peculation in his semi-official
capacity as corn-factor to the Victualling Board. He was finally tried
at the King's Bench for perjury, found guilty, and expelled from the
House of Commons.
In Rowlandson's view of the novel situation of the contractor
the pillory is raised on the Corn Exchange, and the criminal is
standing with his head and hands enclosed in a board, with two dwarf
corn-sheaves on either side; the Sheriffs, with a numerous crowd of
citizens, are attending the exhibition, which Atkinson does not find to
his taste. The sentiments of the pilloried contractor are expounded in
a ballad:--
Here stand I, poor soul,
With my head in a hole,
To be gazed at by all passers by;
And what's this about,
This racket and rout,
But for swearing a mercantile lie!
They say that for gain
I've a rogue been in grain
But what is all that to the point?
If all were so serv'd
Who, like me, have deserv'd,
The State would be soon out of joint.
Many agents, I fear,
Would have their heads here,
And, like me, be expos'd to detractors;
What would you do then,
For Parliament men,
Should any of them be contractors?
For my part I rejoice,
And with loud, grateful voice
Proclaim it to all my beholders;
Notwithstanding your scoff,
I think I'm well off,
That my head is still left on my shoulders.
I know it full well,
And for once truth will tell,
Tho' my speech in this d--d place may falter:
Not a session goes by
But much less rogues than I
Their last contract make with a halter.
But as I am quitting
I think it is fitting
My future pursuits you should know:
When I leave the King's Bench
I will live with the French;
To the devil my country may go.
1784. _John Stockdale, the Bookselling Blacksmith, one of the King's
New Friends._ (See _Intrepid Magazine_.)--Old Stockdale, the somewhat
notorious publisher of his day, who, like the hero of the last picture,
had the honour of standing in the pillory, is shown at his forge,
surrounded by hammers and horseshoes, and with a tethered jackass
waiting his attentions, as soon as the _Bookselling Blacksmith_ shall
have completed the work he has in hand, the somewhat incongruous
occupation of hammering out folio volumes on an anvil.
SOCIAL CARICATURES.
_January 24, 1784._ _A Sketch from Nature._ Published by J. R. Smith,
83 Oxford Street.--This plate is apparently scarce, since the only
impression the writer has seen is one in the French National Collection
of Engravings, Paris, where the admirer of Rowlandson's works will be
gratified to discover a very fair gathering of caricatures by this
master, the collection containing certain scarce subjects which it is
difficult to find elsewhere, besides several proofs of rare plates. The
prints throughout are in capital preservation; in several instances an
impression from a rare plate, and a coloured print from the same, are
mounted side by side.
_A Sketch from Nature_, which is the first and perhaps the best print
of the Paris series, is rendered, like most of the plates published
by J. R. Smith, exceptionally interesting from the care and delicacy
bestowed on the engraving, and the success with which the tender
expressions, which Rowlandson knew so well how to throw into the
faces of his female beauties, are preserved and transferred to the
copper. The subject is engraved in stipple, and, as a print after
Rowlandson, it exhibits unusual quality and finish. The subject is
somewhat hazardous: a situation borrowed from that inexhaustible epic
the _Rake's Progress_, presenting all the license of debauchery, but
expressed without coarseness. A mixed party of nymphs and roysterers
are performing bacchanalian orgies; the 'Lady Abbess' has succumbed
to her potations, and is slumbering heavily in her armchair. Punch
and wine are flowing indiscriminately; a poodle has come in for
the contents of a punch-glass, which is overturned, and a man in
tipsy wantonness is upsetting a punch-bowl over the dog's head. The
arms of a sweetly pretty Bacchante are entwined round the neck of
the maudlin reveller. Beside the well-filled table sits a youthful
military 'blood;' another nymph, whose adolescent charms are liberally
displayed, is seated on the knee of this son of Mars. The young lady
is evidently disposed to be frolicsome, since she is flourishing in
the air a full-bottomed wig, which she has snatched from the head of
a corpulent Silenus, in whom age has failed to bring sober reason or
to correct frivolity; this ancient buck is deservedly getting his face
scratched and clawed in an amorous struggle with a handsome maiden,
dressed in a hat and feathers, who is forcibly repelling the advances
of the elderly rake.
1784. _English Curiosity, or the Foreigner Stared out of
Countenance._--From this social caricature it seems that some
distinguished foreigner was visiting this country in 1784, whose
general appearance was exciting more public attention than would be
considered polite. The foreigner is dressed in a gay military uniform,
and has gone to enjoy himself at the theatre; but the eyes of the
audience do little else but stare at his uniform. The identity of this
bird of passage is not very positive at this date. The plate, as a
whole, is as characteristic and well-drawn an example of Rowlandson's
etchings as can be found; the countenances of the spectators are
capitally filled in, the various types of theatre-goers are hit off
with spirit, and the female faces and figures are rendered with
remarkable sweetness.
[Illustration: COUNSELLOR AND CLIENT.]
1784. _Counsellor and Client._--A simple citizen has waited on his
lawyer with a document; the client is seated, very ill at ease; we
can see that he is the person who will suffer; his face expresses
perplexity and suspense. The counsellor is, on the contrary, very
much at his ease, and is looking over the document confided to him,
with a sly and satisfied expression, evidently seeing his way to some
'excellent practice.'
_May 4, 1784._ _La Politesse Françoise, or the English Ladies' Petition
to His Excellency the Mushroom Ambassador._ Published by H. Humphrey,
Bond Street.--The representative of Louis XVI. is all bows and smirks,
lace ruffles and cravat, sword, bagwig, and shoe-buckles; he has
turned his face away from a bevy of fair English beauties, bejewelled,
prodigiously feathered, and wearing long court trains; the ambassador
is obdurate to the entreaties of his petitioners. 'Parbleu, mesdames,
_vous n'y viendrez pas_.'
With clasped hands and bended knees,
They humbly sought the Count to please,
And begged admission to his house.
Not that for him they cared a louse,
But wished within his walls to shine,
And show those charms they think divine.
His Ex. beheld these belles unmov'd--
His back their impudence reproved.
_July 24, 1784._ _1784, or the Fashions of the Day._ H. Repton inv.,
T. Rowlandson fecit.--The Park, with its mixed crowd of fashionable
promenaders and pleasure-seekers, has afforded the designer ample scope
for the delineation of both grotesque and graceful figures, modishly
apparelled. In 1784, while the older generation still clung to the
garments characteristic of the earlier Georges, the younger branches
rushed into all the latest innovations--costumes which are generally
received as distinctive of the end of the last and the beginning of the
present century. Thus to the observer of the picturesque the fashions
of 1784 offered the external habits of two distinct epochs. Among other
features, indicative of the introduction of novelties, the artist has
represented the parasol, or more properly the umbrella, then an object
likely to occasion remark, as its general use was just coming into
fashion.
_August 8, 1784._ _The Vicar and Moses._ Published by H. Humphrey, 18
New Bond Street.--A pictorial heading, in Rowlandson's characteristic
style, to the famous old song of '_The Vicar and Moses_,' by G. A.
Stevens. The Vicar has been dragged unwillingly from his ale-cup, by
his clerk, to assist at the burial of a child; the family mourners are
waiting in the churchyard, as shown in the picture; Moses, the clerk,
has put on his bands and found the parson's place in his book, and he
is lighting the erratic footsteps of his patron with a broken candle
placed in a horn lantern; as to the rotund dignitary of the Church,
he is reeling along reluctantly; he wears his cassock and bands, as
was the daily fashion at one time, and his hat is thrust well over his
full-bottomed wig, which is somewhat awry; in one hand he retains his
faithful pipe, and his tobacco-box is held in the other. The verses,
which are tolerably well known, offer a whimsical description of how
the Vicar, who happened to be _non si ipse_ (_i.e._ 'the parson was
tipsy'), having been disturbed at his meditations over a pot of ale,
was informed that he was required to read the burial service over the
body of one of his flock; the pastor felt strongly inclined to remain
where he was, and proposed to postpone the ceremonial.
Then Moses reply'd:
'Sir, the parish will chide
For keeping them out in cold weather.'
'Then, Moses,' quoth he,
'Go and tell 'em from me
I'll bury them warm all together!'
'But, sir, it rains hard;
Pray have some regard.'
'Regard! ay, 'tis that makes me stay,
For no corpse, young or old,
In rain can catch cold;
But faith, Moses, you and I may!'
Moses begg'd he'd be gone,
Saying, 'Sir, the rain's done;
Arise, and I'll lend you my hand.'
'It's hard,' quoth the Vicar,
'To leave thus my liquor--
To go when I'm sure I can't stand.'
At length, tho' so troubled,
To the churchyard he hobbled,
Lamenting the length of the way.
Then 'Moses,' said he,
'Were I a Bishop, d'ye see,
I need neither walk, preach, or pray!'
The whole composition is more humorous than reverential, but it
indicates the taste of the period, according to the last lines:--
'And thus we have carried the farce on:
The taste of the times
Will relish our rhymes,
When the ridicule runs on a parson.'
_November 1, 1784._ _New-Invented Elastic Breeches._ Designed by Nixon.
Etched by Rowlandson. Published by W. Humphrey.
_November 8, 1784._ _Money-Lenders._--A young nobleman is receiving
the visits of certain usurers. One Hebrew gentleman, the principal, or
'capitalist,' is dressed with a certain attention to the fashion of
the day, which proves that he is by no means an insignificant member
of the money-lending fraternity. A deed or bond, the security on which
the young spendthrift is expecting an advance, is being duly examined
by a more miserly-looking Shylock--'a little Jew-broker,' in fact. As
to the borrower, it is clearly indicated that he is quite at his ease
in the transaction; it seems evident that whatever money he may raise
(regardless of the sacrifices to which he submits in obtaining it) will
be quickly thrown to the winds, and 'the dose will have to be repeated
as before' until his resources are exhausted.
[Illustration: MONEY-LENDERS.]
_September 25, 1784._ _Bookseller and Author._--A characteristic
drawing, in Rowlandson's best recognised style, bearing the name of
Henry Wigstead as inventor, published by J. R. Smith. The persons of
the publisher and author present the marked and conventional extreme
contrasts which the two spheres of life were supposed to suggest--the
one gross and prosperous, the other meagre and miserable. The scene of
the interview may be assumed to be the back-shop of the bookseller; it
is fitted around with shelves lined with books. The trader is stout
and solid; his spectacles are thrust up on his forehead, his pen is
behind his ear, and his hands are held beneath his coat-tails, in a
self-assertive attitude, implying well-to-do pomposity.
Wigstead, whose name is associated with authorship (although his
professional position as a magistrate exempted him from the sufferings
of a struggling literary hack), has painted the professional gentleman
in no flattering colours; the man of letters is wretchedly lean in
person, and abjectly subservient in manner to the trafficker who is
buying his ideas; his hat is held respectfully under his arm, and his
manuscript, which he is endeavouring to recommend to his patron, is
in his hand. One of the bookseller's clients, a respectable Church
dignitary, who is looking through the library, with great owl-like horn
spectacles on his reverend nose, is present at the interview, and is
regarding the poor literary hack with an air of inflated superiority.
1784. _London, Made and Sold by Broderip and Wilkinson, 13
Haymarket._--A plate for a trade advertisement, introducing the
figures Apollo, Daphne, &c., drawn and etched with considerable grace
and spirit. Among Rowlandson's renderings of the works of other men we
may mention a sketch after T. Mortimer, etched by T. R., 1784. This
study portrays the back view of an Italian or Spanish peasant woman,
playing the flute.
1784. _The Historian Animating the Mind of a Young Painter._--This
subject represents the painting-room of a young artist, furnished with
a drawing-table, an easel, a couple of chairs, a settee, and a bust,
while a few sketches of figure subjects are pinned on the walls. The
painter, who is a well-favoured youth, is seated with his back to his
easel, on which is a classic study in course of execution. His palette
is on the ground, and he is holding a crayon in one hand, and a folio,
which is serving as his drawing-board, in the other, ready to dash down
his conceptions as soon as his imagination is sufficiently inspired
by the effects of his friend's readings. The learned historian, whose
hat and gloves are at his feet, wears a full-bottomed wig and large
round rimmed spectacles. His appearance is somewhat clerical, and he
is evidently filled with enthusiasm for the subject on which he is
declaiming, book in hand. The limner's wife, in a morning dress, is
seated by the fire, amusing her infant son, who is standing on her knee
in a nude state, the infant being probably impressed into the service
of the fine arts as the model for a cherubim. No publisher's name is
given on this plate, which is delicately rendered.
1784. The print of a group of three figures; in the centre is a
pretty simple maiden, whose face wears an artless expression, such as
Rowlandson excelled in delineating, seated in an armchair, and grasping
the hand of a youth, who has opened a vein in his arm, while another
maid, in a morning cap and dress, is lending her assistance. The name
of R. Batty has been given in MS. as 'sculpsit.' Both the drawing of
the figures and the style of the etching are strongly indicative of
Rowlandson's handiwork.
1784. _Rest from Labour on Sunny Days._ Designed and etched by T.
Rowlandson.--A peasant is sitting in an easy attitude perched upon the
ruins of a temple, playing the flute; a pretty peasant maid is leaning
beside him, with her dog at her feet. Etching and aquatinta.
1784. _Billingsgate._--All the humours of this famous academy of slang
are displayed. The fish-selling fags have their baskets planted in rows
in front of the landing-place. The hampers of the porters and the masts
of ships are seen beyond. The Billingsgate hawkers are offering their
fish vociferously for sale, getting drunk, and generally behaving in
the disorderly style attributed to them. A gouty customer, evidently
an epicure, who has come to select a turbot for his table, is seized
unceremoniously by his wig and coat-tails and tripped up in the
exertions of a fishfag aided by her urchin to arrest the passer, and
call attention to certain goods she is holding out for inspection.
1784. _Miller's Waggon._
1784. _A Timber Waggon._ Published by E. Jackson,
14 Marylebone Street, Golden Square.
1784. _Country Cart Horses._ "
1784. _Dray Horses. Draymen and Maltsters._ "
1784. _Higglers' Carts._ "
1784. _A Post-chaise._ "
1784. _A Cabriolet._ "
_Rowlandson's Imitations of Modern Drawings._ Folio. 1784-88.
F. Wheatley A Coast Scene, fishermen, fisherwomen, &c.
" A Companion "
Gainsborough A Sketch; trees, cottages, &c.
" Cattle, river side.
F. Wheatley A Fair.
Bartolozzi A Pair of Cupids.
Barret and Gilpin Mares and Foals.
" Cattle.
Gainsborough Landscape sketch.
Mortimer A Storm at Sea.
Gainsborough Cows.
Zucchi Harmony. Two nymphs singing, another
playing a lyre.
Mortimer The Philosopher.
Barret Ruins, and a Park.
Mortimer A Study.
Barret Ruins, &c.
Gainsborough A Cottage, &c.
" An Open Landscape.
Mortimer Scene in 'The Tempest,' from Shakespeare.
Republished 1801. J. P. Thompson, Soho.
G. Barret Lake Scene.
Saurey Gilpin, R.A. Horses.
G. Holmes The Sage and his Pupil.
Michael Angelo Leda and the Swan.
G. B. Cipriani Sleeping Venus and Love.
FOOTNOTES:
[24] 'General Johnson reminded Mr. Fox that he had undertaken to bring
in another East India Bill. Mr. Fox did not deny that he had said
he could have his Bill ready within a day or two--he said so still;
but, as there was not, at present, any Government--any strong, and
efficient, and constitutional Government--he thought it would be absurd
to enter on the discussion of any measure; since, whatever it might be,
it would not be carried into execution.'--_Morning Post_, Feb. 9, 1784.
[25] Lord Thurlow, whose private life, if we may believe the
caricaturists, was not of the purest.
[26] In several of the caricatures directed against Wray the
discomfited candidate is invoking the assistance of Churchill, who was,
however, apparently unable to offer his patron any effectual aid.
1785.
_January 7, 1785._ _The Fall of Achilles._--It was evident from the
first that the chances of the members of the late Coalition Ministry
returning to power were weakened in the new Parliament, and it soon
became obvious that, even as an Opposition, their party was without
either weight or influence. Fox in looking round the recently elected
House found himself surrounded by country gentlemen, Pitt's following,
whose faces were unfamiliar to him. Pitt was firmly settled, the
unquestioned master of the situation. It is the youthful Premier who
has come forth, in the character of Paris it is presumed, with a bow
and a quiver of arrows, the better to shoot Whiggism on the wing; he
has just sent a bolt straight into the flying Opposition; the arrow has
lodged in the heel of the mighty Fox, who is represented double the
size of his triumphant adversary.
Thus do I strive with heart and hand
To drive sedition from the land!
The Whig chief is disabled, in spite of his armour, and he is lying at
the mercy of the enemy.
There is nought but a place or a pension will ease
The strain that I've got in my tendon Achilles.
The turns of North and Burke seem likely to follow; the prostrate form
of Fox is tripping up his friend's retreat; North's sword and buckler
seem of no service to him; he is crying in perplexity--
This curs'd eternal Coalition
Has brought us to a rare condition.
Burke is trying to make good his escape.
Before thy arrows, Pitt, I fly;
I d--n that word _prolixity_.
_January 24, 1785._ _Mock-Turtle._ Published by S. W. Fores.
_March 2, 1785._ _The Golden Apple, or the Modern Paris._ Published by
J. Phillips, Piccadilly.--The Prince of Wales is represented in the
enviable position of Paris, deciding between the respective attractions
of the three Duchesses, Rutland, Devonshire, and Gordon, the rival
luminaries whose brilliancy dazzled society, and whose beauties graced
the Court of the Prince of Wales. A gallant songster of the day has
perpetuated the charms of this dazzling trio in the following lines,
appropriate to Rowlandson's agreeably-expressed cartoon:--
Come, Paris, leave your hills and dells;
You'll scorn your dowdy goddesses,
If once you see our English belles,
For all their gowns and bodices.
Here's Juno Devon, all sublime;
Minerva Gordon's wit and eyes;
Sweet Rutland, Venus in her prime:
You'll die before you give the prize.
_March, 1785._ _The Admiring Jew._ (Etched 1784.) Published by T.
Smith, 6 Wardour Street, Soho.--An old Jew, who is evidently a man of
substance, but awkward, ugly, and ill-bred, is twiddling his fingers
and thumbs and pouring soft persuasions into the ear of a handsome and
well-dressed lady, who is apparently a person of fashion.
[Illustration: THE DEFEAT OF THE HIGH AND MIGHTY BALISSIMO CORBETTINO
AND HIS FAMED CECILIAN FORCES, ON THE PLAINS OF ST. MARTIN, ON
THURSDAY, THE 3RD DAY OF FEBRUARY, 1785, BY THE CHAMPION OF THE PEOPLE
AND HIS CHOSEN BAND.
After a smart skirmish, which lasted a considerable time, in
which many men were lost on both sides. But their great ally, at
length losing ground, desertions took place, and notwithstanding
their vast superiority in numbers and weight of metal at the
first onset, this increased apace, altho' often rallied by the
ablest man in command, till at length the forces gave way in
all quarters and they were totally overthrown. This print is
dedicated to the Electors of the City and Liberty of Westminster,
who have so nobly stood forth and supported their champion upon
this trying occasion, by
AN INDEPENDENT ELECTOR.
_March 7, 1785._ _Defeat of the high and mighty Balissimo Corbettino
and his famed Cecilian Forces_, on the plains of St. Martin, on
Thursday, the 3rd day of February, 1785, by the Champion of the People
and his Chosen Band.--Fox, at the head of his party, whose arms are
legal weapons, such as _Law_, _Eloquence_, _Perseverance_, and _Truth_,
is routing and putting to flight the combined forces of his opponents,
led by Sir Cecil Wray and the High Bailiff, Corbett. At the Westminster
Election it will be remembered, Fox had gained the victory over his
antagonists; and the Scrutiny, moved for by Sir Cecil Wray, being
concluded, the proper return was directed to be made; and, as we have
mentioned, the successful candidate brought an action and recovered
heavy damages against the High Bailiff (who had made himself the tool
of the Ministerialists). Fox is protected by his buckler, inscribed
'Majority 38;' he is sweeping away the 'Cecilian forces' with the sword
of 'Justice;' a laurel crown is placed on his brow by a celestial
messenger, who is also charged with the decision of the Court--'It
is ordered that Thomas Corbett, Esq., do immediately return.' Fox is
declaring, 'The wrath of my indignation is kindled, and I will pursue
them with a mighty hand and outstretched arm until justice is done
to those who have so nobly supported me.' Sir Cecil Wray's shield of
_Ingratitude_ is no defence, and his weapon has snapped short; he is
crying in despair, 'My knees wax feeble, and I sink beneath the weight
of my own apostacy!' The High Bailiff is thrown down; he confesses, 'My
conscience is now at peace;' an ally is crying, 'Help, help! our chief
is fallen. O conscience, support me!' Corbett's lawyers have turned
their backs on the cause of the client: 'Nor law, nor conscience, nor
the aid of potent Ministers, can e'er support the contest 'gainst such
a chief!' 'Our support is gone and we are fallen into a Pitt; yea, even
into a deep Pitt!'
_March 27, 1785._ _The surprising Irish Giant of St. James's Street.
'The surprising Irish Colossus, King of the Giants, measuring eight
feet ten inches; noble Order of St. Patrick, &c.'_--The figure of the
famous Irish Giant is drawn with skill and originality by Rowlandson.
The person of this colossus, although gigantic, is graceful, and
his proportions are such that the spectators who surround him are
apparently dwarfed to half the usual standard. The giant's right hand
is resting on the head of a military commander, the tallest man in
the room, who, while standing bolt upright, does not reach much above
the waistband of the Irish mammoth. Another officer, while standing
on tiptoe on a chair, is still a full third short of the height of
the prodigy. The ladies are struck with wonder at such gigantic
limbs, and one of them is comparing her tiny foot with the large and
well-proportioned member of the giant; while some of the audience are
investing themselves in his top-boots. The skeleton of this remarkable
person is preserved in the Hunterian Museum, College of Surgeons.
'Mr. Lynn related to-day that the surgeons, in spite of the vigilance
of the Irish Giant's friends, obtained the body for dissection. They
made several attempts to bury it in the Thames, or to convey it to
Dover. But the body-hunters were too keen for all they aimed at; and
after keeping the corpse fourteen days they sold it to John Hunter for
100_l._ The heart was preserved, and was very large.... The stature of
the skeleton measures eight feet two inches.'--'MS. Journal of Captain
E. Thompson, R.N.' (_Cornhill Magazine_, May 1868.)
_April 12, 1785._ _The Wonderful Pig._ Published S. W. Fores, 3
Piccadilly.--The artist has given a grotesque representation of the
learned hog, spelling his words before a delighted audience; the
individual characteristics of the spectators are capitally diversified;
their actions and groupings are, as usual, marked with vivacity.
According to a placard over the mantel-piece of the hall in which this
intellectual entertainment was offered we learn: 'The surprising pig,
well versed in all languages, perfect arithmetician, mathematician, and
composer of music.'
_May 27, 1784._ Verses published 1785. _The Waterfall, or an Error in
Judgment._ Published by Wallis, Ludgate Hill.
The coxcomb, student, and attorney vile,
Jew bail and tipstaff, added to the pile;
All rush in terror, or from gain or sport,
And headlong tumble down the steps of Court.
The incident on which this print was founded occurred, according to the
magazines, &c., in 1785; and, as numerous illustrations appeared at the
time, it seems that the artist has put the date of the year wrongly.
_The Waterfall_ represents the Court of King's Bench in an uproar. The
members of the Bench and the Bar, counsellors, attorneys, and clients,
suitors and witnesses, are taking to flight indiscriminately, trampling
over one another in their precipitate retreat, tumbling down the stairs
of Westminster Hall, while robes, wigs, and briefs are lost in the
struggle.
Rowlandson's illustration of this scene of consternation is used as the
heading for a song to the tune of '_The Roast Beef of Old England_.'
According to the song the recitative relates:--
'Twas at the Hall of Rufus, Woodfall tells,
Where brawling, sneering Discord ever dwells;
Where honest men despond, where tricking thrives,
And Law against plain Reason ever strives,
A sudden fright seiz'd all the black-rob'd race,
And inward horror mark'd each hideous face.
A maiden appear'd on the roof of the Hall,
And, washing a window, her water let fall,
Which frighten'd the mighty, the short, and the tall.
Oh, the clean maid of Westminster!
And, oh, the clean Westminster maid!
Her trickling of water made such a sad noise,
It threw the Court into a horrid surprise;
All feeling alike--alike they all rise.
Oh, the stout hearts of the lawyers!
And, oh, the lawyers' stout hearts!
They thought that the roof was all coming down;
And knowing how much they deserv'd Heaven's frown,
All hasten'd, with loss of wig, band, and gown,
Out of the Court of Westminster,
And out of Westminster Court.
The Serjeants were wounded in limbs, nose, and eye;
Like leaves of the Sibyls their briefs scattered lie
A sight very pleasant to all standers-by.
Oh, the torn robes of the Benchers!
And, oh, the Benchers' torn robes!
For Ruspini's Styptic some half-dozen run;
But the crowd stayed to laugh and enjoy the high fun;
All hop'd the long thread of the Law was now spun.
Oh, what a joy to Old England!
And, oh, to Old England what joy!
But Heaven, to punish this half-ruin'd nation,
Permitted again each to take his old station,
The people to gall with the deepest vexation.
Oh, what a grief to Old England!
And, oh, to Old England what grief!
1785. _Comfort in the Gout._ (See July 1, 1802.) Republished 1802.
_June 28, 1785._ _Vauxhall Gardens._ Engraved by R. Pollard, aquatinted
by F. Jukes. Published by John Raphael Smith.--It will be remembered by
the reader that, in the earlier part of this sketch of _Rowlandson's
Life, Works, and Times_, special reference is made by the artist's
friend and the frequent companion of his adventures, Henry Angelo, to
their expeditions to Vauxhall Gardens to study character. The varied
humours discovered at this popular resort employed Rowlandson's pencil
frequently, as we are told in the _Memoirs_. It seems, on the authority
of those who were most intimate with the caricaturist, and who were
also thoroughly well acquainted with the leading examples of his skill,
that _Vauxhall Gardens_ may be accepted as his _chef d'oeuvre_ in the
general estimation. We can compare it to his drawing of the _Tuileries
Gardens_, which is even fuller of diversified groups.
In the famous picture of _Vauxhall_ we have the Rotunda, a marvellous
construction, built from the designs of an inventive carpenter, a
modest genius, who obtained a certain celebrity for his ingenuity.[27]
'The gilded scallop-shell,' described by Thackeray in the Vauxhall
episode which is introduced in the opening of _Vanity Fair_, was as
it appeared within the writer's recollection, a melancholy, tawdry
substitute for the vanished splendours as noted in Rowlandson's
drawing. A portly lady, standing in front of the orchestra, is
warbling ballads to the highly genteel company, the patrons of the
entertainment; of the performers we are able to offer but scanty
particulars.
[Illustration: COMFORT IN THE GOUT.]
The figure of the fair vocalist is evidently intended for that of Mrs.
Weichsel, a Vauxhall favourite, already mentioned as the mother of
the great Mrs. Billington, the pride of English operatic celebrities.
It was at Mrs. Weichsel's benefit, which Rowlandson attended at 'the
little theatre in the Haymarket,' that our artist produced a sketch of
this musical family. To return to Vauxhall, Angelo and other informants
supply us with a hint or two of the company. Daniel Arrowsmith was
engaged as one of the principal singers, 'where Mrs. Kennedy and that
capital bass, Sedgwick, entertained the public for several seasons.'
Joe Vernon, of Drury Lane Theatre, is mentioned among the performers.
Barthelemon was leader of the band; Fisher played the hautboy; and Mr.
Hook was conductor and composer.
To describe the visitors: the most conspicuous figures, which occupy
the centre of the picture, and are exciting the admiring regards of
the frequenters of Vauxhall scattered around them, are understood
to be intended for the fascinating Duchess of Devonshire and her
sister, Lady Duncannon. Among the 'freaks of folly' recorded by our
invaluable authority Angelo he mentions having frequently 'seen many of
the nobility, particularly the Duchess of Devonshire, &c. (the '&c.'
expressing a whole crowd of fashionable notorieties), with a large
party, supping in the rooms facing the orchestra, French horns playing
to them all the time.'
Captain Topham, the macaroni-scribbler of fashionable intelligence
and genteel scandalmonger to _The World_, a newspaper of which he was
conjointly proprietor, editor, and principal contributor, is standing
upright as a post, dressed in a smart uniform, and quizzing the fair
through his glass. A stout old Commander, stranded on shore, with only
one eye and one leg left from his naval glories, is planted, lost in
admiration, on the Duchess's right. This gallant veteran is understood
to represent Admiral Paisley, the reputed original, according to the
caricaturist, who has drawn his portrait more than once, of '_The Tough
Old Commodore_'--
Why, the bullets and the gout
Have so knocked his hull about,
That he'll never like the sea any more!
A clerical person over the shoulder of Lady Duncannon is a free
rendering, it is hinted, of Bate Dudley, who was the hero of a
somewhat notorious Vauxhall adventure. By the side of the reverend
sable-clad editor of the _Morning Post_ stands a handsome figure,
dressed in full Highland costume, with a veritable claymore under
his arm, of which the bearer was reported to well know the use; this
gentleman's person is reported to be introduced as a compliment
to another editor, James Perry, of the _Morning Chronicle_, who
was, Angelo relates, very expert with the Highland broadsword, its
exercise being his favourite diversion; 'he might be frequently met
at masquerades and places of entertainment, dressed in the costume of
a Highlander, with a party of Scotch lassies, dancing Scotch reels.
For variety of steps, Highland flings, &c., he was particularly noted;
crowds collected round him.'
Another conspicuous group introduces the Prince of Wales, afterwards
George the Fourth, then a sweet youth, whose persuasions were supposed
to be irresistible, and 'whose smile was victory;' he is represented
whispering soft flatteries in the ear of a not unwilling fair, whose
right hand is held captive under the arm of a gentleman, presumably her
better half. This tender situation is reported to indicate a well-known
episode in the career of the Heir Apparent, which, although somewhat
threadbare, still retains an air of romance. 'Prince Florizel,' wearing
his brilliant star on his breast, is addressing himself covertly to the
most conspicuous figure of the party, the captivating Mrs. Robinson by
general acceptation, the graceful _Perdita_, in connection with whom,
as the artist has drawn him, the Prince is said to have
Gazed on the fair
Who caused his care,
And sigh'd and look'd, and sigh'd again.
The lady is coyly trifling with a trinket suspended by a chain round
her shapely throat, possibly the identical locket affectingly alluded
to by the 'British Sappho' (as not impartial admirers subsequently
dubbed the fair poetess) in her Memoirs; this _gage d'amour_, which
is almost historical in the chronicle of small affections, containing
Prince George's portrait, then a handsome, fine-complexioned youth,
with a profusion of fair hair, as painted in miniature by Meyer, was
presented in an early stage of the flirtation to the lady, through
Lord Malden, the _Leporello_ of the transaction. Within the case of
this tribute of tenderness was a heart, appropriately cut in paper, on
one side of which was inscribed, '_Je ne change qu'en mourant_;' and
on the other, '_Unalterable to my Perdita through life_;' a lover's
protestation which was not remarkably verified by the subsequent
inconstancy of the impressible _Florizel_.
Within a supper-box--one of those grotesque-looking cabinets which
many who have visited the shades of Vauxhall may still bear in vivid
remembrance--is assembled another convivial party, the members
of which have been described--we are inclined to suspect without
any sufficiently valid foundation--as the representatives of an
illustrious and very familiar literary coterie. A stout personage,
in the centre, of massive proportions, has been adopted as a free
rendering of the person of the famous Doctor Johnson, who is pictured
as characteristically intent on his supper, and indifferent alike to
his company and the sprightly society which surrounds his box; seated
in a corner, on the great lexicographer's left, anecdotic Boswell is
shown, pausing, open-mouthed, to catch the good things that may fall
from his eminent leader; Mrs. Thrale, on Johnson's right, is saying
something very pertinent to Oliver Goldsmith, who is endeavouring to
carve the contents of his plate. His stolid features do not express
anything approaching to rapturous appreciation of the accomplished
blue-stocking's extraordinary flow of bewitching conversation.
Before we leave the attractive vicinity of _Vauxhall Gardens_, as its
picturesque humours were noted by an able hand a century ago, we must
offer a few traits of the delightful old haunt and the wicked ways of
its frequenters. Our inexhaustible informant Angelo is considerate
enough to enlighten our more repressive generation on the practices of
the period.
The dashers of the day, instead of returning home in the morning
from Vauxhall, used to repair to the Star and Garter, at Richmond;
and, on some occasions, the madcap excursions were pushed farther.
Angelo mentions a party of which he had formed a member, when, while
crossing Westminster Bridge, the sight of a boat suggested a fresh act
of extravagant frolic, no less than being rowed to the Tower, taking
places, and straightway setting off in the famous hoy for the sea-trip
to Margate, which in those times was quite a journey.
We have already introduced a certain witty and pugilistic divine;
let us avail ourselves of Angelo's remembrances of an incident in
his career, the scene of which belongs to the print we have been
endeavouring to elucidate for our readers. Parson Bate--better known by
this _soubriquet_ than by his later title as Sir Bate Dudley--who was
at the time editor of the _Morning Post_, obtained the nickname of the
_Fighting Parson_, from a memorable affray in Vauxhall Gardens.
The particulars of the _fracas_ are thus related in the
_Reminiscences_:--'Mr. Parson Bate, as magnificent a piece of humanity,
perhaps, as ever walked arm-in-arm with a fashionable beauty in the
illuminated groves of Vauxhall, was promenading and chatting, with the
celebrated Mrs. Hartley,[28] her Woodstock glove gently rubbing against
his sable sleeve; when Mr. Fitzgerald (who was subsequently hanged
in Ireland for certain malpractices), in company with Lord Littleton
and Captain O'Bourne, most ungallantly gave offence to the lady and
her protector by severally turning short round upon her and, with the
most marked rudeness, staring in her face. This offensive behaviour
was resented by Mr. Bate, and, if my memory does not deceive me, he
chastised the offenders on the spot.'
Mr. Bate's paper, _The Morning Post_, obtained much celebrity by the
exposure of the three gentlemen for their rude attack upon a lady. The
_rencontre_ begot a paper war, which was, for some weeks, maintained
with great rancour on both sides; but the superior wit and powerful
satire of Parson Bate were so manifest that his opponents were beaten
out of the literary arena.
'Subsequent proceedings led to a meeting of the parties at a tavern,
where, it seems, some explanation was entered into and an apology was
offered. This, as appeared later on, was a discreditable stratagem on
the part of the aggressors to revenge themselves on this redoubtable
priest, by procuring for him, as they anticipated, a sound drubbing;
they had, however, once more mistaken their man.
'These three confederates met according to appointment, and Mr. Bate
brought his friends too. A strapping spark was then introduced to the
party as Captain----, who had been prompted to insult the pugnacious
reverend, with the hope of provoking him to a personal attack, as at
Vauxhall. This mock captain was a well-known prize-fighter. The parson,
not at all daunted by the insolent threats of the ruffian, fell upon
him, and with his own weapons, so completely thrashed him that he was
taken away almost senseless in a hackney-coach.'
A farewell incident of Vauxhall, and we will leave for good the
precincts memorable in the history of the past. This time we are
carried to the _rendezvous_ with Angelo and his friends in company with
the most incorrigible blades of the town.
'Lord Barrymore's fondness for eccentricities ever engaged his mind.
Whether in London or Wargrave 'twas all the same--always in high
spirits, thinking of what fun he should have during the day. Seated,
after dinner, at eleven o'clock, on one of the hottest evenings in
July, he proposed that the whole party should go to Vauxhall.
'The carriage being ordered, it was directly filled inside; and the
others outside, with more wine than wit, made no little noise through
the streets.
'We had not been long at Vauxhall when Lord Barrymore called out to a
young clergyman, some little distance from us, who, when he approached
and was asked, "Have you had any supper?" to our surprise answered,
"Vy, as how, my lord, I have not as yet had none." A waiter passing by
at the time, Lord Barrymore said, "You know me; let that gentleman have
whatever he calls for;" when he told the parson to fall to, and call
for as much arrack punch as he pleased. "Thank ye, my lord," said he,
"for I begins to be hungry, and I don't care how soon I pecks a bit."
'Lord Barrymore had that morning, unknown to us, contrived to dress
Tom Hooper, the tin-man (one of the first pugilists of that time),
as a clergyman, to be in waiting at Vauxhall, in case we should get
into any dispute. This fistic knight now filled the place of a lackey,
and was constantly behind the carriage, a sworn votary of black eyes
and disfigured faces. His black clothes, formal hat, hair powdered
and curled round, so far disguised him that he was unknown to us all
at first, though Hooper's queer dialect must have soon discovered
him to the waiters. This was a _ruse de guerre_ of Lord Barrymore's.
About three o'clock, whilst at supper, Lord Falkland, Henry Barry,
Sir Francis Molineux, &c., were of our party; there was at this time
a continual noise and rioting, and the arrack punch was beginning to
operate.
'On a sudden all were seen running towards the orchestra, the whole
garden seemed to be in confusion, and our party, all impatience,
sallied out, those at the further end of the box walking over the
table, kicking down the dishes. It seems that the effects of the punch
had not only got into Hooper's head but had excited an influence over
his fists, for he was for fighting with everybody. A large ring was
made, and, advancing in a boxing attitude, he offered to fight anyone;
but all retired before him. Felix McCarthy, a tall, handsome Irishman,
well known by everybody at that time, soon forced his way through the
crowd and collared him, at the same time saying, "You rascal, you
are Hooper, the boxer; if you do not leave the garden this instant
I'll kick you out." The affrighted crowd, who before retreated as
he approached them, now came forward, when Hooper, finding himself
surrounded, and hearing a general cry of "Kick him out!" made his
retreat as fast as possible, thus avoiding the fury of those who would
not have spared him out of the gardens, if he had been caught. We found
him at five in the morning behind Lord Barrymore's carriage, with the
coachman's great-coat on, congratulating himself upon having avoided
the vengeance of those to whom, a short time previously, he had been an
object of fear.'
_July 24, 1785._ _The Slang Society._
_August 11, 1785._ _Introduction._--There is hardly sufficient
authority to warrant the editor in directly ascribing this print
to Rowlandson; the work is evidently early, and very French in the
characteristics of costumes, surroundings, and subject. There are
points in the etched outline and in the general spirit and method of
execution, which lead to the impression that Rowlandson is at least
answerable for the etching and mezzotinting of the design. From the
costumes worn by the figures the date of the subject may be assumed to
be some time before the French Revolution. An overdressed old abbess,
her head and shoulders enveloped in a cardinal, is introducing a French
peer, who is toothless and decrepit, to a tall and fashionably-attired
beauty, who is rising to receive the visitor with an air of dignified
modesty.
[Illustration: AËROSTATION OUT AT ELBOWS, OR THE ITINERANT AËRONAUT.]
_September 5, 1785._ _Aërostation out at Elbows, or the Itinerant
Aëronaut._
_Vincent Lunardi._
Behold a hero, comely, tall, and fair!
His only food is philogistic air!
Now on the wings of mighty winds he rides!
Now torn through hedges! dash'd in ocean tides!
Now drooping roams about from town to town,
Collecting pence to inflate his poor Balloon.
Pity the wight and something to him give,
To purchase gas to keep his frame alive!
1785. _Going, a-going._--A handsome young huntsman has encountered, in
the course of his sport, a pretty country maiden, neatly apparelled,
and beaming with all the freshness of rustic simplicity and
artlessness. Her budding charms are tempting the youth to court the
maiden, to her own manifest embarrassment; meanwhile the gay Lothario's
huntsman is shown in the distance 'going' off with the horses: the
young squire's hunting, as far as the chase of the fox is concerned,
being evidently finished for the day.
1785. _Gone!_
[Illustration: TOO MANY FOR A JEW.]
_September 30, 1785._ _Too Many for a Jew._ Published by S. Alken,
Soho.
_October 1, 1785._ _An Essay on the Sublime and Beautiful._ Published
by T. Cornell, Bruton Street.--A ragged enthusiast, who, as we gather
from the shoe half-thrust into his coat-pocket, combines the cure of
human souls with the cobbling of leather soles, is holding forth to a
devout congregation.
[Illustration: AN ESSAY ON THE SUBLIME AND BEAUTIFUL.]
The companion print to this caricature is called _The Maiden Speech_,
and represents a Member, on the floor of the House, favouring the
representatives of the people therein assembled with their first
experience of his oratorical powers within the Parliamentary walls.
_October 5, 1785._ _Captain Epilogue_ (Major Topham, Editor of 'The
World') _to the Wells_ (Mrs. Wells). (See March 7, 1786.)
_Col. Topham endeavouring with his Squirt to Extinguish the Genius of
Holman._ (See December 1784.)
To what, O Muse! can I compare
In heaven, water, earth, or air!
The furious Epilogue.
His dress to ape, if ape they can,
Of every fop is now the plan,
And he's alone the vogue.
See to the side-box now he flies,
The optic to his eye applies
To aid his _piercing_ sight;
Whate'er he cannot comprehend
His _fiat_ to the Shades shall send,
And damn to endless night.
Should Holman _Garrick's_ art display,
'Tis twaddle, boreish, damn'd _outré_,
Quite vulgar, unrefin'd;
His Wells and Henderson alone
Possess'd of merit will he own;
To others' worth is blind.
[Illustration: COL. TOPHAM ENDEAVOURING WITH HIS SQUIRT TO EXTINGUISH
THE GENIUS OF HOLMAN.]
The macaroni Col. Topham, held in leading strings by Henderson and Mrs.
Wells, is vainly trying, armed with a critical squirt, to suppress
the rising celebrity of Holman, the actor, and writer for the stage.
Holman, it will be remembered (see life of Rowlandson), was one of the
caricaturist's schoolfellows.
_October 5, 1785._ _Captain Epilogue._ Republished March 7, 1786,
by E. Jackson, 14 Marylebone Street, Golden Square.--The figure of
Captain Topham, (afterwards Colonel) of the _World_ newspaper, of
which he was proprietor, editor, critic, and scandalmonger--the
fashionable intelligencer, _arbiter elegantiarum_, and man of fashion
and gallantry. We find the macaroni soldier and journalist a prominent
personage in the satirical effusions of his time; we recognise him
among Gillray's caricatures as the _Thunderer_ (August 20, 1782), and
later as the _Windmill_, standing forth advocating the interests of
Mrs. Robinson, the _Perdita_ who, deserted by the Prince of Wales,
found, it was hinted, refuge in the championship of _Captain Epilogue_.
In another cartoon Major Topham is bringing his lengthy accounts to
Pitt's pay-table, 'for puffs and squibs,' the literary services which
he had placed at the Ministerial disposal, and directed against the
Whig candidate, Lord John Townshend, during the Westminster Election
(August 14, 1788), which occurred when Lord Hood was appointed to the
Treasury Board. We find the gallant quill attacking merit where it
crossed his partialities, and the present caricature seems designed
to expose the Captain's _tendresse_ for the actress of his choice.
Epilogue is dressed, as he is always represented, in the height of the
latest French fashion, his coat, his stockings, his pumps, his frill
and ruffles, and his wig and queue being the very latest importations
from Paris; a finger-post is pointing to the _Wells_, and the somewhat
suggestive and highly modish figure of the lady is drawn below it.
1785. _A Cully Pillaged._ (Same date as _Comfort in Gout_.)--A
stalwart-looking bully has suddenly burst into an apartment; he has
seized and is securely holding an alarmed individual, whose hat is
thrown off and his wig is knocked awry; his pigtail is rigid with
terror; he is standing on tiptoe, his limbs paralysed with fear, while
a very picturesque-looking Cyprian, with hair and dress in somewhat
dishevelled condition, is deliberately exploring the pockets of the
victim.
1785. _Copper-plate Printers at Work._--This sketch, which is
vastly interesting, is probably drawn from the room in which the
caricaturist's etchings were pulled, an apartment evidently near
the sky. A couple of stalwart printers are hard at work rubbing
ink into the copper-plates. A sturdy workman is turning the press,
while a little oddity of a printer is drawing an impression from the
copper lately under pressure. A connoisseur, in spectacles, of the
old-fashioned type, is holding up a print at arm's length with a deeply
critical expression on his sharp features. Numerous prints are hung up
to dry on lines stretched across the chamber.
_About 1785._ _A Bed-warmer._--Another print, which was published
about this date, bears the name of H. Wigstead as _delt. et fecit_;
but, by a strange anomaly, although a few strokes of the outline here
and there belong to Wigstead's hand, which, from its untutored,
straggling style, is easy of recognition, the figures and filling in
are unmistakably by Rowlandson, who has paid his friend the compliment
of ascribing the entire credit of the composition to his name. The
subject represents a bedchamber; clothes, &c., are scattered about the
room; a venerable libertine, whose bed has evidently been recently
warmed, is endeavouring to retain by her skirt a remarkably handsome
and sprightly-looking chambermaid, whose figure is gracefully expressed
in Rowlandson's most felicitous manner, both as regards ease and
action. The offended nymph is making off with the chamber candle and
the warming-pan, the latter a formidable weapon for the defence of
assaulted virtue.
1785. _Temptation._--A companion plate was executed under the same
auspices, but the name of H. Wigstead in this instance appears as
designer only. It represents a scene of temptation. A decrepit and, as
far as years go, venerable libertine is offering certain proposals to
a pretty and finely-shaped maiden, who is weighing a purse with an air
of indecision, while the vicious dotard is pressing her disengaged hand
and leaning on her shoulder. The chamber is evidently the workroom of
a cobbler; his bench and a pile of shoes in the foreground have been
thrown over by the gambols of a dog and cat. In this case it is easy to
see that if the maiden does not retire from the struggle with unstained
hands, the elderly reprobate, whose crutch is under his arm, will not
come off unscathed, for behind the curtains of the bed, in the shadow
of the apartment, which seems to serve as workroom, kitchen, parlour,
and bedroom in one, appears the half-concealed and brawny person of
the cobbler himself, who is evidently enjoying the prospect of the
vengeance which he is about to let fall on the head of the old sinner.
1785. _Grog on Board._ (See Jan. 1794.) Published by S. W. Fores, 3
Piccadilly.
1786. _Tea on Shore._ (See June 1794.) Published by S. W. Fores, 3
Piccadilly.
_November 24, 1785._ _By Authority Persons and Property Protected._
Published by S. W. Fores.--His Majesty's (G.R.) Royal Mail Coach is
in a quandary; one horse is down, and a second is rearing; the hind
wheel is off; a fair traveller is sent sprawling on the ground in an
attitude which is neither easy nor becoming. An unfortunate passenger
has lost his wig, and in seeking to recover it has become jammed in
the coach-window. The coachman has lost his balance, and the shock is
capsizing his seat; the concussion has discharged the huge blunderbuss
borne by the guard through the letter-bags; the mails, and other
contents are scattered to the winds by the explosion; and, to cap the
misfortune, the lurch has accidentally loosened the trigger of a huge
horse-pistol carried in the guard's belt for extra security, and
the contents are peppering an unfortunate lady who has fallen on the
highway.
_November 28, 1785._ _Doctors Differ._ Published by S. W. Fores, 3
Piccadilly.
_November 30, 1785._ _The Sad Discovery, or the Graceless Apprentice._
Published by J. R. Smith, 83 Oxford Street.
[Illustration: INTRUSION ON STUDY, OR THE PAINTER DISTURBED.]
_November 30, 1785._ _Intrusion on Study, or the Painter Disturbed._
Published by S. W. Fores.--The studio of an artist, who is somewhat of
a macaroni; the painter is hard at his work; on his easel is a classic
subject; the principal figure is drawn from a pretty girl, his model,
who is 'sitting' before him; a squire and a young foxhunter are dashing
in, alike disregardful of the remonstrances of the artist and the
confusion into which their unceremonious entry has thrown his blushing
model, whose nude figure he is endeavouring to block out with his
palette. (Republished July 1, 1802.)
_November 31, 1785._ _Jockeyship._ Published by J. R. Smith, 83 Oxford
Street.--A view of that portion of the racing-ground where the jockeys
are about to mount. Various interested groups are represented as
surrounding the riders, and secret counsel, at the last moment, is
given to jockeys by owners of horses--possibly parting instructions to
ride either a winning or a losing race, as their private arrangements
may require. That the proceedings of the Turf were not perfectly pure
and above the comment of suspicion in the infancy of horse-racing is
indicated by the caricaturist in the last action of 'jockeyship;' the
riders, while shaking hands finally with their owners and backers, are
shown taking care to keep their left hands open behind their backs for
bribes from the other side; this signal is meeting a golden response.
The crowded stand and the racecourse are sketched in the background.
_December 1785._ _An Italian Family._ Rowlandson, delt.; Alken, fecit.
(See 1792.) Published December 1785 by S. Alken, Dufour's Place, Broad
Street, Soho. Sold by W. Hinton, Sweetings Alley, Cornhill.
_A French Family._ Sold by W. Hinton, Sweetings Alley, Cornhill.
(Republished 1792.)
_December 15, 1785._ _Courtship in High Life. Courtship in Low
Life._--A pair of prints designed and executed by Rowlandson in
imitation of drawings, and belonging to the same period as the more
finished and special works which the artist produced published by J.
R. Smith. In the former subject _High Life Courtship_ is represented
in the figure of an elegant young noble--probably meant for the Prince
of Wales--kneeling at the feet of a graceful and charming young lady
of extreme fashion; the portrait exhibits certain indications of
being intended for that of Mrs. Fitzherbert. There is a great deal of
animation and good taste in the composition. The companion print of
_Low Life Courtship_ introduces a British sailor, (who has lost an eye
and gained a wooden leg in the service of his country), pouring out
a bumper of spirits and regarding with a longing eye a careless and
semi-intoxicated-looking damsel, who, in spite of evident symptoms of
dissipation, is represented as buxom, fresh-looking, and well-favoured.
_December 15, 1785._ _City Courtship._
_December 15, 1785._ _Rustic Courtship._ Published by J. R. Smith, 83
Oxford Street. H. Wigstead, del.--Rowlandson has given his unmistakable
characteristics to this plate, which is executed in outline etching,
and filled in in aquatint, in admirable facsimile of the artist's
drawings, washed in Indian ink, and tastefully coloured. A fair cottage
beauty is spinning flax; her wheel is placed outside the cottage-door;
she is being stared at in vacuous admiration by a rustic Colin Clout,
who is grinning from ear to ear and scratching his forehead in
perplexity. Hop-poles are seen in the distance, and the landscape is
one of those pretty country scenes such as may often be seen in England.
_December 1785._ _Filial Affection, or a Trip to Gretna Green._
(Companion to _The Return from Gretna Green, or Reconciliation_.)--This
plate, which is executed in mezzotint, is usually worked up in
imitation of a water-colour drawing--its resemblance to the original
sketch, if judiciously tinted after Rowlandson's drawing, is
sufficiently close to prove deceptive. A post-carriage is tearing
along down hill, on the road to Gretna Green, drawn by four prancing
horses, ridden by a pair of jockeys, and pursued by a posse of mounted
horsemen. The foremost rider, a squire, booted and spurred, is coming
close to the elopers and flourishing his whip revengefully at the
occupants of the chaise; his horse is turned aside by the threatening
attitude of the fugitives. The lady, her feathers flying in the wind,
is leaning out of one window, pointing a formidable pistol at her
parent's head; while the dandified young swain who is the abductor in
this case is pointing a second pistol through the other window. The
rest of the chase are lost in the clouds of dust which the wheels of
the post-chaise are throwing in the rear. One venerable gentleman's hat
and wig are being left far behind, like those of our old friend John
Gilpin.
_December 17, 1785._ _The Reconciliation, or the Return from Scotland._
Published by W. Hinton, 5 Sweetings Alley, Royal Exchange.--The pair
of fugitives we saw in the previous subject are now, like a brace of
repentant turtledoves, returning to the family nest which they had
rashly forsaken. The gallant husband is all submission and civility,
pointing to the tears of his bride as their intercessors to the hearts
of the parents. The father is indicating that a place at his fireside
is still the right of his child; the old footman is joyfully placing
a chair for his young mistress; and the servants, introduced in the
doorway of the apartment, are in ecstasies to see the runaway couple
return and the domestic breach happily repaired.
[Illustration: THE RECONCILIATION, OR THE RETURN FROM SCOTLAND.]
_December 21, 1785._ _Botheration_ (Bar). Published by W. Hunter.
(Engraved by Alken.) Dedicated to the Gentlemen of the Bar.
[Illustration: HARMONY.]
_December 21, 1785._ _The Loss of Eden and Eden Lost._ N.B. 'Every
man has his price.'--_Sir Robert Walpole's politics._ Published by
W. Hinton, 5 Sweetings Alley, Royal Exchange.--This caricature gives
the portraits of two would-be benefactors of their country, who, the
satirist is inclined to hint, were not acting from purely disinterested
motives. General Arnold, dressed in his uniform, and with his sword
drawn, while offering up an invocation to _Liberty_, is one of the
figures; Eden (Lord Auckland) is the other; the patriotic statesman
has also apostrophised _Liberty_, and successfully in this instance,
with his pen; his pocket is well supplied with those good things which
have fallen to his share--'6,000_l._ _per annum_,' '_Commissioner to
America_,' '_Commercial Negociator to France_.'
Two patriots in the self-same age were born,
And both alike have gain'd the public scorn:
This to America did much pretend,
The other was to Ireland a friend.
Yet sword or oratory would not do,
As each had different plans in view.
America lost! Arnold, and, alas!
To lose our Eden now is come to pass.
1785. _Sympathy, or a Family on a Journey laying the Dust._ Designed
and etched by T. Rowlandson. Published by W. Humphrey.--The halt of a
coach on the road. The occupants have descended, and the coachman and
footman, horses, &c., are occupied as described by the title.
[Illustration: TASTES DIFFER.]
1785. _John Gilpin's Return to London._ Aquatinta by F. Jukes.
Away went Gilpin, and away
Went Postboy at his heels,
The Postboy's horse right glad to miss
The lumbering of the wheels.
Six gentlemen upon the road,
Thus seeing Gilpin fly,
With Postboy scamp'ring in the rear,
They rais'd the hue and cry:
'Stop thief! stop thief! a highwayman!'
Not one of them was mute;
So they, and all that pass'd that way,
Soon join'd in the pursuit.
1785. _Harmony--Discord._ A pair of contrasts.--_Harmony_ is a
remarkably graceful example of the artist's skill in indicating
pleasing forms and easy, flowing outlines. The warrior, we presume, is
relaxing the stern front of Mars by the practice of the softer arts,
and is seated at the side of a fair companion, who is holding her
hero's music-book on her lap.
1785. _Effects of Harmony._ (Companion to the above.)
1785. _Tastes Differ._--An antiquated individual, evidently
a connoisseur of old prints, dressed in his morning cap and
dressing-gown, is buried in the study of a large folio spread before
him; all his admiration is absorbed in his hobbies, to the neglect of
a young and pretty woman by his side, who is consoling herself, in
dreams, for the neglect with which as the plate seems to hint, the
superannuated spouse is treating the charms of her company and person.
[Illustration: NAP IN THE COUNTRY.]
1785. _Nap in the Country. Nap in Town._ Published by S. Alken,
Dufour's Place, Soho.--_A Nap in the Country_ represents the mid-day
rest of a rustic pair, who, while their sheep are calmly grazing and
their dog is keeping faithful watch, are, beneath the shadows of
spreading trees, indulging in 'forty winks' in the open country, after
their early morning toils.
[Illustration: NAP IN TOWN.]
A _Nap in Town_, which may also be taken as an afternoon siesta, though
equally luxurious, is not enjoyed under such healthy conditions as the
preceding; the town pair are taking their repose with as much lazy
ease as the circumstances will permit.
[Illustration: SEA AMUSEMENT, OR COMMANDERS-IN-CHIEF OF CUP AND BALL ON
A CRUISE.]
1785. _Sea Amusement, or Commanders-in-Chief of Cup and Ball on a
Cruise._--It appears from this print, which in the coloured editions is
judiciously tinted to make it resemble a drawing, that the inactivity
of our commanders at sea was attracting popular censure. In the plate
we find the admiral and his commodore, instead of sweeping the foes
of Britain from the ocean, as was the desire of the entire nation,
seated in the state-cabin, with a pile of gold-pieces on the ground,
devoting their energies to gambling with a child's toy. Scattered
around and trodden upon unheeded are plans of fortifications to be
bombarded, the charts of oceans to be navigated, and rough draughts for
the arrangement of the ships at the beginning of a sea-fight, such as
we find Nelson drew up for the guidance of his captains before going
into action on the eve of his glorious victories. An old salt, who
is pouring out tea for these degenerate warriors, is regarding their
puerile dispositions with an air of disgust and distress.
_December 26, 1785._ _French Travelling, or the First Stage from
Calais._
_December 26, 1785._ _English Travelling, or the First Stage from
Dover._
[Illustration: OPERA BOXES.]
[Illustration: OPERA BOXES.]
1785. (?) _Opera Boxes.
1786.
_January 1, 1786._ _The Supplemental Magazine._ Published January 1,
1786, by S. W. Fores, 3 Piccadilly.
_January 1, 1786._ _Private Amusement._ (See October 28, 1781), _E. O.
or the Fashionable Vowels_.
[Illustration: BOX-LOBBY LOUNGERS.]
_January 5, 1786._ _Box-Lobby Loungers._ Designed by H. Wigstead;
etched by Rowlandson; published January 5, 1786, by J. R. Smith, 83
Oxford Street.--The diversities of character introduced into this
drawing, which is one of Rowlandson's larger productions, entitle it to
a prominent place in a collection of the artist's works. Glimpses of
the theatre are seen through the open doors. In the coloured editions
of this plate, which is scarce and valuable, the most conspicuous
figure is that of a military hero, the adventurous Colonel George
Hanger (afterwards Lord Coleraine), companion and instigator of the
Prince of Wales's early frolics; well known to the satirists, and in
short one of the notorieties of his generation. This inveterate 'man
about town' is shown with his invariable companion, christened by
the eccentric Colonel, who rejoiced in a vocabulary of his own, his
'_Supple-Jack_,' a thick stick carried under his arm; the gallant
lounger, who has left the world a volume of eccentric _Memoirs_,
with his _Advice to Lovely Ciprians_ by way of Appendix, is lost in
admiration of two highly attractive nymphs, possible members of the
'Sisterhood;' while Georgey Hanger's truant eyes are engaged in the
contemplation of the personal charms of these butterflies of fashion,
the hand of a pickpocket is equally ready to carry off the Colonel's
seals from his fob, as a souvenir of the _rencontre_. On the right of
the ubiquitous hero another pair of lovely damsels, displaying the
follies of the mode in their attire, are attracting the somewhat marked
attentions of a circle of elderly admirers. A dwarfed and deformed
beau, elaborately dressed in the French fashion, probably designed for
the figure of Sir Lumley Skeffington, who was the authority, among the
_bucks_ and '_fashionables_' of his day, on theatrical matters, is
getting into trouble by the awkwardness into which his near sight and
his gallantry are combining to betray him; the train of an antiquated
belle is coming to grief through the clumsiness of _The Skeffington_.
The lady, whose native charms, in their decay, are considerably
heightened by art, has evidently availed herself of her fortune to
secure a handsome dandified young cavalier; two sturdy old retired sea
captains are contemplating the '_Skittish Skeffy_,' and his monkey-like
escapades with expressions of profound contempt. A superannuated man
of quality, a venerable _beau_ of scarecrow aspect, is foppishly
cultivating the good graces of a dashing 'girl of the period;' while
two extraordinary Don Juans, who, judging from their exteriors, would
not be suspected of engaging themselves in amorous intrigues, are
enlisting the friendly offices of a comfortable old body, who unites
the twin occupations of selling oranges and play-bills, with the
manipulation of delicate negociations, a recognised and experienced
ambassadress, in fact, to the court of Cytherea, duly credentialised,
and, as far as appearances can be relied on, a thoroughly discreet
and capable person in her profession. A play-bill, adhering to the
green-baize-covered walls of the Lobby, is intended to apply to the
situation of the frivolous habitués who are haunting the crowded
lounge--'_The Way of the World_,' and '_Who's the Dupe?_' Beyond the
main groups we have particularised, there are numerous individuals
scattered about, probably well-known characters in their generation,
whose persons and portraits were doubtless familiarly recognised at the
date Rowlandson favoured his contemporaries with this suggestive view
of their private amusements in the _Box Lobbies_.
_January 13, 1786._ _Love and Learning, or the Oxford Scholar._ Drawn
by Rowlandson. Engraved and published by B. Smith, 10 Pleasant Row,
Battle Bridge.--A print engraved in somewhat peculiar style as an
attempted _facsimile_ after the original drawing. The subject is an
undergraduate, who is leading a tall and graceful female tastefully
dressed in white, through a wood; the cavalier is pointing out the
beauties of the scene; the face of a forsaken lady, wearing a malignant
expression, appears from the concealment afforded by the forest shade.
Beauty invites, and love and learning plead;
The Oxford scholar surely must succeed.
Yet oh! ye blooming, soft inclining fair,
Of his too fatal eloquence beware;
For see, a slighted fair one is behind,
With jealous eye and most distracted mind!
_February 10, 1786._ _Sketch of politics in Europe January 24, 1786._
_Birthday of the King of Prussia._ _Toasts upon the occasion._ '_King
of Prussia_,' '_King of Great Britain_,' '_The Berlin Union_,'
'_Confusion to the Bavarian Project_,' '_The Wooden Walls of Old
England_,' '_The Illustrious House of Brunswick and Wolfenbuttel_,'
'_Destruction to the French Interest in Holland, and prosperity to
the House of Orange_,' '_May the British Lion and the Prussian Eagle
remain united for times everlasting_,' '_May the United strength of the
British Lion and the Prussian Eagle preserve the Ancient Constitution
of the German Empire, and the Protestant interest_,' '_May Universal
Monarchy, the bane of Human Nature, for ever remain a baseless
vision!_' This general view of the political prospects of Europe is
pictorially set forth in the fashion of an escutcheon, representing
the two Protestant monarchs under a pavilion, and seated side by side
on one throne--a Prussian grenadier behind the Great Frederick, and
a British sailor behind George the Third. Frederick is holding the
double-headed eagle of Austria in golden fetters, with his feet on the
motto _Universal Monarchy_. The names of the various German States,
Hanover, Brunswick, Hesse, Saxony, Deuxpont, and Mayence, are on two
shields at the sides of the pavilion. The reigning Duke of Brunswick,
and Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, are standing on either side of
the monarchs in the centre, as supporters, with their hands on their
swords; both are declaring to 'the twin Protestant heroes,' 'When you
agree, I am ready.' The neighbouring States are variously symbolised.
The Prince of Orange is praying for protection; Holland is figured as
a milch cow, of which France is monopolising the produce; and above,
a monkey, with the Crown and Insignia of France, has perched on the
globe, and is pointing his claw to Holland. Busts of the reigning
monarchs are ranged around. Denmark 'lays by' for the present; Sweden
is 'in the pay of France;' Portugal is crying, 'Oh! buy my wine;' Spain
wants 'the Rock;' Sardinia is declaring, 'You shall not settle without
me!' The Polish Bear, who is announcing that he 'is not muzzled,' is
standing between Russia and the Sultan of Turkey; the latter is hurling
defiances at Catherine, 'By the great prophet thou art but a woman!'
Russia, as a crowned beast of prey, is 'tortured by ambition, and
backed by Brother Joseph.'
_March 6, 1786._ _La Négligé._ Designed by '_Simplex Mundities_.'
Published by S. W. Fores.
_March 7, 1786._ _Captain Epilogue_, published by E. Jackson, 14
Marylebone Street.--The macaroni editor's portrait, as described in the
previous print (October 25, 1785), with the addition of a notice-board,
introduced above the post which points _To the Wells,--A Prospectus for
the 'World and Fashionable Advertiser.'_
_March 7, 1786._ _An Ordnance Dream, or Planning of Fortifications_,
published by S. W. Fores, 3 Piccadilly.--The Duke of Richmond--who,
perhaps in some degree on account of his partial French extraction,
and his left-handed Stuart descent, did not enjoy unmixed popularity,
was constantly brought into ridicule, with which the satirists met
his abortive fortification schemes, and a certain gun, of his own
construction, reputed of leather, which it is said he was anxious to
introduce.
[Illustration: AN ORDNANCE DREAM, OR PLANNING OF FORTIFICATIONS.]
The caricaturist has represented the distinguished Master-General
of Ordnance, an insipid edition of _Uncle Toby_, as the Duke was
frequently nick-named. The Duke is in his study, fast asleep in his
arm-chair, surrounded by his novel experiments. His foot is resting
on the 'Trial of Colonel Debbeig.' A case of fresh ammunition, in the
form of tobacco pipes, is lying by his side, and a number of rolled
up plans of the projected fortifications are thrown about the place.
On the walls are a pair of views on the subject of the proposed
fortifications; one picture represents the bare ground, with labourers
and wheel-barrows, and the skeletons of a projected fleet; the second
view gives the fortifications under the state of their imaginary
completion, furnished with guns and ammunition, and duly manned, with a
bulwark of our wooden walls beyond. The solid and assuring conditions
of the preparations on paper are badly sustained in practice. A pile of
card-houses, disposed round the study-table, do duty for fortresses;
broken pipe-bowls and stems take the place of stoneworks and guns. An
empty decanter accounts for the Duke's faith in this imaginary system
of protection. A cat is clawing at the table-cloth, and threatening
the total destruction of the projected defences at one swoop; she is
mounted on the muzzle of a sample gun of the problematical leathern
ordnance, of which, rumour asserted, the Duke of Richmond had ordered a
snuff-box maker to supply him patterns. In the struggles in Parliament,
where the Duke's plans were the subject of vexed discussion, more
stress was laid on his political apostasy than upon the inefficiency
of his propositions, patriotism in the senate being subordinated at all
times to the workings of party, and the intrigues for political power.
[Illustration: LUXURY.]
[Illustration: MISERY.]
_March 7, 1786._ _Luxury--Misery._ Published by E. Jackson, 14
Marylebone Street, Golden Square.--The luxury of a breakfast in bed
on downy pillows, surrounded by all the allurements of ease and
other superfluities, is contrasted with the _Misery_ of perishing
of starvation and thirst on the wide ocean, with nothing but a mast
between the frozen unfortunates and a watery grave, and no object of
relief on the bare horizon to suggest a ray of hope to the solitary
sufferers.
_March 8, 1786._ _The Morning Dram._ Published by J. Phillips, 164
Piccadilly.--The toilette of a lady whose tastes are, to say the least
of them, slightly inclined to the social glass; while her French
hair-dresser is attending to her luxuriant locks, the fair, free and
easy divinity is not too ethereal to decline recruiting her spirits
with a cordial.
[Illustration: THE MORNING DRAM.]
_March 1786._ _The Polish dwarf_ (Count Boruwloski) _performing before
the Grand Seigneur_. Published by E. Jackson, 14, Marylebone Street.
The famous Count Boruwloski visited nearly all the courts of
Europe, where he was made the most of on account of his remarkable
diminutiveness, as at the age of twenty his height was but two feet
four inches. This Polish miniature man differed from dwarfs in general,
as his figure was well-proportioned, and he further possessed perfect
breeding, was intellectual, good-natured, and accomplished, and, among
other gifts, enjoyed a talent for music, which he had cultivated. His
memoirs, written by himself, first appeared in 1788; he lived to
the advanced age of ninety-eight, he was born at Chaliez, in Russian
Poland, November 1739; he died at Banks' Cottage, near Durham (the
gift, it is said, of some of the prebendaries of Durham Cathedral),
September 13, 1837.
The artist, who had an opportunity of studying this duodecimo edition
of humanity from the life, has represented Count Boruwloski in the act
of favouring that mysterious potentate, the Grand Seigneur, with a tune
on the violin, within the sacred and unapproachable precincts (as far
as mankind is concerned) of the harem. The contrast presented between
this perfect miniature and the full-blown and highly developed beauties
of the seraglio, the overfed Grand Turk, and his gigantic guards, is
ludicrously marked.
[Illustration: THE POLISH DWARF (COUNT BORUWLOSKI) PERFORMING BEFORE
THE GRAND SEIGNEUR.]
_April 1, 1786._ _The Dying Patient, or the Doctor's Last Fee._
Published by H. Brookes, Coventry Street.
1786. _Brewer's Drays._ Published by E. Jackson, 14, Marylebone Street,
Golden Square.--An unusually careful sketch--for Rowlandson--of the
interior of the premises of a certain great brewer, most probably
those of the renowned Mr. Whitbread, in Chiswell Street, visited in
state by their gracious Majesties about this period, when the Royal
condescension was made the subject of the famous ode by Peter Pindar--
Full of the art of brewing beer,
The monarch heard of Whitbread's fame;
Quoth he unto the queen: 'My dear, my dear,
Whitbread hath got a marvellous great name.
Charly, we must, must, must see Whitbread brew
Rich as us, Charly, richer than a Jew.
Shame! shame! we have not yet his brewhouse seen!'
Thus sweetly said the king unto the queen.
* * * * *
Now did the king for other beers inquire,
For Calvert's, Jordan's, Thrale's entire;
And after talking of these different beers,
Asked Whitbread if his porter equalled theirs--
A kind of question to the Man of Cask
That even Solomon himself would ask.
[Illustration: BREWER'S DRAYS.]
1786. _Contrasts: Youth and Age._--An exceedingly witch-like looking
elderly female is endeavouring to entertain a young beauty with some
piece of news from a paper, to which the maiden, it appears, is most
indolently indifferent.
[Illustration: CONTRASTS--YOUTH AND AGE.]
1786 (?). _Sailors Carousing._--A bacchanalian scene, picturing the
diversions of salts on shore in the days when tars indulged in such
jocularities as frying gold watches, and eating one-pound Bank Notes
on bread and butter. The 'Pollies from Portsmouth' have evidently
exceeded the bonds of strict moderation in their applications to the
punch-bowl. A Dutch skipper is calmly smoking and drinking himself into
philosophic stupidity, regardless of the uproar proceeding around him,
of singing, shouting, and fiddling, in drunken discordance.
[Illustration: SAILORS CAROUSING.]
1786 (?). _The Return from Sport._--A bold and well-executed etching,
to which a further interest is added by Rowlandson's easy and
flowing touch, of a rustic subject in Morland's manner. The results
of the morning's sport are chiefly remarkable for their ludicrous
insignificance.
[Illustration: THE RETURN FROM SPORT.]
_May, 1786._ _A Theatrical Chymist._--We have already seen the
genius of Holman, who was, as we have noticed, at school with the
Caricaturist, rising like the sun as represented by Rowlandson's
pencil and graver: we now find the satirist giving his alliance to
the other side, although the former print, _Topham endeavouring with
his squirt to extinguish the rising genius of Holman_, was being
reissued. Probably the success on one side induced the artist--who, we
presume, sought only to exercise his art, and was not inconvenienced
by party prejudices--to try and make as fair a counter-hit as
we so often find him doing. The figure of Holman, a mean and by no
means imposing-looking personage, is issuing from a still, together
with a discharge of 'puffs,' &c. The _Theatrical Chymist_ is a
clerical-looking worthy, our old friend Parson Bate, who is employing
a decayed military buck, in tattered regimentals, seated on a pile of
paper, to fan the furnace _Academy_ with the _Morning Post_ bellows;
the materials, from which the actor Holman is being distilled, are
_Ignorance_, _Impertinence_, _Coxcomity_, _Misconception_, _Raving_,
_Ranting_, _Grinning_, _Snarling_, _Tortured Attitudes_, _Envy_,
_Detraction_.
1786. _A Box-Lobby Hero. The Branded Bully, or the Ass stripp'd of the
Lion's Skin._--The incident which forms the subject of this plate is
now forgotten, but it appears some overgrown and swaggering personage
had constituted himself the tyrant of the box lobbies. The old fable
of the Ass in the Lion's skin is verified. Although a head and a half
taller than any of those present, the _Branded Bully_ is allowing a
mere dwarf to pull his enormous pigtail, and kick him. The ladies are
jeering at the discomfitted swaggerer, who, it seems, is in such abject
fear that he is suffering all sorts of indignities without attempting
to resent them.
_May 6, 1786._ _More of Werter. The Separation. Charlotte preserved
from destruction by Albert and Hymen, whilst Werter in the excess of
frenzy puts an end to his existence._ Designed by Collings, etched by
Rowlandson, published by E. Jackson, Marylebone Street.--The last scene
of Werter's tragedy is represented as taking place on the brink of a
precipice. The adolescent divinity Hymen, in whose path flowers are
strewn, is conducting Charlotte away from the fate which is hanging
over her lover; Hymen's torch is interposed between them, and his
hand is on the matrimonial chain by which Charlotte is bound to her
faithful husband, about whose head is a vision of antlers. Charlotte
is hurried off in despair. As to the hero of the story, he is writhing
about in a passionate paroxysm, a serpent is stinging him, a death's
head looms above his own, the suicide is grasping a pistol in each
hand, and a devil with a scourge of snakes and a vial of poison, is
pouring the fatal potion over his head like Macassar oil, of which his
locks, like a Turk's head broom, standing bolt on end with excitement,
do not appear to have any need.
[Illustration: COVENT GARDEN THEATRE.]
_July 20, 1786._ _Covent Garden Theatre._ Published by H. Brookes,
Coventry Street.--An interior of the old theatre filled on all sides
with a diversified and appreciative audience. The etching is made with
a bold free point, and from its ease and simplicity bears the closest
resemblance possible to the artist's original outlines, drawn with his
famous reed pen, in the facile exercise of which Rowlandson attained
peculiar excellence.
_September 1, 1786._ _Outré Compliments._
_October 1, 1786._ _The Jovial Crew._ Published by S. W. Fores, 3,
Piccadilly.--This print, which is somewhat suggestive of Rowlandson's
manner, has evidently lost much in the engraving, which is due to
another hand. The group consists of a brace of jolly mariners--probably
intended for captain and mate--whose characteristics are somewhat of
the Dutch skipper type, in company with a black sailor, who is holding
a punch-bowl, and is seated on a coil of rope on the deck of the vessel.
1786. _A Visit to the Uncle._ Published by E. Jackson, Marylebone
Street. (See 1794.)
_A Visit to the Aunt._ Published by E. Jackson, Marylebone Street. (See
1794.)
1786. _The Wood Eater (Fox)._ (See December 20, 1788.)
_Illustrations_ to poems by Peter Pindar, 1786-92. Printed for G.
Kearsley at the Johnson's Head, 46, Fleet Street.
_Peter's Prophecy, or the President and Poet_;
OR AN IMPORTANT EPISTLE TO SIR JOSEPH BANKS ON THE APPROACHING ELECTION
OF A PRESIDENT OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY.
BY PETER PINDAR.
_The Banquet Scene: a Repast of the Acclimitative Order._
SIR J. BANKS (_loquitur_).
Zounds! ha'nt I swallow'd raw flesh like a hound?
On vilest reptiles rung the changes round?
Eat every filthy insect you can mention;
Tarts made of grasshoppers, my own invention?
Frogs, tadpoles by the spoonful, long-tail'd imps,
And munch'd cockchaffers just like prawns or shrimps?
Hell seize the pack! unconscionable dogs!
Snakes, spiders, beetles, chaffers, tadpoles, frogs,
All swallow'd to display what man can do--
And must the villains still have something new?
Tell, then, each pretty President creator--
Confound him--that I'll eat an alligator.
PICTURESQUE BEAUTIES OF BOSWELL.
'Part the First, containing ten prints, designed and etched by two
capital artists' (Collings and Rowlandson). 'Published in May, 1786, by
E. Jackson, 14 Marylebone Street, Golden Square.
'To any serious criticism or ludicrous banter to which my journal may
be liable, I shall never object, but receive both the one and the other
with perfect good humour.'--_Vide_ Boswell's Letter in the _Public
Advertiser_ of March 10, 1786.
1. _Frontispiece._--Representing General Paoli, Dr. Johnson, and the
Journalist practising his celebrated imitations.
Ursa Major and the General are drawing the elated advocate in a
go-cart, which bears his initial, with a fool's cap worn over an
advocate's wig. The Journalist has bells to his Scotch bonnet, a pen
behind his ear, a portrait of Bruce, his reputed ancestor, round his
neck, a rattle is in his hand, while his publications, _Journal to the
Hebrides_, and _Corsica_, are by his side; he is indulging his famous
imitation of a '_Moo, oah_' cow (see plate 10, vol. ii). 'All hail,
Dalblair! Hail to thee, Laird of Auckinleck.'--_Vide Journal_, p. 38.
2. _The Journalist, with a view of Auckinleck or the Land of Stones._
Bozzy is shown strutting with his short legs very wide apart, posed for
the heroic, with a plaid blowing over his shoulder, a feather in his
bonnet, an ink-bottle at his button-hole, and an advocate's wig and
bands: a bulky manuscript, 'Materials for the Life of Samuel Johnson,
LL.D.,' is serving as his buckler, and the _Journal_ is flourished as a
claymore. _Ogden on Prayer_ is in his pocket.
'I am, I flatter myself, completely a "Citizen of the World." In my
travels through Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Corsica, France,
I have never felt myself from home; and I sincerely love every kindred,
and tongue, and people, and nation'--(p. 11).
'My great-grandfather, the husband of Countess Veronica, was Alexander,
Earl of Kincardine. From him the blood of Bruce flows in my veins;
of such ancestry who would not be proud, and glad to seize a fair
opportunity to let it be known?'--_Vide Journal_, p. 16.
3. _The Embrace at Boyd's Inn._
'On Saturday, August 14, 1773, late in the evening I received a
note from Dr. Johnson that he was arrived at Boyd's Inn at the
head of the Cannongate; I went to him directly. He embraced me
cordially, and I exulted in the thought that I now actually had him in
Caledonia.'--_Vide Journal_, p. 12.
4. _Walking up the High Street, Edinburgh._
'Dr. Johnson and I walked arm in arm up the High Street to my house
in James's Court. It was a dusky night, I could not prevent his being
assailed by the evening effluvia of Edinburgh.
'As we marched along he grumbled in my ear, "I smell you in the
dark."'--_Vide Journal_, p. 13.
5. _Tea at the Journalist's House in James's Court._
'My wife had tea ready for him, which it is well known he delighted
to drink at all hours, particularly when sitting up late. He showed
much complacency that the mistress of the house was so attentive to
his singular habit, and as no man could be more polite when he chose
to be so, his address to her was most courteous and engaging, and his
conversation soon charmed her into a forgetfulness of his external
appearance.'--_Vide Journal_, p. 14.
6. _Chatting 'till two o'clock in the Morning._
'We talked of murder, and of the ancient trial by duel. We sat till
near two in the morning, having chatted a good while after my wife left
us. She had insisted that, to show all respect to the sage, she would
give up our own bedroom to him, and take a worse. This I cannot but
gratefully mention as one of a thousand obligations which I owe her
since that great obligation of her being pleased to accept of me as her
husband.'--_Vide Journal_, p. 15.
7. _Veronica, a Breakfast Conversation._
'Dr. Johnson was pleased with my daughter Veronica, then a child
about four months old. She had the appearance of listening to him.
His motions seemed to her to be intended for her amusement, and when
he stopped she fluttered, and made a little infantine noise, and a
kind of signal for him to begin again. She would be held close to him,
which was a proof, from simple nature, that his figure was not horrid.
Her fondness for him endeared her still more to me, and I declared
she should have five hundred pounds of additional fortune.'--_Vide
Journal_, p. 17.
8. _Wit and Wisdom making preparations for dinner._
'We gave him as good a dinner as we could. Our Scotch wild-fowl
or grouse were then abundant, and quite in season; and so far as
wisdom and wit can be aided by administering agreeable sensations
to the palate, my wife took care that our great guest should not be
deficient.'--_Vide Journal_, p. 123.
9. _Setting out from Edinburgh on the Tour._
'Wednesday, August 18. On this day we set out from Edinburgh, attended
only by my man, Joseph Ritter, a Bohemian, a fine stately fellow, above
six feet high, who had been over a great part of Europe, and spoke many
languages. He was the best servant I ever saw. Let not my readers
disdain his introduction, for Doctor Johnson gave him this character:
"Sir, he is a civil man, and a wise man." My wife did not seem quite
easy when we left her, but away we went.'--_Vide Journal_, p. 47.
[Illustration: SCOTTIFYING THE PALATE AT LEITH.]
10. _Scottifying the Palate at Leith._
'I bought some speldings, fish salted and dried in a particular manner,
being dipped in the sea and dried in the sun, and eaten by the Scots by
way of relish. He had never seen them, though they are sold in London.
I insisted on Scottifying his palate, but he was very reluctant. With
difficulty I prevailed with him. He did not like it.'--_Vide Journal_,
p. 50.
I see thee stuffing, with a hand uncouth,
An old dry'd whiting in thy Johnson's mouth;
And, lo! I see, with all his might and main,
Thy Johnson spit the whiting out again. PETER PINDAR.
Second Volume. Same title as the first part.
1. _Frontispiece. Revising for the Second Edition, under the inspection
of a learned friend._
'Having found, on a revision of this work, that a few observations had
escaped me, the publication of which might be considered as passing the
bounds of strict decorum, I immediately ordered that they should be
omitted in the present edition.'
Let Lord M'Donald threat thy breech to kick,[29]
And o'er thy shrinking shoulders shake his stick;
Treat with contempt the menace of this Lord--
'Tis Hist'ry's province, Bozzy, to record.
Vide _Poetical Epistle to Jas. Boswell, Esq._, by PETER PINDAR, Esq.
2. _The Procession to St. Leonard's College. St. Andrews._
'After supper we made a procession to Saint Leonard's College, the
landlord walking before us with a candle, and the waiter with a
lantern.'--_Vide Journal_, p. 54.
3. _The Vision at Lord Errol's. Slain's Castle._
'I had an elegant room, but there was a fire in it that blazed; and the
sea, to which my windows looked, roared; and the pillows were made of
some seafowls' feathers, which had to me a disagreeable smell, so that
by all these causes I was kept awake a good time. I saw in imagination
Lord Errol's father, Lord Kilmarnock (who was beheaded on Tower Hill in
1740), and I was somewhat dreary, but the thought did not last long,
and I fell asleep.'--_Vide Journal_, p. 110.
4. _Lodging at Mr. M'Queen's, in Glenmorison: the celebrated Spider
Scene._
'There were two beds in the room, and a woman's gown was hung on a rope
to make a curtain of separation between them.... Doctor Johnson fell
asleep immediately; I was not so fortunate for a long time. I fancied
myself bit by innumerable vermin under the clothes, and that a spider
was travelling from the wainscot towards my mouth. At last I fell into
insensibility.'--_Vide Journal_, p. 153.
5. _Reconciliation at Glenelg, after the Journalist had ridden away
from Ursa Major._
'I resumed the subject of my leaving him on the road, and endeavoured
to defend it better. He was still violent upon that head. I had slept
ill; Dr. Johnson's anger had affected me much. I considered that,
without any bad intention, I might suddenly forfeit his friendship,
and was impatient to see him this morning. I told him how uneasy he
had made me by what he had said. He owned he had spoken to me in
passion, and that he would not have done what he had threatened, and
added, "Let's think no more on't."--Boswell: "Well, then, sir, I shall
be easy. Remember, I am to have fair warning in case of any quarrel.
You are never to spring a mine upon me. It was absurd in me to believe
you." Johnson: "You deserved about as much as to believe me from night
to morning."'--_Vide Journal_, p. 164.
6. _Highland Dance on the top of Dun-Can._
'Old Mr. Malcolm McCleod, who had obligingly promised to accompany me,
was at my bedside between five and six. I sprang up immediately, and
he and I, attended by the two other gentlemen, traversed the country
during the whole of this day. Though we had passed over not less than
four-and-twenty miles of very rugged ground, and had a Highland dance
on the top of Dun-Can, the highest mountain in the island, we returned
in the evening not at all fatigued, and piqued ourselves at not being
outdone at the nightly ball by our less active friends who had remained
at home.'--_Vide Journal_, p. 192.
7. _The Recovery, after a severe drunken frolic at Corrichatachin._
'I awaked at noon, with a severe headache; I was much vexed I should
have been guilty of such a riot, and afraid of a reproof from Dr.
Johnson. About one he came into my room and accosted me, "What, drunk
yet!". When I rose I went into Dr. Johnson's room, and taking up Mrs.
McKinnon's Prayer-book, I opened it at the twentieth Sunday after
Trinity, in the Epistle for which I read: "And be not drunken with
wine, wherein there is excess." Some would have taken this as a divine
interposition.'--_Vide Journal_, p. 318.
At Corrichatachin's, the Lord knows how,
I see thee, Bozzy, drunk as David's sow,
And begging, with rais'd eyes and lengthen'd chin,
Heav'n not to damn thee for the deadly sin.
PETER PINDAR'S _Epistle_.
8. _Sailing among the Hebrides,--the Journalist holding a rope's-end._
'As I saw them all busy doing something, I asked Col with much
earnestness what I could do. He with a happy readiness put into my
hand a rope which was fixed to the top of one of the masts, and told
me to hold it till he bid me pull. If I had considered the matter I
might have seen that this could not be of the least service, but his
object was to keep me out of the way of those who were busy working
the vessel, and at the same time to divert my fear by employing me and
making me think that I was of use. Thus did I stand firm to my post,
while the wind and the rain beat upon me, always expecting a call to
pull my rope.'--_Vide Journal_, p. 349.
9. _The Contest at Aucklinleck, in which Ursa Major made a severe
retort on the Journalist's father._
'The contest began whilst my father was showing him his collection of
medals; and Oliver Cromwell's coin unfortunately introduced Charles
the First and Toryism; in the course of their altercation Whiggism and
Presbyterianism, Toryism and Episcopacy, were terribly buffeted.
'They became exceedingly warm and violent, and I was very much
distressed at being present at such an altercation between two men,
both of whom I reverenced; yet I durst not interfere. It would
certainly be very unbecoming in me to exhibit my honoured father and
my respected friend as intellectual gladiators for the entertainment
of the public; and therefore I suppress what would, I daresay, make an
interesting scene in this dramatic sketch--this account of the transit
of Johnson over the Caledonian hemisphere.'--_Vide Journal_, p. 482.
10. _Imitations at Drury Lane Theatre by the Journalist._
'At Mr. Tyler's I happened to tell that one evening, a great many
years ago, when Dr. Hugh Blair and I were sitting together in the pit
of Drury Lane playhouse, in a wild freak of youthful extravagance I
entertained the house _prodigiously_ by imitating the lowing of a cow.
I was so successful in this boyish frolic that the universal cry of the
galleries was, "_Encore_ the cow! _Encore_ the cow!" In the pride of
my heart I attempted imitations of some other animals, but with very
inferior effect. My reverend friend, anxious for my fame, with an air
of the utmost gravity and earnestness addressed me thus: "My dear sir,
I would _confine_ myself to the _cow_!"
'A little while after I had told this story I differed from Dr.
Johnson, I suppose too confidently, upon some point which I now forget.
He did not spare me. "Nay, sir (said he), if you cannot talk better as
a man, I'd have you bellow like a cow."'
FOOTNOTES:
[27] 'The present Orchestra (1809) was first exhibited to the public
on the 2nd June, 1735. It was built by an ingenious mechanic, named
Maidman, a common carpenter employed in the gardens, from a design
of his own. The composition with which it is ornamented was also
his own discovery. This elegant orchestra is calculated to contain
fifty performers, with an organ, &c. It is illuminated by about four
thousand lamps, and presents an object of unparalleled brilliance. The
same ingenious artisan erected the rotunda, which is seventy feet in
diameter, and represents a magnificent pavilion. Within it is placed
another orchestra, where the musical part of the entertainment is
performed in unfavourable weather. Adjoining the saloon, with its
_scagliola_ columns, and its paintings by Hayman, is a supper room, one
hundred feet long and forty feet wide, with a double row of columns.
On the walls are represented paintings of rural scenery, which answer
to the intercolumniations. At the end of the room was the statue of
Handel, in white marble, and in the character of Orpheus singing to his
lyre; but it is now removed behind the orchestra in the garden. This
fine piece of sculpture first introduced the abilities of Roubiliac to
the notice of the public. It was begun and completed in the place of
which it was the ornament, while the noble subject and the superior
artist were enjoying the friendly and protecting hospitality of Mr.
Jonathan Tyers, who purchased the place in 1730, and opened it with an
attractive entertainment which he called a _Ridotto al Fresco_.
'The grove, principal entrance, and other parts of the gardens are
furnished with a number of small pavilions, ornamented with paintings,
chiefly by Hogarth and Hayman; each containing a table and seats, to
which the company retire to partake of refreshments.'--_Microcosm of
London._
[28] 'Mrs. Hartley was an actress of some popularity; more celebrated,
however, for her beauty. She was one of those ladies whose career on
the stage was without reproach. She was painted by several of the first
artists, and among others by Sir Joshua Reynolds, in one of her best
characters. No female, perhaps, that ever appeared on the stage looked
more lovely than she in _Fair Rosamond_. Mr., afterwards Sir Bate
Dudley, married the sister of this lady.'
[29] A letter of severe remonstrance was sent to Mr. B., who, in
consequence, omitted, in the second edition of his Journal, what is
so generally pleasing to the public, viz., the scandalous passages
relative to this nobleman.
1787.
The authorship of the following pair of prints is doubtful; they
present many indications of Rowlandson's manner, and they were issued
by his publisher, S. W. Fores, 3 Piccadilly; they are sometimes
ascribed to Gillray:--
_January 1, 1787._ A pair of single figures, respectively described
as _London Refinement_ and _Country Simplicity_. As the titles
sufficiently indicate, the former sets forth a town 'macaroni' dressed
in the height of the mode, and the latter represents a pretty youth, of
rustic fashion, long-haired, and clad in picturesque and homely country
garb.
_January 11, 1787._ _Uncle George and Black Dick at their New Game of
Naval Shuttlecock._--From this caricature it seems that the conduct
of the Admiralty in 1787 gave reasonable grounds for dissatisfaction.
The state of things is pictorially set forth by Rowlandson. In the
centre of the picture stand the compound heads of the Admiralty, a
single figure with two fronts--those of the King and Lord Howe, who was
popularly designated 'The Prince of Duskey Bay.'
A bevy of admirals are applying to the King for recognition of their
services to their country; they are all partially disabled by the loss
of limbs. A petitioner is offering a statement of their situation
to the King, who is made to declare, 'I never interfere with your
First Lord; no, never;' while the second head of this Janus, Howe, in
replying to a petition from sundry aggrieved captains, is dismissing
the applicants with "Go, go! I can do nothing; it is his Majesty's
pleasure that----' The abused admirals are expressing their wrongs: 'I
see I shall lose my rank after all my long services!' 'I am set aside,
although I've lost a son and one eye!' 'Humbug'd, by Jove, by ye old
Jesuit!' 'Had I my arm again, to find a better country!' 'Brothers, our
Lords and Commons will not suffer this game!'
The captains have evidently a bad opinion of their First Lord, _Vultus
est Index Animi_: 'Our navy has now two heads and no helm; rare work!'
'Rascal!' 'The King's pleasure! That's a falsity added to a mean
_finesse_!' 'He's fond of manoeuvres if ever so bad; you know him!'
THE LOUSIAD.
For Peter nat'ral 'tis to speak
In rhyme, as 'tis for pigs to squeak.
PETER PINDAR TO THE READER.
Gentle Reader,--It is necessary to inform thee that his Majesty
actually discovered, some time ago, as he sat at table, a _louse_ on
his plate. The emotion occasioned by the unexpected appearance of such
a guest can be better imagined than described.
An edict was, in consequence, passed for shaving the cooks, scullions,
&c., and the unfortunate louse condemned to die.
Such is the foundation of the Lousiad: with what degree of merit the
poem is executed, the _uncritical_ as well as the critical reader will
decide.
The ingenious author, who ought to be allowed to know somewhat of the
matter, hath been heard privately to declare, that in his opinion the
_Batrachomymachia_ of Homer, the _Secchia Rapita_ of Tassoni, the
_Lutrin_ of Boileau, the _Dispensary_ of Garth, and the _Rape of the
Lock_ of Pope, are not to be compared to it,--and to exclaim at the
same time, with the modest assurance of an author--
_Cedite, scriptores Romani; cedite, Graii--
Nil ortum in terris, Loiusiadâ, melius._
Which, for the sake of the mere English reader, is thus beautifully
translated:--
_Roman and Grecian authors, great and small,
The author of the Lousiad beats you all._
What dire emotions shook the monarch's soul!
Just like two billiard-balls his eyes 'gan roll.
'How, how--what, what?... what's that, what's that?' he cries
With rapid accent and with staring eyes.
'Look there! look there!--what's got into my house?
A louse, God bless us! Louse, louse, louse, louse, louse.'
The Queen look'd down, and then exclaimed, 'Good la!'
And with a smile the dappled _stranger_ saw.
Each Princess strain'd her lovely neck to see,
And, with another smile, exclaimed, 'Good me!'
'Good la! good me!' 'Is that all you can say?'
(Our gracious monarch cry'd, with huge dismay).
'What! what a silly, vacant smile takes place
Upon your Majesty's and children's face,
Whilst that vile louse (soon, soon to be unjointed!)
Affronts the presence of the _Lord's anointed_!'
Dash'd, as if tax'd with hell's most deadly sins,
The Queen and Princesses drew in their chins,
Look'd prim, and gave each exclamation o'er,
And, prudent damsels, 'word spake never more.'
Sweet maids! the beauteous boast of Britain's isle,
Speak--were those peerless lips forbid to smile?
Lips! that the soul of simple _Nature_ moves--
Form'd by the beauteous hands of all the _Loves_!
Lips of delight! unstained by satire's gall!
Lips! that I never kiss'd--and never shall.
Now to each trembling page, a poor mute mouse,
The _pious_ monarch cry'd, 'Is this _your louse_?'
'Ah! Sire,' replied each page, with pig-like whine,
'An't please, your Majesty, it is not _mine_.'
'_Not thine?_' the hasty monarch cry'd again--
'What, what? Who's, who's, then? Who the devil's, then?'
[Illustration: 'IS THIS YOUR LOUSE?']
Now at this sad event the sovereign, sore
Unhappy, could not take a mouthful more;
His wiser Queen, her gracious stomach studying,
Stuck most devoutly to the beef and pudding;
For Germans are a very hearty sort,
Whether begot in hog-styes or a court,
Who bear (which shows their hearts are not of stone)
The ills of others better than their own.
Grim terror seiz'd the souls of all the pages,
Of different sizes and of different ages;
Frighten'd about their pensions or their bones,
They on each other gap'd, like Jacob's sons.
Now to a page, but which we can't determine,
The growling monarch gave the plate and vermin:
'Watch well that blackguard animal,' he cries,
'That, soon or late, to glut my vengeance, dies!
Watch, like a cat, that vile marauding _louse_,
Or George shall play the devil in the house.
Some _spirit_ whispers, that to cooks I owe
The precious _visitor_ that crawls below.
Yes, yes! the whisp'ring _spirit_ tells me true,
And soon shall vengeance all their locks pursue.
Cooks, scourers, scullions, too, with tails of pig,
Shall lose their coxcomb curls, and wear a wig.'
Thus roar'd the King--not Hercules so _big_;
And all the palace echo'd, 'Wear a wig!'
Fear, like an ague, struck the pale-nos'd cooks,
And dash'd the beef and mutton from their looks,
Whilst from each cheek the rose withdrew its red,
And pity blubbered o'er each menac'd head.
But, lo! the great _cook-major_ comes! his eyes
Fierce as the redd'ning flame that _roasts_ and _fries_;
His cheeks like _bladders_ with high passion glowing,
Or like a fat _Dutch trumpeter's_ when _blowing_.
A neat white apron his huge corpse embrac'd,
Tied by two comely strings about his waist;
An apron that he purchas'd with his riches,
To guard from hostile grease his velvet breeches.
'Ye sons of dripping, on your _major_ look!
(In sounds of deep-ton'd thunder cry'd the cook),
I swear this head disdains to lose its locks;
And those that do not, tell them they are _blocks_.
Whose head, my cooks, such vile disgrace endures?
Will it be yours, or yours, or yours, or yours?
Then may the charming perquisite of grease
The mammon of your pocket ne'er increase;
Grease! that so frequently hath brought you coin,
From veal, pork, mutton, and the great _sirloin_.
O brothers of the spit! be firm as rocks--
Lo! to no King on earth I yield these locks.
Few are my hairs behind, by age endear'd!
But, few or many, they shall _not_ be shear'd.
* * * * *
Sooner shall ham from fowl and turkey part,
And stuffing leave a calf's or bullock's heart:
Sooner shall toasted cheese take leave of mustard,
And from the codlin tart be torn the custard.
Sooner these hands the glorious haunch shall spoil,
And all our melted butter turn to oil:
Sooner our pious _King_, with pious face,
Sit down to dinner without saying grace;
And every night salvation-pray'rs put forth
For Portland, Fox, Burke, Sheridan, and North.
Sooner shall fashion order frogs and snails,
And dishclouts stick eternal to our tails!
Let George view _ministers_ with surly _looks_--
Abuse 'em, kick 'em--but revere his cooks!'
'What! lose our locks!' reply'd the roasting crew,
'To barbers yield 'em?--Damme if we do!
Be shav'd like foreign dogs, one daily meets,
Naked and blue, and shiv'ring in the streets?
And from the palace be asham'd to range,
For fear the world should think we had the mange?'
'Rouse, _Opposition_!' roar'd a tipsy cook,
With arms akimbo and bubonic look.
'Be shav'd!' a scullion loud began to bellow--
Loud as a parish bull, or poor Othello.
'Be shav'd like pigs!' rejoin'd the scullion's mate,
His dishclout shaking, and his pot-crown'd pate--
'What barber dares it, let him watch his nose
And, curse me!--dread the rage of these ten foes.'
'Be shav'd!' an understrapper turnbroche cry'd,
In all the foaming energy of pride--
'Zounds! let us take His Majesty in hand!
The king shall find he lives at our command.
Yes--let him know, with all his wond'rous state,
His teeth and stomach on _our_ wills shall wait.
_We_ rule the platters, _we_ command the spit,
And George shall have his mess when _we_ think fit;
Stay till _ourselves_ shall condescend to eat,
And then, if _we_ think proper, have his meat.'
'Heav'ns!' cry'd a _yeoman_, with much learning grac'd,
In books as well as meat a man of taste--
'However _modern Kings_ may cooks despise,
_Warriors_ and _Kings_ were cooks, or hist'ry lies.
Patroclus broil'd beef-steaks to quell his hunger;
The mighty Agamemnon potted conger!
And Charles of Sweden, 'midst his guns and drums,
Spread his own bread and butter with his thumbs.
Be shav'd!--No! Sooner pill'ries, jails, the stocks
Shall pinch this corpse, than barbers snatch my locks.'
* * * * *
Around the table, all with sulky looks,
Like culprits doom'd to Tyburn, sat the cooks.
At length, with phiz that show'd the man of woes,
The sorrowing king of spits and stew-pans rose;
With outstretch'd hands and energetic grace,
He fearless thus harangues the roasting race:
'Cooks, scullions--hear me, every mother's son--
Know that I relish not this royal fun.
What's life,' the major said, 'my brethren, pray,
If force must snatch our first delights away?
Relentless, shall the royal mandate drag
The hairs that long have grac'd this silken bag?--
Hairs to a barber scarcely worth a fig--
Too few to make a foretop for a wig!
Hairs, look, my lads, so wonderfully thin
Old Schwellenberg has more upon her chin!'
[Illustration: 'COOKS, SCULLIONS--HEAR ME, EVERY MOTHER'S SON.']
* * * * *
'--What! what! not shave 'em, shave 'em, shave 'em, shave 'em?
Not all the world, not all the world shall save 'em.
I'll shear 'em, shear 'em, as I shear my sheep!'
Thus spoke the mighty monarch in his sleep:
Which proves that kings in sleep a speech may make,
Equal to what they utter broad awake.
* * * * *
Now did the _major_ hum a tune so sad!
Chromatic--in the robes of sorrow clad;
But, lo! the ballad could not fear control,
Nor exorcise the barbers from his soul.
And now his lifted eyes the ceiling sought;
And now he whistled--not for want of thought.
[Illustration:
'AND NOW HIS LIFTED EYES THE CEILING SOUGHT,
AND NOW HE WHISTLED--NOT FOR WANT OF THOUGHT.']
* * * * *
Scarce had he utter'd when a noise was heard;
And now, behold, a motley band appear'd!
With Babel sounds at once the kitchen rings,
Of groom, page, barber, and the best of Kings!
And lo! the best of Queens must see the fun;
And lo! the Princesses so beauteous run;
And Madam Schwellenberg came hobbling, too--
Poor lady, losing in the race a shoe!
But, in revenge-pursuit, the loss how slight!
The world would lose a _leg_ to please a spite.
And now for peace did Seeker bawl aloud;
And lo, _peace_ came at once among the crowd.
In courts of justice thus, to hush the hum,
'Silence!' the crier calls, and all is mum.
'Cooks, scullions, all, of high and low degree,
Attend and learn our monarch's will from _me_.
Our sovereign lord, the King, whose word is fate,
Wills in his wisdom to see shav'd each pate:
Then, gentlemen, pray take your chairs at once;
And let each barber fall upon his sconce.'
Thus thunder'd Secker, with a Mars-like face,
And struck dire terror through the roasting race.
Thus roar'd Achilles, 'mid the martial fray,
When ev'ry frighted Trojan ran away.
Calm was the crowd when thus the King of isles,
Firm for the shave, but yet with kingly smiles:
'You must be shav'd--you shall--you must, indeed.
No, no--I shan't let slip a single head.
A very filthy, nasty, dirty trick:
The thought on't turns my stomach--makes me sick.
Louse, louse--a nasty thing--a louse I hate:
No, no--I'll have no more upon my plate.
One is sufficient--yes, yes--quite a store:
I'll have no more--no more--I'll have no more.'
Thus spake the King, like ev'ry King who gives
To trifles lustre that for ever lives.
Thus stinking vapours from the oozy pool,
Of cats and kittens, dogs and puppies full,
Bright _sol_ sublimes, and gives them golden wings,
The cloud on which _some_ say the cherub sings.
PETER'S PENSION.
A SOLEMN EPISTLE TO A SUBLIME PERSONAGE.
_Non possum tecum vivere, nec sine te._
Nebuchadnezzar, sir, the _King_,
As sacred hist'ries sweetly sing,
Was on all fours turn'd out to grass,
Just like a horse, or mule, or ass.
Heav'ns! what a fall from kingly glory!
I hope it will not so turn out
That we shall have (to make a pout)
A second part of the old story!
This pension was well meant, O glorious King!
And for the bard a very pretty thing;
But let me, sir, refuse it, I implore!
_I_ ought not to be rich whilst you are poor.
No, sir, I cannot be your humble hack;
I fear your _Majesty_ would break my back.
A great deal, my dear liege, depends
On having clever bards for friends.
What had Achilles been without his Homer?
A tailor, woollen-draper, or a comber!
In poetry's rich grass how virtues thrive!
Some when put in, so lean, seem scarce alive,
And yet so speedily a bulk obtain,
That e'en their _owners_ know them not again.
[Illustration: PETER'S PENSION.]
Could _you_, indeed, have gain'd my muse of _fire_,
Great would your luck have been, indeed, great _sire_!
Then had I prais'd your nobleness of spirit!
Then had I boasted that myself,
_Hight_ Peter, was the first blest, tuneful elf
You ever gave a farthing to for merit.
Though money be a pretty handy tool;
Of mammon, lo! I scorn to be the fool!
If fortune calls she's welcome to my cot,
Whether she leaves a guinea or a groat;
Whether she brings me from the butcher's shop
The whole sheep or a single chop.
For lo! like Andrew Marvel I can dine,
And deem a mutton bone extremely fine.
Then, sir, how difficult the task you see,
To bribe a moderate _gentleman_ like _me_.
I will not swear, _point blank_, I shall not alter--
A _saint_ (my namesake) e'en was known to falter.
And who is there that may not change his mind?
Where can you folks of that description find
Who will not sell their souls for cash?
That most angelic, diabolic trash!
E'en grave divines submit to glitt'ring gold!
The best of consciences are bought and sold:
Yet should I imitate the fickle wind,
Or Mister Patriot Eden--change my mind;
And for the bard your Majesty should send,
And say, 'Well, well, well, well, my tuneful friend,
I long, I long to give you something, Peter--
You make fine verses--nothing can be sweeter--
What will you have? what, what? speak out, speak out:
Yes, yes, you something want, no doubt, no doubt.'
Then would the poet thankfully reply,
With falt'ring voice, low bow, and marv'ling eye
All meekness! such a simple, dove-like thing!
'Blest be the bard who verses can indite,
To yield a _second Solomon_ delight!
Thrice blest, who findeth favour with the King!
'Since 'tis the royal will to give the bard
In whom the King delighteth some reward,
Some mark of royal bounty to requite him,
O King! do anything but _knight him_.'
ODES FOR THE NEW YEAR.
Know, reader, that the laureate's post sublime
Is destin'd to record, in handsome rhyme,
The deeds of British monarchs twice a year:
If _great_, how happy is the tuneful tongue!
If _pitiful_, as Shakespeare says, the song
Must 'suckle fools and chronicle small beer.'
But bards must take the _up hill_ with the _down_;
Kings cannot always oracles be hatching:
Maggots are oft the tenants of a crown--
Therefore, like those in cheese, not worth the catching.
O gentle reader! if, by God's good grace,
Or (what's more sought) good interest at court,
Thou get'st of lyric trumpeter the place,
And hundreds are, like gudgeons, gaping for't;
Hear! (at a palace if thou mean'st to thrive)
And, of a steady coachman, learn to drive.
[Illustration: ODES FOR THE NEW YEAR.]
Whene'er employ'd to celebrate a King,
Let fancy lend thy muse her loftiest wing--
Stun with thy minstrelsy th' affrighted sphere;
Bid thy voice thunder like a hundred batteries;
For common sounds, conveying common flatteries.
Are zephyrs whisp'ring to the royal ear.
Know, glutton-like, on praise each monarch crams;
Hot spices suit alone their pamper'd nature:
Alas! the stomach, parch'd by burning drams,
With mad-dog terror starts at simple water.
Fierce is each royal _mania_ for applause;
And, as a horse-pond wide, are monarch's maws--
Form'd, therefore, on a pretty ample scale:
To sound the _decent_ panegyric note,
To _pour_ the _modest_ flatt'ries down their throat,
Were off'ring shrimps for dinner to a whale.
And mind! whene'er thou strik'st the lyre to kings,
To touch to Abigails of court the strings;
Give the Queen's toad-eater a handsome sop,
And swear she always has more grace
Than e'en to sell the _meanest_ place--
Swear, too, the woman keeps no title-shop.
[Illustration: THE TRIUMPH OF SENTIMENT.]
Thus, reader, ends the prologue to my odes!
The true-bred courtiers wonder whilst I preach--
And with grave vizards and stretch'd eyes to gods,
Pronounce my sermon a most impious speech:
With all my spirit--let them damn my lays--
A courtier's curses are exalted praise.
_January, 1787._ _The Triumph of Sentiment._
_January, 1787._ _The Triumph of Hypocrisy._
1787. _Transplanting of Teeth._ Published by J. Harris, 37 Dean
Street, Soho.--Among the schemes of charlatans, which were popularly
successful in the days of _The Temples of Health, Mud Baths_, and
other devices by which pretenders flourished on the gains extorted
from fashionable credulity at the end of the last century, was a new
theory of dentistry, according to the practice of which a sound tooth
was to be torn from the jaws of a healthy individual, and, while still
warm, was to be inserted in the gums of some patient whose decayed
molar had been extracted simultaneously, and the rest of the operation
was left to nature. According to the caricaturist, who has produced a
large, spirited, and well-executed plate on this novel operation, we
are informed by advertisement that this truly extraordinary performance
is taking place in the surgery of '_Baron Ron, Dentist to her High
Mightyness the Empress of Russia_,' The professor has appended to this
important announcement the further statement, '_Most money given for
Live Teeth_.'
[Illustration: THE TRIUMPH OF HYPOCRISY.]
The dual operations of depriving the poor of their sound teeth for a
small pecuniary consideration, that their lost molars may regarnish
the gums of patients who are prepared to pay for the accommodation, and
the substitution of whole teeth for decayed ones, are proceeding at
once. The artist has sketched two wretched young creatures, in rags,
who are stealing out of Baron Ron's surgery, weeping and bewailing
the loss of their teeth, and regarding a coin held in the palm of
their hands, with mourning and reproachful looks. An old dandy, a
military buck, is examining the adjustment of his new teeth, which
do not appear to fit as accurately as could be desired. An assistant
dental professor is planting a live tooth in the gums of a lady of
quality, who is kicking violently, in disapproval of the sensation. An
elderly dowager is seated in suspense in a chair beside a young sweep,
whose odoriferous vicinity she is counteracting by applications to a
scent-bottle held to her susceptible nose, while the Baron--a modishly
costumed foreigner--is tearing out a beautiful healthy white tooth from
the jaws of the sooty patient, to be straightway transplanted into the
gums of the customer of quality.
_May 9, 1787._ _The Brain-Sucker, or The Miseries of Authorship._
In 1787 Rowlandson issued a series of rustic sketches, including
such subjects as horses, dogs, coaches, carts, haymakers, cottages,
farrier's forges, and roadside inns; similar views to those selected by
Morland, but treated in Rowlandson's own original style.
Among these rural studies we may particularise:--
_Shoeing: the Village Forge._ Published by Laurie and Whittle, 53 Fleet
Street.
[Illustration: SHOEING: THE VILLAGE FORGE.]
_A Brewer's Dray._
[Illustration: A BREWER'S DRAY.]
_A Posting Inn._ Republished July 1, 1803.
[Illustration: A POSTING INN.]
_A Rural Halt._ Published by J. Harris, Dean Street, Soho.
[Illustration: A RURAL HALT.]
_Haymakers._ Published by J. Harris, Dean Street, Soho.
[Illustration: HAYMAKERS.]
1787. _A Post Chaise._
[Illustration: A SAILOR'S FAMILY.]
1787. _A Sailor's Family._--One of those charming pieces to which so
much of Rowlandson's reputation is justly due. Unaffected simplicity,
an easy effortless style of drawing, natural grouping, and the most
perfect felicity in rendering graceful attitudes and depicting faces,
unequalled for a certain innocent beauty and expressiveness.
[Illustration: A COLLEGE SCENE, OR A FRUITLESS ATTEMPT ON THE PURSE OF
OLD SQUARE-TOES.]
_August 1, 1787._ _A College Scene, or a Fruitless Attempt on the
Purse of old Square-toes._ Engraved by E. Williams; published by J.
R. Smith, King Street, Covent Garden.--_Old Square-toes_ has called
to see his scapegrace--on the subject of supplies, it is needless to
particularise. Young _Hopeful_, who is obviously destined for the
Bar--where, we may feel convinced in advance he is bound to shine--has
assumed his most specious deportment, and has donned his cap and
gown, with the other semblances of decorum. The title, _Fruitless
Attempt_, seems somewhat of a misnomer, for the special pleading of
young _Hopeful_ is evidently producing a favourable impression. Old
_Square-toes_ has banged himself down into a chair, and planted his
stick on the ground with an air of determination, in a very square
attitude, to demonstrate that his resolution is not to be shaken,
and that young _Hopeful_ is losing his pains; but, as in the old
comedies, the paternal heart is yearning towards his progeny, while his
most relentless denunciations are thundered forth; the lines of his
stern face are relaxing, an amused smile is twitching at the corners of
his mouth, and we are convinced that the next remark will embody the
sentiments immortalised by the Georgian dramatists: 'You dog, this time
your father forgives you; boys will be boys; I was a gay young spark
myself once; I'll pay your debts this time, but never again, &c. &c.'
[Illustration: TRAGEDY SPECTATORS.]
[Illustration: COMEDY SPECTATORS.]
_October 18, 1787._ _Tragedy Spectators._ _Comedy Spectators._
Published by T. Rowlandson, 50 Poland Street.--The contrast of the
respective attractions between the two classes of entertainment is
pictured with the artist's characteristic force and spirit. The humour
of these two designs is suggestive of Hogarth's genius. While the
woes of 'Romeo and Juliet' are influencing the spectators to the most
profound melancholy, and reducing the audience to tears and hysteria,
the attendants on _Comedy_ are enjoying the humours of the performance
with the most frank and unrestrained merriment. [Illustration: LOVE IN
THE EAST.]
1787. _Love in the East._--Oriental luxuriousness seems to have had a
charm for Rowlandson's pencil. It is true that the customs of the East
were not represented, at the caricaturist's day, with the strictest
adherence to facts; their salient points have since been made more
familiar by the graphic pictures of our travelled artists, for whom the
East has always had a peculiar fascination.
Rowlandson's fancy has supplied those details which he could not
furnish from actual experience, and as far as the general theories of
oriental splendour are concerned, the imaginative delineations of our
artist will be found far more realistic and in accordance with our
preconceived impressions than the actuality.
_November 5, 1787._ _Reformation, or the Wonderful Effects of a
Proclamation._--The Chapel Royal is apparently the scene of this
subject. King George, Queen Charlotte, with a Lord and Lady-in-waiting,
are in the Royal pew; near them are the law Lords; the Prince of Wales
and Mrs. Fitzherbert, with Col. George Hanger, are in the centre; Burke
is between them, with Lord North, who is of course represented as
sleeping soundly, in spite of the efforts made by a pretty maiden to
awaken him. Pitt is acting as clerk. The sermon is evidently one of no
common significance. Fox is standing in a sheet, with a placard, '_For
playing cards on the Lord's Day!_' A stout lady, armed with a whip, is
driving a pack of dogs out of the chapel.
[Illustration: THE ART OF SCALING.]
1787 (?). _The Art of Scaling._
[Illustration: MODISH.]
1787 (?). _Modish._ Published by S. W. Fores, Piccadilly.
[Illustration: PRUDENT.]
1787 (?). _Prudent._ Published by S. W. Fores, Piccadilly.
1787. _Landscape and other Etchings, by T. Rowlandson._
1787. _Embarking from Brighthelmstone to Dieppe._--The spectators are
scattered about the shore, with various fishing smacks; the passengers
are being pushed off in rowing boats to the sailing lugger, which is to
take them and their luggage across the Channel. There is a fresh breeze
blowing; the whole view is animated, and complete as a picture.
1787. _A Sea-coast Scene. Cottages by the Sea-shore: a Storm coming
on._
1787. _Deer-Hunting: a Landscape Scene._--A noble park is capitally
etched; the subject is diversified by the introduction of a stag hunt.
The hunters are riding up as the stag, followed by the pack of hounds,
is taking the water.
_December 18, 1787._ _A Travelling Knife-grinder at a Cottage Door._
Published by T. Rowlandson, Poland Street.--A pretty rustic scene,
etched with spirit and well finished.
_The Three Horse-shoes._--A roadside inn.
1787. _View on the French Coast._--Partially dismantled ships of war,
canted for caulking.
1787. _Fox-Hunting: a Landscape Scene._--The artist has taken great
pains with the trees and rich foliage which grace this view. The pack
have come up with the fox, and the huntsmen are in 'at the death.'
_October 15, 1787._ _Stage Coach setting out from a Posting House._
1787. _Cribbage Players._--A lady and gentleman are opponents; a second
lady and gentleman are watching the respective hands. Etched in a
brilliant outline, probably intended to be coloured in facsimile of an
original drawing.
_December 15, 1787._ _Postboys and Post-horses at the White Hart
Inn._--Published by J. Harris.
1787. _Boy bringing round a Citizen's Curricle._
1787. _Civility._
1788.
1788. _The Morning of the Meet._--One of a series of large hunting
pictures, somewhat in the style of Morland, more especially as respects
subject, but treated with Rowlandson's individuality as regards
boldness, spirited action, and ease.
[Illustration: THE MEET.]
There are five successive subjects which may be considered to form part
of this series, respectively entitled _The Meet_, _The Start_, _The
Run_, _In at the Death_, and _The Dinner_.
_February 20, 1788._ _The Humours of St. Giles's._ Published by T.
Harmar (Engraver), 161 Piccadilly. The honours of this plate are, we
understand, divided between Rowlandson and Ramberg. _The Humours of
St. Giles's_ are of a diversified nature, as might be supposed. Both
artist and engraver seem to have seized the passing incidents with
true Hogarth-like aptitude, and collected them in one group. There is
nothing but the evidence of Rowlandson's peculiarities to warrant us
in including this print among his works. It is very scarce, and we
have not met with his name on any copy of the plate, which is engraved
by T. Harmar, the publisher, after a method bearing some resemblance,
as far as mechanical execution is concerned, to the early style of
James Gillray. We believe the etching is due to Ramberg, but the
female figures, and the person of the hairdresser, are unmistakably
characteristic of our artist's manner, both as concerns expressions and
attitudes, and particularly as regards the drawing of the extremities.
[Illustration: THE HUMOURS OF ST. GILES'S.]
A 'gin slum' is the centre of attraction; at the sign of the 'Fox
and Grapes' the landlord is serving a buxom and somewhat dishevelled
Irish beauty with a glass of 'blue ruin.' A drunken-looking butcher
is standing treat; another fair member of the hundreds of Drury is
entirely overcome, and is a 'deadly lively' illustration of the usual
advertisements traditionally found outside the spirit cellars of
Hogarth's period: 'dead drunk for a penny, clean straw for nothing.' A
dandified French barber, returning from the mansions of his clients in
St. James's, with his powdering-bag and paraphernalia under his arm, is
stooping, from a motive of gallantry, over the semi-conscious nymph,
while an urchin is possessing himself of the tonsor's handkerchief. A
baker, taking home ready-cooked joints to the respective owners, is
pausing awhile to enjoy the farces transacting around him, while the
lamplighter, perched on a ladder above to attend his lamps, is pouring
some of his oil over the baked meats by way of sauce. In the distance
is shown an altercation between a milk-maid and a fishfag, and a bout
of fisticuffs is proceeding farther on.
_March 6, 1788._ _The Q. A. loaded with the Spoils of India and
Britain._--The Q. A. is a zebra; Pitt is seated, with well-stuffed
panniers, in front of this novel steed, loaded with costly spoils,
_Rights and Wrongs_; round the Zebra's neck is a bag of _Bulse_,
containing some of Warren Hasting's famous ill-gotten diamonds. Pitt
is sharply whipping his beast, and declaring 'I have thrown off the
mask, I can blind the people no longer, and must now carry everything
by my bought majority.' The Q. A. is also trumpeting forth, 'What are
children's rights to ambition? I will rule in spite of them, if I can
conceal things at Q.' A law lord, said to be intended for Lord Thurlow,
who has hold of the animal's head, is filled with certain gloomy
apprehensions: 'So many Scotchmen have left their heads behind in this
d--d town for treason, I begin to tremble as much as the thief in the
rear for my own.' The thief in the rear is the Duke of Richmond, who,
with one of his famous defence guns between his legs, is assisting
Pitt's advance with a goad, and crying 'Skulking in the rear, out of
sight, suits best my character.' A finger-post is pointing to _Tower
Hill_, by _B--m (Buckingham) House_.
_March 29, 1788._ _Ague and Fever._ (Companion print to _The
Hypochondriac_, November 5, 1792.) Designed by James Dunthorne. Etched
by T. Rowlandson. Published by Thomas Rowlandson, 50 Poland Street.
And feel by turns the bitter change of fierce extremes--
Extremes by change more fierce.--MILTON.
James Dunthorne seems to have had a taste for inventing symbolical
renderings of human infirmities; in the present case the two conditions
of _Ague and Fever_ are at least ingeniously portrayed. The cold
snake-like folds of _Ague_ are twining round the shivering victim,
seated as he is in the full heat of a blazing fire; while the quivering
heats of _Fever_ personified are in attendance, between the patient and
his physician, waiting to add his persecutions to the infirmities which
the sick man is already enduring.
[Illustration: AGUE AND FEVER.]
_July 9, 1788._ _Going to ride St. George; a Pantomime Scene lately
performed at Kensington before their Majesties._ Published by William
Holland, 50 Oxford Street.--This print, with a crowd of others on the
same incident, had its rise in an accident: the Prince of Wales, being
out driving in a curricle with Mrs. Fitzherbert, by some misadventure
was thrown from his vehicle, and his companion shared his fall. In
Rowlandson's print the Prince has fallen on his back, and the lady
is taking a Phaeton-like flight on to his body. The positions are
reversed in the caricatures Gillray and other satirists produced on the
subject. George the Third and his Queen, with an escort of Guards, are
riding past at the very moment, and they seem greatly interested in the
spectacle of their son's downfall.
_July 22, 1788._ _Old Cantwell Canvassing for Lord Janus._--The
Westminster Election again created further excitement in 1788, as the
old field on which the Whigs had gained their triumph against Court
interest. The appointment of Lord Hood, in the beginning of July, to a
seat at the Admiralty Board rendered a new election necessary. Hood,
as the supporter of Pitt, enjoyed the advantage of the Ministerial
assistance; the Opposition, however, contested the seat so efficiently
in favour of Lord John Townshend, in the Whig interest, that, in spite
of the manoeuvres of the Ministry, the Liberal member was returned.
In Rowlandson's print a Methodistical congregation is being harangued
by the pastor on the respective qualities of the candidates. Lord
Hood, whose countenance is wearing a look of sanctified horror, is
accommodated with a seat behind his advocate; and a sailor, with a
bludgeon and the union-jack unfurled, is also in the pulpit. _Old
Cantwell_ has a work in his hand setting forth representations of
_Devil Townshend_ and _Saint Hood_. The eloquence of the preacher is
directed against the failings of his opponents: 'Lord Hood is a saint,
my dear brethren, as immaculate as a newborn babe; but as for Lord
Townshend, he'll be d----d to all eternity. I shudder when I tell you
he loves a pretty girl; the Opposition to a man are all fond of pretty
girls! They go about like lions in pursuit of your wives and daughters.
Lord Hood's pious Committee will swear to it,' &c.
_July 27, 1788._ _Effects of the Ninth Day's Express from Covent
Garden, just arrived at Cheltenham._--The King had retired to
Cheltenham, where, according to the artist, he was taking the waters
with his family; a postilion has arrived express from London with
the latest intelligence concerning the election for Westminster. The
'result of the ninth day's poll--majority for Lord John Townshend,
218,' is too much for his Majesty, who is quite overcome; he has
dropped the tumbler from which he was taking the waters, and has fallen
into the arms of a page; a peasant, who has been drawing the water for
his sovereign, is, in consternation, deluging the royal shoe with a few
quarts of the same fluid; Queen Charlotte is horrified, and the pretty
Princesses are clasping their hands in consternation. In Court circles
it was represented that the Whigs were capable of any atrocity, however
deep.
_August 1, 1788._ _The School for Scandal._ Published by V. M. Picot,
6 Greek Street, Soho. T. Rowlandson, invt.; V. M. Picot, direxit.--One
of the long strips containing subjects arranged in series, which
were popular at this period, belonging to the same order as _The Bath
Minuet_ and _The Progress of a Lie_, by H. Bunbury; _A Country Dance_
and _A Cotillon_, by W. H. Kingsbury; _The Installation Supper, as
given at the Pantheon, by the Knights of the Bath_ (on May 26, 1788),
by James Gillray; _The Prince's Bow_, by F. G. Byron; _English Slavery,
or a Picture of the Times_, 1788; _Chesterfield Travestied_, by
Collings, &c., &c.
_The School for Scandal_ consists of seventeen females, of ages
varying from a tender maid to an antiquated grandmother; the
respective characteristics of the different individuals are hit off
with Rowlandson's usual spirit and success; the pretty maidens being
extremely flattered, and the traits of less favoured dowagers coming
in for grotesque exaggerations. The fair members of this coterie are
supposed to be making their several comments, as exclamations, upon
a recent elopement, a proceeding not unusual at the time _The School
for Scandal_ was given to the public: 'Off! positively off!' 'I'm
thunderstruck!' 'Poor creature, I pity her!' 'And with a low-bred
fellow!' 'Did you expect anything else?' 'A footman too!' 'Even so!'
'Mind, it's a secret!' 'Not a syllable!' 'Poor as we are, my daughter
would not have done so!' 'I! God forbid!' 'Oh! 'tis fashionable life!'
'She vow'd she'd go!' 'So fine a girl! with so good a fortune!' 'I say
nothing!' 'An ill-made scoundrel too!' 'He's good enough for her!'
_November 25, 1788._ _Filial Piety._ Published by S. W. Fores, 3
Piccadilly.--The King's illness gave serious grounds for apprehension;
as his chances of recovery became more precarious the Tories thought
fit to insinuate that the Prince and his adherents were awaiting the
royal dissolution with ill-concealed satisfaction. In _Filial Piety_
we find the King almost at his last gasp; he is stretched on the bed,
from which, it was generally concluded, he would never be able to
get up; his hand is raised to his head in token of suffering, and he
is turning away his face from a spectacle well calculated to disturb
the last moments of a pious and suffering parent. The Prince and
his friends have just risen from a drunken bout; their spirits have
evidently been well sustained; the Heir Apparent is reeling in, with
'Damme, come along; I'll see if the old fellow's ---- or not?' Georgey
Hanger has come dancing in to support his comrade; under his arm is
his _Knock-me-down Supple-Jack_, and he has a bottle held in readiness
for emergencies. Sheridan, who became prominent at this period as the
Prince's confidential adviser, is capering and huzzaing. A table is
knocked over, and the Sacrament is thrown on the ground; a bishop on
his knees, who is offering a prayer for the _Restoration of Health_, is
horrified at the scandalous improprieties committed by these boisterous
intruders. On the wall is a representation of the _Prodigal Son_, as
appropriate to the occasion.
_December 26, 1788._ _The Prospect before us._--Although the satirists
took some pains to point out the aspirations of the Whigs, they did
not conceal their sympathies for the position of the Prince, and the
necessity of providing for the security of his interests in the future,
as threatened by the Regency restrictions. _The Prospect before us_,
at the end of 1788, seemed likely to be shortly realised, until the
unexpected recovery of the King put an end to the hopes and intrigues
of both parties. The prospect which threatened the hopes of the Prince
and his Whig adherents was the practical investment of the sovereign
power in the hands of the Queen and Pitt, to the setting aside of the
Prince's influence save in name. The crown is divided; one-half is
wavering over the head of Pitt, and the other is suspended over the
head of the Queen, who is trampling on the coronet and triple plume of
the Heir Apparent, 'my son's right.' Queen Charlotte is held by the
Minister in leading-strings. Pitt, who had suffered his zeal to outrun
his discretion, is understood to have made a statement, in the heat of
debate, which his opponents characterised as downright treason; the
questionable expression,[30] with some additional colouring, is set
down in a written speech which he is displaying in his hand: '_I think
myself as much entitled to be Regent as the Prince of Wales._' Pitt,
under the shelter of the Queen, is declaring: 'Behind this petticoat
battery, with the assistance of _Uncle Toby_ (Duke of Richmond), I
shall beat down the legal fortifications of this isle and secure the
Treasury at the next general election!' Queen Charlotte is holding a
draft of special _Taxes, 1789, by Billy's desire_. _Petticoats, Blue
and Buff Cloth; Devonshire-Brown Silk, Portland Stone, Fox Muffs_. The
bulky form of Madame Schwellenberg, Mistress of the Robes--the German
favourite of the Queen and the popular detestation of the rest of the
community--is swaggering along to the House of Lords, with the Mace and
Purse; she has supplanted Thurlow as Lord Chancellor, and is already
dictating the policy her mistress is to follow: 'Take care to secure
the jewels; I have hitherto been confined to the wardrobe, but now mean
to preside at the Council, and, with Billy's assistance, the name of
Schwellenberg shall be trumpeted to the remotest corner of Rag Fair.'
The Queen is proclaiming herself a passive agent: 'I know nothing of
the matter. I follow Billy's advice!'
The Treasury gates are securely closed; the spectators are declaring
that the Premier, Pitt, 'never meddled with a petticoat before;' and
Warren Hastings is observing with delight that his apprehensions
concerning the action of his enemies are at an end, and that the
influence he had made with the Queen, in the form of gifts of jewels,
is now likely to become of service: 'My diamonds will now befriend me.
Huzza!'
_December 1788._ _The English Address._--To this further satire upon
the _Regency Restrictions_ Rowlandson has attached the name of H.
Wigstead. Pitt is standing on a platform receiving the congratulations
of a drove of donkeys. The Prince of Wales, wearing his coronet, plume,
and broad riband, is held in fetters, a powerless victim in the hands
of 'the Pitt party.' The Duke of Richmond has secured one end of the
chain; on the reputation of his abortive fortification propositions he
declares, while alluding to the lean figure of his leader, 'Billy's
virtue is bomb-proof, gentlemen; he is well fortified in his own good
works.' Both the personal peculiarities of the Prime Minister and his
attitude are well hit off; he is giving his followers this assurance:
'Gentlemen, I have chained up your Prince; your enemies may insult
him as they please; he cannot resent it. I expect to receive all your
thanks for this service I have done your Constitution. Should a war
break out you have how nobody to defend you--look upon me, gentlemen,
as your saviour; I will only tax you a little more, and quarter a
few more of my needy relations on you, and will then retire to my
new office of Treasurer and Secretary, at Buckingham House.' For
these patriotic services the members of the asinine assembly are duly
acknowledging their gratitude.
_December 26, 1788._ _The Political Hydra._--Fox, in this case, enjoys
the distinction of having his career pictorially illustrated in six
phases: _Out of place, and in character_; black-bearded and swarthy,
his rugged locks unkempt. _In place; out of character_; his beard
shaven, his locks powdered. _As he might have been_; crowned with
the cap of Liberty. _As he would have been_; wearing a coronet. _As
he should have been_; his head severed by the executioner's axe, the
punishment awarded traitors. _As he will be_; enjoying the supreme
power under the Prince of Wales's diadem. This last prophecy was
premature, as was soon seen.
_December 29, 1788._ _A Touch on the Times._--Rowlandson has taken his
own print of the _Times_, 1784, and has produced a parody upon the same
theme. In this case the Prince is again represented as being led to the
steps of the throne; one foot is placed on a solid base, the _Voice
of the People_; the second step, however, _Public Safety_, is sadly
injured; _Virtue_, as indicated on the throne, is a money-bag; the
coming ruler is making patriotic professions: 'I would do the best to
please my people.'
Fox is leaning on the throne; his figure is intended to personify that
of _Justice_; a brace of dice-boxes form the new scales of Justice,
a bludgeon, topped with an eye, is _the Sword of Justice_. Fox is
declaring: 'I have the voice of the people in my eye.' Sheridan is
playing the part of _Liberty out at elbows_; while leading the Prince
to the throne he is picking his pockets. _Britannia_ is showing a
cloven foot; Pitt, provided with a huge extinguisher, is stumbling over
the _British Lion_; he is boasting, in reference to the incendiary
torches of _Envy, Rebellion, &c._, which sundry Furies are flourishing
around, 'I could soon extinguish these puppet-show vapours, if
properly supported.' The City Corporation has sent its deputies, as
in the former print; their complaint is, 'We have not been taxed this
twelvemonth!' _Commerce_ in this instance is depicted as a dissolute
harridan, deep sunk in gin.
_December 30, 1788._ _Sir Jeffery Dunstan Presenting an Address from
the Corporation of Garratt._--Pitt is crowned; his throne is not,
however, exactly a seat of dignity; his secretary, Dr. Prettyman,
Bishop of Lincoln, is holding an _Address from Manchester_.
Sir Jeffery Dunstan, a poor deformed, half-witted, and 'eccentric
character' of the time, has shouldered the civic mace, and is
presenting an address from the very ancient and respectable Corporation
of Garratt, beginning: 'High and mighty Sir.' Pitt is replying:
'Thanks, thanks, my respectable friend; this is the most delicious
cordial I have tasted yet.' Brook Watson, Alderman Wilkes, and others
are supporting the address. A tomfool, who, as trainbearer, has hold
of Sir Jeffery's cloak, is enquiring, 'Did you ever see such grace and
dignity in your life, Mr. Alderman?' To which Wilkes is responding,
'Grace--he shall be made Master of the Ceremonies at St. James's!'
_December 30, 1788._ _The Word-Eater._ Published by S. W. Fores, 3
Piccadilly.
ADVERTISEMENT EXTRAORDINARY.--This is to inform the public
that this extraordinary phenomenon is just arrived from the
Continent, and exhibits every day during the sittings of the
House of Commons before a select company. To give a complete
detail of his wonderful talents would far exceed the bounds of an
advertisement, as indeed they surpass the powers of description.
He eats single words and evacuates them so as to have a contrary
meaning. For example, the word Treason he can make Reason, and
of Reason he can make Treason; he can also eat whole sentences,
and will again produce them either with a double, different, or
contrary meaning, and is equally capable of performing the same
operation on the largest volumes and libraries. He purposes, in
the course of a few months, to exhibit in public for the benefit
and amusement of the Electors of Westminster, when he will
convince his friends of his great abilities in this new art, and
will provide himself with weighty arguments for his enemies.[31]
The hero of this specious advertisement is Fox; he is standing near the
Speaker's table, in the House of Commons, where the members are struck
with amazement at his dexterity in this novel accomplishment. In one
hand the Whig performer is holding out his speech on the _Rights of
the Prince_, and the _Explanation of that Speech_ in the other. 'All
these,' he declares, 'I will devour next.' Two important and bulky
works are at his feet, waiting their turn to be devoured--_Jus Divinum
of Kings_ and _Principles of Toryism_. On the table, placed before the
'Word-Eater,' is a provision of considerable substance which will test
his further powers of digestion--_Statutes at Large_, _Magna Charta_,
_Principles of the Constitution_, and _Rights of the People_.
_December 31, 1788._ _Blue and Buff Loyalty._--The sympathy openly
manifested by the Whig faction for the Prince's prospects of
succeeding to power is satirised at the expense of _Blue and Buff_
susceptibilities. _Saturday._--The Royal Physician is drawn looking
very downcast, with his gold-headed cane to his lips. 'Doctor:
How is your patient to-day?'--'Rather worse, sir.' _Blue and Buff
Loyalty_ is made to exult somewhat indecorously: 'Ha, ha! rare news!'
_Sunday._--'Doctor: How is your patient to-day?' The physician's face
expresses restored confidence: 'Better, thank God!' An expression the
reverse of loyal or pious is put into the mouths of the disappointed
faction.
[Illustration: HOUSEBREAKERS.]
1788. _Housebreakers._ Drawn and etched by T. Rowlandson; aquatinted
by T. Malton. Republished by S. W. Fores, 3 Piccadilly, August 1,
1791.--This plate represents the domestic felicity of well-to-do
citizens being rudely broken in upon by robbers and threatening
assassins.
A very critical situation for all the actors concerned. What the next
moment may produce it is impossible to conjecture, so much depends
upon the first shot; it is truly a moment of suspense. Whether the
horse-pistols of the burglars will miss fire, and the formidable
blunderbuss held by the respectable householder will lodge its
contents--which would be, seemingly, enough to mow down a regiment--in
the dastardly bodies of the midnight marauders, must remain a problem,
the solution of which is lost beyond recovery.
[Illustration: LOVE AND DUST.]
1788. _Love and Dust._--Cinder-sifters pursuing their grimy avocation
somewhere in the outskirts, in the neighbourhoods where the great
pyramidal heaps of dust and cinders were to be found in the last
century. That romance should soften the front of labour, and that
_Black Sal_ and _Dusty Bob_ should lighten the sifting of cinders
with a mixture of conviviality and flirtation, is but another proof
that human nature is everywhere constituted on the same susceptible
principles--a fact open to demonstration. The present print, which,
in its way, is about as terrible in its vagabond fidelity and grim
humour as anything which Rowlandson has left us, has been included in
the present series, with a due sense of editorial responsibility, as
affording a fair instance of our caricaturist's talent in Hogarth's
realistic walk.
To draw this and similar groups from the life, Rowlandson had only
to take a stroll from Soho to the corner where the Gray's Inn Road
now stands. On the ground which Argyle Street, Liverpool Street, and
Manchester Street at present occupy, in the caricaturist's day was
spread 'that sublime, sifted wonder of cockneys, the cloud-kissing
dust-heap, which sold for twenty thousand pounds.'
The sum quoted is apocryphal; but it is known that, by some chance,
Russia heard of these famous accumulations of dust and cinders--said
to have been existing on the same spot since the Great Fire of
London--and, as the fallen city of Moscow required rebuilding after
Napoleon's famous Russian campaign, the government of the Czar
purchased the vast piles and shipped them to Moscow.
This estate--the site of the ground on which the dust-heap stood--was
purchased by the 'Pandemonium Company' in 1826, for fifteen thousand
pounds. The Liverpool Street Theatre was erected, and the surrounding
grounds subsequently let on building leases. Beyond the Gray's Inn
Road heap--when the Caledonian Road was a rural thoroughfare--was the
Battle-Bridge Estate of some twenty acres, described in the 'New
Monthly Magazine' (1833) as 'the grand centre of dustmen, scavengers,
horse and dog dealers, knackermen, brickmakers, and other low but
necessary professionalists.' As Mr. T. C. Noble--the descendant of
the original lucky speculator who secured the dustheap, and sixteen
dilapidated tenements, as he relates, for about 500_l._--communicated
to Pink's _History of Clerkenwell_, 'the site of the mountain of
cinders is now covered by the houses of Derby Street; the names of the
thoroughfares erected on this estate were derived from the popular
ministers of that day.'
[Illustration: LUXURY AND DESIRE.]
_November 28, 1788._ _Luxury and Desire._ Published by W. Rowlandson,
49 Broad Street, Bloomsbury.--A battered old hulk--a regular ancient
commodore--is forcing a well-filled purse on the acceptance of a
graceful and well-favoured maiden.
[Illustration: LUST AND AVARICE.]
_November 29, 1788._ _Lust and Avarice._ Published by W. Rowlandson, 49
Broad Street, Bloomsbury.--A pretty simple-looking girl, dressed in a
countrified garb, is exacting contributions from a miserly curmudgeon,
who it seems is extremely reluctant to part with his money.
[Illustration: STAGE COACH AND BASKET.]
_December 3, 1788._ _Stage Coach with Basket: the Dolphin Inn._
Published by William Rowlandson, 49 Broad Street, Bloomsbury.--A
scene of bustle and activity, consequent upon the departure of a
stage coach from a posting-house in a flourishing country town. From
the business going on in the background it is evidently market-day.
The coach is taking up its complement of passengers at the _Dolphin
Inn_; the landlord of the house is civilly doing the honours of his
establishment, and conducting a party of new arrivals to the comforts
of his hostelry.
[Illustration: AN EPICURE.]
1788. _An Epicure._--Another Hogarth-like study, but touched with all
the knowledge and spirit peculiarly the attributes of Rowlandson. An
over-fed gourmand, whose hopes of happiness are evidently centred
on perishable things, is exulting, with pantomimic rapture, over a
delicacy in the way of fish. (See 1801, republished.)
[Illustration: A COMFORTABLE NAP IN A POST-CHAISE.]
1788. _A Comfortable Nap in a Post-chaise._--A well-fed easy-going
pair, reposing in a jogging post-chaise, are soothed into slumber by
the motion, and are being rattled along oblivious of their surroundings.
[Illustration: A FENCING MATCH.]
1788. _A Fencing Match._--Rowlandson was an amateur, as we have
noticed, of all manly exercises. In his day riding, boxing,[32] and
especially fencing, were considered indispensable accomplishments
for the man of 'ton.' We have had occasion to allude to our artist's
intimacy with Angelo, the fashionable professor of sword exercises, who
notices the caricaturist's works with appreciation, and mentions him
with the highest personal esteem, in various passages of his memoirs
and anecdotes. Rowley executed numerous sketches for his friend Angelo;
and he further engraved a series of plates for him, besides a large and
interesting view of his fencing-rooms.
The present subject, which is particularly excellent as regards
grouping and execution, probably represents an encounter at Angelo's
rooms, either in the West or in the City, in both of which parts of
town he held establishments. The principal figures, and the personages
grouped around the fencers, were no doubt meant to designate portraits;
but as no evidence has been preserved to this date that would assist
in more than a partial identification of one or two professional
celebrities, it is nearly impossible to recognise the major part of the
individuals present.
1788. _A Print Sale. A Night Auction._--The rooms of an old auctioneer,
where night sales of pictures, drawings, and prints, were held. The
auctioneer is seated under a candelabra, at his desk, which is placed
upon a circle of boards running round the apartment, and forming a
trestle for the display of engravings. The customers, connoisseurs,
collectors, artists, &c., are seated on the outside of the circle,
and on either side of the seller. The sale-clerk, and the men who are
showing the lots, are in the space within the centre.
Contemporary references further describe these 'night auctions,' where
the caricaturist's drawings frequently figured, and which Rowlandson
occasionally attended, in company with his friends Mitchell the banker,
Parsons and Bannister the comedians, _Antiquity_ Smith, _Iron-wig_
Heywood, Caleb Whiteford, and other _dilettanti_. See page 70.
[Illustration: THE PEA CART.]
1788 (?). _The Pea-cart._
1789.
Several of the prints included under our description of the political
caricatures for 1789 are confessedly of somewhat doubtful parentage.
In one or two cases, other artists, like Kingsbury, are entitled
to the credit of having a share in the prints we here include with
Rowlandson's works.
After carefully examining and comparing the questionable plates with
those whose authenticity is certain, we have selected only such
examples as we feel convinced are not altogether out of place in this
volume, while we acknowledge a doubt of their precise authenticity.
It is the old story of the engraver with more than one publisher
disguising his handiwork, as Gillray and other caricaturists are well
known to have done, to accommodate rival print-selling firms, without
appearing to depart from the loyalty due to their principal employer.
In the case of Gillray, it will be remembered, his allegiance was
enlisted, and in a more special manner than is usual in the relation
between artist and publisher, in the interests of the Humphreys. In
the instance of Rowlandson, although he did not supply any one firm
with his works, to the exclusion of other publishers, at the period
we are describing--and before either Mr. Ackermann, of the Strand,
took our artist under his protecting care, or Mr. Tegg, of Cheapside,
began to pour his cheaper caricatures into the market--it will be
recognised that Rowlandson's best prints were issued by Mr. S. W.
Fores, of Piccadilly. He occasionally, when a popular subject gave
unusual impulse to the demand for satirical plates, supplied Mr. W.
Holland of Oxford Street with his etchings, slightly varying his style
as far as the manipulative portion of the engraving was concerned, but
retaining all the more special features of his identity. Indeed it is
doubtful if he sought to disguise his handiwork in the sense adopted by
Gillray, who did not hesitate, it has been said, to produce inferior
piracies, executed by his own hand, with intentional clumsiness and
apparently defective skill, after his own masterpieces, to accommodate
caricature-sellers who wished to secure his works otherwise than
through the legitimate channel of his own publishers, who are known
to have been both respectable and liberal in their dealings with this
wayward and unscrupulous genius.
_January 1, 1789._ _The Vice Q----'s Delivery at the Old Soldier's
Hospital in Dublin._--Published in Dublin; republished by W. Holland,
50 Oxford Street.--This print alludes to a certain interesting event.
The Lord Lieutenant's lady has apparently been confined in a ward of
the Soldier's Hospital, Dublin. One old veteran, who is nursing the
bold young stranger, is declaring: 'Deel, my saul, but he'll be a brave
soldier.' The distinguished parent is responding: 'Thanks, thanks, my
brave sergeant, you shall be knighted this day.' Soldier's porridge is
supplied, as a substitute for caudle. An invalided warrior is inclined
to quarrel with this proceeding: 'Downright robbery, by St. Patrick!
We'll soon be famished if our broth is to be stole from us in this
manner.'
_January 8, 1789._ _The modern Egbert, or the King of Kings._--The
Prince of Wales is pictured in the position of Egbert when towed by
kings on the river. The vexed question of the '_Regency Restrictions_'
is still the difficulty of the situation. His Royal Highness is held
captive; his hands and feet are bound in golden chains. The arms of the
_Stork and Anchor_, as hung out upon Pitt's barge, are placed above
the _Royal Standard of England_. The modern Egbert, while passing
St. Stephen's, is declaring, in reference to his fettered condition,
'I feel not for myself but for my country.' Pitt, wearing the dress
in which he is usually represented--the Windsor uniform--and with an
imperial diadem placed upon his head, is acting as steersman to his
barge, which carries a huge flag inscribed with his arms, and the words
'_Devil take right, P. W._' The young statesman is encouraging his crew
to 'pull together, boys!' The four oarsmen are all crowned as kings.
Thurlow the Thunderer, with his diadem perched above his chancellor's
wig, is acting as stroke, and pulling away vengefully: 'Damme, I've got
precedence of the young lion!' The Marquis of Buckingham is asserting,
'I'll answer for the Shillalagh without authority!' Dundas is rowing
with a long golden spoon; he is declaring, 'The prince shall remember
old _Nemo Impune_;' and the Duke of Richmond, with one of his famous
guns as an oar, is promising 'We'll show him Gallic faith!'
1789. _The Pittfall._--The chance of catching the Crown--in the print
a kind of _ignis fatuus_, has lured Pitt and the parliamentary allies
(who supported his measures for 'restricting the powers of the Regent')
to the brink of destruction. The Pittfall is nothing less than the
infernal regions, pictorially set forth as smoke, and a great deal
of flame, with fantastic devils, furies and pitchforks, all seething
together. Pitt is making a flying leap to seize the Crown, which is
fluttering above his reach: 'I'll have thee or perish in the attempt,
for my ambition knows no bounds!' The leading demon is prepared with
a barbed prong, to receive the Minister on his descent below, while
offering Pitt the comforting assurance: 'You will be elected Regent in
our dominions _nem. con._' The Duke of Richmond has overstepped the
margin, and is plunging headlong into the clutches of his tormentors.
'Spare me this time,' he cries; adding, with a liberality little likely
to be appreciated in the quarter to which it is addressed, 'and you
shall have coal in future without duty.' A friend is assuring the Duke,
in allusion to his left-handed descent from Charles the Second, 'All
your great grandfather's w----s are waiting dinner for you!'
Thurlow is hurling at the flitting diadem with the Chancellor's mace.
He is proclaiming his resolution with a strong asseveration, 'I'll
have a knock at it!' The Duke of Grafton also descended, it will be
remembered, from the 'Merry Monarch,' is declaring, 'Junius has lamed
me, or I'd have a knock at it too!'
_January 30, 1789._ _The Propagation of a Truth._ H. W. invt. Published
by Holland, Oxford Street.--Bunbury's long serial slip, '_The
Propagation of a Lie_,' enjoyed a wide reputation. In the present print
Rowlandson, under the suggestion of his friend Wigstead, has turned the
social satire to political purposes. The Tory chances seemed utterly
forlorn at the time of the King's illness; indeed, the loss of their
offices was only a question of days, until an unexpected change in the
royal health cleared off their apprehensions. At the beginning of the
year 1789, however, no one doubted that a week or two would see Fox and
the Whigs back in power. In the _Propagation of a Truth_ the members
of the threatened Ministry are represented as imparting their personal
apprehensions to one another confidentially. _R----e (Rose)_, one of
the Treasury Secretaries, is rushing in with this gloomy intelligence:
'The people refuse to address.' The profane Thurlow is invoking
objurgations upon the optics of the public. Pitt is collapsing: 'Then
I am done up!' Lord Sidney is declaring: 'It is all dickey with me!'
Dundas is stamping with vexation: 'I'll gang to my own country,
and sell butter and brimstone!' The Duke of Richmond is admitting
his fears: 'I begin to smell powder;' and the Duke of Grafton is
corroborating his colleague's theory. Lord Chatham, at the Admiralty,
is asserting: 'I thought myself snug.' Lord Camden confesses, from his
experience, 'I should have known better.' Brook Watson, with his wooden
leg, is saying: 'I cannot Brook this, I'll hop off!' Grenville, who
occupied the Speaker's chair (January 5 to May), does not relish losing
his new wig. Old Alderman Wilkes, who had ratted extensively in his
time, and who was, at the date of the present caricature, slyly paying
his court to both sides simultaneously, is congratulating himself upon
the famous squint immortalised by Hogarth: 'I can look either way!'
Lord Carmarthen is uncomfortable: 'I've been in anguish all night!'
Both factions of Tories and Whigs alike were satirised alternately.
If one print was severe on the Ministry and their adherents, it was
certain to be followed in turn by no less cutting strictures upon their
antagonists of the Opposition.
_January 21, 1789._ _Loose Principles._ Published by S. W. Fores,
3 Piccadilly.--Fox is represented in his study; the busts of Wat
Tyler and Jack Cade are its ornaments. His book shelves offer '_The
Laws of Pharaoh_,' '_Political Prints_,' '_Life of Oliver Cromwell_,'
'_Cataline_,' '_Memoirs of Sam House_,' and kindred literature. Fox
is plunged in distress; Burke is engaged in a certain quest; 'not
searching for precedents, but consequences.' Sheridan--whose foot
is standing on a volume of Congreve's plays, marked '_School for
Scandal_,' indicating that this comedy was somewhat of a plagiarism
from the works of his predecessor--has charge of the Regent's
clyster-pipe, his confidential appointment being that of 'Principal
Promoter of Loose Principles.'
_January 28, 1789._ _Suitable Restrictions._ Published by S. W. Fores,
3 Piccadilly.--The Heir Apparent, according to this print, is treated
as an infant. A long pinafore, and a child's cap, are employed to
carry out the theory of his puerility. Pitt, in court dress, is making
sure of his ward, for he is holding him in leading-strings. Pitt's
_restrictions_ effectually prevent the Prince from stooping to take up
the Crown, which is the subject of a new game of ring-tor. The leading
Whigs, shown kneeling down at a little distance, are taking part in the
sport. Fox is making a shot at the ring, in the centre of which stands
the Crown of England: 'My game for a crown!' Sheridan's chief anxiety
is for his own interests: 'Knuckle down, and don't funk, Charley.'
Burke, who is eager to take his chance, is exclaiming: 'My turn next,
Sherry!'
_January 30, 1789._ _Neddy's Black Box, containing what he does not
value three skips of a louse._ Published by S. W. Fores.--The Prince
appears on his throne, a full-fledged Regent by anticipation, with
all his plumes and paraphernalia. The ex-patriot Burke is kneeling in
an attitude of courtier-like servility, and presenting the head of
Charles the First, preserved in the _Treasury Box_: 'My Liege, I told
them in the House no day so proper to settle the Regency as Charles's
martyrdom.' Sheridan, who wears the blue and buff uniform like his
colleague, is supporting the orator: 'I, too, am for despatch; such
days best suit our purpose.' From Sherry's pocket is peeping the
pamphlet, '_Horne Tooke's Letter on the Prince's Marriage_,' which
operated somewhat like a spark in a powder magazine at this date.
A quotation from Edmund Burke's speech, referring to the day most
suitable for the discussion of the Regency Bill, is added at the foot
of the plate: 'Why not debate it on Friday? I say it is the only day
in the year on which it ought to be debated (Charles's martyrdom), and
carried up in the _Black Box_.'
1789. _State Butchers._--In this view of the Prince's situation, the
Heir Apparent is pictured as the victim of the combinations which
Pitt contrived to hinder the Prince's accession to power by vexatious
restrictions. The principal figure is that of the future Regent, laid
out at length on the anatomy table, ready to be operated upon by the
dissecting knives which his antagonists are eagerly setting to work.
Pitt occupies the chair as president of this college of Surgeons;
in his left hand is a paper, '_Thanks from the City of London with
50,000l._' He is holding a wand in his right hand, with which he is
pointing to the heart of his subject, beneath the Prince's Star of
Brunswick; he is thus directing his head anatomist, Dundas:--'The good
qualities of his heart will certainly ruin our plan; therefore cut that
out first.' Lord Thurlow, in his Chancellor's robes, is, like Hamlet,
musing over the head of the fallen prince. Lord Sydney has his knife
held ready for a desperate gash. The two Stuart peers are assisting
as amateur butchers. The Duke of Grafton has a dissecting knife in
either hand; at his feet is a formidable basket of saws and cutting
instruments; his preparations are on an extensive scale, while the
Duke of Richmond is prepared to resort to even clumsier methods, since
_Uncle Toby_ is wielding a heavy executioner's axe in readiness to cut
in at any signal.
[Illustration: A NEW SPEAKER.]
_February 6, 1789._ _A New Speaker._ Published by H. Holland, Oxford
Street.--Addington, the Speaker, is at his table. Pitt, standing behind
him, has thrust a speaking trumpet into his mouth, through which the
orator, to the amazement of the other members, is holding forth: 'Eyes
has he and sees not, neither is there any breath in his mouth, but
through the hollow of his head shall the sound of my own voice be
exalted, and through the stuttering of his tongue my intentions be
more fully explained. Keep together, my good friends, till I go out,
and you will then probably follow me, but I will work changes for you.
See how this rank Tory becomes a good Whig!' The mace is lying on the
table beside the '_City Address, 50,000l._; _Aldermen Hoppikicky_,
_Squintum_, _Peter Grievous, &c._,' and a proposed _List of Taxes_,
which includes such items as _Fox-tails_, _Play_ (_i.e._ gambling)
_Houses_ &c., fanciful personal enactments levelled against Pitt's
great rival.
_February 7, 1789._ _Britannia's Support, or the Conspirators
Defeated._ Published by H. Holland, Oxford Street.--The Prince, who is
looking somewhat ill at ease under the circumstances, has been attacked
by Pitt and his allies, the Stuart dukes. Pitt is aiming an awkward
blow at the tutelary divinity and her protégé with a terrible-looking
axe. The Duke of Richmond is firing a musket; and the Duke of Grafton,
as a midnight assassin, is operating with a dagger and a dark lantern.
Britannia has taken the Heir Apparent to her arms, and is shielding the
menaced Prince with her person.
_February 7, 1789._ _The Hospital for Lunatics._--A companion to the
preceding. The results of the Tory excitement have landed certain
sufferers in the Lunatic Asylum. The mad doctor is going his rounds,
he is declaring; 'I see no signs of convalescence!' His assistant,
following with a few strait-waistcoats for the refractory patients,
is supporting the opinion of his chief: 'They must all be in a state
of coercion!' Pitt is the first sufferer; he is wearing a coronet of
straws, and is waving a sceptre of twigs; over his head is the notice:
'_Went mad, supposing himself next heir to a Crown_.' In the adjoining
cell is the Duke of Richmond, who is buried in the contemplation of toy
cannons--'_Went mad in the study of fortifications_.' Next to him is
another victim, '_Driven mad by a political itching_.'
_February 7, 1789._ _Britannia's Support._
_February 15, 1789._ _Going in State to the House of Peers, or a Piece
of English Magnificence; dedicated to Mr. Pitt and his 267 Liberal
friends._ Published by William Holland, 50 Oxford Street.--This print,
with one or two others of similar character, have been attributed to
Kingsbury. A careful comparison of these doubtful plates, with the
more recognised etchings of both Rowlandson and Kingsbury, has led
the writer to the conclusion that several at least of the caricatures
published by Holland at this time, owe their existence, at least in
part, to the skill of the former, although he has in some degree
modified his usual handling.
The Heir Apparent is proceeding in burlesque state to the chamber
of Peers. A ragged mob is in attendance. The arms on his carriage
are turned upside down, coachman and footmen are of the shabbiest,
and the slovenly coach is drawn by eight miserable animals, who can
barely crawl, while one of the broken-kneed leaders has actually come
to grief. The Tories have taken their places at certain windows
to view the procession. The Duke of Orleans (who was on a visit to
this country), or the French Ambassador, is amazed at such a dowdy
spectacle; next to his window is Lord Amherst. The Stuart-Dukes of
Richmond and Grafton, sharing a window, are agreeing that the Prince's
turn-out is 'Well enough for any of the Brunswick race;' they have
put up at the sign of the '_Lion in the Toils_.' The Marquis of
Carmarthen is saying, 'Very pretty indeed;' he is at the sign of '_The
Restrictions_' (a picture of the Prince in the pillory is on the
signboard); his neighbour Pitt is declaring the show to be 'a very
magnificent spectacle, upon my honour.' Lords Hood and Chatham, at
the sign of '_The Chatham and Hood_,' a frigate labouring in a storm
being the signboard, are on the look-out: 'The great naval review
was nothing to it.' Lord Chatham is assuring his companion that the
show is 'infinitely superior to my father's funeral.' Lord Thurlow is
asseverating with an oath, 'It eclipses all that has been ever seen in
Rome!'
_March 6, 1789._ _A Sweating for Opposition, by Dr. Willis Dominisweaty
and Co._ Published by S. W. Fores.--The health of the King, according
to the reports of his physicians, began to improve from this date. It
was hinted rather broadly that this intelligence was not so agreeable
to the Opposition as they might desire. The print sets forth the new
treatment by which the growing consequence of the Whigs was to be
reduced. The several patients are placed in small furnaces, with a
blazing fire below each; the doctors are attending to the stoking with
a will. Burke is becoming quite limp in the process: 'I have got no
juice left.' Fox is becoming furious; he is gesticulating and shouting,
'I have sweated enough.' Sheridan is venemous: 'This is scandalous; the
Baily's (Bailiffs) have sufficiently sweated me!' The Prince, in an
agony, is crying: 'I suppose they call this a Regency sweat.' A lady
next to him is declaring: 'I sweat with desire.' Weltjé, the Prince's
house-steward and head cook--a man who enjoyed considerable reputation
in spite of the satirists--is asserting: 'I never sweat so much at
cooking in my life.' Mrs. Fitzherbert, who is separated from her
admirer, is highly indignant: 'I sweat with jealousy; what disregard to
the marriage right!'
_March 10, 1789._ _Edward the Black Prince receiving Homage._ Published
by William Holland, 50 Oxford Street.--Thurlow, in his Chancellor's
robes, is assuming the sovereign position; he has the crown and
sceptre; Adam, wearing his counsellor's gown, has come to 'kiss hands.'
According to the print _the black-browed Thunderer_ is blessed with
the hairy paws of a bear, not omitting the claws. On the wall, in the
background, is a picture of _Blood stealing the Crown_.
_March 7, 1789._ _The Irish Ambassadors Extraordinary. A gallantee
Show._ Published by S. W. Fores.--The six members of the so-called
Irish Embassy are galloping up to the colonnades of Carlton House,
each mounted on a jibbing Irish bull; the riders have their faces
to the tails, by which they have taken hold in order to secure their
seats. The Marquis of Lothian and the Duke of Leinster are urging the
deputation forward. It is understood they have arrived somewhat late.
The holder of the address is declaring: 'Aye, aye, the Marquis of
Buckingham will remember me when I go back again.' The other deputies
are making pertinent observations: 'The folks stare at us as they
would at wild beastises!' 'What a nice errand is this; make him Regent
whether or no!' 'I say, my friend, we shall be there the day before
the fair!' 'Well! yes, I dare say well! why, he was so bad he could
say nothing but "_What, what, what_," when we left Dublin!' 'What, no
occasion for a Regent? then we will go back again and tell the lads
we are all mad, and, by the powers, 'tis my opinion we are come over
for nothing at all, at all!' The cook of the _Pall Mall Ordinary_ is
thrusting his stout body out of a window opposite Carlton House and
declaring: 'Begar, I must go prepare more sourkraut for dese wild
bullocks!'
_March 15, 1789._ _Irish Ambassadors Extraordinary!!! In a few days
will be published the Return of the Ambassadors._--The memorable six
are mounted on their prancing bulls, with a sack of potatoes behind
each for a saddle, and as provisions for the journey; all are armed
with bludgeons. The delegates are headed by a personage with a crozier
and a mitre, a sort of episcopal leader, who is exhorting his followers
to 'Make haste, my honies!' The Duke of Leinster is flourishing his
shillalagh: 'No restrictions, by the Holy Cross of St. Patrick!' Others
are crying: 'How our Majority will astonish the young King!' Some doubt
crosses their minds as to his Majesty's possible restoration to health:
'My dear, I was told that he was recovering fast!' 'No! as mad as a
hatter!'
_Press Notices._ _March 2, 1789._ _Address from the Parliament of
Ireland to the Prince of Wales._ (_Morning Herald_).--'We have,
however, the consolation of reflecting, that this severe calamity hath
not been visited upon us until the virtues of your Royal Highness have
been so matured as to enable your Royal Highness to discharge the
duties of an important trust, for the performance whereof the eyes of
all his Majesty's subjects of both kingdoms are directed to your Royal
Highness.'
_March 4, 1789._ _Irish Embassy Uniform._ (_World_).--The great open
pocket _on either side_ is this: When the Duke of Leinster was coming,
he wrote indefinitely to have a new coat. 'I would not be in his coat
for something,' said Lord Robert Fitzgerald pleasantly, when he heard
of the mischievous folly. But wishing to do the best he could for his
brother, he ordered him the _Constitutional_ uniform of _Blue_ and
_Orange_. This, of course, the Duke, when he came, would not wear; and
new clothes being hastily wanted, Jennings and Headington, the tailors,
were left at liberty, _and they made the_ GREAT OPEN POCKET _on either
side_!
_March 19, 1789._ _Ireland--by Express: The Six Amazing Bulls._
(_World._)--'The proprietor of these unruly animals begs leave, through
the channel of the _World_, to return his most grateful thanks for the
great encouragement Mr. GRATTAN'S _Bulls_ met with in London, and most
particularly from their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and the
Duke of York.
'He is sorry to say that upon the road these animals grew very unruly.
The completely horned one was four times beaten, for taking what did
not belong to him; and the _little bull_, called 'my lord,' who had but
a stump of a tail, had that cut off by a wicked boy for his diversion.
'The other four all tumbled into the water, as they landed at Dublin,
and looked so ill, when they were driven into Mr. Grattan's stable,
"that he wished to heaven he had never sent them over!"
'The proprietor has likewise to add, that they were so well fed by the
kindness of the gentlemen in London, that they do not again take kindly
to Irish potatoes. He hopes, however, by beating them regularly every
day, he shall drive sense into them.
'The collection for seeing these amazing animals upon the road was very
handsome. Since their arrival here, the Lord-Lieutenant has had an
offer of them for sale, and _very cheap_; but he thought they had been
so "hawked about," by being up at public show in London, he would have
nothing to do with them. So the bulls are where they were--with the
proprietor.'
_March 9, 1789._ _The Answer to the Irish Ambassadors._ (_Morning
Chronicle_).
Your duty to the King is great,
As all mankind must see;
And, though you're come a day too late,
You're welcome still to me.
You'll guess what want of speech conceals,
As Irishmen should do;
You'll guess my understanding feels,
My heart remembers, too.
You take a different line, I see,
From England and oppose her;
But well I know you disagree
To make the Union closer.
As to the rest of your Address,
I know not what to do;
I fear 'tis treason to say Yes,
I'm loth to answer No.
Should he relapse, indeed, I might
Accept the Irish sway;
But that I cannot learn to-night,
So come another day.
_March 2, 1789._ _The Prince's Answer to the Address of the Deputation
from Ireland._ (_Morning Herald_).--'"If, in conveying my grateful
sentiments on their conduct, in relation to the King, my father, and
to the inseparable interests of the two kingdoms, I find it impossible
adequately to express my feelings on what relates to _myself_, I
trust you will not be the less disposed to believe that I have an
understanding to comprehend the value of what they have done, a heart
that must remember, and principles that will not suffer me to abuse
their confidence.
'"But the fortunate change which has taken place in the circumstances
which gave occasion to the Address agreed to by the Lords and Commons
of Ireland induces me for a few days to delay giving a final answer;
trusting that the joyful event of his Majesty's resuming the personal
exercise of his Royal authority may then render it only necessary for
me to repeat those sentiments of gratitude and affection for the loyal
and generous people of Ireland which I feel indelibly imprinted on my
heart."
'The Prince of Wales has conducted himself in this delicate point with
the circumspection and propriety that has marked the whole of his
conduct in the late melancholy and critical circumstances. He called to
his aid the first legal ability in the kingdom; and on the subject of
the answer to the Irish Address had a conference of several hours with
the Lord Chancellor and Lord Loughborough.'
_March 16, 1789._ _The Ambassadors' Extraordinary Return, on Bulls
without Horns._ Published by S. W. Fores.--The same personages we
saw caricatured on the previous plate are represented in the sequel
returning to Dublin. They have exchanged their famous Irish bulls for
donkeys; their potatoes have gone, but they are liberally provided with
_Regency Cakes_ in their place. Their Pope, whose donkey's head is
ornamented with the plume of three feathers as borne by the Prince of
Wales, is received by an eager deputation on his arrival: 'What news,
what news? The tidings tell. Make haste and tell us all; say why are
they thus mounted? Is the Regent come and all?' The leader is replying:
'I'll tell you all in no time. Why, you must know the King is better
than the Regent--that is all!' The Marquis of Lothian is declaring,
'Master Walgee (Weltjé) made us such Regent's and Regency cakes!' The
Duke of Leinster is crying, 'Aye, my lads, Dr. Willis has done the King
over, and the Regent won't take it!' Other members of the deputation
are remarking, 'The English lads were so merry, by my shoul, they were
always a-laughing at us!' 'Ambassadors Extraordinary, by St. Patrick,
but I've forgot what we have done!' 'Done? Why carried the address,
and brought it back again, with all these cakes. A deal better than
potatoes!'
_April 4, 1789._ _The Rochester Address, or the Corporation going to
Eat Roast Pork and Oysters with the Regent._--The procession of the
Corporation of Rochester is headed by the Mayor (Matthews), who is
holding the _Address_ at the end of a pole; he proposes to send the
Regent 'some chips.' The rest of this train, professional men and
traders of Rochester, are promising to favour the heir to the throne
with their specialities. Alderman Spice will 'assist him with long
sixes.' Alderman Thompson will favour him with his _Preventative_;
another, a brewer, will send him 'some _Chatham Butt_;' Prentice
professes to 'give him thirteen to the dozen, and all sour;' another
member of the Corporation, a barber by trade, is proposing to 'shave
him.' Sparks, a lawyer, is declaring, 'I'll beg to speak to Sherry for
his business, bailing, actions, demands, writs of error; that is, if
he'll promise to see me paid!' Bristow is guaranteeing 'he shall never
be tried by the Court of Conscience.' Robinson is asserting, 'These are
your right sort; none of your quack;' and Alderman Nicholson, who is
bringing up the rear, with a brick and trowel, is looking forward to
the job 'of making him some fortifications!'
_April 22, 1789._ _The Grand Procession to St. Paul's on St. George's
Day, 1789: an exact view of the Lord Mayor carrying the City Sword,
bareheaded, &c._ Published by Holland, Oxford Street.--Upon the
King's recovery the popular tide turned abruptly, and, before the
end of April, the satirists were making capital out of the excessive
gush of loyalty which greeted the King's restoration to health.
The felicitations offered on this occasion were not, however, more
extravagant than the congratulations which would have been offered the
Regent had the case been altered. In the present print the procession
is on its way to St. Paul's to return thanks; the Volunteers are
keeping the line of route; the windows are filled with rejoicing
spectators, smiling and bowing, with ribands, favours, and mottoes,
inscribed with printed sentiments complimentary to the monarch. A man,
wearing a leek in his hat, is at the head of the train, seated on a
goat; the Aldermen, without hats or wigs, are finding some difficulty
in keeping their seats. The Lord Mayor has a nervous time of it, while
holding the Sword of State; two footmen are steadying him by the
leg--his horse has been slightly startled--as he is passing a noisy
band of musicians, stationed in a balcony. 'And all the people rejoiced
and sung, Long live the King! May the King live for ever!' The King's
well-appointed team of eight white horses is passing a show--the Royal
Waxworks: 'Here you may see King Solomon in all his glory!' The state
carriage contains the King, the Queen, and the coarse-featured Madame
Schwellenberg; the Guards are bringing up the rear.
_October 23, 1789._ _An Antiquarian._ Published by W. Holland, 50
Oxford Street.
_October 24, 1789._ _Sergeant Kite, Sergent Recruiteur._ Published by
S. W. Fores, 3 Piccadilly. (N.B. Fores' Museum now opened. Admission,
one shilling.)--The Duke of Orleans is represented as Sergeant Kite,
dressed in the uniform of a hussar--a tight tunic and breeches, given,
in the coloured versions of the plate, as green, faced with crimson,
and richly laced with gold; with a furred cocked hat and enormous
cockade; inscribed on the scarf he is wearing are the words '_Vive la
Liberté!_' destined shortly to become the keynote for all the reckless
destruction, indiscriminate slaughter, and bloodthirsty atrocities
of the great French Revolution. An enormous sabre is trailed by his
side, and he is resting on a halbert with a head shaped like an axe.
By his side is his drummer, whose figure the artist has treated with
the broadest grotesque; the Frenchman's enormous earrings, together
with a pigtail of inordinate length, are exciting the wonder of the
spectators. The _Sergent Recruiteur_ is beating up his recruits at
Billingsgate amongst the fishfags. The _Poissardes_ of France were
making themselves a terrible reputation throughout Europe by the
violence of their behaviour, and the satirist hinted in the present
plate that the Duke of Orleans would be able to secure congenial
revolutionary levies amongst the muscular vixens of the fish-market
here. The viragoes of Billingsgate do not seem to favour the Duke's
mission; they are giving the Frenchman what may be termed a warm
reception: his advances are met with taunts, contumely, and apparently
by challenges to ignominious personal combat.
_January 1, 1789._ _Grog on Board._ Published by S. W. Fores, 3
Piccadilly. Republished January 1794.--'Sweet Poll of Plymouth' has
been smuggled on board during the absence, let us believe, of the chief
officers, who have genteelly gone to take _Tea on Shore_ in the port.
A pretty 'mid-shipmite' and a black boy are deep in the perusal of a
volume of fascinating voyages. The rest of the persons represented
are, from the dog upwards, variously interested in their fair female
visitor. One tar, in a fur cap, is singing verses, with his truant eye
fixed on the nymph instead of on his music; another old salt, who is
handing the punchbowl about, has evidently neglected his pipe, which he
is vainly endeavouring to rekindle from the bowl of a comrade, who has
eyes for nothing but the lady. 'Poll' is quite a Cleopatra for beauty,
grace, and love of pleasure, if not for frailty and splendour; she is
reposing with negligent ease in the stalwart arms of a good-looking
sailor, for want of a more luxurious couch, and her foot is resting on
the knee of another favoured swain, who seems proportionately proud of
the honour. Her _débonnaire_ ladyship is not only distinguished for the
beauty of person and condescension of manners essential to make herself
adored by poor Jack; she sports the wealth of jewellery supposed to be
irresistibly gratifying in his sight--a pair of bracelets, earrings,
imposing shoe-buckles, and, to cap all, a _pair_ of watches, with
massive chains and heavy trinkets galore, disposed on either side.
[Illustration: GROG ON BOARD.]
_January 1789._ _Tea on Shore._ Published by S. W. Fores, 3 Piccadilly.
Republished January 1, 1794.--A companion to the last print, affording
the suppositious contrast between high and low life in port. The
officers are leaving the vulgar jollifications of _Grog on Board_ for
delicate flirtations over the tea-table on shore. In those days, when
opportunities for personal distinction were more frequent, commanders
were recognised and entertained as heroes, and their visits on shore
were not unfrequently a round of agreeable festivals and social
triumphs. Rowlandson has shown how graciously the fair are regarding
the sons of Neptune, who are doing their best to create favourable
impressions in return. The head of the house, who is not apparently of
the slightest consequence on this occasion, is left to indifference
and the charge of the tea urn; while the naval commanders are carrying
all the admiration before them, on the venerable principle, lyrically
rendered by John Dryden (although the sentiment was no novelty in his
day), that 'none but the brave deserve the fair.'
[Illustration: TEA ON SHORE.]
_February 1, 1789._ _Careless Attention._ Published by J. Griggs,
216 Holborn.--A corpulent sufferer, disabled by gout, is thrown into
a dreadful quandary; he is seated by the fire, where the kettle is
boiling over, deluging the place, and threatening the invalid with the
dangers of scalding. The table, and the little comforts spread thereon,
are thrown down in the struggle to get out of the dangerous vicinity;
the gouty cripple is vainly shouting and storming for assistance; his
nurse, who is much too young, sprightly, and good-looking for her
situation, is seen at the door of the apartment, struggling in the
embraces of a dashing young spark--probably the master's undutiful
heir; the _coquetteries_ of the pair have engaged their full attention,
to the neglect of the unfortunate head of the house, of whose critical
position they are delightfully unconscious.
[Illustration: INTERRUPTION, OR INCONVENIENCE OF A LODGING-HOUSE.]
_April 1, 1789._ _Interruption, or Inconvenience of a Lodging-house._
Published by S. W. Fores, 3 Piccadilly. Republished April 1, 1824.--A
stout dowager and her maid are thrown into a state of consternation
easy to appreciate by the sudden entrance on the occupations of the
toilette of a roystering young 'blood,' who, from the disorder of his
dress and the recklessness of his attitude, has evidently returned from
the tavern, something the worse for his evening's potations, and not
strikingly clear in his head as to his ultimate destination.
_June 20, 1789._ _A Sufferer for Decency._--The interior of a
barber's shop, conducted on popular principles, as the notice on the
lantern has it: '_Shave with ease and expedition for one penny_.' It
will be noticed that the lathering is accomplished on a wholesale
scale; a boy is waiting on the customers with a small pail of soap,
and is officiating with a lathering-brush of the size of a decent
hearth-broom; the barber is waiting, with his razor poised in the air,
ready to let it descend with a swoop on the face of the sufferer;
expedition of execution rather than an artistic delicacy of handling
being the order of the day at the class of establishment delineated by
the caricaturist, who in the days of universal shaving must have known
the cost of sacrificing to custom.
[Illustration: A SUFFERER FOR DECENCY.]
1789. _A Penny Barber._ Companion to _Sufferer for Decency_ (June
1789). Published by W. Holland, 50 Oxford Street.--A stout old
gentleman, enveloped in a barber's cloth, has taken his seat in the
shaving-chair; his wig is removed and his chin plenteously lathered;
the aproned barber is still employed with his soap and basin. One
customer is performing an ablution; and the assistant, whose hair
is dressed in the wildest French style, is smoothing down a compact
full-bottomed old-fashioned wig. One or two barber's blocks, a cracked
glass, and a bird in a cage form the chief embellishments, to which
must be added a lantern lighted by a single candle and inscribed with
this information, '_The oldest shaving shop in London. Most money for
second-hand wigs._'
_About 1789._ _Domestic Shaving._--A family group, delicately executed
in stipple in imitation of a chalk drawing. The scene is pictured
with considerable care and truthfulness to nature. A stout gentleman,
wigless and with lather-spread chin, is rasping away at his ample
throat before a hand-glass, which a gracefully-drawn female, in a
simple morning dress, is holding before the 'shaver.' A pretty child is
seated in an infant's chair by his side, watching, with a pleased smile
on her face, the gambols of a cat and kitten.
_August 4, 1789._ _A Fresh Breeze._ Published by S. W. Fores.--A party
of distinguished guests are represented as trying a cruise on board the
Southampton frigate. An elevated personage, judging from his star and
riband, has secured his cocked hat with a handkerchief tied under his
chin; he is suffering the discomforts of sea-sickness. The helmsman has
some difficulty in steering, surrounded as he is by a group of limp
persons of fashion; a fat dowager, who has propped herself against the
back of the steersman, is trying to subdue her qualms by applying to
cordials; a more dignified lady is indulging in attitudes expressive
of tragic despair. Three fair creatures have abandoned themselves to
utter prostration on the opposite side. The sailors are exhibiting
their disgust at the operation of washing down the decks and attending
to the necessities of the sufferers; fresh supplies of buckets, for the
accommodation of the indisposed, are being handed up from below by a
brace of 'Beef-eaters,' whose presence, so far from adding dignity to
the company, is a source of inconvenience, since they too are painfully
sea-sick; and their halberts, from the incapacity of the holders, are
threatening mischief to the helpless passengers around.
[Illustration: THE START.]
1789 (?). _The Start._
1789 (?). _The Betting Post._--The stout veteran on his cob, with a
crutch in one hand, is intended for Colonel O'Kelly,[33] one of the most
prosperous turfites of his day, and the owner of the most successful
racehorse in the annals of racing.
[Illustration: THE BETTING POST.]
1789 (?). _The Course._
[Illustration: THE COURSE.]
1789 (?). _The Mount._--Colonel O'Kelly, the gouty veteran who figures
throughout the Racing series, is again introduced; this eminent patron
of the turf is giving his parting injunctions to his jockey.[34]
1789. _A Cart Race._ Published by William Holland, Oxford Street,
1789.--This plate bears Rowlandson's signature, and is dated 1788.
The print is executed in bold outline, filled in with aquatint, and
coloured in capital imitation of the original drawing. The lowly
cottages of some hamlet are partly distinguishable through the
prodigious clouds of dust raised by the unruly eccentricities of a
pleasure-party, represented as taking the air in three overladen and
ramshackle carts, drawn by wretched horses barely one remove from the
knacker's yard.
The amusement of the moment is an extemporised race. One cart is
leading triumphantly; the horse is dashing along, urged on by the
bludgeon of a costermonger, who is conducting a party of beauties from
St. Giles's, of the most florid and _dégagé_ type. Cart number two is
considerably overmanned; the horse is down; the driver is alternately
trying to whip his horse into animation or to lash his antagonists.
One free-and-easy lady is falling over the head of the cart, and
two more are being spilt over the tail, where they are sprawling in
attitudes of considerable freedom; a dog is indignantly barking at the
fallen. A third cart, which is in the rear, is loaded so heavily that
it seems there is difficulty in persuading the horse to start at all.
_July 20, 1789._ _The High-mettled Racer._
1789. _Don't he Deserve it?_ Designed and etched by T. Rowlandson;
aquatinted by I. Roberts. Published by William Holland, 50 Oxford
Street.--An elderly rake, evidently an old offender, taken in the fact,
is receiving the well-merited abuse of his modishly-apparelled better
half; the fair companion of this compromising disclosure is covered
with blushing confusion; and various witnesses, summoned by the sounds
of the wife's indignant eloquence, are expressing their horror at the
husband's obliquity.
[Illustration: THE MOUNT.]
1789. _She don't Deserve it._ Designed and etched by T. Rowlandson;
aquatinted by I. Roberts. Published by William Holland, 50 Oxford
Street.--A pretty servant-maid, who has evidently been detected in
some irregularity, is literally 'kicked out,' _en deshabille_, by a
tartar of a mistress. The old master, who is evidently the cause of the
damsel's disgrace, and who has lost his wig in the confusion of the
disclosure, is 'starting like a guilty thing,' obviously anticipating
the connubial wrath which, in due course, will descend on his reprobate
head.
_September 1789._ _Bay of Biscay._ Designed and published by T.
Rowlandson, 1 James Street, Adelphi.--A ship is tossing on the stormy
waters of the Bay of Biscay; a boatload of passengers, who have put
off from the distant vessel, seems likely to be swamped by the waves,
which are rolling mountains high. Fear and helplessness prevail on all
sides; the sea is running too roughly for the oars to be of much avail;
the captain and his crew have, it appears, abandoned their ship for
the questionable chance of escaping in the long-boat; there are three
ladies with them; one has apparently swooned, another is leaning over
the side, with clasped hands, terrified at the imminence of the danger;
and the third is in paroxysms which necessitate her forcible restraint.
Rowlandson possessed the skill and perception to bring out every point
in a desperate situation with thrilling effect, and his masterly power
of depicting 'horrors,' &c., is in its way more striking, perhaps, even
than his felicitous art of hitting off the salient humours of any of
those ludicrous situations which his fanciful and inventive faculties
suggested in exhaustless succession.
1789. _Chelsea Reach._ Designed and published by T. Rowlandson, 1 James
Street, Adelphi.--A wondrous contrast to the horrors of the companion
print, the _Bay of Biscay_; all is sunshine, jollification, and
happiness. A gaily-decorated shallop, somewhat like a miniature edition
of a state barge, is proceeding up the river with a pleasure-party,
rowed by six gaily-clad watermen, wearing jockey caps, as was the
custom of the time. A party of highly genteel ladies and gentlemen are
exchanging courtesies, and pledging healths and toasts, under the shade
of their parasols; an amateur musician is entertaining his friends with
serenades on his flute, players on French horns are contributing to the
diversion, a servant in livery is at the helm, and a large union-jack
is flying. In the background is seen the tranquil river, with its
distant bridges.
_November 1789._ _La Place des Victoires._--If Rowlandson's visits to
Paris had produced no other memorial than his inimitable picture _La
Place des Victoires, Paris_, we should be satisfied with the result of
his familiarity with Parisian life at the period immediately antecedent
to the Revolutionary era.
The study, as a whole, is one of the most memorable we can ascribe to
his skilful hand and his remarkable powers of profitable observation.
The Circus, built by Mansard, one of the features of Paris under the
Grand Monarque, remains in all its freshness to the present day; but
it has shared the fate a similar monument would have suffered had it
remained in the busy precincts of the East of London. Finding itself
in the heart, as it were, of the trading centre of the city, near the
Bourse, and hedged and elbowed around by the warehouses and industries
of the busy commercial population, it has undergone an indignity which
would vex the spirit of its founder and make the shade of the little
monarch, in honour of whose victories it was erected and christened,
exclaim against the degeneracy which the taste of his countrymen
has undergone, and he would probably deplore the concession to
utilitarianism which has transmogrified the well-known spot. _La Place
des Victoires_ in its present aspect is curiously disguised by hideous
placards; between each of the columns appear two or more humorous
advertising boards, filling up the intermediate spaces, and inscribed
with recommendations to purchasers to secure their wardrobe _au bon
Diable_, and notices of a similar inviting character. Rowlandson has
given a further indication of the Parisian centre--at the expense of
topographical accuracy, it must be admitted--by introducing the towers
of Notre Dame in a proximity somewhat closer than is legitimately
warranted by the actual position of the mother church.
The monument, as seen in Rowlandson's veracious representation, is
a splendid example of exaggerated glorification. The statue of a
warrior--surely not intended to resemble the stout little monarch to
whose glory it is dedicated--is trampling on an allegorical personage
typifying the conquered enemies of France; while the figure of Fame,
holding her trumpet ready to sound the victor's praises, is crowning
the hero with a wreath. Four chained slaves, cast in bronze, indicative
of Louis' triumphs, are shown at the base; these figures may now be
seen in the Louvre. A courtier, or a disabled general, is pushed along
in a ramshackle carriage, a sort of wheeled sedan, drawn by an old
soldier, with two footmen to follow; the Frenchman is regarding the
stupendous monument raised to the glories of the Grand Nation with
rapturous devotion. An _abbé_, with his hands in an enormous muff, is
passing, with his nose in the air; a _coquette à la mode_ is leaning
on his arm and raising her hood to shoot forth glances of fascination;
a handsome young officer, wearing a monstrous _queue_, is launching an
admiring look towards the fair beguiler; but her attention is engaged
elsewhere, and the Parthian shot falls harmless. A shoeblack in the
foreground is teaching a poodle to dance; the comical animal's head is
decorated with an old peruke. A pair of extensive beaux of the period
are seen saluting each other with elaborate bows which would have
filled the late Mr. Simpson, M.C., with despair. In the right-hand
corner is shown a monk (Sterne's original _Brother Lorenzo_), shrinking
away from recollections of the past. A downright English John Bull,
in huge riding-boots, and a pretty English girl, his companion, in a
habit, lacking the surrounding enthusiasm, are looking at the monument
with the indifference of travellers who are in duty bound to take note
of all the sights, but who, beyond the principle involved, find small
gratification in the ordeal; an English mastiff, the property of the
strangers, is curiously regarding another exotic, an Italian greyhound.
In the distance is shown a female porter and her donkey, followed by a
procession of friars; a French nobleman and his lady are driving by in
gallant state, with a _Suisse_ and a whole string of genteel footmen
clinging like flies behind their chariot.
As the founder took some pains to inform the world (that is to say,
Paris, which, to Frenchmen under the reign of the Grand Monarque,
meant the universe), this wonderful structure, _à la gloire de Louis
le Grand_, was erected by the Duc de la Feuillade, one of the idols
of his age, and first satellite to the _Sun of Versailles_; Peer and
Marshal of France, Governor of the Dauphin, Colonel of the Guards,
&c.--in every way a most distinguished person. The statue was erected
in front of this eminent courtier's Paris mansion, the _Hôtel de la
Feuillade_. The principle of its erection was ingenious, ostensibly
commemorating the glories of his master, the 'father of his people, and
the conductor of invincible armies;' the celebrity of the patriotic
founder of this monument is barely of secondary prominence, since
his name and various high offices, emblazoned on the same pile, were
bequeathed at the same time to the everlasting regard of posterity.
The perpetual durability of fame in this case was doomed to last one
century, and no more: the calculations of the Marshal did not include
the coming French Revolution. In the January of 1793, the 'grand
nation' became intoxicated with a saturnalia of blood, in which they
avenged imposts, burdens, and slavery--evils which they had suffered
in the past--by sacrificing the descendant of _le Grand Monarque_,
a passive victim, on the scaffold to the vicious legacies of his
predecessors. The fury which had made a martyr of the king, whose chief
enjoyment had been the alleviation of the condition of his subjects,
taking a retrospective turn, vented its destructive rage on every relic
which recalled the servitude of generations--after the slaughter of
the living, the national vengeance was wreaked on inanimate objects,
and very naturally the ill-advised monument of the Place des Victoires
came in for an early share of attention; and the memorial bequeathed
to the everlasting admiration of posterity was scattered to the winds
in a manner which effectually defeated the intentions of the testator;
the only wonder being how the bronze figures escaped the fate of the
furnace, and were spared being converted into artillery.
Under the circumstances, of the complete disappearance of this triumph
of servile adulation, it is interesting to recall, in a remote degree,
the incidents which attended its foundation. In the letters of Madame
de Sévigné we trace a picture indicative of the events; first we
are introduced to the zeal displayed by the Duc de la Feuillade,
that inveterate and unequalled courtier, and his passion for raising
monuments to the glorification of his master and himself. We follow
the Marshal's first intentions, and are told how they were modified;
we notice the erection of the pedestrian statue, with its glaring
anomalies, sent to adorn the gardens of Versailles; and then we are
instructed how the sculptor, Van den Bogaert--who, in compliment to
his patrons, had changed his name to _de Desjardins_--was entrusted
with the execution of the extraordinary conception which was to shed a
lustre on the _Place des Victoires_ to perpetuity.
_Lettre DCC. de Madame de Sévigné au Comte de Bussy, à Paris, ce 20
Juillet, 1679._--'.... Il vous dira les nouvelles et les préparatifs
du mariage du Roi d'Espagne, et du choix du Prince et de la Princesse
d'Harcourt pour la conduite de la reine d'Espagne à son époux, et la
belle charge que le roi a donnée à M. de Marsillac, sans préjudice
de la première; et du démêlé du Cardinal de Bouillon avec M. de
Montausier, et comme M. de La Feuillade, courtisan passant tous les
courtisans passés, a fait venir un bloc de marbre qui tenoit toute la
rue Saint Honoré: et comme les soldats qui le conduisoient ne vouloient
point faire place au carosse de M. le Prince qui étoit dedans, il y eut
un combat entre les soldats et les valets de pied: le peuple s'en mêla,
le marbre se rangea, et le prince passa. Ce prélat vous pourra conter
encore que ce marbre est chez M. de La Feuillade, qui fait ressusciter
Phidias ou Praxitèle pour tailler la figure du roi à cheval dans ce
marbre, et comme cette statue lui coûtera plus de trente mille
écus.'[35]
In a footnote, by the editor, we are further enlightened on the use
to which this marble was finally applied, by order of the Duke de la
Feuillade:--
'La Feuillade changea d'avis et fit sortir du bloc de marbre en
question une statue pédestre qui prêtoit à la critique, par le mélange
bizarre du costume romain recouvert du manteau royal françois. Cette
statue du ciseau de Desjardins (autrement Van den Bogaert) a été placée
à l'Orangerie de Versailles.'
The next piece of information, also given in the editor's footnote, is
more to the point:--
'C'est le même artiste qui, six ans plus tard, a exécuté le monument de
la Place des Victoires, aussi magnifique qu'impolitique, et renversé en
1793 au milieu des fureurs de l'anarchie. Il ne reste de ce monument
que les quatre figures, en bronze, d'esclaves enchaînés qui désignoient
les nations dont la France a triomphé dans le XVII^e siècle. Ces
figures sont dans la Collection de France.--G. D. S. G.'
A fair-sized view of the Circus, Place des Victoires, and of the
monument, taken from the Hotel de la Feuillade, which would seem to
have occupied a frontage facing the semicircle, was published about
1686, engraved by N. Guerard. The title runs thus:--
'Veue de la Place des Victoires où M. le Mareschal Duc de la Feuillade
a dressé un monument public à la gloire de Louis le Grand, de la statue
de ce Monarque couronné par la Victoire, accompagnée de Trophées,
de Médailles, de bas-reliefs, et d'inscriptions, sur les actions
glorieuses de sa vie et de son règne. Le 28 Mars, 1686.'
Numerous highflown praises of the King were engraved on the base
of this vainglorious monument, as well as a list of the various
engagements fought in the reign of Louis the Magnificent.
The principal inscription will give a fair impression of the nature of
these panegyrics:--[36]
'_A Louis le Grand, le père et le conducteur des armées toujours
heureux._--Apres avoir vaincu ses Ennemis, Protegé ses alliez. Adjousté
de tres puissants peuples à son Empire, Assuré les Frontières par des
places imprenables, joint l'Ocean à la Méditerranée. Chassé les pirates
de toutes les mers, Reformé les Loix, Destruit l'hérésie, porté par le
bruit de son nom les nations les plus Barbares à le venir révérer des
extremitez de la terre. Et reglé parfaitement toutes choses au dedans
et au dehors par la grandeur de son courage et de son génie.
'Francois Vicomte Daubusson, Duc de la Feuillade, Pair et Mareschal de
France, Gouverneur du Dauphine, et Colonel des Gardes Françoises,
'Pour perpetuelle memoire'
'A la postérité.'
_November 29, 1789._ _Mercury and his Advocates Defeated, or Vegetable
Intrenchment._--This print introduces a collision between two systems
of medical treatment. The scene is Swainson's depôt for _Velno's
Vegetable Syrup_, Frith Street, Soho. _List of Cures, in 1788_, 5,000;
_in 1789_, 10,000. Swainson has entrenched himself in the centre of a
barricade, formed of his specifics, a bottle of which he is exhibiting,
with an air of triumph, to the posse of old practitioners, who, armed
with dissecting-knives, mortars, mercury, prescriptions, and mineral
pills, are preparing for a furious onslaught upon the innovator, whose
introduction of _Velno's Syrup_ has deprived them of the support of
their profitable clients.
[Illustration: A DULL HUSBAND.]
1789. _A Dull Husband._--An interior scene, introducing us to a
drawing-room of more refined character than Rowlandson generally
selects for representation. The owners evidently occupy a wealthy
position in life. The lady has musical tastes, it appears; in the
background is a harpsicord, the fair performer is playing the harp,
and a guitar is lying at her feet. The husband has no soul for sweet
sounds, or the soothing harmonies which his elegant companion has
produced have lulled him into forgetfulness; however it may happen, the
gentleman is very evidently, and unpoetically, fast asleep.
FOOTNOTES:
[30] The words taken exception to were: 'I say the Prince of Wales
has no more right to assume the government without the consent of the
Parliament, who represent the people, than any other person,' &c.
[31] It must be remembered that in 1788 the public were flocking to the
performances of a famous stone-eater.
[32] The caricaturist is said to be the hero of the sparring roysterer
in his unflattering delineation of _A Brace of Blackguards_,
introducing George Moreland the painter and himself under a situation
little complimentary to the softening influences of the fine arts. The
plate is given in this work under the date _May 30, 1812_, when it was
re-issued by the artist, but the original etching properly belongs to
a much earlier period, and was probably executed about a quarter of a
century anterior.
[33] 'Colonel Dennis O'Kelly, the celebrated owner of _Eclipse_ (this
racehorse won everything he ran for), amassed an immense fortune
by gambling and the turf, and purchased the estate of Canons, near
Edgware, which was formerly possessed by the Duke of Chandos, and
is still remembered as the site of the most magnificent mansion and
establishment of modern times. The Colonel's training stables and
paddocks, at another estate near Epsom, were supposed to be the
best-appointed in England.'--_Hone's 'Table Book.'_
[34] A clever drawing, which has never, apparently, been engraved,
_Colonel O'Kelly Enjoying a Private Trial previous to his Making a
Match_, belonging to John West, Esq., is noticed in the Appendix.
[35] Sévigné, vol. vi. pp. 98-157.
[36] Place des Victoires. A circular open space, surrounded by houses,
forming together one design, built by Mansard, 1686. Portions of the
original statue of Louis XIV., raised by the Duc de la Feuillade, in
the middle, which was destroyed during the Revolution, are now in the
Louvre: it was replaced by a statue of General Desaix, which, in its
turn, was removed for the present one of Louis XIV. in the costume of a
Roman emperor, by Bosio.
1790.
[Illustration: TYTHE PIG.]
_January 1, 1790._ _Tythe Pig._ Published by S. W. Fores, 3
Piccadilly.--Rowlandson has taken a vexatious institution, as enforced
in his day, and turned it to satiric account. A vicar, who we presume
is suffering for the sin of gluttony--a failing to which at one time,
if tradition is in any degree reliable, the sons of most churches were
more than slightly prone--since he is invalided by an attack of gout,
is seated in the official reception-room of his residence, within view
of his cure, in state, as becomes a dignitary of the Establishment, to
receive the tithes of his parish. His clerk is planted by his side,
auditing _An Estimate of the Tythes of this Parish_. This functionary
is examining, with somewhat minute scrupulousness, a fat pig which is
borne in for approval by a comely maiden. The contributor of the said
pig, a country clown, who is evidently but half resigned to part with
his belongings, is standing in the doorway scratching his shock head,
wearing a face which expresses anything but approval of the surrender
of his porker.
_No date: about 1790._ _A Roadside Inn._--Two travellers are stopping
to take refreshment at a pretty rustic hostel. A wain, drawn by a yoke
of horses, is shown passing up the road.
[Illustration: A ROADSIDE INN.]
_January 1, 1790._ _A Butcher._ Published by T. Rowlandson, 50 Poland
Street.--In point of refinement this print has nothing to recommend it;
a more barbarous rendering of a subject, which has in itself little
of the picturesque, cannot be well imagined. The subject is, however,
treated with so much force and originality, that we considered it
worthy to be inserted in our selection, as a representative example
of Rowlandson's abilities in the savage walk--a branch to which he
brought especial qualifications. And as it is the object of this work
to give our readers a fair estimate of the abilities of an artist whose
pictures reflect, in a great measure, the dispositions and tastes of
his times, we have introduced more than one subject which may, on its
individual merits or defects, at first strike the critic as at least
coarse, if not altogether free from objectionable associations.
[Illustration: A BUTCHER.]
_January 10, 1790._ _Frog Hunting._ Published by T. Rowlandson, 50
Poland Street.--Three Frenchman of quality, adorned in the most modish
taste, with their frills, powdered curls, pigtails, ear-rings, ruffles,
and dress swords, are plunging knee deep in a pond of water, hunting,
with the enthusiasm of true epicures, a party of frightened frogs. A
fashionably clad Frenchwoman is standing on the bank, holding a parasol
in one hand, and a row of frogs, the spoils of the chase, strung on a
skewer, in the other.
_February 20, 1790._ _Toxophilites_ (large plate). Published by E.
Harding, 132 Fleet Street.
_February 20, 1790._ _Repeal of the Test Act._ Published by S. W.
Fores, 3 Piccadilly.
[Illustration: REPEAL OF THE TEST ACT.]
Bell and the Dragon's chaplains were
More moderate than those by far;
For they, poor knaves, were glad to cheat,
To get their wives and children meat.
But these will not be fobb'd off so;
They must have wealth and power too.
An exaggerated view from a Conservative point of observation, of the
results which were to be anticipated if the repeal of the Test Act was
allowed to be carried.
This caricature was put forth at the time Doctors Priestley and
Price--those _revolution sinners_, as their opponents styled them--were
lecturing and spreading broadcast principles of religious equality,
reforms, which, as the Ministers industriously circulated, if carried
into effect, would prove subversive of everything. A portly Bishop,
with his _Refutation of Dr. Price_ by his side, is left to the tender
mercies of the Reformers--'And when they had smote the shepherd, the
sheep were scattered.' The work of revision is carried on by main
force, two of the 'new lights,' aided by stout cudgels, are converting
the overgrown Shepherd: 'Make room for the Apostle of Liberty;' and
'God assisting us, nothing is to be feared.' Doctor Priestley is
superintending the demolition of the venerated edifice: 'Make haste
to pull down that, and we'll build a new one in its place.' Two of
the Reformers are displaying their 'brotherly love' by fighting for
the possession of the Chancellor's purse and mace. The _Thirty-nine
Articles_ are sent to feed a bonfire. A leader of the movement,
inspired by 'love of our country,' has climbed up where the insignia
of church and state are seen swinging upon a sign-post. He is provided
with a flaming _Torch of Liberty_, with which he is threatening their
destruction.
Fox is shown as the arch-director of this innovating agitation:--'day
next, a charity sermon by the Rev. Charles Fox.' The Whig chief is
drawn at a window, armed with a speaking-trumpet, and advertising
'_Places under Government to be disposed of. N.B. Several Faro and
E. O. Tables in good condition._' Dissenting preachers are hurrying
up, furnished with well-filled money-bags, to secure the political
influence which Fox is openly holding out for purchase, without any
attempt at disguise.
1790. _Dressing for a Masquerade._ (Cyprians.)
1790. _Dressing for a Masquerade._ (Ladies.)
1790. _A French Family._ T. Rowlandson, del. S. Alken, fecit. Published
by S. W. Fores, 3 Piccadilly.--One of the two subjects highly commended
by H. Angelo in his 'Reminiscences.' The companion, _An Italian
Family_, will be given under the head of caricatures published in 1792.
Both impressions are scarce, and very seldom met with. These prints
are supposed to represent the domestic and interior lives of foreign
artists, as studied from observations founded, it is presumed, on the
everyday habits of the aliens domiciled in England. Monsieur and his
family are probably professional dancers, and the picture introduces
us to their more intimate hours of practising; at all events, we find
nearly the entire generation giving up their energies--somewhat to the
neglect of the proprieties, it is true--to the practice of the one
accomplishment in which the politest of nations was supposed to enjoy
pre-eminence. The grandfather, in a cotton nightcap, is supplying the
music from his fiddle, but the contagion of motion is affecting his
aged limbs, and he is skipping about with the animation of old Vestris;
by his side is the youngest child, who, still in her night-clothes, is
practising the first positions. It will be noticed that, in spite of
somewhat squalid surroundings, the whole generation excel in personal
finery: a profusion of hair, dressed in the extreme of fashion,
ruffles, furbelows, frills, bows, ear-rings, and elegant slippers, are
displayed by the various members.
The son and daughter are gracefully executing a _pas de deux_. The
person of Madame is charmingly rendered; an elaborately constructed
tower of fair hair, and a nodding plume of feathers, add height and
distinction to her figure, to which the designer has lent a grace
and ease of motion peculiarly French. Monsieur is truly magnificent
in the item of wig; his pink satin coat is hung on the top of the
turn-up bedstead, and he is disporting himself in a sleeved vest; the
lower limbs of the gentleman give room for conjecture. Whether he
has taken the liberty of appearing in _sans-culotte_ negligence out
of respect to the principles of the Revolution, then in its fury, or
whether his nether garments and stockings have been pledged to satisfy
the necessities of the hour, is not clear. Perhaps the artist drew
the Frenchman in this guise as a concession to English prejudices at
the period when it was a pretty universally received theory that his
compatriots lived on frogs exclusively, and had thrown away their
_culottes_ for good; the last supposition being to a large degree
warranted by the maniacal excesses of the Jacobin, Poissarde, and
other sections in Paris. In the left-hand corner of the picture is a
cleverly designed group, somewhat independent of the main action. A
French child, dressed in the burlesque of miniature manhood, as then
adopted by our tasteful neighbours, is playing a pipe and tambourine
and training a pair of performing poodles to dance a minuet on their
hind legs. A lean cat is vainly trying to find something to satisfy her
hunger in the cupboard. The only decent article of furniture in the
chamber--which is dirty, patched, and poor--is a concession to vanity
in the form of a large mirror.
_March, 1790._ _A Kick-up at a Hazard Table._ Published by Wm. Holland,
Oxford Street.--A large plate, executed in bold outline with a little
mezzo work, introduced in the darker parts. The _Kick-up_ is of a
serious character; the gamblers who lately occupied the front of the
table are upset in the confusion, and others are endeavouring to get
out of the way of the danger. A stout old buck in the King's uniform--a
loser, it would seem, from his empty pocket-book--has drawn his pistol
on a player opposite, who has presumably won the irate gentleman's
gold, since he is covering the pile with one hand, and with the other
is aiming, in his turn, a pistol full at his adversary's person. Great
excitement prevails around; one man is dashing a chair at the officer's
outstretched firearm, and a brother officer is striking with a bottle
and a candlestick at the other weapon; bludgeons are flourished, and
swords are drawn by some of the gamblers, while others are endeavouring
to stand clear before the bullets begin to fly.
A party of gentlemen assembled on the evening of a Court Drawing-room
at the Royal Chocolate-house in St. James's Street, where disputes
at hazard produced a quarrel, which became general throughout the
room. Three gentlemen were mortally wounded, and the affray was at
length concluded by the interposition of the Royal Guards, who were
compelled to knock the parties down with the butt ends of their muskets
indiscriminately, as entreaties and commands were of no avail. A
footman of Colonel Cunningham's, greatly attached to his master, rushed
through the swords, seized, and literally carried him out by force
without injury.
_May 29, 1790._ _Who kills first for a Crown._ In two
compartments.--The objects of the chase being the respective crowns
of two kingdoms, both of which were disturbed at the date of this
publication, by the ambitious views of the advanced parties; headed by
the Heir-Apparent in the one case, and the Duke of Orleans in the other.
_The Crown of England_ is threatened in the upper compartment, and
the situation is typified as a Stag Hunt in the Park at Windsor. The
Prince of Wales, on horseback, is performing the part of huntsman,
and his followers are travestied as the Prince's pack of hounds--a
favourite figure with the pictorial satirists. Sheridan is the leading
dog; the faces of Mrs. Fitzherbert, Burke, a Bishop, and others, are
distinguishable among the pack, which is harassing the royal quarry.
_The Crown of France_ is endangered in a similar fashion. It will be
remembered that the stability of the government of Louis the Sixteenth
received its first shock from the Duke of Orleans, who, imitating
the factious conduct of the Prince of Wales at home, was in alliance
with the enemies of the throne; in the case of the Duke, with the
Revolutionary parties of France.
The royal French Stag is run down at Versailles. The Duke of Orleans,
first Prince of the blood, is acting as whipper-in. He is dressed in a
fantastic habit of _le sport_, a compromise between a French postilion
and a huntsman; he is winding on his pack with _une corne de chasse_.
The individuals constituting the aristocratic French pack are described
below the print, the names giving some indication of the members of
that Palais Royale clique of intriguers which wrought so much evil to
the reigning branch. Certain members of the Orleans pack were destined
to become notorious on the theatre of events which were then impending
over France.
1. _Madame La C'tesse de Buffon._ 2. _Madme. La C'tesse de Blot._ 3.
_Le Cte. de Touche._ 4. _Le Mqis. de Sillery._ 5. _Le Cte. de Vauban._
6. _Le Bn. de Talleyrand_ (who, in the hunt, has seized the royal stag
with his teeth). 7. _M. de Simon._
1790. _Philip Quarrel, the English Hermit, and Beau Fidelle,
the mischievous She-Monkey, famous for her skill on the viol de
gamba._--Philip Thicknesse, leaving his hermitage in the background
(see _Public Characters_, 1806), is journeying along one mile from
Bath; the ex-Governor of Languard Fort is in regimentals, but instead
of a hat the artist has drawn a boar's head, the present of Lord
Jersey, above that of the _Hermit_. More particular reference to this
boar's head is made in the _Gentleman's Magazine_, 1761, pp. 34, 79.
Across Philip's back is slung his wooden gun;[37] under his left arm are
held his writings, which gained him but equivocal fame; a bare axe,
marked '_Gratitude_,' is in his right hand; the Duke of _Marlboro's
pistols_ are in his belt; he has a _Subscription Scheme, Gunpowder_,
as a cartouche-box, and his foot is resting on the _Vagrant Act_. Miss
Ford (Mrs. Thicknesse), as _Beau Fidelle_, is following _Quarrel's_
wanderings; her _viol de gamba_ is strapped across her back.
(_Handbill._)
STRAYED FROM KENSINGTON GORE
A VICIOUS OLD DOG;
A mongrel, with a large mark on the left side of his head,
resembling a tarnished cockade; on his collar is marked _P.
T._, but answers to the name of GALLSTONE; has got a sore tail,
occasioned by a _copper platter_, cruelly tied to it some time
since--the fright arising from which caused him to run away
from London. He has a great aversion to the smell of gunpowder;
is extremely mischievous, and very apt to snap and bite those
who let him into their houses; but, though very noisy, is
easily quieted by the slightest threat. He has been heard of
at Farthingoe, in Northamptonshire, where he attempted to bite
the churchwardens; but being whipped from thence, has since
been discovered lurking near the Royal Hotel, at Dover, and is
supposed to be now hid among the rocks on the Kentish coast.
Whoever will trace him and give intelligence by the post to J. G.
(James Gillray), at No. 18 Old Bond Street, London, so that he
may be found and muzzled, will be gratefully thanked!
THE MONSTER.
B. Argensteen takes the earliest opportunity of informing the
nobility and the public of the _Monster's_ reappearance in town
on Friday last, 4th. He is dressed in a scarlet coat, wears
a prodigious cockade, and bears in every respect a striking
likeness to that much-respected character, PHILIP THICKNESSE, Esq.
He has already frightened a number of women and children, made
several desperate attempts upon different noblemen, and has
attempted to cut up his own children.
Since his last arrival in London he has assumed the name of
_Lieut.-Gov. Gallstone_; and it is strongly suspected that his
present journey to town is in order to devour all editors of
newspapers, engravers, and publishers of satiric prints, and
every other person who has dared to arraign his conduct. The
public are cautioned to be on their guard.
_N.B._--_The reward for his apprehension still remains in full
force._
[Illustration: SALOON AT THE PAVILION, BRIGHTON.]
1790. _An Excursion to Brighthelmstone, made in the year 1789, by Henry
Wigstead and Thomas Rowlandson. Dedicated (by permission) to His Royal
Highness the Prince of Wales. Embellished with eight engravings in
aquatinta, from views taken on the road to and at that place._ London:
Printed for C. G. J. and I. Robinson, Paternoster Row. Oblong folio.
June 1, 1790.
_Introduction._--'The following descriptive account of an excursion to
Brighthelmstone is intended to give those who have not visited that
delightfully situated town and its environs an idea of the pleasures
with which a lively and feeling mind will be impressed on viewing those
scenes which the Authors have endeavoured to illustrate.... Of the
roads which lead to Brighthelmstone, that immediately from London being
most frequented, the Authors have endeavoured to familiarise it to the
traveller by pencil and pen.
[Illustration: WAITING FOR DINNER.]
'The various scenes which are introduced are slightly represented, and
intended merely to impress the mind with the general effects of nature.
It is, in short, a conversation narrative, illustrated occasionally
with sketches of scenes and incidents which seemed most worthy of
notice.'
The plates were all drawn and etched by Rowlandson, and aquatinted by
Alken.
_Sutton._ ('The Cock.')
_Reigate._ ('The White Hart' posting house.)
_Crawley._ (Sale of a horse by auction outside the 'George Inn.')
_Cuckfield._ (Market Day--a recruiting party, &c.)
_Saloon at the Marine Pavilion._
'The Marine Pavilion of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, on the west side
of the Steine, is a striking object, and admirably calculated for the
summer residence of a royal personage.... This Pavilion, correctly
designed and elegantly executed, was begun and completed in five
months. The furniture is adapted with great taste to the style of the
building. The Grand Saloon is beautifully decorated with paintings by
_Rebecca_, executed in his best manner. The _tout ensemble_ of the
building is, in short, perfect harmony. The whole was executed by Mr.
Holland, under the immediate inspection and direction of Mr. Weltjé,
the Prince's German cook, who leased the property to his royal master.'
[Illustration: AT DINNER.]
_Bathing Machines._
_The Steine_ (and promenaders).
_Race Ground._ The Course, the Stand, &c., with a race being run.
_June 1, 1790._ _Saloon at the Pavilion, Brighton._ Aquatinted by T.
Alken. Published by Messrs. Robinson.--One of a series of drawings
made from the Regent's fantastic seaside residence, and published in
aquatint. See _An Excursion to Brighthelmstone, made in the year 1789,
by Henry Wigstead and Thomas Rowlandson_. (1790.)
[Illustration: AFTER DINNER.]
1790 (?). _Waiting for Dinner._
1790 (?). _At Dinner._
1790 (?). _After Dinner._
1790 (?). _Preparing for Supper._
1790 (?). _Fox-hunters Relaxing._
_About 1790._ _Evening._--A small etching. A stout sportsman, lolling
on his pony, and followed by a miscellaneous tribe of dogs, has
evidently been out shooting, and on his homeward way he has fallen in
with an encampment of gipsies, who have pitched their tent beside a
wood; three brawny nymphs are sitting about in easy attitudes, and
a fourth, leaning on the stranger's horse, is beguiling the Nimrod
with her wiles; it seems probable, from the foolish expression thrown
into the rider's face, that he is likely to fall an easy victim into
mischievous hands.
_August 6, 1790._ _Cattle at the River._ _The Horse Race._ _A View
in Cornwall._ _The River; towing barges, &c._ _Rustic Refreshment._
_Winter Pastime: Skating on a Frozen River._
[Illustration: PREPARING FOR SUPPER.]
_September 1790._ _A Dressing Room at Brighton._ Published by I. Brown,
6 Crown Street, Soho.--As the title expresses, this plate represents
the interior of a chamber at the fashionable marine resort. Three
gentlemen are seated in their combing-chairs; their hair is being
curled and powdered by three hair-dressers.
_October 20, 1790._ _Four o'clock in Town._ Designed and etched by
Thomas Rowlandson. Published by J. Jones.--This plate, which is
entirely due to Rowlandson's hand, is etched in outline, and filled
in with aquatint, in imitation of a faint drawing in Indian ink. A
young and well-favoured military buck has returned to his house at
the advanced and disreputable hour of four o'clock in the morning,
as indicated in the title; he has evidently been 'making a night of
it,' and is considerably the worse for his potations. His young and
pretty wife, who is in bed, is thrown into a mixed condition between
consternation, fear, and resentment at the condition of her gallant
spouse; the husband is propped up in an armchair, and left to the
care of two comely housemaids, who are making efforts to assist
this hopeless rake to divest himself of his clothes--an essential
preliminary towards going to bed which he is signally unable to perform
for himself. He is perfectly helpless in the hands of these wenches,
and is contemplating with an imbecile air an empty purse, the result of
his evening's recreations. In spite of the somewhat suggestive nature
of this subject, all the figures are graceful and pleasingly expressed,
and the faces are delicate and attractive.
[Illustration: FOX-HUNTERS RELAXING.]
_October 20, 1790._ _Four o'clock in the Country._ Designed and etched
by T. Rowlandson. Published by S. W. Fores, 3 Piccadilly.--The episode
presented in this picture is the complete reverse of that shown in the
companion plate, _Four o'clock in Town_. While the London rake is being
assisted to his late bed the country Nimrod is rising with the dawn.
The enthusiast for the chase has tumbled out of his early couch; his
clothes are hastily thrown on in the partial light of daybreak, and he
is, while still half-asleep, making terrific exertions to draw on his
boots. His wife, who has not had time to commence her toilette, and
who, evidently, will resume her interrupted repose on the departure
of the hunting party, is standing, exactly as she has left her bed,
with a bottle of cordial and a glass, pouring out a nip of comfort to
keep out the cold, for the benefit of her sporting spouse. The chamber
is alive with motion, and it is evidently the accustomed method of
departure; pairs of dogs are rushing about, huntsmen and grooms are
carrying saddles on their heads and making preparations for the start.
The remains of last night's relaxations, in the shape of pipes and mugs
of ale, are still uncleared; and the articles scattered around, guns,
saddles, whips, hunting-horns, and fox-skins, attest the pronounced
sporting tastes of the country squire. A pretty child is tranquilly
sleeping, in its cradle, undisturbed by the bustle of the hunter's
early start.
1790. _John Nichols._
With anger foaming and of vengeance full,
Why belloweth John Nichols like a bull?
--John Nichols is seated at a rustic table; the _Gentleman's Magazine_
is at his feet; his literary productions--_rebus_, _conundrum_,
_riddle_, _charade_, &c.--are scattered about. In the background
is shown an allegory of the Temple of Fame, at the summit of Mount
Parnassus, towards which the author is vainly stumping on stilts,
propped up on books, with his _Essay on Old Maids_ under his arm, as
the certificate which is to serve as his passport to immortality; his
exertions are parodied by a monkey at his side, who has ascended to the
top of a ladder and can get no higher.
1790. _A Series of Miniature Groups and Scenes._ Published by M. L.,
Brighthelmstone; and H. Brookes, Coventry Street, London.
1790. _A Christening._
1790. _The Duenna and Little Isaac._ Engraved by W. P. Carey.
FOOTNOTE:
[37] Wooden Gun. See _Public Characters_, 1806, p. 99.
1791
_January 13, 1791._ _The Prospect before us. No. 1. Humanely inscribed
to all those Professors of Music and Dancing whom the cap may fit._
Published by S. W. Fores, Piccadilly.--The possible future condition
of the foreign artists located within our shores, the performers at
the Italian Opera, seems to have provoked three large cartoons from
Rowlandson's graver at the beginning of 1791. The straits to which
these fashionable exotics, it was suggested, might be reduced by the
decaying state of the theatre in which they had been playing are more
particularly dwelt on in this and a later caricature. It appears it was
found necessary to close their house for restorations, which, if the
state of things hinted in _Chaos is Come Again_ (February 4, 1791),
may be considered in any way prophetic, was resolved on none too soon.
_The Prospect before us_ evidently offers the choice of two conditions.
The first seems to have been an appeal to the charitable, pending the
construction of a new Opera House; the second, which was accepted,
being the conversion of the Pantheon into a theatre; a substitute which
in the end accidentally proved equally deplorable.
We first find the professors of music, singing, and dancing thrown on
the vicarious exercise of their talents as a wandering troupe round the
town. The model of the new house is borne as a plea to the benevolent,
much on the principle of the disabled sailors who, tramping the
streets, singing and begging, carried the model of their ship, to tempt
the liberality of the almsgiving public.
A sweeper-lad is dropping a copper into the laced hat of one of the
French dancers, whose figure is probably intended for that of Didelot,
one of the highest paid and most popular performers in his walk on
our stage. A butcher, with evident sympathies for imported art, is
compassionately dropping a bullock's heart into the hat of an elderly
artist, whose figure may possibly be intended for that of old Vestris.
The tattered and reduced regiment of foreign performers are evidently
not prospering on their street perambulating campaign, since, judging
from the surroundings, they are reduced to solicit the patronage of the
denizens of the most squalid neighbourhoods. Their graces are displayed
outside the premises of one _Michael Nincompoop_, who, according to
his notice-board, is engaged in a somewhat miscellaneous line of
trading, '_purveying, brickmaking, breeches, brandy-balls, and all
other kinds of sweetmeats_.' The circumstances of the Italian Opera are
more distinctly alluded to in a poster stuck on the wall, announcing:
'_A new Fantoccini this evening, called "Humbugallo in the Dumps." A
dance called "The Battle of the Brickbats;" to conclude with a grand
crush by all the performers._'
[Illustration: THE PROSPECT BEFORE US. NO. 1.]
[Illustration: THE PROSPECT BEFORE US. NO. 2.]
_January 13, 1791._ _The Prospect before us. No. 2. Respectfully
dedicated to those Singers, Dancers, and Musical Professors who are
fortunately engaged with the Proprietor of the King's Theatre, at the
Pantheon._ Published by S. W. Fores.--Dismissing the less fortunate
artists whose services were not retained for the new enterprise, we
return to the subject of the opening of the Pantheon. In anticipation
of the success of this new Opera House, Rowlandson issued a large
cartoon representing a _coup d'oeil_ of the interior of the theatre, as
seen from the stage during the performance of a ballet. The Royal box,
in the centre, is tenanted by the King and Queen, and the boxes around
are occupied by the nobility and leaders of fashion. On the stage
are Didelot and Madame Theodore, dancing in the ballet of _Amphion
and Thalia_. O'Reilly, in the orchestra, is presiding over the band.
The dancers, at this period, were the highest paid performers in the
company; with the leading artistes of the ballet were engaged the
vocalists Mara, Pacchierotti, Lazzarini, &c., for the performance of
operas.
The _Gentleman's Magazine_ thus notices the privileged rehearsal which
preceded the regular season:--
'Thursday, February 10, 1791.--This evening the Opera at the Pantheon
was opened to the subscribers, and a very elegant audience attended
at the rehearsal of the performance of _Armida_. Though none of the
Royal Family were present, a crowd of fashionable visitors exhibited
patronage adequate to the support of any undertaking.'
_European Magazine_:--'February 17, 1791.--The new Opera House in
the Pantheon was opened with _Armida_, in which Pacchierotti, Mara,
Lazzarini, &c., distinguished themselves. Afterwards the ballet
of _Amphion and Thalia_ was performed, with applause, by Didelot,
Theodore, &c.'
Another paragraph from the _Gentleman's Magazine_ briefly relates the
end of this prosperous undertaking a year later:--
'Saturday, January 14, 1792.--This morning, between one and two
o'clock, the painter's room in one of the new buildings which had been
added to the Pantheon, to enlarge it sufficiently for the performance
of operas, was discovered to be on fire. Before any engines were
brought to the spot the fire had got to such a height that all attempts
to save the building were in vain. The fire kept burning with great
fury for about ten hours, by which time, the roof and part of the walls
having fallen in, it was so much subdued that all fears for the safety
of the surrounding houses were quieted.
'The performers, next to the insurance offices, will be the greatest
sufferers, for they have put themselves, as usual, to great expense in
preparing for the season; many of them were obliged to do this upon
credit; but their salaries ending with the existence of the house, and
before any of them had their benefit nights, they have now no means of
extricating themselves from their difficulties.'
We learn from the _Memoirs of Henry Angelo_ that the author's father
was Master of the Ceremonies when the building was first opened
for balls, &c. We quote a paragraph which well describes the final
calamity:--
'The Pantheon was certainly the most elegant and beautiful structure
that had been erected in the British metropolis. Shortly after the
conflagration of the Opera House in the Haymarket, in the year 1789,
the proprietors of the Pantheon, which had been deserted of late
for Madame Corneilly's, in Soho, were all put into high spirits, as
proposals were made to construct a theatre in the grand saloon there,
and to transfer the performance of the Italian ballet and opera to its
stage. No theatre ever, perhaps, opened with greater _éclat_. The pit,
boxes, and gallery were spacious, and magnificently fitted for the
reception of an audience. The stage was of vast extent, and no expense
was spared to render the scenic and the wardrobe department splendid
and grand in proportion to the spectacles announced. Their Majesties
frequently visited this new theatre, and everything was proceeding with
advantage to all concerned, when within a few months, one unfortunate
night, this noble monument of the genius of Wyatt was consumed by
the same destructive element, and that great architect beheld on the
morrow, with indescribable grief, the entire ruin of that fond monument
of his youthful genius. The rising architects, too, were deprived of
the most beautiful model that modern art had yet produced for their
study.'
_February 4, 1791._ _Chaos is Come Again. Qui capit inven., ille habet
fec._ Published by S. W. Fores, Piccadilly.
Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast,
To soften bricks and bend the knotted oak.
The end of the Italian Opera performances, when the surveyors of Drury
Lane Theatre had come to the conclusion that the old building required
to be pulled down, is pictorially set forth by the artist in one scene
of general collapse and ruin. This print, for some undiscovered reason,
is sometimes met without the lettering; it was probably issued at the
beginning of 1791 in that condition, and then published later with a
date, which rather interferes with its purpose or intention, if it had
not appeared earlier, since the prospects of the Opera company were
reassured by the conversion of Wyatt's famous Pantheon into a theatre
for their future use.
[Illustration: CHAOS IS COME AGAIN.]
We learn from a later paragraph (_Gentleman's Magazine_, September
1791) that the house in the Haymarket was completed and opened for
performances in the autumn of the year--a rival speculation to the
successful season which inaugurated the adaptation of the magnificent
and unfortunate monument in Oxford Street as a theatre.
'Thursday, September 22, 1791.--The Drury Lane company performed in
the Opera House in the Haymarket. There was much clamour and some
disturbance at first, owing to some inconveniences attending the
alterations in the house, and chiefly the entrances, which, being soon
got over, a scene was introduced of Parnassus, which was painted and
contrived in a very grand style; and Messrs. Dignum and Sedgwick sung
the air. The _Haunted Tower_ then began; and the audience, restored to
good humour, honoured the performance with the loudest plaudits.'
_January 31, 1791._ Sheets of picturesque etchings:--_A Four-in-Hand._
_The Village Dance._ _The Woodman Returning._ _River Scene._ _A Water
Mill._ _Shipping, &c._
_January 31, 1791._ _Huntsmen Visiting the Kennels._ _The Haymaker's
Return._ _Deer in a Park._ _Cattle._ _Shepherds._ _Horses in a
Paddock._ _Cattle Watering at a Pond._ _A Piggery._ Published by S. W.
Fores, Piccadilly.
1791. _Traffic_ (old Jew clothesmen). Published by S. W. Fores, 3
Piccadilly.
_January 30, 1791._ _Toxophilites._ (See 1794.) Published by E. Harding.
_March 1, 1791._ _The Attack._ Published by S. W. Fores, 3
Piccadilly.--A gentleman, who is driving four horses harnessed to a
sort of curricle, with an elegant and fashionably-dressed female by
his side, is thrown into consternation by the sudden apparition of
a mounted knight of the road, who, seated on a high-mettled steed,
is presenting a pistol full at the driver. The traveller's servant,
dressed in his livery, and mounted on a cob, is brought up suddenly by
the stopping of his master's vehicle; his face indicates the greatest
astonishment at the demeanour of the highwayman and alarm at the
unforeseen danger to which his patron is exposed; it does not, however,
occur to him to render any assistance.
_March 22, 1791._ _Bardolph Badger'd, or the Portland Hunt._--Sheridan,
with _G. P._ on his collar, is, in this instance, represented as the
hunted cur; he has certain plans tied to his tail, and he is tearing
off from the Duke of Portland's mansion (the great rallying-place among
the leaders of the Whig party); 'Sherry' is escaping towards Carlton
House, to take refuge with his new master; Fox is clapping his hands to
accelerate _Bardolph's_ speed; the Duke of Portland is throwing bundles
of papers after the badgered fugitive; Burke is threatening him with
his _shelairy_; Lord Holland is aiming a stick at him, and a crowd
of other political celebrities belonging to the party are assisting
to drive out the frightened cur from their midst. In spite of his
brilliant abilities Sheridan did not reflect much credit on the party
with which he had been allowed to ally himself. The Prince of Wales,
the good faith of whose allegiance was no less equivocal, finally
turned his back on his friends, while retaining the services of the
_Bardolph_ of the picture. 'Sherry's' party had good cause to regard
him with distrust.
_April 12, 1791._ _European Powers. An Imperial Stride._ Published
by William Holland, 50 Oxford Street.--Some doubt exists as to the
authorship of this and the following political satires; there are
several similar plates by Kingsbury, who was working for W. Holland at
this date, but, from certain points in their execution, we are inclined
to include one or two of these prints with the series by Rowlandson.
The Empress Catherine, in her 'Imperial Stride,' has one foot resting
on Russia, and the other touching the crescent above the dome of
St. Sophia, in Constantinople. The various sovereigns of Europe are
regarding this acrobatic performance with wonderment. Stanislaus the
Second is reflecting on the 'length to which power may be carried;'
Pope Pius the Sixth is declaring that 'he shall never forget it;'
Charles the Fourth of Spain is threatening that he will 'despoil the
spoiler!' Louis the Sixteenth 'never saw anything like it!' George the
Third is saying, 'What, what, what a prodigious expansion!' the Emperor
Leopold the Second, is remarking that it is a 'wonderful elevation!'
and the Sultan, Selim the Third, is expressing his belief that 'all
Turkey would not satisfy the ambition of the Empress.'
_April 25, 1791._ _The Grand Battle between the famous English Cock and
Russian Hen._--As we remarked, in treating of the previous print, some
doubt may exist as to the authorship of these plates; we have included
a reduction of this engraving among our illustrations, so that our
readers may be enabled to form their own impressions.
These cartoons are not without interest, as they offer a fair view of
the relative positions of European sovereigns at the period of their
publication.
[Illustration: THE GRAND BATTLE BETWEEN THE FAMOUS ENGLISH COCK AND
RUSSIAN HEN.]
King George the Third and the Empress Catherine of Russia are matched
against one another in the great European cockpit for a decisive
struggle--such a conflict as has been imminent under nearly similar
conditions at various emergencies since 1791. The Great Powers are
assembled to witness the encounter, and are backing their respective
champions. The Empress, who is game to the last, is declaring, 'I have
vanquished many a finer bird than you!' King George is retorting, 'Boo,
boo; bluster, bluster! won't leave you a feather!' Queen Charlotte
has a pile of money before her, which she is guarding from straggling
fingers; she is holding a laurel wreath--held out on the end of the
regal sceptre--over the head of her champion bird, and offering to
wager 'a million to ten thousand' on his chances of victory. The Lord
Chancellor Thurlow, who, although he was reckoned 'the wisest of men,'
perpetually compromised his prospects by his anxiety to make his own
future secure, at the sacrifice of consistency, is inclined to put
his 'ratting' principles into practice: 'She looks as if she wasn't
afraid of any cock in Europe. I won't bet a penny!' Pitt, seated beside
his sovereign, is crying, 'I should like to have a bout with her, but
I'm afraid she'd soon do my business!' The King of Prussia has every
confidence in his champion: 'Two hundred thousand rix-dollars the cock
wins!' The Prince of Wales is entering into the sport: 'I wish they'd
let my bird encounter her; he'd soon lower her crest; ten thousand
she turns tail!' The Grand Seigneur is striking his Grand Vizier, and
declaring to a female favourite who is leaning over his shoulder, 'If
the cock wins, by our holy Prophet, I swear he shall be cherished in
our seraglio as long as he lives!' The King of Spain is remarking, 'It
is easy to see by her spunk Potemkin has been her feeder!' The Emperor
of Austria's pocket-book seems empty. Catherine's favourite, Potemkin,
full of valorous confidence, is encouraging his Empress: 'A million
roubles she'll win! At him again, my dear mistress! Potemkin, your
invincible feeder, will back you to the last.' Louis the Sixteenth of
France, whose crown has dwindled down to a mere trinket, is falling
into raptures of admiration over the Russian hen: 'I would give all
that I have left of a crown for such a glorious bird!'
_May 16, 1791._ _The Volcano of Opposition._ Rowlandson (?).
_May 17, 1791._ _The Ghost of Mirabeau and Dr. Price Appearing to Old
Loyola._ Rowlandson (?).
[Illustration: A LITTLE TIGHTER.]
_May 18, 1791._ _A Little Tighter._ Published by S. W. Fores, 3
Piccadilly.--The picture tells its own story. A ladies' tailor has
brought home a pair of stays for a corpulent dowager. The process of
investing her ladyship in her new corsage seems to demand an enormous
exertion of muscular vigour.
_May 18, 1791._ _A Little Bigger._ (Companion print.)--The principal
figure in this plate is that of a corpulent individual, who is being
measured by a meagre whipper-snapper anatomy of a tailor; the girth
of his portly client is giving the knight of the needle no slight
difficulty to surround his person with his measuring-tape, and the
customer is impressing on his tailor the necessity of leaving ample
room for his obese proportions.
1791. _Cold Broth and Calamity._ (See 1792.)
_August 1, 1791._ _Housebreakers._ (See 1788.) Published by S. W. Fores.
[Illustration: DAMP SHEETS.]
_August 1, 1791._ _Damp Sheets._ Drawn and etched by T. Rowlandson;
aquatinta by T. Malton.--A gentleman, who is evidently on his travels,
is thrown into a state of the most furious indignation on arriving
at the discovery, as he is retiring to rest, that he and his wife
have been put into a bed with damp sheets; the lady is wringing the
moisture from the offending linen, and the husband is dancing about,
gesticulating in frantic fashion and shaking his fist in the face of
a pretty servant-maid, who, replying to the summons of the injured
guests, is bustling up with the warming-pan in her hand, believing her
services are required in that direction.
[Illustration: ENGLISH BARRACKS.]
_August 12, 1791._ _English Barracks._ Aquatinted by T. Malton.
Published by S. W. Fores.--A view of the interior of a cavalry
barracks, reproducing a scene more properly indicative of domestic than
of military life, although weapons and accoutrements are scattered
about. Drums and guns are piled in one corner; at the window is a
trooper _en négligé_ employed in brushing his uniform. A woman is
nursing a strapping boy, while a soldier at her side, in complete
uniform, is adjusting his helmet at the looking-glass. Another trooper
has a child in his arms, and is putting a lad, who is playing at
soldiers, through his musketry exercise; while a pretty maiden is
presiding at the washing-tub. An old grandmother, who is giving a
playful infant a ride on her back, is pouring out a glass of cordial
for another warrior, whose toilette is far from complete. Guns, sabres,
military saddles, pistol-holsters, and other warlike objects are hung
on the wall, giving the apartment, which is otherwise blank enough, a
certain air of picturesque decoration.
_August 12, 1791._ _French Barracks._ (Companion to the above.)--The
interior of a French barracks offers a perfect contrast to the
simplicity and decorous order which mark the occupants of an _English
Barracks_. The barrack-room is extensive, and handsomely decorated
with trophies of weapons, which, with a suit of mail, are disposed
on the walls with a good eye to effect. The officers are rising and
dressing for morning parade. An officer, the principal features of
whose countenance are absorbed in a pair of huge moustachios, is seated
on the regimental drum, while a pretty girl is employed unromantically
in trimming the warrior's toenails. A soldier-barber is at the same
time dressing the hero's locks and binding up his monstrous pigtail,
which reaches over a yard in length--a standard of valour of protracted
dimensions. A lad is bringing this well-attended son of Mars his
monstrous jack-boots, of a size and weight to displace the great guns
of his battery with considerable effect. All these dandy warriors
seem to be utterly dependent on the assistance of their factotums; it
is difficult to imagine these 'curled darlings' in connection with
gunpowder and a field of battle. A second officer is enveloped in his
powdering-gown, while his barber-valet is smothering him with volumes
of violet-clouds from his puffing apparatus. Another hero appears
reluctant to abandon his morning slumbers; he is seated, in his shirt,
gaping frightfully, on the side of his bed. One distinguished being has
almost completed his elaborate toilette; the due adjustment of his lace
fall and cravat is engaging his exclusive attention; he is standing
in front of a large mirror to perform this delicate manipulation
with proper effect, and a very beautiful girl--whose own toilette
is neglected, and whose voluptuous charms are freely exposed--is
holding a second glass at the warrior's back, that he may be enabled
to contemplate the reflection of his own admired rear in the larger
mirror; meanwhile one of his petty officers is standing on the salute,
ready to receive the orders of his chief. A pretty woman, a young
mother, is suckling an infant; and another child, whose wardrobe is
limited to a single garment, is, while eating breakfast, training a
poodle to stand at ease with a sword in his paw--a ridiculous parody of
the warlike accompaniments around.
[Illustration: SLUGS IN A SAWPIT.]
_October 28, 1791._ _Slugs in a Sawpit._ Published by S. W. Fores, 3
Piccadilly.--A brace of heroes, naval and military, are endeavouring
to adjust their differences by an appeal to arms; the combat, for the
sake of retirement and convenience, is taking place at the bottom
of a sawpit. It seems that the duel is of a most obstinate nature;
three or four broken swords are strewn around; and, honour not being
yet satisfied, recourse has evidently been had to pistols, several
of which (some dismantled), with balls, &c., are also thrown about
on the limited field of conflict. It seems the antagonists are most
implacable, as, after exchanging all these inconclusive passes and
discharges, they are resorting finally to the use of a pair of huge
blunderbusses, about the dimensions of fieldpieces, which would hold
some pounds of slugs. The old Commodore is stooping his fat body, and
the military buck is resting on one knee, in order to get the monstrous
weapons into comfortable positions for firing; both combatants look a
trifle nervous, as the results are likely to be tolerably marked at
such ranges; the guns of the inveterate duellists are side by side,
the stocks resting on their respective shoulders and the muzzles just
touching their noses. The consequences likely to ensue on pulling the
triggers can be easily imagined. A workman has just arrived at the
edge of his sawpit in time to discover the trespasses these ferocious
fire-eaters are making on his property.
_November 22, 1791._ _How to Escape Winning._--A pictorial satire
directed against a famous incident of the turf, which provoked an
unusual amount of attention and scandalous comments in proportion; the
question never having been satisfactorily disposed of, although it
has been generally received that the Prince of Wales, who owned the
notorious racehorse _Escape_, was more sinned against than sinning.
It is sufficient to mention that the horse in question, from certain
circumstances which became a subject of vexed debate long after the
occurrence, did _not_ win the race, when it was pretty evident, under
fair conditions of horse-racing, that he could have distanced every
horse on the course. In the print--which is the chief point we have to
deal with--the race is being run; the other jockeys are making great
efforts to get ahead; the Prince's jockey, Chiffney, on _Escape_, is
holding in his mount; the horse is furious at the restraint which is
crippling him and preventing his running freely, the animal's near
fore-leg being secured to his off hind-leg with the owner's _Order of
the Garter_, _'Honi soit qui mal y pense.'_ The figure of a sporting
character, intended either for that of the owner or trainer of this
unlucky _Escape_, is standing with his finger to his nose, an action
implying that he has made it all right for himself. In the distance
the backers of the Prince's horse are either regarding the owner with
suspicion or are stamping with rage at the fraud by which they are
doomed to lose instead of winning their money.
_November 22, 1791._ _How to Escape Losing._--The principal figure
is standing in much the same style of 'knowing' attitude as that
displayed in the previous plate. The race is still being run; _Escape_
is leading, the garter, _Qu'en pensez-vous_, only remains attached to
the near fore-leg; but the horse's chances are borne down by heavy
impediments; a pair of weights are slung over the jockey's shoulders
and other weights are suspended round the horse's neck and in front of
and behind his saddle.
1791. _Angelo's Fencing Rooms._ (From _Reminiscences of Henry
Angelo, with Memoirs of his Friends, &c._)--'For some years I had a
fencing-room at the Opera House, Haymarket, over the entrance of the
pit-door. On the evening of June 17, 1789, about eight o'clock, when
in Berkeley Square, I saw a black smoke ascending; and soon hearing
that there was a fire in the Haymarket, I directly hastened there,
when, to my surprise, I beheld the Opera House in flames. Having the
key of my room in my pocket, and the crowd making way for me, I soon
got there, at the time the back part was burning. I first secured the
portrait of Monsieur Saint George (the famous fencer), which hung over
the chimneypiece and removed it to St. Alban's Street, where I then
resided. At my return, though I was not absent six minutes, the mob
had rushed in and plundered the room of everything. As to the foils,
jackets, &c., they were of little value to me compared to what I had
in my closet--a portfolio of beautiful drawings, particularly several
valuable ones of Cipriani, also of Mortimer, Rowlandson, &c., the
loss of which I much regretted; but consoled myself by saving Saint
George's picture, which he sat purposely for and offered me, after our
fencing together, the second day of his arrival in the country. It was
painted by Brown, an American artist, much encouraged here at the time.
The last day of his sitting he dined at my father's, when, my mother
enquiring of him if it was a good likeness, he smiled and replied (he
was a Creole), 'Oh, madame, c'est si ressemblant _que c'est affreux_.'
My room, which was in the front, was the only one saved from the flames
in the whole house; and fortunately, the engines being placed in it,
prevented the fire from communicating to Market Lane.
'Sergeant Leger was an excellent fencer of the _première force_, whose
elegant figure and mildness of manners greatly influenced the amateurs
of the science. Though he was only in the ranks, his presence in every
fencing-room was acceptable, and when Saint George was his antagonist
the match never failed to excite attention.
_Fencing._--'In 1785 Monsieur Le Brun, a celebrated fencing-master now
at Paris, visited England. My academy in the Haymarket being then the
general rendezvous for all the foreigners who were either masters or
amateurs of the science, and near the coffee-house, their usual resort,
he paid me a visit. I was his first antagonist. I soon found out, as
the pugilists call it, that he was a "good customer" (a queer one to
deal with); so much so, that, however I might have distinguished myself
before my scholars with the number of fencing-masters, &c. whom I have
opposed, here I had nothing to boast of.
'I should observe that he was a left-handed fencer, and in full
exercise in Paris, and of course he must have been daily in the habit
of fencing with many, while in the course of years I might not meet
with six of superior force. Finding such an excellent competitor, and
as I thought that it would be beneficial to my scholars to accustom
themselves to practise against a left-handed fencer, I told him he
would be welcome to us all.'
Henry Angelo, who held the highest opinion of St. George, has drawn up
the following account of his accomplishments:--
'The Chevalier de St. George was born at Gaudaloupe. He was the son of
M. de Boulogne, a rich planter in the colony. His mother was a negress,
and was known under the name of the "handsome Nanon;" she was justly
considered one of the finest women that Africa had ever sent to the
plantations. The Chevalier de St. George united in his own person the
grace and the features of his mother with the strength and firmness
of M. de Boulogne. No man ever united so much suppleness to so much
strength. He excelled in all the bodily exercises in which he engaged;
an excellent swimmer and skater, he has been frequently known to swim
over the Seine with one arm, and to surpass others by his agility upon
its surface in the winter. He was a skilful horseman and a remarkable
shot--he rarely missed his aim, when his pistol was once before the
mark; his talents in music unfolded themselves rapidly: his concertos,
symphonies, quartettos, and some comic operas are the best proofs of
his extraordinary progress in music. Though he was very young he was
at the head of the concert of amateurs: he conducted the orchestras of
Madame de Montesson and the Marquis de Montalembert.
'But the art in which he surpassed all his contemporaries and
predecessors was fencing; no professor or amateur ever showed so much
accuracy, such strength, such length of lunge, and such quickness; his
attacks were a perpetual series of hits--his parade so close that it
was in vain to attempt to touch him; in short, he was all nerve.
'In the summer of the year 1787, on returning to my residence in St.
Alban's Street, I was surprised at the appearance of lights and a
crowd of people entering Mr. Rheda's fencing academy; on enquiry I was
informed that the Chevalier St. George had arrived in England, and
was about to exhibit his great talents at that place. I immediately
went in and renewed my acquaintance with him; and as it is customary
for fencing-masters of celebrity to engage with each other at such
meetings, I proposed myself, and was accepted as the first professor
who engaged with him in this country.
'It may not be unworthy to remark that, from his being much taller, and
consequently possessing a greater length of lunge, I found I could not
depend upon my attacks with sufficient confidence unless I closed with
him; the consequence was, upon my adopting that measure, the hit which
I gave was so "palpable," that it "threw open his waistcoat," which so
enraged him that, in his fury, I received a blow from the _pommel_ of
the foil on my chin, the mark of which I still retain as a _souvenir_
of having engaged with the first fencer in Europe.
'It may be remarked of this celebrated man, that although he might be
considered as a lion with a foil in his hand, yet, the contest over,
he was as docile as a lamb; for soon after the engagement, when seated
to rest himself, he said to me, "_Mon cher ami, donnez-moi votre main,
nous tirons tous les jours ensemble._"'
On leaving this country the Chevalier St. George presented Mr. Angelo
with his portrait by Mather Brown, his fencing-foil, glove, and jacket,
which were hung up in the rooms rented by Angelo over the Opera portico
(Haymarket).
Among the competitors in these fencing assaults, which were patronised
by the Prince of Wales, and were sometimes held at Carlton House, are
mentioned the names of D'Eon, M. Fabian, M. Magé (who was reckoned
second to M. St. George among the amateurs of Paris), M. Sainville, Mr.
Rheda, Mr. Mola, and Mr. Angelo, Sen.
1791. _A Four-in-Hand._
1791. _The Inn Yard on Fire._ Drawn and etched by T. Rowlandson;
aquatinted by T. Malton.--_Dover, Deal, Margate, and Canterbury
Coaches._--Fires at inns were by no means exceptional occurrences, if
we may trust contemporary novelists; and who could have seized the
changeful scenes of life flitting around them with such humour and
fidelity as Fielding and the followers of his genial, life-like school
have arrived at? Their fictitious personages, as Thackeray has argued,
have often more vitality than those of actual history.
Everyone who was not content to live and die in one spot--the little
space whereon they were born--must, at one time or another, have
given way to the incentive of travel; all the world, high and low,
aristocratic or mercantile, must, in the course of journeys in the
pursuit of pleasure, variety, scenery, health, gain, or from necessity,
from spot to spot, have encountered the humours of an inn; since the
slow-going waggon, or the inevitable 'machine,' which, in a later
generation, was supplanted by the flying stage-coach (itself, as judged
by the present system of transport, a very tedious, insupportable
affair, according to modern ideas--a serious and solitary means of
travelling), and the various eccentric methods of locomotion indulged
in a century back, rendered frequent 'puttings up' at posting-houses in
a measure unavoidable. A traveller in the good old days when Fielding
and Smollett noted down their pictures of life was almost bound to meet
adventures of one sort or another. There was the excitement of the
start, the difficulty of securing comfort in the article of seats, and
sociability in the way of companionship; the dangers of the environs
of London--the heaths, where the mail was always liable to be arrested
at the wayward will of the pleasant and popular Mr. Richard Turpin,
on his equally well-bred 'Black Bess,' or at the hands and holsters
of less famous and ruder professional contemporaries; the risk of the
roads; the digging of the great lumbering Noah's Ark from soft ways
and quagmires; capsizing, or being snowed up, and such eventualities.
Bad roads, disagreeable comrades, a stuffy inside place, or a moist
outside 'shake-down,' were at intervals relieved by the arrival of
the _cortége_ at some hospitable hostelry, with its vast rambling
galleries and its commodious courtyard, where further adventures were
not unlikely to attend the voyager.
Who'er has travell'd life's dull round,
Through all its various paths hath been,
Must oft have wondered to have found
His warmest welcome at an inn!
[Illustration: INN YARD ON FIRE.]
The ardent house-warming prepared for the passengers at the _Inn
Yard on Fire_ barely justifies the rapture of the rhymer. From the
notice-board we find the _Dover, Deal, Margate, and Canterbury
Coaches_ are advertised to set out from the caravansary in question.
The strangers are rudely disturbed, while the flames are lapping the
old building and serpentining their way round the inflammable wooden
balconies, as the suddenly awakened inmates take to flight with such
solitary articles as come first to hand. Peregrine is rescuing Emilia
much as Rowlandson has drawn that worthy in his illustration to the
exciting situation of the fire at an inn yard. (See _The Adventures
of Peregrine Pickle_, chapter xxvii.) A sufferer from gout is being
conveyed in a wheelbarrow out of imminent danger of roasting; an old
dowager has appeared on the scene with a pair of leather breeches
to cover her shoulders, recalling similar episodes in La Fontaine,
Boccaccio, &c.; while a corpulent old boy has simply thrown a lady's
quilted petticoat round his neck. A waggon and horses are being dragged
out of the dangerous vicinity. From its contiguity to the French
route between Dover and Calais the house is evidently frequented by
foreigners lately landed on our shores, and the unexpected warmth of
their reception is too much for the excitable Gauls. One Frenchman,
an officer, is making good his escape; his personal wardrobe is
sacrificed, but he has secured his most precious belongings, an
umbrella, a sword, his jack-boots, and his wig and solitaire--wigs
being in those days somewhat costly appendages. A compatriot by his
side is endeavouring to make off with his worldly possessions, and is
dragging a heavy portmanteau at his heels; this salvage is endangered
by the suspicions of a bulldog, who is not to be shaken off; the animal
is first stopping the box, and finally arresting the fugitive by
seizing his long _queue_ in his mouth, a mode of arrest against which
the terrified _Parlez-vous_ is unequal and unable to defend himself.
An antiquated husband is holding a ladder for the escape of his
pretty wife; the curmudgeon is furious that the personal attractions
of his better half should be thus displayed to the less privileged
males around, who are assisting her delicate descent. The dangers
of the fire are increased by the reckless impulse characteristic of
similar casualties, in which blazing objects are hurled out of window,
spreading the flames to places which have hitherto escaped ignition.
Mirrors and tables, sheets and other objects, are sent flying from the
upper galleries on to the heads of the scared travellers below. If
the _Squall in Hyde Park_ may be accepted as an ordeal by water, the
_Inn Yard on Fire_ must be acknowledged a most appropriate pendant.
These plates were, it is believed, issued as a pair. Both are of one
size, etched by Rowlandson, and aquatinted by T. Malton; the execution
is spirited as regards outline, and the tinting is most successfully
and delicately carried out. The second print, _A Squall in Hyde
Park_, is, the Editor has reason to believe, the scarcer of the two;
a copy (proof) in the National Library, Paris, and the one in his own
collection, are the solitary examples with which he is acquainted. The
_Inn Yard on Fire_ is more familiarly known; and, although original
impressions command prices which are seemingly fabulous, several
impressions, of varying excellence, have come under the writer's
attention.
1791. _A Squall in Hyde Park._ Drawn and etched by T. Rowlandson;
aquatinted by T. Malton.--The fashionable throngs which Rowlandson,
with his marvellously faithful pencil, has so often drawn, disporting
themselves in the paths of frivolity amidst the haunts of _the ton_,
are viewed by him under a more excited aspect. The promenaders, in a
state of _sauve qui peut_, are rushing off pellmell in an attempt
to preserve their dripping finery from the effects of a sudden
thunderstorm. Doubtless _A Squall in Hyde Park_ may occur frequently
enough in our day, but the artist who proposes to lend his graphic
powers to delineate the episodes of such a stampede in the present
generation would not have his eye for the picturesque gratified by the
discovery of such grotesque elements as gratuitously lent themselves
to the appreciative caricaturist a century back. Rowlandson's animated
cartoon successfully includes all the diversities of the situation.
The park-gates are crowded by the sudden _exeunt omnes_--pedestrians,
horses, and carriages are mixed in one confused mass in the struggle
to escape from a miniature tempest. Peers and pedagogues, the man of
fashion in search of gallant adventures, and the hypochondriac, limping
parkwards to take the air; the ignorant, new-fledged squire, the rustic
dandy, whose head-dressing does not extend beyond the powdered and
frizzed peruke, and the man of knowledge and philosophy, are thrown
into violent contact, and unexpectedly realise whose cranium is the
hardest. The storm breaks, the black clouds gather and meet, down
pours a very torrent, and the wind suddenly takes to blowing 'big
guns;' hats, caps, and bonnets, wigs and head-gear generally, are sent
flying off on independent excursions; the sport of the sudden squall,
to the dismay of the bereaved owners; umbrellas of the period--still
popular novelties, in substantiality very different to their genteel
descendants--are without exception blown inside-out; feathers, which
were worn of great height, splendour, and profusion, are moistened
and dripping like weeping willows. The Prince of Wales, in 'blue and
buff,' on horseback, followed by his groom, is pushing forward for
Carlton House; Lord Barrymore, in his lofty phaeton,[38] has to exert
all his charioteering skill to restrain his terrified and plunging
high-mettled steeds; while the fair companion perched by his side,
high over the heads of the humbler stream of struggling humanity, is
complacently enjoying the spectacle of the dilemmas around her. Footmen
are dripping; naval and military heroes are retreating; such hats
as have not been violently carried off are secured by handkerchiefs
tied under the chin, or held on by main force; petticoats are turned
over shoulders. The spectacle of confusion is fairly completed by an
unfortunate slip, which has left the person of the unhappy victim a
stumbling-block for the general capsizing of the hurried file which
is following in his footsteps. A sturdy old admiral, in an advanced
stage of corpulence, is rather enjoying the opportunity, to which
the ruffling winds are contributing, of viewing the points of the
dishevelled fair, and, spyglass in eye, like his Grace the notorious
Peer of Piccadilly, he is quizzing the ankles and criticising the
symmetry of the dainty belles before him; the long, gauze-like, and
limp drapery in multitudinous folds then in vogue being exceptionally
liable to come to grief under all such sinister emergencies. To add to
the terrors of the flight, a fierce bulldog, irritated with the general
condition of things, is taking exception to this universal attempt at
escape, as indicating suspicion to his faithful mind; he is making
darts at the passengers, and it will go hard with the fugitives he may
take it into his head to arrest by the tension of his formidable teeth.
_Plates dated 1791-93 and 1795-96. The History of Tom Jones, a
Foundling, by Henry Fielding, Esq. With prints by Rowlandson._
Edinburgh and London (Longman & Co.), republished 1805.
VOLUME I.
Frontispiece, book I. c. iii. The Infant Jones found in the bed of Mr.
Allworthy.
Book II. c. iv. The astonished Partridge meets the vengeance of the
whole sex (Partridge cruelly accused and maltreated by his wife).
Book IV. c. v. Tom Jones discovers the Philosopher Square in the
Chamber of Moll Seagrim.
Book V. c. x. The constancy of Tom Jones subdued by meeting Molly
Seagrim in the wood.
VOLUME II.
Book VIII. c. xiv. Terror of the Sentinel on seeing Jones issue from
the Chamber in search of Northerton.
Book IX. c. ii. Tom Jones rescues Mrs. Waters from the violence of
Northerton.
Book IX. c. iii. Battle of Upton; Tom Jones and the Landlord, Partridge
and Susan, Mrs. Waters and the Landlady.
Book XI. c. ii. Sophia's modesty shocked by a fall from her horse.
VOLUME III.
Book XIII. c. ii. Tom Jones refused admittance by the porter at the
door of an Irish peer.
Book XIII. c. ii. Jones and Sophia interrupted in a _tête-à-tête_ by
Lady Bellaston.
Book XIV. c. ii. Partridge interrupts Tom Jones in his protestations to
Lady Bellaston.
Book XV. c. 5. Lord Fellamar rudely dismissed by Squire Western.
1791-93, 1795-96. _The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle; in which are
included Memoirs of a Lady of Quality. By T. Smollett, M.D. With plates
by Rowlandson._ Edinburgh and London (Longman): 1805.
Chap. xxvii. _Fire at the Inn. Peregrine Rescues Emilia, &c._
Chap. xliv. _Feast after the Manner of the Ancients._
1791. _Délices de la Grande-Bretagne._ Engraved and published by
William Birch, enamel painter, Hampstead Heath. Two illustrations by
Rowlandson.
_Dover Castle_; with the setting off of the Balloon to Calais, in
January 1785.
_Market Day at Blandford, Dorsetshire._
1792.
_January 1792._ _St. James's--St. Giles's._ H. Wigstead, invt.
Published by T. Rowlandson, Strand; and republished (1794) by S. W.
Fores, 3 Piccadilly.--The parish of _St. James's_ is represented by two
modish frail nymphs, elegantly decked out in the Frenchified fashion
of the period; their profuse locks spread forth, frizzed and powdered,
in the style imported from Paris by Mrs. Fitzherbert; the refinement
of their appearance ill accords with a bowl of punch which they are
convivially sharing. The ruder precincts of _St. Giles's_ are pictured
in the persons of two coarse, overgrown females of the 'fishfag' and
'street ballad singing' order, swaggering with sufficient impudence to
set the universe at defiance.
_January 1792._ _Oddities._ Henry Wigstead, invt., January 1792.
Published by T. Rowlandson, Strand. Republished 1794, by S. W. Fores,
3 Piccadilly.--A group of caricatured heads, types of expression and
burlesqued peculiarities, in two prints, designed by Henry Wigstead,
and engraved and published by Thomas Rowlandson.
_February 22, 1792._ _The Bank._ Published by T. Rowlandson, Strand.
_February 22, 1792._ _Work for Doctors' Commons._ Published by T.
Rowlandson, Strand.--There is no evidence to prove this print directly
proceeds from the pencil of Rowlandson, but there are indications
of his style, both in the subject and in the execution; it is also
in points suggestive of the early style of Morland. A lady and a
captain--a pretty pair--are dallying on a sofa, while the superannuated
lawful spouse of the frivolous fair one is ensconced behind a screen,
standing on a chair, and surveying the situation over the top of this
ambuscade; his footman is watching by his side, impressed as a witness,
and is struck with horror at the spectacle of domestic faithlessness,
of which he is taking observations through a peephole made through the
screen for the purpose of spying.
From a MS. note to an impression which has come under the Editor's
notice it appears that the contemporary scandal relates to a certain
Mrs. Walsh and General Upton.
_March 1792._ _A Dutch Academy._ Published by T. Rowlandson, 52 Strand,
1792.--The caricature represents, as the title describes, the interior
of a drawing school in Holland; just such a one as may be found there
to this day. A corpulent _vrow_ is sitting as a model to the painters,
in an attitude more easy than graceful. The Mynheers are clustered
around, some of the students, most of whom are advanced in life, and
of clumsy, corpulently developed figures, are seated on tubs, others
are squatting on the floor, and nearly all are smoking. The Dutchmen,
who are of the conventional type--much as we find them pictured in the
veracious Knickerbocker's famous _History of New York_, closely encased
in buttoned-up jackets, and roomy nether garments--are plodding away
at their studies; some few are too interested to do anything beyond
indulging in a stolid contemplation of the charms of their material
Venus.
_April 1, 1792._ _A Lying-in Visit, or a Short-sighted Mistake._
Published by S. W. Fores.--There are various versions of this subject,
which it seems was originally suggested by Newton. Several of his
contemporaries have tried their hand on it. A small version of the
print is due to Rowlandson, and it evidently found favour in its day.
A purblind and antiquated spinster, decked out in the very height
of the fashion of the day--recalling the artist's suggestive _Old
Ewe dressed Lamb Fashion_--is supposed to have called on a visit of
congratulation to a young wife who has recently been deserving well
of her country, by increasing its population. An old footman, with a
powdered head, is bringing in a scuttle of coals; the gushing visitor,
who was prepared to go into promiscuous raptures in anticipation, is
advancing to embrace the scuttle, which she imperfectly distinguishes,
fulsomely exclaiming to the consternation of John Thomas, who is lost
in confusion:--'O you pretty creature! Bless the dear baby, how it
smiles! Give it to me, Nurse! It has exactly its Papa's nose and Mama's
eyes! Oh, it is a delightful little creature!'
_May 29, 1791-2._ _Six Stages of Marring a Face--dedicated with respect
to the Duke of Hamilton._ A companion to the _Six Stages of mending
a Face_.--Stage the first represents the prize fighter (in the days
when pugilistic exhibitions were specially given under the patronage
of noblemen such as the Duke of Hamilton), in all his muscular force,
stripped for the contest, his face undisfigured and manly, as left by
nature; in stage the second, one eye is closed; in stage the third he
is much disfigured; in the latter stages the shape is entirely beaten
out of his features, until the champion is left, in stage the sixth,
a hideous mass of bruises, cuts, and bleeding wounds, hammered out of
all resemblance to his former self--a spectacle sufficiently revolting
to act as an antidote to the morbid excitement and attractiveness of
the prize ring. It is worthy of remark that the artist must have drawn
this print, exposing the barbarity of the ring, from sheer conviction
founded on his own observations, and not from any squeamish distaste
for the sport; Rowlandson had enjoyed a wide experience of athletic
exercises, in which he was understood to excel, and attended numerous
pugilistic encounters, amateur and professional, in his time; his
pleasure in drawing well-built figures, with the play of muscle which
would be exhibited in the course of 'bouts at fisticuffs' such as he
had both the power and skill to delineate, proves that he had a decided
predilection for the science, apart from its reprehensible brutalities.
It further appears that the artist was somewhat of a boxer.
_May 29, 1791-2._ _Six Stages of Mending a Face. Dedicated with
respect to the Right Honorable Lady Archer._ Published by S. W. Fores,
3 Piccadilly.--This plate traces the progress of manufacturing a
beauty _à la mode_. The first stage introduces the fair one in a very
dilapidated condition, and the materials from which the lady is to be
reconstructed do not seem promising. A handkerchief is tied over her
head to remedy the scarcity of hair; one eye is absent, and the gums
are toothless. A handsome glass eye is being adjusted in _stage the
second_. _Stage the third_ represents the crowning of the shaven pate
with a luxuriant and fashionably dressed head of hair. An artificial
set of teeth are being placed in the lady's mouth in the next stage.
The lady now approaches an appearance of youth and beauty. In _stage
five_ she supplies the roses, hitherto absent from her cheeks, with
a hare's foot and rouge. _Stage six_ pictures the completed work,
a dashing and captivating belle, with fine eyes (not necessarily a
perfect pair it is true), flowing, profuse, and becoming locks of hair,
perfect teeth, blooming complexion, and a carriage of conscious grace
and coquetry.
_June, 1792._ _Ruins of the Pantheon--after the Fire which happened
January 14, 1792._ Sketched by Rowlandson and Wigstead. Published by T.
Rowlandson, Strand. _Pantheon._--'Persons who witnessed the progress of
this tremendous fire declare that the appearances exhibited through the
windows, the lofty scagliola pillars enveloped in flames and smoke, the
costly damask curtains waving from the rarefaction of the air, and the
superb chandeliers turning round from the same circumstance, together
with the successive crashing and falling in of different portions of
the building, furnished to their minds a more lively representation of
Pandemonium than the imagination alone can possibly supply. The effects
too of the intense frost which then prevailed, on the water poured from
the engines upon the blazing pile, are described as equally singular
and magnificent.' J. B. Papworth.
1792. _The Chairman's Terror: Leaving a Levée_, St. James's Palace.
Published by T. Rowlandson, 52 Strand.
[Illustration: LIEUTENANT BOWLING PLEADING THE CAUSE OF YOUNG ROY TO
HIS GRANDFATHER.]
_The Adventures of Roderick Random. Roderick Random is conducted by his
uncle Tom Bowling on a visit to his grandfather, the judge._--'After a
few minutes' pause we were admitted, and conducted to my grandfather's
chamber through a lane of my relations, who honoured me with very
significant looks as I passed along. When we came into the judge's
presence, my uncle, after two or three sea-bows, expressed himself in
this manner. "Your servant--your servant. What cheer father? what
cheer? I suppose you don't know me--mayhap you don't. My name is
Tom Bowling; and this here boy--you look as if you did not know him
neither--'tis like you mayn't. He's new rigged, i' faith; his cloth
don't shake in the wind so much as it wont to do. 'Tis my nephew, d'ye
see, Roderick Random--your own flesh and blood, old gentleman. Don't
lay astarn, you dog" (pulling me forward). My grandfather, who was laid
up with the gout, received his relation after his long absence with a
coldness of civility which was peculiar to him; told him he was glad
to see him, and desired him to sit down. "Thank ye, thank ye, sir, I
had as lief stand," said my uncle. "For my own part I desire nothing
of you; but if you have any conscience at all, do something for this
poor boy, who has been used at a very unchristian rate. Unchristian,
do you call it? I am sure the Moors in Barbary have more humanity than
to leave their little ones to want. I would fain know why my sister's
son is more neglected than that there fair-weather Jack" (pointing
to the young squire, who, with the rest of my cousins, had followed
us into the room). "Is not he as near akin to you as the other? Is
not he much handsomer, and better built than that great chucklehead?
Come, come--consider, old gentleman, you are going in a short time to
give an account of your evil actions. Remember the wrongs you did his
father, and make all the satisfaction in your power before it is too
late. The least thing you can do is to settle his father's portion on
him." The young ladies who thought themselves too much concerned to
contain themselves any longer, set up their throats altogether against
my protector, "Scurvy companion--saucy tarpaulin--rude, impertinent
fellow--did he think he was going to prescribe to grandpapa? His
sister's brat had been too well taken care of; grandpapa was too just
not to make a difference between an unnatural, rebellious son and his
dutiful loving children, who took his advice in all things"--and such
expressions were vented against him with great violence, until the
judge at length commanded silence.
[Illustration: THE PASSENGERS FROM THE WAGGON ARRIVING AT THE INN.]
_The Adventures of Roderick Random. Chap. XI._--Roderick Random, and
his companion Strap, having alighted from the waggon, are standing a
little back in the best room of the Inn, where the landlord, candle in
hand, is receiving the rest of the guests, who are entering from the
conveyance; Joey, the honest driver of the waggon, is standing behind
the obsequious Boniface. Roderick Random thus pursues his narrative:--
'Here I had an opportunity of viewing the passengers in order as they
entered. The first who appeared was a brisk airy girl about twenty
years old, with a silver laced hat on her head instead of a cap, a blue
stuff riding-suit trimmed with silver, very much tarnished, and a whip
in her hand. After her came limping an old man, with a worsted nightcap
buttoned under his chin, and a broad brimmed hat slouched over it, and
an old rusty blue cloak tied about his neck, under which appeared a
brown surtout that covered a threadbare coat and waistcoat, and, as we
afterwards discerned, a dirty flannel jacket. His eyes were hollow and
bleared, his face was shrivelled into a thousand wrinkles, his gums
were destitute of teeth, his nose sharp and drooping, his chin peaked
and prominent, so that when he mumped or spoke, they approached one
another like a pair of nutcrackers; he supported himself on an ivory
headed cane, and his whole figure was a just emblem of winter, famine,
and avarice. But how was I surprised when I beheld the formidable
captain in the shape of a little thin creature, about the age of forty,
with a long withered visage very much resembling that of a baboon,
through the upper part of which two little grey eyes peeped: he wore
his own hair in a queue that reached to his rump, which immoderate
length I suppose was the occasion of a baldness that appeared on the
crown of his head, when he deigned to take off his hat, which was very
much of the size and cock of Pistol's. Having laid aside his great
coat, I could not help admiring the extraordinary make of this man of
war: he was about five feet and three inches high, sixteen inches of
which went to his face and long scraggy neck; his thighs were about six
inches in length, his legs resembling spindles or drumsticks, two feet
and a half, and his body, which put me in mind of extension without
substance, engrossed the remainder, so that on the whole he appeared
like a spider or grasshopper erect, and was almost a _vox et præterea
nihil_. His dress consisted of a frock of what is called bear-skin,
the skirts of which were about half a foot long, an hussar waistcoat,
scarlet breeches reaching halfway down his thighs, worsted stockings
rolled up almost to his groin, and shoes with wooden heels at least two
inches high; he carried a sword very near as long as himself in one
hand, and with the other conducted his lady, who seemed to be a woman
of his own age, and still retained some remains of a handsome person;
but so ridiculously affected that, had I not been a novice in the
world, I might have easily perceived in her the deplorable vanity and
second-hand airs of a lady's woman.'
_October 1, 1792._ _On Her Last Legs._ Published by S. W. Fores, 3
Piccadilly.
[Illustration: ON HER LAST LEGS.]
_November 5, 1792._ _English Travelling, or the First Stage from
Dover._ (See December, 1785.)
_November 5, 1792._ _French Travelling, or the First Stage from
London._ (See December, 1785.)
_November 5, 1792._ _Studious Gluttons._ Published by S. W. Fores, 3
Piccadilly.
[Illustration: STUDIOUS GLUTTONS.]
_Adventures of Joseph Andrews and his friend, Mr. A. Adams._ By Henry
Fielding. Illustrated by Rowlandson, 8vo.
_November 5, 1792._ _The Convocation._ (See 1785.) Published by S. W.
Fores, Piccadilly.
1792. _Philosophy run Mad, or a stupendous Monument of Human Wisdom._
_Signed G. L. S._--As this print exhibits various indications of
Rowlandson's handiwork, it has been thought advisable to include it
amongst the present selection. The plate represents the general upset
of affairs in France. On the wreck of a number of columns marked
_Humanity_, _Social Happiness_, _Security_, _Tranquillity_, _Domestic
Peace_, _Laws_, _Order_, _Religion_, _Urbanity_, &c., is balanced
the seat of the republic of France, or rather that of Paris. A Fury
yelling _ça ira_ represents _La République_; in her hand is a picture
of _Religious Indifference_ graphically set forth as an _auto da fè_
of Papish Bishops and Cardinals. _Plenty_ is represented by a Fury
extending her cornucopia of 'Assignats' to a group of hungry-looking
half-starved Frenchmen. _Peace_ is displayed firing a bomb marked
_Abolition of Offensive War_; the gun carriage is inscribed _Universal
Benevolence_; the Goddess of Order is blowing through a trumpet the
tidings, _Peace of Europe established_.
_Equality_ is travestied as an aristocrat kneeling in the dust, while
a half-naked sansculotte is treading on his neck and beating his head
with a club. _Liberty_ is shown as a Jacobin, trampling on the Law,
and holding the head of a Conventionalist on a dagger, to which the
rulers of the state are compelled to bow their obeisance. _Humanity_ is
parodied by a female monster holding up the heart of a martyr to the
new religion.
1792. _The Grandpapa._ Designed by H. Wigstead. (See January 1, 1784.)
1792. _Cold Broth and Calamity._--This print has the reputation of
being an unusually successful example of the artist's humorous powers
of delineation, and the writer has seen several original designs on
the same subject by Rowlandson's hand; in some cases the drawings are
larger and more important in character than the etching of _Cold Broth
and Calamity_; the subject seems to have been a favourite one.
The scene represents the waters of one of the parks, or of a frozen
river; in the foreground is a scene of grotesque confusion, the ice has
given way, and a party of skaters have fallen through; heads, arms, and
skate-bound feet are waving over the hole, through which a group of
unfortunates are engulphed. A little distance off the face of another
unfortunate is thrust through a hole in the ice, wigless, and wearing
the sort of alarm one could conceive under the circumstances; while
further on half a face, with a wig and pig-tail attached, is visible,
the owner of which is evidently shouting for assistance. Other skaters
are disporting themselves in the distance; they, too, are getting
themselves into difficulties. A stout parsonic-looking personage, in
a full-bottomed wig, is falling forward, with the certainty of his
body breaking through the ice: the upset of this capacious individual
will involve a skater who is following him closely, whose hat and wig
have already flown away from him. A party of snug old gentlemen in
top-boots and ample great-coats are enjoying the sufferings of their
fellow-creatures, comfortably on the banks, and in the distance is seen
a large tent for the accommodation of visitors.
1792. _An Italian Family._ (See _A French Family_, 1790.) Drawing
exhibited at the Royal Academy, 1784.
[Illustration: AN ITALIAN FAMILY.]
_November 5, 1792._ _The Hypochondriac._ Designed by James Dunthorne;
etched by T. Rowlandson; published by S. W. Fores, 3 Piccadilly.
The Mind distemper'd--say, what potent charm,
Can Fancy's spectre--brooding rage disarm?
Physic's prescriptive art assails in vain
The dreadful phantoms floating 'cross the brain!
Until, with Esculapian skill, the sage M.D.
Finds out at length by self-taught palmistry
The hopeless case, in the reluctant fee:
Then, not in torture such a wretch to keep,
One pitying bolus lays him sound asleep.
The _Hypochondriac_, forming a companion to _Ague and Fever_ (See
March 29, 1788), is another instance of the difficulty of attempting
to express mental and physical maladies by pictorial embodiments,
the designer being one of the ingenious amateurs of the period, who
had recourse to more experienced professional hands to work their
conceptions into presentable shape, with, at least, some regard for the
accepted ideas of form, and a certain respect for the technicalities
of execution. The _Hypochondriac_ is seated in his arm-chair, in
night-cap and slippers, and wrapped in a flannel dressing-gown, his
arms are folded, and his head droops, in melancholy meditation, on
his chest; the expression of his features is moody in the extreme.
By his side is an iron-clamped chest, to hint that the sufferer is
somewhat tenacious of his wealth, although his life has otherwise
become insupportably burdensome. Phantoms, and figurative horrors of
various descriptions, are haunting the invalid's diseased mind. There
is a dagger, like the sword of Damocles, trembling above his head. A
grim skeleton of Death is, with grotesque energy, threatening to hurl
his dart, as a release from life's fretful calamities. A corpse, with
grave-clothes clinging to its ghastly frame, is proffering the means
of making an untimely exit, by a rope or a pistol at choice; another
phantom figure is setting the example of plunging headlong down to
destruction; a goblin is offering a cup of poison; while a spectre,
wearing the sufferer's own image, is suggesting on his fictitious
person the ease of cutting his throat. A hand with a drawn sword, a
ghostly hearse, and heads of Medusa-like description, with furies,
fates, &c., appear for the purpose of daunting the unsettled brain
of the haunted _Hypochondriac_. A table is covered with _Doctor's
Stuff_, and a well-fed and prosperous charlatan, in attendance on the
distempered patient, is in consultation with a pretty waiting-maid,
whose face and person give indications of the most flourishing
health--a palpable contrast to the sufferer on whom she is retained to
attend.
_November 25, 1792._ _Benevolence._ Published by S. W. Fores.
[Illustration: BENEVOLENCE.]
1792. _Botheration; dedicated to the Gentlemen of the Bar._ (See 1785.)
_December, 1792._ _The Contrast, 1792. Which is best? British Liberty,
Religion, Morality, Loyalty, Obedience to the Laws, Independence,
Personal Security, Justice, Inheritance, Protection, Property,
Industry, National Prosperity, Happiness; or French Liberty, Atheism,
Perjury, Rebellion, Treason, Anarchy, Murder, Equality, Madness,
Cruelty, Injustice, Treachery, Ingratitude, Idleness, Famine, National
and Private Ruin, Misery?_
A pair of medallions, designed by Lord George Murray, and sent by him
to the _Crown and Anchor_, from whence they were freely distributed;
the style of the execution bears the strongest resemblance to
Rowlandson's handiwork.
_British Liberty_ is peaceful and flourishing; Britannia is seated
under an oak, her arm resting on her shield; in one hand is the cap
of _Liberty_, and _Magna Charta_, in the other the scales of Justice
evenly balanced. The British Lion is at her feet; seen in the rear is
the wide ocean, with British ships riding triumphant. The contrast
to this prospect is _French Liberty_; the genius of France is a fury,
serpents are twined round her head and waist, she is carrying flames
and destruction in her progress; she is holding a dagger in one hand;
in the other is a pike, on which two human hearts and a head are
impaled; her foot is trampling on the decapitated trunk of one of
the victims to revolutionary frenzy. An aristocrat is shown in the
background, hanging by the neck to a street lamp.
Sold by S. W. Fores (January 1, 1793), twenty-one shillings per hundred
plain, two guineas coloured.
[Illustration: BEAUTIES.]
_December 1, 1792._ _Beauties._ Published by S. W. Fores, 3 Piccadilly.
FOOTNOTE:
[38] 'Lord Barrymore's phaeton was a very high one; and after our
midnight revels in town I have often travelled in it with him to
Wargrave. One very dark night, going through Colnbrook, in the long
street called Featherbed Lane, he kept whipping right and left,
breaking the windows, delighted with the noise as he heard them
crack--this he called _fanning the daylights_.'--_Angelo's Memoirs._
1793.
_January 1, 1793._ _The Old Angel Inn at Islington._ Published by S. W.
Fores, 3 Piccadilly.
_January 8, 1793._ _Reform Advised: Reform Begun: Reform Complete._
Published by J. Brown, 2 Adelphi.--_Reform Advised_: John Bull, in
his comfortable easy chair, and wearing the homely and decent clothes
of a well-to-do citizen, is seated beside his substantial fare of
good roast beef and plum pudding, with his mug of 'home-brewed.'
Three of the French reformers are taking compassion upon his peaceful
ignorance; they have come over from Paris expressly to convert him
to the advantages of the new order of things. These tatterdemalions
are hungry, ragged, and by no means prepossessing as regards their
exteriors; and, while John Bull is attributing his comforts to 'the
blessed effects of a good constitution,' the sansculottes are taking
considerable pains to bring him to a contrary conviction. The leader
is offering him the cap of liberty and tricolor, and asserting: 'I am
your friend, John Bull: you want a reform;' his followers declare, 'My
honourable friend speaks my sentiments;' and 'John Bull, you are too
fat!'
_Reform Begun_ discovers John Bull under altered circumstances; his
broadcloth is all in tatters, he has a wooden leg, and is shoeless; in
his hand is a frog, which he despairs of relishing: 'A pretty Reform,
indeed; you have deprived me of my leg, and given me nothing but frogs
to eat; I shall be starved; I am no Frenchman!' His three philosopher
friends now wear a more threatening aspect, and are menacing John Bull
with bludgeons and daggers; one is crying: 'Eat it, you dog, and hold
your tongue: you are very happy.' The others are adding: 'That's right,
my friend, we will make him happier still!' and 'He is a little leaner
now!'
_Reform Complete_ shows the national prototype thrown to the ground,
and quite powerless under the results of the new _régime_: 'Oh, oh!
French fraternity!' he is groaning, while the Reformers, flourishing
their flaming incendiary torches, are dancing on his prostrate
body: 'Oh, delightful! you may thank me, you dog, for sparing your
life--thank me, I say!' 'Now he is quite happy--I will have a jump!'
1793. _New Shoes._ Published by S. W. Fores, Piccadilly. (Republished
1804.)--The interior of a cottage, a pretty buxom country maiden is
artlessly exhibiting a pair of new shoes to a smart young collegian,
who is stooping, cap in hand, to admire the effect. The father, looking
in at the window, has taken in the situation at a glance, and his face
does not express approval. A cat is taking advantage of the general
attention being fully engaged, to help herself liberally from a pan of
milk.
1793. _Major Topham_ (of the 'World,') _endeavouring with his squirt to
extinguish the Rising Genius of Holman_. Republished (see 1785, &c.).
1793. _Illustrations to Smollett's Novels._ Published by J. Siebbald,
Edinbrough. Republished 1805, Longman and Co. (See 1791.)
_May 25, 1793._ _A Tit Bit for the Bugs._ Published by S. W. Fores, 3
Piccadilly.--A stout victim disturbed in the night, by the plague of
insects, is sleepily trying to free himself from his tormentors.
Alas! what avails all thy scrubbings and shrugs:
Thou hadst better return to thy sheets;
Heap mountains of clothes over thee and thy bugs,
And smother the hive in the streets.
_September 25, 1794._ _An Old Maid in Search of a Flea._ Published by
S. W. Fores. G. M. Woodward invt., Rowlandson sculp. Companion to the
above.
1792-93. Two illustrations, published by J. Siebbald, 1792. One
illustration, _Soldiers on March, making a feast with Filles de Joie_,
1793, vol. ii. p. 44.
1793. _Narrative of the War._
_October 17, 1793._ _Amputation._ Published by S. W. Fores. (See 1783.)
Illustrations to Fielding, _Tom Jones_, &c. (see 1791); T. Smollett.
_Expedition of Humphrey Clinker_, ten plates by T. Rowlandson,
republished 1805, Longman & Co.
1794.
[Illustration: THE GRANDPAPA.]
_January 1, 1794._ _The Grandpapa._ Published by S. W. Fores, 3
Piccadilly. This print appeared originally in 1792.--The conception of
the plate is due to Henry Wigstead, the Bow Street magistrate, to whom
as a friend and travelling companion of Rowlandson, a merry wit, and
one of the congenial spirits of his day, several references have been
made in the course of this work. The grandpapa is evidently enraptured
with his infantine descendant, for whose diversion he is going through
certain ludicrous antics; the venerable gentleman's tongue is not, as
at first glance it would appear, lolling out in idiotic contortions: it
is a lump of sugar which he is holding between his teeth to divert the
infant; and his performances are so far crowned with success, that
his little favourite seems delighted with his exertions.
1794. _Grog on Board._ (See 1785.)
1794. _Tea on Shore._ (See 1784.)
[Illustration: ENGLISH CURIOSITY, OR THE FOREIGNER STARED OUT OF
COUNTENANCE.]
_January 1, 1794._ _English Curiosity, or the Foreigner stared out of
Countenance._ (See 1784.)--This print, republished by S. W. Fores,
and bearing the date of 1794, seems to have made its appearance as
appropriate to the time, the caricatures of this year making capital
out of the arrival of a distinguished stranger in this country, the
great _Plenipo_, whose title appears in numerous satires and ballads:--
[Illustration: TRAFFIC.]
When he came to the Court, oh, what giggle and sport,
Such squinting and squeezing to view him!
What envy and spleen in the women were seen,
All happy and pleased to get to him.
They vow'd in their hearts if men of such parts
Were found on the coast of Barbary,
'Twas a shame not to bring a whole guard for the king,
Like the great plenipotentiary.
_January 1, 1794._ _Arrival of a Balloon._ Aquatinted.
_January 1, 1794._ _A Series of small Landscapes._ Aquatinted.
_January 17, 1794._ _St. James's and St. Giles's._ (See 1792.)
_September 25, 1794._ _An Old Maid in Search of a Flea._ S. M. U.
invt., Rowlandson fecit.
_New Shoes._ Published by S. W. Fores. (See 1793.)
_December 16, 1794._ _Traffic._ Republished by S. W. Fores. (See
1791.)--Two Jew clothesmen are securing a parcel of cast-off garments
at the door of a highly respectable mansion, whereat a buxom housemaid
is disposing of her master's old apparel. In the street beyond is shown
the milkman adding up his score--a mode of calculation prevalent in the
artist's day, although it has become obsolete long enough ago in the
metropolis.
_December 16, 1794._ _The Comforts of High Living._ Published by S. W.
Fores.
_December 18, 1794._ _Village Cavalry practising in a Farm Yard._
G. M. Woodward invt. Rowlandson sculp. Published by S. W. Fores, 3
Piccadilly.--The volunteer and militia movements were pushed forward
with enthusiasm in 1794, it being generally believed that the French
might attempt a descent on our shores at any moment, and the loyally
disposed were determined that they would not be taken either unawares
or unprepared. Abundant materials were offered for the sallies of the
satirists: the training and equipment of this new army of defence
presented a sufficiency of comic incidents; we find Bunbury, Gillray,
Woodward, and Rowlandson, burlesquing the rustic cavalry; in the
present plate a number of farmers and helpers, mounted on cart horses
and armed with blunderbusses, flails, pitchforks, &c., are horrifying
their officer by executing an impromptu charge upon a peaceful
farmyard, knocking down old ladies, scattering the poultry, shooting
the pigeons, capsizing labourers into wells, and producing an effect of
universal confusion and dismay.
_December 20, 1794._ _A Visit to the Uncle._ Published by S. W.
Fores.--The Uncle, who is a sufferer from gout, is evidently a
well-to-do personage; and the attentions of his relatives, who are
favouring the sufferer with a visit of condolence, are, it appears,
suggested by self-interest. One of the highly considerate relations
seems good-naturedly assisting the invalid by making his will, while a
pretty young damsel is embarrassing their interesting connection with a
tender embrace, and altogether the members of the party are evidently
set upon promoting their own prospects with a view to a division of the
estate.
This print, which is aquatinted by F. Jukes, has been described as
Hogarthian in type; it was issued with a companion plate executed under
similar auspices, and entitled _A Visit to the Aunt_.
[Illustration: A VISIT TO THE UNCLE.]
1794 (?). _Jews at a Luncheon, or a peep into Duke's Place._--Three
long-bearded Jews seated at table, on the eve of a feast. The joint
is a sucking pig, into which the carver has put knife and fork; the
faces of the epicures express the most greedy avidity. The appearance
of white wigs above their black locks and goat-like beards gives an
unusually grotesque effect to Rowlandson's delineation of the Hebrew
race, always marked by the exaggerations of his fantastic humour.
1794. _Luxury and Misery._ Published by S. W. Fores. (See 1786.)
_December 25, 1794._ _An Early Lesson of Marching._ Woodward del.
Etched by T. Rowlandson. Published by S. W. Fores, 3 Piccadilly.
_December 28, 1794._ _Bad Nexus upon the Stock Exchange._ Published by
S. W. Fores, 3 Piccadilly. Woodward del., Rowlandson sculp.--A meeting
of the various merchants and brokers upon the old Exchange. Sinister
information is supposed to have upset the market; the countenances and
actions of the various representative pillars of commerce present are
expressive of profound depression and distress. The individual oddities
of such an assemblage are characteristically dealt with; the grouping
is good, and the faces, costumes, and movements of the figures are hit
off with the felicity which more particularly belonged to Rowlandson's
graver.
1795.
1795. _Harmony--Love._ Republished. (See 1785.)
1795. _Effects of Harmony--Discord._ (See 1785.)
[Illustration: A MASTER OF THE CEREMONIES INTRODUCING A PARTNER.]
_November 24, 1795._ _A Master of the Ceremonies introducing a
Partner._--Bath, 1785. 'Mr. Tynson was unanimously elected for the New
Rooms, and Mr. King for the Lower Rooms; they reigned till 1805, when
Tynson resigned. Gainsborough painted King; the portrait is now in the
Assembly Rooms at Bath.'
1796.
1796. _Sir Alan Gardiner, Covent Garden._--'_Weeds carefully
Eradicated and Venomous Reptiles destroyed--By Royal patent. God save
the King!_'--This print bears the name of Kingsbury, and it may be
considered out of place in a work treating of Rowlandson's productions;
as, however, the traces of the latter artist's handiwork are easily
distinguishable, while the resemblance the plate offers to the known
etchings after Kingsbury are less distinctive, it is probable that the
execution, at least, is due to the skill of our caricaturist.
Sir Alan Gardiner was elected Member of Parliament for Westminster,
June 1796. The naval hero, as represented in the engraving, is
dressed in his uniform, supplemented with a gardener's apron; he
is reaping the Republican crop with his 'Sickle of Loyalty,' while
protesting his patriotism: 'My life and services are ever devoted to
my King and country.' Britannia with her buckler is encouraging the
admiral, and crowning her gallant son with a laurel wreath--'Go on,
Britannia approves, and will protect you!' In the distance is shown
Gardiner's ship _The Queen_ with the words, _First of June_, inscribed
on her flag. The admiral is slicing off the head of the Whigs;
Fox is declaring: 'I was always a staunch friend to the crops and
_sansculottes_, but this damned crop is quite unexpected.'
John Horne Tooke, represented as a reptile, is being swept up by the
rake of the Fiend in person; he is crying, 'Now will no prospering
virtue gall my jaundiced eye, nor people fostered by a beloved
sovereign and defended by the wisdom of his counsellors. To anarchy
and confusion I will blow my _Horne_, and wallow in everything that's
damnable!'
The Evil One has already secured the head of Thelwall in his
clutches--'This will not _Tell well_.' Hardy is groaning, 'I was
always Fool-_Hardy_.' The Devil is congratulating the captured Horne
Tooke--'Long looked for come at last, and welcome, thou staunch friend
and faithful servant, enter thou into the hot bed prepared for thee!'
We find a drawing by Rowlandson dated November, 1796, caricaturing
the figures of three very eminent personages in conference, the Lord
Chamberlain (Lord Salisbury), the King of Würtemburg--who had come
over to this country on a high matrimonial mission, to marry the
Princess Royal--and the Duke of Gloucester, playfully described by
the satirists, on account of his slimness, as a 'slice of single
Gloucester.' These portraits, which are very spirited, and full
of character, are drawn on the back of another sketch, the first
suggestions, in Rowlandson's clear and effective outline, for the
cartoons of 'John Bull going to the wars' and 'John Bull's victorious
return,' the best known version of which was issued by Gillray. (_John
Bull's Progress._ Published June 3, 1793.)
_May 5, 1796._ _General Complaint._ Published by S. W. Fores.--The
credit of this invention is due to Isaac Cruikshank, the father of
the great caricaturist, but Rowlandson certainly had a hand in the
execution of one version. The print represents a dissatisfied hero,
whose dolorous portrait is described by the title; his head occupies
the major part of his trunk, and he is not in that respect unlike
the figurative impersonations of the potent and universally familiar
_Nobody_. In one hand he is holding out his empty purse; in the other
is the _London Gazette_; one sheet is filled with _Bankruptcies_,
and the rest is devoted to fresh unpopular exactions to meet the
requirements of the Budget. The people were generally weary of the
war, and dissatisfied with the high prices and the decline of commerce
brought in its wake. The ministers in power were not liked, and the
generals, officers, and those who had the conduct of military affairs,
were regarded with undisguised distrust; suspicions and grumblings
against the administration were rife and outspoken, and in short the
conduct of affairs was pretty unanimously voted disastrous for England,
and discouraging as to her future. There was, according to the critics
and satirists, but one popular headpiece, and he was easily to be
recognised as _General Complaint_.
Don't tell me of Generals rais'd from mere boys,
Though, believe me, I mean not their laurels to taint;
But the General sure that will make the most noise--
If the war still goes on--will be GENERAL COMPLAINT!
1796. _Love._
_June 15, 1796._ _A Brace of Public Guardians--A Court of Justice--A
Watchman._
_June 15, 1796._ _The Detection._ Designed by H. Wigstead. Executed by
T. Rowlandson. Published by S. W. Fores.
The credit of having executed the following engravings from the designs
of an amateur has been assigned to Rowlandson; we are not satisfied
that the plates are entirely due to his hand, but it seems likely that
he has had some share in the work, at least as far as the frontispieces
are concerned.
_An accurate and impartial Narrative of the War._--By an officer in the
Guards. In two volumes, containing a Poetical Sketch of the Campaign
of 1793. Also a similar sketch of the Campaign of 1794. To which is
added a Narrative of the Retreat of 1795, memorable for its miseries,
with copious notes throughout. Embellished with engravings taken
from drawings made on the spot, descriptive of the different scenes
introduced in the poem.
'Per varias casûs, per tot discrimina rerum.'--VIRG.
London: Published by Cadell and Davies, Strand.
_Illustrations._
VOLUME I.
An Austrian Foot Soldier. (Hungarian battalion.)
Favourite Amusement at Head-quarters.
Council of war interrupted.
VOLUME II.
An Austrian Foot Soldier. (Back figure.)
How to throw an army into confusion.
Perils by Sea.
1797.
_January 1, 1797._ _Spiritual Lovers._ Published by Hooper and
Wigstead, 12 High Holborn.
1797. _A Theatrical Candidate._ (_Vide Kelley's Memoirs._)--Sheridan,
in his managerial chair, is seated before his business table, on which
is spread a long and discouraging statement, setting forth those
bugbears of 'Sherry's' tranquillity--a list of 'unpaid salaries,'
'proprietor's demands,' 'Chancery proceedings,' and other applications
for money. Letters from authors: _Sir, do you ever mean to pay me for
my Tragedy? &c._ Beneath the sly manager's seat is perceived, 'pit
money,' 'renter's shares,' and his own particular _Art of Humbug_.
A most unpresentable candidate for dramatic honours is standing
confronting the great man; according to a placard on the wall, this
quotation from _Hamlet_ is applied to the ungainly applicant, 'Oh,
there be players that I have seen play, and heard others praise--and
that highly (not to speak it profanely)--that neither having the accent
of Christian, nor the gait of Christian, Pagan, nor man, have so
strutted and bellowed, that I have thought some of nature's journeymen
had made men, and not made them well: they imitated humanity so
abominably.'
"A candidate for the stage lately applied to the manager of Drury
Lane Theatre for an engagement. After he had exhibited specimens of
his various talents, the following dialogue took place:--'Sir, you
stutter;' 'So did Mrs. Inchbald.' 'You are lame of a leg;' 'So was
Toote.' 'You are knock-kneed;' 'So is Wroughton.' 'You have a d----d
ugly face;' 'So had Weston.' 'You are very short;' 'So was Garrick.'
'You squint abominably;' 'So does Lewis.' 'You are a mere monotonous
mannerist;' 'So is Kemble.' 'You are but a miserable copy of Kemble;'
'So is Barrymore.' 'You have a perpetual whine;' 'So has Pope.' 'In
comedy you are quite a buffoon;' 'So is Bannister.' 'You sing as ill as
you act;' 'So does Kelly.' 'But you have all those defects combined;'
'So much the more singular.'"
_August 1, 1797._ _Feyge Dam, with part of the Fish Market at
Amsterdam._ Rowlandson del., Wright and Schultz sculp. Published by
R. Ackermann, Strand.--A large and important plate presenting boats,
canals, and the quaint buildings; the appearance of these edifices, a
hundred years ago, differed but slightly from their present aspects;
the view is enlivened with crowds of Dutchmen, Jews, vrows, &c.,
variously occupied; all the humours and activities of the scene have
been seized and improved on by the artist with his characteristic
vigour and animation. The architectural portions of Rowlandson's
Dutch and Flemish views are worked out with care and attention, and
with an easy skill, strongly suggesting Prout's studies from similar
picturesque materials.
_Stadthouse, Amsterdam._ Rowlandson del., Wright and Schultz sculp.
Published by R. Ackermann.
_Place de Mer. Antwerp._ Rowlandson del., Wright and Schultz sculp.
Published by R. Ackermann.
'From the Lion d'Or at Antwerp,' writes Angelo in his _Reminiscences_,
'I rambled about the town; the next day I saw the grand church, where
the curious representation of Purgatory is exhibited, and the Place de
Mer, which, as well as the view of the Stadthouse at Amsterdam, has
been so accurately designed by Rowlandson (published by Ackermann) when
on a tour in Holland with Mr. Mitchell, late partner in Hodsoll's (the
banker's) house.'
1797. _Dutch Merchants, sketched at Amsterdam._
_August 1797._ _Tiens bien ton Bonnet, et toi, defends ta Queue.
Rollandson inv._ P. W. Tomkins sculp.--The plate which bears this title
is somewhat of an enigma, especially as regards the orthography of
the artist's name, which must have been generally familiar in 1797.
The style of engraving, more pretty than powerful, a combination of
delicate line and stipple, removes it still further from the recognised
characteristics of Rowlandson's works; and the extreme finish and
smallness of the method employed have produced a somewhat hard and
laboured result, such as one does not expect to find in engravings by
or after this artist.
The subject is revolutionary; an aristocrat, one of the _jeunesse
dorée_ order, and one of the mob, a _bonnet rouge_, are in active
conflict. The two estates have come into collision; the representative
of social refinement is tall, elegant, well-favoured, and scrupulously
attired, in the advanced fashion of the hour; his opponent is
shambling, misshapen, uncombed, wretchedly clad, and with his ragged
shirt open at the front and exposing his chest. The hero of the curled
and scented locks has had the temerity to seize the red bonnet of
Liberty, which is the only pretension to finery indulged in by the
ruffian; in return, the strong hand of the latter is entwined in the
clubbed tail of the dandy, and a significant warning is given him to
take off that cherished appendage--shaving a _queue_ and cutting off a
head by Mère Guillotine, the barber of the aristocrats, being sometimes
synonymous terms during the reign of the Jacobins.
It was in the spring of this year (1797) that a duty was proposed in
England on hats, an impost the people avoided by wearing caps: the
satirists intimated the danger that similar taxes would end in driving
John Bull to adopt the republican habits of our neighbours, and, among
other allusions, Gillray published a plate (April 5th, 1797) under the
title of _Le Bonnet Rouge, or John Bull evading the Hat Tax_, in which
the national prototype is shown trying on the famous red bonnet of the
Jacobin section.
1797. _Cupid's Magic Lanthorn._--Rowlandson, engraved after Woodward.
_Waggon and Horses_ outside 'The Feathers,' published by Laurie and
Whittle (see 1787), republished 1803.
1798.
_January 12, 1798._ _The Dinner._ Published by J. Harris, Sweeting's
Alley, Cornhill, and 8 Broad Street.--This plate forms one of a series
of important size (21 × 17) executed by Rowlandson in a bold and
spirited manner; the plate is dated 1787, and was issued in 1798.
The set, it is certain, was deservedly popular in those famous
fox-hunting days, and doubtless the five best known subjects have
graced the walls of many fine mansions, the owners of which inclined
to the sports of the chase; indeed, this hunting series may be found
in grand old country houses, much prized, and preserved to the present
day, although too frequently the prints are found discoloured by time
from the effects of having been varnished.
The _Hunt Dinner_ pictures the wind-up of a successful day's sport.
The table has been cleared, punch bowls are introduced, the run has
been recorded and canvassed, and the venerable ancestral hall, hung
with the armour of an earlier generation of the occupant's progenitors,
is ringing with the sounds of hilarity. The young squire, a man of
mettle, has mounted a chair in front of the portrait of his sire, who
it seems was a Nimrod in his day: field sports are obviously the family
taste; the owner of the estate, standing at the head of the table to
pledge a toast, and holding a huge prize cup, in which Reynard's brush
is dipped, is waving his cap, and giving a 'View Halloo!' which is
inspiring his guests, the bold hunters gathered round his mahogany, who
are acknowledging his lead with an enthusiasm and _entraînement_ which
correspond to the ardour of their host; the bumpers are lifted on high
with reckless hands, and numerous pairs of stentorian lungs are echoing
the challenge with boundless goodwill; in some instances the good cheer
is a trifle overwhelming, and one hero, though capsized in his chair,
is still doing honour, with undiminished rapture, to the toast of the
evening: even the privileged hounds are adding their voices to the
general hilarity.
_January 6, 1798._ _Comforts of Bath._ Published by S. W. Fores,
Piccadilly.
THE NEW BATH GUIDE;
_OR MEMOIRS OF THE BLUNDERHEAD FAMILY_.
IN A SERIES OF POETICAL EPISTLES
BY CHRISTOPHER ANSTEY, ESQ.
I'll hasten, O Bath, to thy springs,
Thy seats of the wealthy and gay,
Where the hungry are fed with good things,
And the rich are sent empty away.
I'm certain none of Hogarth's sketches
E'er formed a set of stranger wretches.
[Illustration: COMFORTS OF BATH. I.]
_Plate I._
We all are a wonderful distance from home!
Two hundred and sixty long miles are we come!
'Tis a plaguy long way! but I ne'er can repine,
As my stomach is weak and my spirits decline:
For the people cry here, be whatever your case,
You are sure to get well if you come to this place.
As we all came for health (as a body may say),
I sent for the doctor the very next day;
And the doctor was pleased, though so short was the warning,
To come to our lodging betimes in the morning:
He looked very thoughtful and grave, to be sure,
And I said to myself, There's no hopes of a cure!
But I thought I should faint when I saw him, dear Mother,
Feel my pulse with one hand, and a watch in the other:
No token of death that is heard in the night
Could ever have put me so much in a fright:
Thinks I, 'tis all over, my sentence is past,
And now he is counting how long I may last.
* * * * *
And so, as I grew every day worse and worse,
The doctor advised me to send for a nurse.
And the nurse was so willing my health to restore,
She begged me to send for a few doctors more;
For when any difficult work's to be done,
Many heads can despatch it much sooner than one;
And I find there are doctors enough at this place,
If you want to consult in a dangerous case!
[Illustration: COMFORTS OF BATH. II.]
_Plate II._
Why, Peter's a critic--with true Attic salt
Can damn the performers, can hiss, and find fault,
And tell when we ought to express approbation,
By thumping, and clapping, and vociferation;
But Jack Dilettante despises the play'rs--
To concerts and musical parties repairs,
With benefit-tickets his pockets he fills,
Like a mountebank doctor distributes his bills;
And thus his importance and interest shows,
By conferring his favours wherever he goes;
He's extremely polite both to me and my cousin,
For he often desires us to take off a dozen;
He has taste, without doubt, and a delicate ear,
No vile _oratorios_ ever could bear;
But talks of the _op'ras_ and his _signora_,
Cries _Bravo, benissimo, bravo, encora!_
And oft is so kind as to thrust in a note
While old Lady Cuckow is straining her throat,
Or little Miss Wren, who's an excellent singer;
Then he points to the notes with a ring on his finger,
And shows her the crotchet, the quaver, and bar,
All the time that she warbles and plays the guitar;
Yet I think, though she's at it from morning till noon,
The queer little thingumbob's never in tune.
[Illustration: COMFORTS OF BATH. III.]
_Plate III._
* * * * *
One thing, though I wonder at much, I confess, is
The appearance they make in their different dresses;
For, indeed, they look very much like apparitions
When they come in the morning to hear the musicians;
And some I am apt to mistake, at first sight,
For the mothers of those I have seen over night.
It shocks me to see them look paler than ashes,
And as dead in the eye as the busto of Nash is,
Who the evening before were so blooming and plump.
I'm grieved to the heart when I go to the pump;
For I take every morning a sup of the water,
Just to hear what is passing and see what they're a'ter;
For I'm told the discov'ries of persons refined
Are better than books for improving the mind.
But a great deal of judgment's required in the skimming
The polite conversation of sensible women,
For they come to the pump, as before I was saying,
And talk all at once while the music is playing!
'Your servant, Miss Fitchet.' 'Good morning, Miss Stote.'
'My dear Lady Riggledum, how is your throat?
Your ladyship knows that I sent you a scrawl
But I hear that your ladyship went to the ball.'
'Oh, Fitchet, don't ask me--good heavens, preserve----
I wish there were no such a thing as a nerve;
Half dead all the night, I protest and declare----
My dear little Fitchet, who dresses your hair?
You'll come to the rooms--all the world will be there.
Sir Toby Mac Negus is going to settle
His tea-drinking night with Sir Philip O'Kettle:
I hear that they both have appointed the same;
The majority think that Sir Philip's to blame;
I hope they won't quarrel, they're both in a flame:
Sir Toby Mac Negus much spirit has got,
And Sir Philip O'Kettle is apt to be hot.'
'Have you read the "Bath Guide," that ridiculous poem?
What a scurrilous author! Does nobody know him?'
'You know I'm engaged, my dear creature, with you
And Mrs. Pantickle this morning at loo;
Poor thing! tho' she hobbled last night to the ball,
To-day she's so lame that she hardly can crawl--
Major Lignum has trod on the first joint of her toe;--
That thing they played last was a charming concerto,
I don't recollect I have heard it before;
The minuet's good, but the jig I adore;
Pray speak to Sir Toby to cry out _encore_.'
_Plate IV._
[Illustration: COMFORTS OF BATH. IV.]
Jen declar'd she was shocked that so many should come
To be doctored to death such a distance from home,
At a place where they tell you that water alone
Can cure all distempers that ever were known.
But, what is the pleasantest part of the story,
Jen has ordered for dinner a piper and dory;
For to-day Captain Cormorant's coming to dine,
That worthy acquaintance of Jenny's and mine.
'Tis a shame to the army that men of such spirit
Should never obtain the reward of their merit;
And after so many hardships and dangers incurred,
He himself thinks he ought to be better preferred.
And Roger, or, what is his name? Nicodemus,
Appears full as kind, and as much to esteem us;
Our Prudence declares he's an excellent preacher,
And by night and by day he is so good to teach her;
I told you before that he's often so kind
To go out a riding with Prudence behind,
So frequently dines here without any pressing--
And now to the fish he is giving his blessing;
And as that is the case, though I've taken a griper,
I'll venture to peck at the dory and piper.
_Plate V._
[Illustration: COMFORTS OF BATH. V.]
But my cousin Jenny's as fresh as a rose,
And the Captain attends her wherever she goes.
The Captain's a worthy good sort of a man,
For he calls in upon us whenever he can,
And often a dinner or supper he takes here,
And Jenny and he talk of Milton and Shakspeare;
For the life of me now I can't think of his name,
But we all got acquainted as soon as we came.
_Plate VI._
[Illustration: COMFORTS OF BATH. VI.]
But come, Calliope, and say
How pleasure wastes the various day:
Wheresoever be thy path,
Tell, O tell, the joys of Bath.
Every morning, every night,
Gayest scenes of fresh delight.
O ye guardian spirits fair,
All who make true love your care,
May I oft my Romeo meet,
Oft enjoy his converse sweet;
Lo! where all the jocund throng
From the pump-room hastes along,
See with joy my Romeo comes!
He conducts me to the Rooms;
There he whispers, not unseen,
Tender tales behind the screen;
While his eyes are fixed on mine,
See each nymph with envy pine.
O the charming parties made!
Some to walk the South Parade,
Some to Lincomb's shady groves,
Or to Simpson's proud alcoves;
Some to chapel trip away,
Then take places for the play;
Or to the painter's we repair,
Meet Sir Peregrine Hatchet there,
Pleased the artist's skill to trace
In his dear Miss Gorgon's face.
Happy pair! who fixed as fate
For the sweet connubial state,
Smile in canvas _tête-à-tête_!
_Plate VII._
[Illustration: COMFORTS OF BATH. VII.]
'And if you've a mind for a frolic, i' faith,
I'll just step and see you jump into the bath.'
Thinks I to myself, they are after some fun,
And I'll see what they're doing, as sure as a gun:
Oh! 'twas pretty to see them all put on their flannels,
And then take the water like so many spaniels;
And though all the while it grew hotter and hotter,
They swam just as if they were hunting an otter.
'Twas a glorious sight to behold the fair sex
All wading with gentlemen up to their necks,
And view them so prettily tumble and sprawl
In a great smoking kettle as big as our hall;
And to-day many persons of rank and condition
Were boil'd by command of an able physician.
* * * * *
You cannot conceive what a number of ladies
Were stewed in the water the same as our maid is:
So Tabby, you see, had the honour of washing
With folks of distinction and very high fashion;
But in spite of good company, poor little soul,
She shook both her ears like a mouse in a bowl.
But what is surprising, no mortal e'er view'd
Any one of the physical gentlemen stew'd;
Since the day that King Bladud first found out these bogs,
And thought them so good for himself and his hogs,
Not one of the faculty ever has try'd
These excellent waters to cure his own hide;
Tho' many a skilful and learned physician,
With candour, good sense, and profound erudition,
Obliges the world with the fruits of his brain,
Their nature and hidden effects to explain.
_Plate VIII._
[Illustration: COMFORTS OF BATH. VIII.]
Our trade is encouraged as much, if not more,
By the tender soft sex I shall ever adore;
But their husbands, those brutes, have been known to complain,
And swear they will never set foot here again.
Ye wretches ingrate! To find fault with your wives,
The comfort, the solace, and joy of your lives;
Oh! that women, whose price is so far above rubies,
Should fall to the lot of such ignorant boobies!
Doesn't Solomon speak of such women with rapture,
In verse the eleventh and thirty-first chapter?
And surely that wise King of Israel knew
What belonged to a woman much better than you!
He says, 'If you find out a virtuous wife,
She will do a man good all the days of her life;
She deals like a merchant, she sitteth up late.'
And you'll find it is written in verse twenty-eight,
Her husband is sure to be known at the gate:
He never hath need or occasion for spoil,
When his wife is much better employ'd all the while;
She seeketh fine wool, and fine linen she buys,
And is clothed in purple and scarlet likewise.
Now, pray, don't your wives do the very same thing,
And follow th' advice of that worthy old king?
Do they spare for expenses themselves in adorning?
Don't they go about buying fine things all the morning?
And at cards all the night take the trouble to play,
To get back the money they spent in the day?
But these to their husbands more profit can yield,
And are much like a lily that grows in the field;
They toil not, indeed, nor, indeed, do they spin,
Yet they never are idle when once they begin,
But are very intent on increasing their store,
And always keep shuffling and cutting for more.
Industrious creatures! that make it a rule
To secure half the fish, while they _manage_ the pool;
Methinks I should like to excel in a trade
By which such a number their fortunes have made.
I've heard of a wise, philosophical Jew,
That shuffles the cards in a manner that's new;
One Jonas, I think; and could wish for the future
To have that illustrious sage for my tutor;
And the Captain, whose kindness I ne'er can forget,
Will teach me a game that he calls _lansquenet_.
_Plate IX._
[Illustration: COMFORTS OF BATH. IX.]
SONG, WRITTEN AT MR. GILL'S, AN EMINENT COOK AT BATH.
Of all the cooks the world can boast,
However great their skill,
To bake or fry, to boil or roast,
There's none like Master Gill.
Sweet rhyming troop, no longer stoop
To drink Castalia's rill;
Whene'er ye droop O taste the soup
That's made by Master Gill.
'Tis this that makes my Chloe's lips
Ambrosial sweets distil;
For leeks and cabbage oft she sips
In soup that's made by Gill.
Immortal bards, view here your wit,
The labours of your quill,
To singe the fowl upon the spit
Condemned by Master Gill.
My humble verse that fate shall meet,
Nor shall I take it ill;
But grant, ye gods! that I may eat
That fowl, when drest by Gill.
These are your true poetic fires
That drest this savoury grill;
Even while I eat the Muse inspires,
And tunes my voice to Gill.
When Chloe strikes the vocal lyre,
Sweet Lydian measures thrill;
But I the gridiron more admire,
When tuned by Master Gill.
'Come, take my sage of ancient use,'
Cries learned Doctor Hill;
'But what's the sage without the goose?'
Replies my Master Gill.
He who would fortify his mind,
His belly first should fill;
Roast beef 'gainst terrors best you'll find;
'The Greeks knew this,' says Gill.
Your spirits and your blood to stir,
Old Galen gives a pill;
But I the forced-meat ball prefer,
Prepared by Master Gill.
_Plate X._
[Illustration: COMFORTS OF BATH. X.]
What joy at the ball, what delight have I found,
By all the bright circle encompassed around!
Each moment with transport my bosom felt warm,
For what, my dear mother, like beauty can charm!
E'en the Goddess of Love, and the Graces, and all
Must yield to the beauties I've seen at the ball;
For Jove never felt such a joy at his heart,
Such a heat as these charming sweet creatures impart.
In short, there is something in very fine women,
When they meet all together, that's quite overcoming.
* * * * *
But hark! now they strike the melodious string,
The vaulted roof echoes, the mansions all ring;
At the sound of the hautboy, the bass, and the fiddle,
Sir Boreas Blubber steps forth in the middle.
Now why should I mention a hundred or more,
Who went the same circle as others before,
To a tune that they play'd us a hundred times o'er?
And who at the ball on that night did appear,
Who danc'd in the van and who limp'd in the rear,
What dukes and what drapers, what barbers and peers,
What marquises, earls, and what knights of the _shears_,
What cook and what countess, what nymphs of the brooms,
What mop-sceptred queens came that night to the Rooms.
But at what time they heard the horn's echoing bellow,
The hautboy's shrill twang, the brisk fiddle, the mellow
Bassoon, and the sweet grumbling violoncello.
At what time they heard the men puff and belabour
With mouth, stick, and fist the gay pipe and the tabour,
At once they did scuttle, did flutter and run,
And take wing like wild-geese alarm'd with a gun,
In a moment came bustling and rustling between one;
Some coupled like rabbits, a fat and a lean one,
Some pranc'd up before, some did backward rebound,
While some more in earnest, with looks more profound,
And sweat-bedew'd foretops, did lard the lean ground;
But others more neat on the pastern arose,
Like the figure of Pan, whom you've seen, I suppose,
Just saluting the turf with the tips of his toes;
And as nothing, I think, can more please and engage
Than a contrast of stature, complexion, and age,
Miss CURD with a partner as black as Omiah,
KITTY TIT shook her heels with old Doctor GOLIAH,
And little JOHN CROP, like a pony just nick't,
With long DOLLY LOADERHEAD scamper'd and kick't.
As for MADGE, tho' young SQUIRT had been promised the honour,
BILLY DASHER stept forth and at once seized upon her;
While with flames that keen jealousy's rage did improve,
Poor SQUIRT felt the heart rending passion of love.
_Plate XI._
[Illustration: COMFORTS OF BATH. XI.]
For persons of taste and true spirit, I find,
Are fond of attracting the eyes of mankind:
What numbers one sees, who, for that very reason,
Come to make such a figure at Bath ev'ry season!
'Tis this that provokes Mrs. Shenkin Ap-Leek
To dine at the ord'nary twice in a week,
Though at home she might eat a good dinner in comfort,
Nor pay such a cursed extravagant sum for't;
But then her acquaintance would never have known
Mrs. Shenkin Ap-Leek had acquired the _bon ton_;
Ne'er show how in taste the Ap-Leeks can excel
The Duchess of Truffles and Lady Morell;
Had ne'er been ador'd by Sir Pye Macaroni,
And Count Vermicelli, his intimate crony;
Both men of such _taste_, their opinions are taken
From an ortolan down to a rasher of bacon.
* * * * *
The company made a most brilliant appearance,
And ate bread and butter with great perseverance
All the chocalate, too, that my lord set before 'em,
The ladies despatched with the utmost decorum.
The peer was quite ravished, while close to his side
Sat Lady Bunbutter, in beautiful pride!
Oft turning his eyes, he with rapture surveyed
All the powerful charms she so nobly displayed.
Oh had I a voice that was stronger than steel,
With twice fifty tongues to express what I feel,
And as many good mouths, yet I never could utter
All the speeches my Lord made to Lady Bunbutter!
So polite all the time that he ne'er touched a bit,
While she ate up his rolls and applauded his wit:
For they tell me that men of _true taste_, when they treat,
Should talk a great deal, but they never should eat;
I freely will own, I the muffins preferred
To all the genteel conversation I heard.
_Plate XII._
[Illustration: COMFORTS OF BATH. XII.]
I never as yet could the reason explain,
Why we all sallied forth in the wind and the rain;
For sure such confusion was never yet known;
Here a cap and a hat, there a cardinal blown!
* * * * *
How the Misses did huddle, and scuddle, and run!
One would think to be wet must be very good fun;
For by waggling their tails, they all seemed to take pains
To moisten their pinions, like ducks when it rains.
I saw, all at once, a prodigious great throng
Come bustling, and rustling, and jostling along;
As home we came--'tis with sorrow you'll hear
What a dreadful disaster attended the peer.
_April 1, 1798._ _Views of London._ No. 3.--Entrance of Tottenham Court
Road Turnpike, with a view of St. James's Chapel. Rowlandson delin.,
Schultz sculp. Published April 1, 1798, Ackermann's Gallery, Strand.
_April 1, 1798._ _Views of London._ No. 4.--Entrance of Oxford Street
or Tyburn Turnpike, with a view of Park Lane. Rowlandson delin.,
Schultz sculp. Published April 1, 1798, Ackermann's Gallery, Strand.
_June 1, 1798._ _Views of London._ No. 5.--Entrance from Mile End or
Whitechapel Turnpike. Rowlandson delin., Schultz sculp. Published June
1, 1798. Ackermann's Gallery, Strand.
_June 1, 1798._ _Views of London._ No. 6.--Entrance from Hackney or
Cambridge Heath Turnpike, with a distant view of St. Paul's. Rowlandson
delin., Schultz sculp. Published June 1, 1798. Ackermann's Gallery,
Strand.
_May 1, 1798._ _He won't be a Soldier._ Schultz sculp. Published by R.
Ackermann.
_May 1, 1798._ _She will be a Soldier._ Schultz sculp. Published by R.
Ackermann.
1798. _An extraordinary scene on the road from London to Portsmouth, or
an instance of unexampled speed used by a body of Guards, consisting
of 1,920 rank and file, besides officers; who on June 10, 1798, left
London in the morning, and actually began to embark for Ireland at
Portsmouth at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, having travelled seventy-four
miles in ten hours._ Rowlandson del., Schultz sculpt.
_July 18, 1798._ _Light Horse Volunteers of London and Westminster,
Reviewed by His Majesty on Wimbledon Common._ July 5, 1798.
_August 1, 1798._ _Soldiers Recruiting, 1._ Rowlandson del., Schultz
sculp. Published by R. Ackermann.
_August 1, 1798._ _The Cottage Door._ Rowlandson del., Schultz sculp.
Published by R. Ackermann.
_August 1, 1798._ _Private Drilling, 5._ Rowlandson del., Schultz
sculpt. Published by R. Ackermann.
_September 1, 1798._ _The Consequence of not Shifting the Leg._
Published by H. Angelo, Curzon Street, Mayfair.
[Illustration: THE CONSEQUENCE OF NOT SHIFTING THE LEG.]
_September 1, 1798._ _The Advantage of Shifting the Leg._ Published by
H. Angelo, Curzon Street, Mayfair.
_October 15, 1798._ _The glorious victory obtained over the French
fleet off the Nile on August 1, 1798, by the gallant Admiral Lord
Nelson of the Nile._--Showing the distressed situation of the French
frigate _La Serieuse_, of 36 guns and 250 men, which, after having been
dismasted, sank. _L'Orient_ of 120 guns, and 1,010 men, commanded by
the French Admiral Brueys, is seen in the background blowing up, by
which she considerably damaged _The Majestic_, of 74 guns, 590 men,
commanded by Captain Westcott, who fell early in the action. _The
Majestic was_, after his death, fought with the utmost bravery by her
first lieutenant, Mr. Cuthbert, during the remainder of the action.
London: published October 15, 1798, at Ackermann's Gallery, 101 Strand.
Rowlandson del.
_October 20, 1798._ _Admiral Nelson recruiting with his brave tars
after the glorious Battle of the Nile._ Rowlandson del. and sculp.
Published at Ackermann's Gallery, Strand.--The gallant admiral and his
chosen captains are raised above the crowd on deck; they are, like
true British tars of the old school, encouraging the _esprit de corps_
which the hero perfectly understood, since he was able, so far as the
sea-lions who served under him were concerned, to cultivate it to such
unmeasurable advantage for the honour of his country.
The brave tars, of all denominations, are thoroughly enjoying
themselves after their own hearts, while commemorating the immortal
victory of Aboukir Bay, and with each successive bumper are toasting
their idol, who is set in their midst, and drinking success and glory
to the navy of Old England, and confusion to her enemies--patriotic
sentiments to which one and all were prepared to give practical effect
in the hour of action.
Dammy Jack, what a gig, what a true British whim,
Let the fiddles strike up on the main:
What seaman would care for an eye or a limb
To fight o'er the battle again?
Put the bumpers about and be gay,
To hear how our doxies will smile.
Here's to Nelson for ever, huzza,
And King George on the banks of the Nile.
See their tricolor'd rags how they're doft,
To show that we're lords of the sea,
While the standard of England is flying aloft,
Come, my lads, let us cheer it with three!
[Illustration: THE ADVANTAGE OF SHIFTING THE LEG.]
1798. _A Mahomedan Paradise._--A Turk embracing an elegantly dressed
and highly presentable female.
_November 12, 1798._ _High Fun for John Bull, or the Republicans put
to their last shift._ Published by R. Ackermann, 101 Strand.--The
victory gained by Nelson at Aboukir Bay, over the combined fleets,
disconcerted the French enthusiasts and restored confidence at home; it
was recognised that while English admirals could sweep their enemies
from the seas, neither the dangers of invasion, nor the difficulties
of contending with France, need be ranked of much consequence. In the
print, John Bull is enjoying the _High Fun_ of setting his opponents
to equip fresh fleets, in order that his sailors may carry them off
captive as trophies. A _Dutch Oven_ is serving as the bakery, Mynheer
is pushing in a fresh batch of war frigates; 'Donder and Blaxan to dis
fraternisation, instead of smoking mine pipes, and sacking de gold, dis
French broders make me build ships, dat Mynheer Jan Bull may have the
fun to take dem.' The Spaniard, with a tray of big guns, is faring no
better under fraternisation. 'How! that Nelson wit one arm and eye can
take our ships by dozens, then vat shall we do against the autres, wid
two arms and eyes? day will have two dozen at a time.' The Frenchmen
are excited over their prospects; the head baker has a fine batch ready
for the oven: 'Sacredieu, Citoyens, make a haste wit one autre fleet,
den we will show you how to make one grande Invasion;' the journeyman
is working at his kneading tub, which contains such ingredients for
fresh fleets as, _Ruination, Botheration, Confiscation, Requisition,
Plunderation, Limitation, Execution, Constitution, Fraternisation,
Naturalisation, Expedition, Abolition, Cut-throatation, and Damnation_.
The assistant is not hopeful: 'By Gat, well you may talk, make haste,
when that English Nelson take our ships by the douzaine!' John Bull,
whip in hand, is laughing with satisfaction: 'What! you could not find
that out before, you stupid dupes, but since you began the fun you
shall keep on--so work away, dam ye, else Jack Tar will soon be idle.'
Jack Tar is seen hopping off with a full load of ships; his spirits are
excellent: 'Push on, keep moving, I'll soon come for another cargo; Old
England for ever, huzza!'
1798. _The Discovery._ Republished 1800, 1808-9, &c.--A bed-chamber
is the scene of the discovery; a young couple have been surprised
by a corpulent old gentleman, who is threatening a kneeling and
simple-looking youth with a red-hot poker; the detected swain, who has
been disclosed in a cupboard, is entreating forgiveness with clasped
hands, and the lady is dissolved in tears.
Published 1798. Lately published by William Wigstead, 40 Charing Cross.
Printed September, 1799.
Published 1798. _Annals of Horsemanship.--Containing accounts of
accidental experiments, and experimental accidents, both successful
and unsuccessful, communicated by various correspondents to Geoffrey
Gambado, Esq._ Illustrated with seventeen copper plates. Printed on a
super-royal paper. Price in boards, 15_s._ 3_d._
Published 1798. _The Academy of Grown Horsemen.--Containing complete
instructions for walking, trotting, cantering, galloping, stumbling,
and tumbling._ Printed on a super-royal paper, and illustrated with
twelve copper plates. Price in boards, 15_s._ 3_d._
Published 1798. _Love in Caricature._ On eleven plates, etched
by Rowlandson; with a humorous frontispiece. The plates consist
of--Spiritual Lovers, Aged Lovers, Sympathetic Lovers, Quarrelsome
Lovers, Duke's Place Lovers, Avaricious Lovers, Country Lovers,
Forgiving Lovers, Bashful Lovers, Platonic Lovers, and Drunken Lovers.
Published in two numbers, 5_s._ each.
1799.
_January 1, 1799._ _Cries of London. No. 1. Buy a Trap, a Rat-Trap,
buy my Trap._ Published by R. Ackermann, 101 Strand.--The vendor of
rat-traps is pausing before a shop decorated with such live stock as a
rabbit in a hutch, and a jackdaw in a cage; he is offering his traps to
a spectacled old gentleman, who is considering his ware with curiosity.
The rats in a trap, carried on the trap-seller's arm, are exciting the
interest of a dog.
[Illustration: CRIES OF LONDON. NO. 1, 'BUY A TRAP, A RAT TRAP, BUY MY
TRAP.']
_January 1, 1799._ _Cries of London. No. 2. Buy my Goose, my
Fat Goose._ Published by R. Ackermann, 101 Strand.--A fat
countrified-looking dealer is offering some fine fat geese for sale at
the door of an apothecary, who, with his wife, is examining the birds
with unnecessary closeness.
_February 20, 1799._ _Cries of London. No. 3. Last Dying Speech and
Confession._ Published by R. Ackermann, 101 Strand.--A street ballad
singer, of the St. Giles' order, is crying the last speech of 'the
unfortunate malefactors who were executed this morning:' a common
enough announcement when the extreme punishment of hanging visited
small offences, and executions were of more frequent occurrence. That
the fear of capital punishment did not act as a corrective to theft
is illustrated in the background of the print, where a mere infant is
drawn in the act of picking the pocket of a passing pedestrian.
_February 20, 1799._ _Cries of London. No. 4. Do you want any
brick-dust?_ Published by R. Ackermann, 101 Strand.--From this plate
it seems that brick-dust, in the artist's days, was sold like sand. A
patient donkey is saddled with an enormous pannier of brick-dust, and
the vendor is pouring the contents of a measure into a bowl, held at
the door of a highly respectable residence, by a pretty maid, to whose
personal captivations the attentions of the brick-dust dealer are most
particularly addressed.
_March 1, 1799._ _Cries of London. No. 5. Water-cresses, come buy my
Water-cresses._ An old shylock-like person is knocking at a door in
Portland Street (Mrs. Burke's), and is solicited to buy water-cresses
by a neat maiden with a pretty face and a tall shapely form; the old
reprobate is leering at the water-cress girl, and is disregarding a
further offer of cresses from a more ragged and juvenile seller. A
pair of highly-coloured damsels, redundant in charms and florid finery,
are peering out of an upper window at the aged visitor.
[Illustration: CRIES OF LONDON. NO. 5, 'WATER-CRESSES, COME BUY MY
WATER-CRESSES.']
1799. _Cries of London. No. 6. All a-growing, a-growing; here's flowers
for your gardens._--A smart young gardener, with a substantial cart,
drawn by a donkey, has a handsome selection of various evergreens and
flowers for sale; he is standing at the door of a mansion, where a lady
and little girl are choosing from his stock of geraniums in pots.
_May 4, 1799._ _Cries of London. No. 8. Hot cross buns, two a penny
buns._--A decent woman, wearing a white apron, and with a cloth over
her basket, is supplying a patroness with a plateful of hot cross
buns. A pretty woman, in a neat morning dress, is buying buns, and
her children by her side are tasting the same without any loss of
time. Outside a church, in the background, is a stout dignitary, with
flowing gown, sleeves, and full wig, who is sweeping away from an
appeal for charity addressed to him by a beggar woman and her offspring.
_February 1, 1799._ _A Charm for a Democracy, Reviewed, Analysed,
and Destroyed, January 1, 1799, to the confusion of its Affiliated
Friends._ Published for the _Anti-Jacobin Review_, by T. Whittle,
Peterborough Court, Fleet Street.--The Tory party at the beginning
of 1799 (the parliamentary session had opened at the end of November
1788) endeavoured to stifle the Opposition by raising outcries against
sedition, and by denouncing publications of a revolutionary tendency,
with which they pretended to implicate the Whigs. On the strength of
certain alarmist tracts, extraordinary measures were taken to restrain
the liberty of the press, and a few months later, in July, the Ministry
went so far as to put into effect the extreme measure of subjecting
printing presses to a licence. The organs of the Tories, exulting
in the discomfiture of their opponents, were continually urging
increased and severer political persecutions, while they pretended
that the members of the Opposition were, in despair of succeeding in
preserving their party by fair means, identifying themselves with
the more treasonable writers, and were laying secret trains for the
destruction of the Constitution. The King's Bench, Newgate, and
Coldbath Fields began to be crowded with political prisoners, the
last-mentioned receiving the popular nickname of _the Bastille_. The
_Anti-Jacobin Review_ was, as usual, peculiarly smart at the expense of
the malcontents, and Rowlandson's assistance was enlisted to prepare a
cartoon which, it was supposed, would expose the Whigs in their true
colours, and hold up the abettors of sedition to the execration of all
loyal subjects.
There are four elements displayed in this general view of the fancied
emergency: the supernatural department, headed by the arch-fiend in
person; the Radical pamphleteers and so-called workers of treason; the
prominent members of the disconcerted Opposition and their followers;
and the King and his ministers displayed, as Olympians, in the clouds.
The Infernal Influence is superintending the preparation of the charm,
which Horne Tooke and his friends, as the witches in Macbeth, are
working at a boiling cauldron; the nature of the component parts of the
conjuration are thus set forth:--
Eye of STRAW and toe of CADE,
TYLER'S bow, KOSCIUSKO'S blade,
RUSSELL'S liver, tongue of cur,
NORFOLK'S boldness, FOX'S fur;
Add thereto a tiger's cauldron,
For the ingredients of our cauldron!
[Illustration: A CHARM FOR A DEMOCRACY, REVIEWED, ANALYSED, AND
DESTROYED, JANUARY 1ST, 1799, TO THE CONFUSION OF ITS AFFILIATED
FRIENDS.]
One of Horne Tooke's colleagues is working the incantation from a
breviary of his own, 'Lying, False Swearing, &c.,' and is flourishing a
witch's besom, 'Thrice the Gallic wolves have bayed!' Another of the
weird sisterhood is stirring the unholy mixture, crying: 'Thrice! and
twice King's Heads have fallen!' Horne Tooke is attending to the fuel
department; he is muttering: ''Tis time, 'tis time, 'tis time!' The
witches' familiars are whirling above their heads, and in the midst of
the flames from the cauldron, in the shape of wild cats, with wings;
a flying monkey, with 'Voltaire' on his collar; a tiger with vulture
wings, marked Robespierre; and Dr. Price's little dog, which is even
more remarkable than the animal associated with the early magicians,
are the ministering imps. The fiend, with his pitch-fork, and attended
by dragons, serpents, Cerberus, and other terrific monsters of an
imaginative construction, suggestive of Callot's grotesques, is
directing as head cook the Democratic philter-workers to
Pour in streams of Regal Blood,
Then the charm is firm and good.
The inflammable materials, which are piled up to make the pot boil,
and fanned into flames by a diabolical news-boy, from the _Courier_,
consist of such combustibles as _O'Connor's Manifesto_; _Oakley's
Pyrology_; _Belsham's History_; _Rights of Nature_; _Quigley's Dying
Speech_; _Freud's Atheism_; _Whig Club_; _Universal Equality_;
_Darwin's topsey-turvey Plants and Animals' Destruction_; _Sedition_;
_French Freedom_; _Political Liberty_; _Duty of Insurrection_;
_Equality_; _Fraud_; _Sophisms_; _Blasphemy_; _Heresy_; _Deism_,
together with such fiery sentiments as _Kings can do no good_; _Joel
Barlow_; _Resistance is Prudence_; _The Vipers of Monarchy and
Aristocracy will soon be strangled by the infant Democracy_; _Kings are
Servants_, _&c._; with the _Analytical Review_, a rival publication,
thrown in as _Fallen never to rise again_.
The Duke of Bedford is at the head of the Opposition; the members
seem to fare badly between the two extremes of Pittites and Radicals,
the leader is demanding: 'Where are they! Gone. Pocketed the Church
and Poorlands! The Tythes next!' The Duke of Norfolk is deploring the
'Fallen Sovereignty (of the People). Degraded Counsellor!' having
been deprived of some of his offices as a punishment for the famous
toast. Lord Derby is equally hopeless: 'Poor Joe is done. No Test, no
Corporation Acts.' Fox, who had kept his word and absented himself
from the debates, is reduced to a tattered state, and enquires: 'Where
can I hide my secluded head?' Erskine, in legal trim, as 'Counsellor
Ego,' is deploring: 'Ah, woe is me--poor I!' Tierney is regretting his
past activity: 'Would I had never spoke of the licentiousness of the
press!' Sir Francis Burdett, who had brought an investigation into the
abuses practised on the unfortunates in the New State prison, before
the House, a motion founded on his own observations, is enquiring:
'What can I report to my friends at the _Bastille_?' Thelwall, with his
lectures under his arm, is 'Off to Monmouthshire;' and the followers
of the dispirited 'party' are wandering blindly, lost in the 'Cave of
Despair.'
Above the clouds is the King as Jupiter, with his supporters; light is
being poured down in streams, upon the machinations of the disaffected
patriots, from a symbolical source: _Afflavit Deus et Dissipantur_.
'Your Destruction cometh as a whirlwind!' 'Vengeance is ripe!' The
monarch is strangling a brace of serpents, and asserting, 'Our enemies
are confounded!' One minister is offering congratulations on a 'Great
Victory!' while Pitt, behind the Crown, is insinuating an expeditious
method of disposing of his adversaries: 'Suspend their bodies.' The
Lord Chancellor, careful of the forms of law, is suggesting a more
formal mode of procedure: 'Take them to the King's Bench and Coldbath
Fields!'
_February 10, 1799._ _An Artist Travelling in Wales._ Rowlandson
delin., Mercke sculp. Published by R. Ackermann, 101 Strand.--The
caricaturist--in company with his friend, Henry Wigstead, himself
a bit of an artist, further given to sportive flirtation with the
Muses--visited North and South Wales in August 1797, for the purpose of
carrying out a picturesque tour, to which the two travellers furnished
the accompaniments of descriptive sketches and sketchy descriptions.
The journey was undertaken solely as a pleasure trip, and not carried
out with the intention of 'making a book.' It seems, however, that the
interest which partial friends took in the notes of scenery, as found
in Rowlandson's sketch-books, and in the minutes of travel, as jotted
down in Wigstead's journal, finally prevailed over the travellers'
reluctance to make much of a little; and accordingly, some two years
later, the _Remarks on a Tour to North and South Wales_ were submitted
to the public, in the form of an octavo book, with some additional
views by the hands of Pugh, Howitt, &c. (See 1800.)
Rowlandson appears both to have enjoyed this excursion, and to have
been able to turn his opportunities to good account. He made several
characteristic landscape sketches, and the present writer possesses
a few drawings, in various stages of progress, which were evidently
commenced on the spot.
A more Rowlandsonian relic of the tour is preserved in the plate, _An
Artist Travelling in Wales_, first published soon after the traveller's
return to town. Who the artist so represented may be the writer is
not prepared to assert; but, as caricaturists have a well-recognised
habit of turning not only the figures of their friends, but their own
persons, to satiric usages on occasions, it is suggested that the
large and gaunt limner, with his strongly-outlined features, and with
his long legs slung across a Welch pony, may offer some points of
resemblance to the designer; it is evident that more than once (See
_The Chamber of Genius_, April 2, 1812) Rowlandson has burlesqued his
own figure, or made himself the hero of equivocal situations, much as
artists who have lived in our times have, now and again, delighted
to introduce their own features amidst the fictitious personages they
have thought proper or have been called upon to introduce. Notably in
the cases of Thackeray and Cruickshank, this whimsical _penchant_ is of
such frequent occurrence, that the student, curious in tracing out such
eccentricities of genius, will be able to discover at least a dozen
characteristic and intentional resemblances of those admirable masters
scattered over their illustrations, and relating to various periods of
their careers.
It may be that remembrances of his old master at the Academy, Richard
Wilson, who held the office of Librarian when the waggish youth,
Rowlandson, was a student at the Academy, floated through the artist's
mind in the course of his Welsh peregrinations, and tempted him to
combine points of personality peculiar to both. It was not the first
time Rowley's pencil had taken liberties with the marked traits of
'Red-nosed Dick,' who died, it must be conceded, some fifteen years
before the tour in question. At all events, Peter Pindar, the witty
and vituperative, was one of Rowlandson's intimates, and his advice
to landscape-painters in general and to his friend and chum, Richard
Wilson, in particular, whose talents he had the daring to lavishly
acknowledge in the face of a generation which treated the artist with
cold neglect because, forsooth, his works were 'not fashionable,'
should appropriately be engraved below Rowlandson's unflattering
presentation:--
Claude painted in the open air.
Therefore to Wales at once repair,
Where scenes of true magnificence you'll find;
Besides this great advantage--if in debt,
You'll have with creditors no _tête-à-tête_;
So leave the bull-dog bailiffs all behind,
Who hunt you with what noise they may,
Must hunt for needles in a stack of hay.
A view in Wales is faithfully pictured; the unsophisticated natives are
struck with astonishment at the figure of the travelling artist, whose
profession they are far from comprehending, and whose paraphernalia
excite their wonder. Rain, which is not unknown in the Principality,
is wrapping landscape and figures in a moist embrace. The artist's
very remarkable umbrella is a poor protection; his hat is limp; for
safety his long clay pipe, a luxury difficult to replace, is thrust
through a slit in the flap; his lank locks are dripping; the moisture
is concentrating, and dropping down his well-defined proboscis. Of
course it was necessary, in such an expedition, to bear the baggage
and incidental impedimenta. A box contains the artist's larder and
wardrobe; his saddle-bags hold the provisions of the hour; beside
him swing his tea-kettle and coffee-pot; his goodly sketch-book is
slung across his back, much as the observant traveller may have seen
canvasses strapped across the shoulders of pedestrian artists during
the season, and in the vicinity of Bettews, Conway and the Lluwy in our
day. The easel is folded up--and a vastly unwieldy affair it is--on the
back of the stumpy pony; brushes, a palette, knife, flasks of oil of
goodly proportions, and a palette of extensive dimensions, are attached
to the animal's neck; and thus equipped, the man of paint and his rough
steed are picking a devious way through the saturating moisture, up and
down the steep mountains of the country: a pleasant souvenir of past
hardships and discomforts by the way.
_February 18, 1799._ _Nautical Characters._
1. Cabin boy.
2. Sailor.
3. Marine.
4. Cook.
5. Midshipman.
6. Purser.
7. Lieutenant.
8. Captain.
9. Admiral.
10. Captain of Marines.
[Illustration: AN IRISH HOWL.]
_March 1, 1799._ _An Irish Howl._ Published for the _Anti-Jacobin
Review_ by T. Whittle, Peterborough Court, Fleet Street.--The month
following, the Irish patriots, and rebels alike, were favoured with
a view of their position, which was hardly more encouraging than the
pictorial prospect held out for the enlightenment of the Democrats at
home. A National Convention is supposed to have been assembled; the
members are thrown into consternation; and the table, round which they
have been deliberating over the concoction of their organ the _United
Irishmen_, is upset. A diabolical visitation is sufficient to account
for this confusion. A monstrous representative of the Fiend of Evil,
with formidable horns and claws, bearing a pitchfork over his shoulder,
and with the French cap of Liberty, labelled _Anarchy_, on his brow,
is intruding on the scene, with a masterpiece of his own preparation,
setting forth the tender fate which the Irish patriots were likely to
meet at the hands of their allies the Jacobins. _Le Tableau Parlant_
affects to portray an 'Irish Stew, a favourite dish for French
Palates.' The sons of Erin are, according to the canvas, thrust into
a 'Revolutionary Pot,' which is boiling over a fierce fire; certain
Jacobin French cooks, wearing the caps of Liberty, are thrusting their
betrayed disciples into the seething cauldron, '_Equality_, all to be
stewed _en masse_,' while another apostle of Freedom is clapping on
the lid: 'Liberty of being stewed!' The Arch-Deceiver, thrusting out a
forked tongue, is imparting his instructions: 'Stew it well; it cannot
be overdone for you and me!'
The United Irishmen are variously affected with despair at the probable
end of their plottings. One patriot, intended for Grattan, or O'Connor,
is exclaiming, 'My merits with the Republic should have saved me;
but I find we must all stew together!' A ragged Reformer is thrown
on his back; a bundle of pikes are at his feet; a case of _Radical
Reform_. A papist friar is crying: 'By St. Patrick, a complete Catholic
emancipation.' Others of the party are crushed. A legal gentleman
is moaning in despair: 'So much for Republicanism and glorious
independence! No money! No lawyer!' His neighbour cries: 'I now howl in
vain; we are all gone to pot!' Another patriot is thinking regretfully
of Ireland's proper and natural ally: 'Brother John would not have
treated us so! What your own O'Connor, too!' The Map of Ireland is
dragged to pieces, and dismantled by flying devils and imps of mischief
christened 'Tallien, Barras, Lepaux,' &c. One of the united brethren is
turning his eyes on the pitiful end of the Green Isle: 'Poor Erin, how
thou'rt torn to pieces by these five harpies!'
1799. _An Etching after Raphael Urbinas._ An example of Rowlandson's
powerful renderings of studies after the old masters, executed in a
bold and flowing manner.--The nude figure of a man, who has probably
been sleeping at the foot of a tree, has suddenly unfolded his cloak
and found himself confronted by a hissing serpent, which has raised
itself on its tail in readiness to attack the unprepared victim, whose
face is made to wear an expression of statuesque horror. A club is on
the ground at the feet of the man.
_Apollo, Lyra and Daphne._ Frontispiece probably to a book of
music.--Apollo, with his crook and shepherd's dog by his side, and with
sheep at his feet, is seated at the entrance to a wood. Several musical
instruments, bound together with ribands, are hung on the branch of
a tree over his head. On the other side of the picture is a nymph in
classic guise, evidently captivated with his harmonies; she is resting
her hand on the shoulder of a second listening maiden, dressed as a
shepherdess.
[Illustration: ST. GILES'S COURTSHIP.]
_April 10, 1799._ _St. Giles's Courtship._ Published by R. Ackermann,
101 Strand.
Here vulgar Nature plays her coarser part,
And eyes speak out the language of the heart,
While health and vigour swell the youthful vein,
To die with rapture, but to live again.
_April 10, 1799._ _St. James's Courtship._ Published by R. Ackermann,
101 Strand.
1799. _View of a Cathedral Town on Market Day_ (_Great Yarmouth_),
Rowlandson del. and sculp.
_May 10, 1799._ _Borders for Rooms and Screens._ Published by R.
Ackermann, 101 Strand. Woodward delin. Etched by Rowlandson. In
twenty-four sheets. Republished May 20 and August 1.
_June 20, 1799._ _Connoisseurs._ Published by T. Rowlandson, 1 James
Street, Adelphi.--The interior of a cabinet of choice works of art. On
an easel is displayed a florid and somewhat suggestive picture of
Venus and Cupid richly framed. An old connoisseur, with a glass to his
eye, and his three-cornered hat under his arm, is seated in an easy
elbow chair, critically examining the work in question. Three other
distinguished _dilettanti_ are peering over his back, and stretching
their noses as near as contrivable to the object of their gloating
admiration. All these amateurs have evidently called in to view the
collection, which includes an example after 'Susanna and the Elders,'
and kindred subjects.
_August 1, 1799._ _Horse Accomplishments._ Sketch 1. _A Paviour._
Woodward del., Rowlandson sculp. Published by R. Ackermann.
_August 1, 1799._ _Horse Accomplishments._ Sketch 2. _An Astronomer._
Woodward del., Rowlandson sculp. Published by R. Ackermann.
_August 1, 1799._ _Horse Accomplishments._ Sketch 3. _A Civilian._
Woodward del., Rowlandson sculp. Published by R. Ackermann.
_August 1, 1799._ _Horse Accomplishments._ Sketch 4. _A Devotee._
Woodward del., Rowlandson sculp. Published by R. Ackermann.--The
rider is somewhat inconvenienced by the eccentricities of his steed.
The horse is travelling in a somnolent condition, of which the
equestrian seems unconscious, as he is thus soliloquising over the
unusual proclivities of his _Rosinante_:--'This is certainly a very
devout animal; always on his knees; five times in a mile; constantly
worshipping something or other. What is he at now?'
_August 1, 1799._ _Waddling Out._ Woodward del., Rowlandson sculp.
Published by R. Ackermann.
_August 10, 1799._ _Comforts of the City: A Good Speculation._ No. 5.
Woodward del., Rowlandson sculp. Published by R. Ackermann, August 10,
1799.--A stout citizen is rejoicing over a fortunate investment.
_August 10, 1799._ _Comforts of the City: A Bad Speculation._ No. 6.
Woodward del., Rowlandson sculp. Published by R. Ackermann, August
10, 1799.--In this case the dabbler in novel ventures is looking very
blank and disconcerted, on the receipt of the information that his
very latest and most ingenious 'spec' does not promise to turn out
favourably, according to a communication he holds in his hand:--'I am
sorry to inform you that your scheme for manuring London with old wigs
will not do.'
[Illustration: PROCESSION OF A COUNTRY CORPORATION.]
_August 12, 1799._ _Procession of a Country Corporation._ H. Bunbury
del. Etched by Rowlandson. Published August 12, 1799, by T. Rowlandson,
James's Street, Adelphi.--Bunbury's pencil was never more happily
employed than when engaged in perpetuating the comicalities which he
noticed in the country; rustic simplicity, the pretensions of inflated
noodles, bumptious nobodies, and kindred absurdities, such as are
displayed in 'The procession of a Country Corporation,' wherein the
Aldermen and Mace-bearers, his worship the Mayor, with his chain, and
his dignified deportment, and his following of puffed-up provincial
big-wigs are shown filing in solemn state past the pump, the Town-hall,
and the stocks, to the Church vestry; the country clodhoppers and
honest children of the soil are gazing open-mouthed, over-awed by
the impressive nature of the ceremony, and the solemn airs of the
performers. Bathos is arrived at in a notice on the wall, past which
these 'hogs in harness' are strutting--'Ordered by the Mayor and
Corporation that no pigs be suffered to walk the streets. For every
offence the penalty of five shillings!'
_August 1799._ _A Game of Put in a Country Ale House._ G. M. Woodward
invt. Etched by T. Rowlandson. Published by R. Ackermann.
1799. _Bay of Biscay._ (See 1789.)
_September 3, 1799._ _Forget and Forgive, or Honest Jack shaking
hands with an old acquaintance._ Published September 3, 1799, by R.
Ackermann, 101 Strand.--The troops forming the British Expedition which
restored the Prince of Orange to his states are represented landing in
the Texel, and delivering the Dutch from the hands of their friends the
Sansculottes. Mynheer has become wretched and ragged under the French
régime; he is shaking a British tar by the hand, heartily delighted
to see a chance of recovering his freedom:--'Ah, Mynheer Bull, these
cursed French rats have gnawed us to the backbone; they have barely
left us a pipe, a drop of Hollands, or a red herring; oh, what a pretty
pickle have we brought ourselves into!' 'Well, Mynheer,' responds Jack
Tar, 'you seem heartily sick of fraternity: had you stuck to your old
friends instead of embracing your ragged relations, you might have
kept your gilders, saved your breeches, and preserved both states and
stadtholder.' A Dutch vrow is trampling her foot upon an order of the
French Convention:--'If any Dutch woman be detected in concealing any
part of her husband's private property, she shall be guillotined.'
She has secured a trifling comfort, a bottle of 'Hollands gin.' 'I
have had great trouble, Mynheer, to smuggle this bottle for you, those
French ragamuffins search me so close!' The troops forming the English
contingent are landing from their ships, and driving the French legions
before them at the point of the bayonet; the apostles of Liberty are
losing their requisitions, 'Ducats and gilders for the use of the
municipality;' they despair of converting their invaders: 'Here be dese
English Bull dog, dey be such stupid brute dat we cannot make them
comprehend the joys of Fraternisation!'
_September 20, 1799._ _The Irish Baronet and his Nurse._ ('Changed at
his Birth.') Woodward del. Etched by Rowlandson.
_October 1, 1799._ _The Gull and the Rook._ Published by Hixon, 155
Strand.
_October 1, 1799._ _The Crow and the Pigeon._ Published by Hixon, 155
Strand.
_October, 1799._ _Twopenny Whist._ Designed by G. M. Woodward. Etched
by T. Rowlandson. Published by R. Ackermann, 101 Strand.
_October 28, 1799._ _A Note of Hand._ Designed by G. M. Woodward.
Etched by Rowlandson. Published by R. Ackermann.--From Bunbury to
Woodward the change is easy. In all these renderings of the designs of
less skilful amateurs it must be remembered that Rowlandson's part was
not limited to that of a mere copyist of their ideas; he had to put
crude conceptions into a presentable shape, and in most instances he
has added points which originated in his own invention, and, as far as
execution is concerned, he has made the works mainly his own.
In the present caricature there is actually no indication of Woodward's
handiwork; a smart sailor of the period, returning to shore with
prize money galore, and a watch, chain, and seals in either fob, neat
silver shoe-buckles, and a spic-span rig-out, is calling to cash a
twenty-pound note on a banker, who is negligently looking at the
ceiling. The honest tar, who probably thinks the amount of the draft
he has to draw a veritable fortune, is evincing his consideration
for the man of finance--'I say, my tight little fellow, I've brought
you a Tickler! A draught for twenty pounds, that's all! But don't be
downhearted, you shan't stop on my account! I'll give you two days to
consider of it.'
1799 (?). _Legerdemain._--The subject owes its invention to the
observant humour of Henry Bunbury, the caricaturist of gentle birth,
who was ever a friendly ally of Rowlandson; while the latter has
lent his more trained skill to work out the conceptions of the
flattered amateur, further regarded, according to the views of his
contemporaries, as his distinguished patron. We are introduced in
'Legerdemain,' to the consulting room and operating surgery of certain
rustic practitioners, who combine the twin professions of dentists
and pedicures; teeth and corns being extracted promiscuously, as the
requirements of their patients might necessitate. Strength, rather than
skill, is the chief requisition, if we may trust the whimsicalities
of 'Legerdemain,' where main force directs the operations of the
performers. One sturdy tooth drawer is bringing his knee and all the
brute power at his command to bear in the way of leverage on the
refractory grinder of an unfortunate and distracted client; a hammer
and a pair of coarse pincers do not argue well for the painless
dentistry of the establishment. A squire, judging from the liveried
servant in attendance, is submitting his foot to another professor,
for the removal of an obstinate corn; the victim is thrown into
paroxysms of agony by the forcible mode of procedure adopted: the rude
chiropedist has seized the sufferer's foot securely under his arm,
and is dragging away with such vigour that, if the corn will not be
persuaded to come off decently, the toe will be dragged out by the
roots--the latter a most undeniable method of permanent cure so far as
corns are concerned.
_November 1, 1799._ _March to the Camp._ Published by T. Rowlandson, 1
James Street, Adelphi.
_November 1, 1799._ _Good Night._ Woodward del. Etched by Rowlandson.
Published by R. Ackermann, 101 Strand.--A gentleman in the last
stage of sleepiness with his nightcap on his head, and his
chamber-candlestick flaring away--he is yawning like a cavern, and
stretching his arms as if heavy with slumber. The expression is
realistically conveyed.
[Illustration: A BANKRUPT CART, OR THE ROAD TO RUIN IN THE EAST.]
_November 5, 1799._ _A Bankrupt Cart, or the Road to Ruin in the East._
Woodward del. Etched by Rowlandson. Published by R. Ackermann, 101
Strand.--The fortunate possessor of that dubious vehicle, 'a Bankrupt
cart,' is proceeding in state past his own premises with his chin in
the air; the showy wife of his bosom in feathers and finery is riding
by his side, and their children are packed in sandwich fashion. A
follower, who is probably a drayman, put into livery for the occasion,
and mounted on one of the horses used in the business, is grinning
at the high and mighty dignity assumed by his employers. A news boy
is blowing his horn in the averted faces of the party, offering the
_London Gazette_, which contains the objectionable black list of
bankruptcies, wherein, it is hinted, the name of 'Mash, Brewer,'
figures conspicuously. Puddle Dock is the scene of this exposure, and
the brewery is posted with advertisements, which indicate the sudden
downfall of fashionable ambition: 'A house to be let in Grosvenor
Square, suitable for a genteel family,' and 'Theatre Royal, Covent
Garden, _The Comedy of the Bankrupt_, with _High Life Below Stairs_.'
_November 5, 1799._ _A Dasher, or the Road to Ruin in the West._ G. M.
Woodward del. Etched by T. Rowlandson. Published by R. Ackermann.
1799 (?). _Loose Thoughts._--A reclining female figure, lightly
attired, and gracefully posed, buried in romantic creations of the
imagination.
_The Bookbinder's Wife._--Somewhat similar to the taste of the
preceding. The nude figure of a lady toying with her infant: these
subjects, which are avowedly of a slightly suggestive character, are
handled with a grace and refinement which goes a long way to redeem the
free nature of the subjects.
1799 (?). _The Nursery._--A domestic subject; a gracefully posed female
figure and two infants.
1799 (?). _A Freshwater Salute._--The occupants of two waterside crafts
are exchanging courtesies on the river, a more frequent occurrence at
the beginning of the century, when figures of speech, especially among
'waterside loafers,' were more forcible than refined. The boatmen in
the respective wherries are bawling at one another, and a stout damsel
is extending, in expressive pantomime, an invitation which has shocked
the proprieties of the occupants of the other craft, a lady of _ton_ in
a gay hat and feathers, and a very prim old gentleman, who is looking
perfectly rigid with horror and indignation.
1799 (?). _Ride to Rumford._--'Let the gall'd jade wince.' A stout
equestrienne has put up her steed at the shop of an apothecary,
who combines the profession of veterinary surgeon: the venerable
practitioner, with spectacles on nose, is preparing a diaculum plaister
for the scarified horsewoman.
1799 (?). _City Fowlers--mark._ H. Bunbury del., Rowlandson sculp.
Against the wind he takes his prudent way,
Whilst the strong gale directs him to the prey;
Now the warm scent assures the covey near,
He treads with caution and he points with fear.--GAY.
1799 (?). _The City Hunt._ H. Bunbury del., Rowlandson sculp.--This
scene of cockney horsemanship is suggestive of the learned lectures
of Geoffrey Gambado, Esq., Riding Master to that authority on
equestrianism, the Doge of Venice. It is a question which are the more
extraordinary animals, the mounted citizens or their horses; all is
grotesque and burlesque. Of course fat men are shown tumbling off and
over their steeds; and with equal propriety, a brook is introduced, in
which to deposit the unfortunate leapers. Various curs have come out to
share the run, and among the most spirited riders may be distinguished
a brace of black chimney-sweeps, fraternally perched astride the single
donkey possessed by the firm.
1799 (?). _Une Bonne Bouche._--A stout gourmand impaling an entire
sucking-pig on a fork.
1799 (?). _Cits airing themselves on Sunday._ H. Bunbury del.,
Rowlandson sculp.--A lady and gentleman are enjoying an equestrian
promenade, too busily engaged in flirting to notice that their horses
are riding over some wandering pigs. A Jew is in a chaise, taking his
pleasure in the air; the fair Jewess, his wife, is driving, the rest
of their family are by their side. A stout elderly volunteer in his
uniform is out for exercise and relaxation, mounted on a heavy horse
from the cart, ridden with blinkers.
1799 (?). _A Militia Meeting._--The original suggestion for this
subject, which bears Rowlandson's name, is, with several other
small etchings, belonging to the same series, due to Henry Bunbury;
it represents a 'justice's parlour,' filled with local magnates,
who are seated in council on the momentous militia question. The
characteristics of the various personages are individualised with the
sense of humour and that power of hitting off quaint expressions with
which both Bunbury and Rowlandson were gifted in the highest degree.
1799 (?). _A Grinning Match._--The companion print to _A Militia
Meeting_, executed under the same auspices. A party of rustics, whose
rude features are more rudely burlesqued, are grouped around a barrel
to assist at a competitive exhibition of 'face-making.' The challenge
runs thus: 'A gold ring to be grinned for; the frightfullest grinner
to be the winner.' Mounted on a tub is one of the champions, round his
head is the traditional setting of a horse collar, and he is succeeding
in making the most fearful grimaces, to the consequent delight of the
spectators.
[Illustration: DISTRESS.]
1799 (?). _Distress_, (18 inches by 12-5/8,) _from an Original Drawing
by Thomas Rowlandson_.--Published by Thomas Palser, Surrey side,
Westminster Bridge.--That Rowlandson possessed a remarkable power
of grasping the humorous side of life was generally acknowledged in
his own day, and is now well established, time having confirmed the
justness of his title to a lasting reputation; indeed, his works in
this order have long received a recognition which is more assured than
has been accorded to those of his contemporaries. It may, however,
be pointed out, with equal sincerity, that his conception of the
terrible is even more remarkable than his facility for expressing
the whimsical frivolities of society. It would be difficult to find
a more realistic representation of the horrors of shipwreck than the
appalling scene pictured under the title of 'Distress.' The fearful
sufferings of the survivors, exposed without sustenance to the dangers
of the deep, and the hopelessness of any chance of rescue, are all
simply set forth with intense feeling, and a faithful perception of
the horrors of the situation which is harrowing to examine, although
it is evident that the terrors of the subject must have exercised a
certain fascination over the mind of the delineator. It seems clear
that portions of a crew have escaped the loss of their vessel only
to become the powerless victims of more insupportable sufferings. A
solitary officer and several of the crew are crowded into a boat,
which they have no means of properly navigating. Provisions and water
are evidently wanting; the horizon is a blank, the sea is still running
high, and the sky threatens further tempests. Hunger, thirst, and
exposure, are reducing the ocean waifs to madmen; while some are in
paroxysms, others are stiffening corpses, and the body of one sufferer
is about to be cast into the waters to lighten the freight; some are
sunk in blank indifference or imbecile despair; others are furious, one
or two are looking for help from above, and a few, among them the young
officer and the boatswain, are doing their best to steer the open and
over-laden boat towards a likely course. The cabin boy's distress is
rendered with peculiar pathos.
1799. _Hungarian and Highland Broadsword Exercise._ Twenty-four
plates, designed and etched by Thomas Rowlandson, under the direction
of Messrs. H. Angelo and Son, Fencing-masters to the Light Horse
Volunteers of London and Westminster. Dedicated to Colonel Herries.
Oblong folio. London. Published, as the Act directs, February 12, 1799,
by H. Angelo, Curzon Street, Mayfair.--Engraved Title and Frontispiece.
A tablet topped by the figure of Fame and supported by a relievo
representing Guards on the march; below it a trophy, and the escutcheon
of the corps. On either side an archway or portico, with relievo
tablets above, representing military scenes. On guard and saluting,
on the left, is a Light Horse Volunteer of London and Westminster; on
the right is one of the same corps dismounted, presenting arms. The
etchings are dated September 1, 1798. The subjects are executed with
considerable dash and spirit. The major part of the plates represent
movements of cavalry, depicted with knowledge and power; instead
of being, as the titles of the illustrations would indicate, mere
definitions of the positions assumed in the exercises, the artist has,
with superior ingenuity and ability, managed to produce a lively series
of military tableaux filled with appropriate actions, in which bodies
of troops, reviews, incidents of war, engagements of large parties,
assaults, repulses, and other military demonstrations, make up the
backgrounds, and convert a set of plates of mere broadsword exercises
into an animated and interesting collection of warlike pictures.
Judging from the lengthy subscription list appended to the folio, these
plates must have enjoyed a wide popularity, secured under the auspices
of the Angelos, whose acquaintances amongst the fashionable world
enabled them to obtain a satisfactory array of patrons and subscribers.
The subjects are as follows:--
Prepare to guard.
Guard.
Horse's head, near side, protect.
Offside protect, new guard.
Left protect.
Right protect.
Bridle arm protect.
Sword arm protect.
St. George's guard.
Thigh protect, new guard.
Give point, and left parry.
Cut one, and bridle arm protect.
Cut two, and right protect.
Cut one, and horse's head, near side, protect.
Cut six, and sword arm protect.
Cut two, and horse's off side protect, new guard.
Cut one, and thigh protect, new guard.
On the right to the front, parry against infantry.
_Infantry._
Outside guard; St. George's guard. Inside guard.
Outside half hanger. Hanging guard. Inside half hanger.
Half-circle guard. Medium guard.
The consequence of not shifting the leg.
The advantage of shifting the leg.
1799. _Loyal Volunteers of London and Environs._--Infantry and cavalry
in their respective uniforms. Representing the whole of the Manual,
Platoon, and Funeral exercises in eighty-seven plates. Designed and
etched by Thomas Rowlandson. Dedicated by permission to His Royal
Highness the Duke of Gloucester. Engraved title-page; inscription in a
lozenge; head of Mars above; Mercury's caduceus and branches of laurel;
Cupid-warrior, and Cupid-justice with scales and sword, supported by a
trophy of arms, accoutrements, &c. Dedicatory title.--This illuminated
School of Mars, or review of the Light Volunteer corps of London and
its vicinity, is dedicated by permission to His Royal Highness the
Duke of Gloucester by his most obliged and very humble servant, R.
Ackermann, 101 Strand. August 12, 1799.
LIST OF SUBJECTS.
_Infantry._
PLATE. POSITION.
1. St. James's Volunteers _Stand at ease._
2. The Royal Westminster
Volunteers _Attention._
3. Broad Street Ward Volunteers _Fix bayonets, 1st motion._
4. St. Mary, Islington,
Volunteers " _2nd_ "
5. St. Mary-le-Strand and
Somerset House Volunteers _Fix bayonets, 3rd motion._
6. London and Westminster Light
Horse Volunteers (Dismounted) _Shoulder arms, 1st motion._
7. St. Clement Danes Volunteers " _2nd_ "
8. Bloomsbury and Inns of Court _Recover arms._
Volunteers
9. St. George's, Hanover Square, _Shoulder arms (from recover),
Light Infantry 1st motion._
10. St. George's, Hanover Square,
Volunteers _Charge bayonet, 2nd motion._
11. St. Martin's in the Fields
Volunteers " _1st_ "
12. Temple Bar and St. Paul's
Volunteers
(Loyal London Volunteers) _Present arms, 1st motion._
13. Cornhill Association
Volunteers " _2nd_ "
14. Temple Association Volunteers " _3rd_ "
15. Bethnal Green Volunteers,
Light Infantry (Mile End
Volunteers) _Support arms, 1st motion._
16. Bethnal Green Battalion
Volunteers " _2nd_ "
17. Hans Town Association
Volunteers _Stand at ease, supporting arms._
18. Deptford Volunteer Infantry _Slope arms._
19. Loyal Westminster Light
Infantry _Order arms, 1st motion._
20. The Hon. Artillery Company of
London " _2nd_ "
21. Pimlico Volunteer Association _Unfix bayonets, 1st motion._
22. Richmond Volunteers " _2nd_ "
23. Covent Garden Volunteers " _3rd_ "
24. Three Regiments of Royal East
India Volunteers _An officer saluting._
25. Bishopsgate Volunteers _Handle arms._
26. Brentford Association _Ground arms, 1st motion._
27. Fulham Association " _2nd_ "
28. St. Andrew, Holborn, and
St. George the Martyr
Military Association " _3rd_ "
29. Castle Baynard Ward
Association Volunteers _Secure arms, 1st motion._
30. Finsbury Volunteers " _2nd_ "
31. Newington, Surrey, Volunteer
Association " _3rd_ "
32. Knight Marshal's Volunteers _Prime and load, 1st priming
motion, front rank._
33. Guildhall Volunteer
Association, " _2nd_ " "
34. Cheap Ward Association " _3rd_ " "
35. Armed Association of St.
Luke, Chelsea " _4th_ " "
36. Marylebone Volunteers " _5th_ " "
37. Coleman Street Ward Military _Prime and load, 6th priming
motion, front rank._
38. St. Pancras Volunteers " _7th_ " "
39. Cordwainers' Ward Volunteers " _1st loading
motion._
40. St. Margaret and St. John,
Westminster, Volunteer
Associations " _2nd_ "
41. Lambeth Loyal Volunteers " _3rd_ "
42. St. George's, Southwark,
Loyal Volunteers " _4th_ "
43. St. Saviour's, Southwark,
Association " _5th_ "
44. St. Olave's, Southwark,
Volunteers " _6th_ "
45. Poplar and Blackwall
Volunteers " last motion.
46. Sadler's Sharpshooters _A Light Infantry Man defending
himself with Sadler's patent gun
and long,cutting bayonet._
47. Radcliff Volunteers _Make ready, front rank._
48. Union, Wapping, Volunteers _Present_ "
49. Loyal Hackney Volunteers _Fire_ "
50. Bermondsey Volunteers _Front rank kneeling, make ready._
51. Loyal Volunteers, St. John's,
Southwark _Present (as front rank kneeling)._
52. Langbourn Ward Volunteers _Prime and load (as a centre
rank)._
53. St. George's, Hanover Square,
Armed Association _Make ready (as a centre rank)._
54. St. Sepulchre (Middlesex)
Volunteers _Present_ "
55. Farringdon Ward Within
Volunteers _Prime and load (as a rear rank)._
56. Aldgate Ward Association _Make ready_ "
57. Walbrook Ward Association _Present_ "
58. Clerkenwell Association _Advance arms._
59. Royal Westminster Grenadiers " _4th motion._
60. Bread Street Ward Volunteers _Shoulder arms, from advance
1st motion._
61. Vintry Ward Volunteers _Club arms, 1st motion._
62. Portsoken Ward Volunteers " _2nd_ "
63. St. Catherine's Association " _3rd_ "
64. Farringdon Ward (Without)
Volunteers " _4th_ "
65. Bridge Ward Association _Mourn arms, 1st motion._
66. Tower Ward Association " _2nd_ "
67. Christ Church (Surrey)
Association " _3rd_ "
68. Loyal Bermondsey Volunteers _Present arms, 1st motion from
mourn arms._
69. Billingsgate Association " _2nd_ " "
70. Highland Armed Association _An officer._
71. The Armed Association of
St. Mary, Whitechapel _Present arms, 2nd flugel motion._
72. Bank of England Volunteers,
Light Infantry _Order_ " "
73. Candlewick Ward Association _Support arms, 1st_ "
74. Queenhythe Ward Volunteers _A sergeant with arms advanced._
75. Ward of Cripplegate (Without)
Volunteers. _Order arms._
76. Dowgate Ward Volunteers "
77. Mile End Volunteers _Pile arms._
78. St. Leonard, Shoreditch,
Volunteers "
79. Trinity, Minories,
Association "
_Cavalry._
1. London and Westminster Light Horse Volunteers.
2. Surrey Yeomanry.
3. Deptford Cavalry.
4. Westminster Cavalry.
5. Middlesex Cavalry.
6. Southwark Cavalry.
7. Clerkenwell Cavalry.
8. Lambeth Loyal Cavalry.
9. Loyal Islington Volunteer Cavalry.
END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.
LONDON: PRINTED BY
SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE
AND PARLIAMENT STREET
* * * * *
INDICES.
INDEX OF NAMES, PERSONS, &c.
Ackermann, Rudolph (Rowlandson's publisher), i. 85, 89-93
Ackermann's _Poetical Magazine_, i. 33
Addington, Hon. H., 'The Doctor,' i. 246
Alexander, Emperor of Russia, ii. 281, 294
Angelo, Henry, 'Reminiscences,' i. 55, 64-6, 68, 70-2, 78-9, 85, 87-8,
287, 298-300, 374; ii. 5
Angelo's Fencing Rooms, i. 241
Angelo and Rowlandson at Vauxhall, i. 62-3, 156
-- and Son, Hungarian and Highland Broadsword Exercise, i. 374
-- Henry, his sketch of Simmons, the Murderer, ii. 81
Anstey, Christopher, 'Comforts of Bath,' i. 333-49
Arnold, General, i. 173
Atkinson, Christopher, i. 143-4
Auckland, Lord Eden, i. 173
Austria, Emperor of, ii. 281
Austria, Crown Prince of, ii. 281
Banco to the Knave (Gillray), i. 106
Banks, Sir Joseph, i. 192
Bannister, the Comedian, a Collector, i. 70; ii. 248
-- John, the Comedian, an Art Student, i. 53-4
Barrymore, Lord, i. 58, 161-2, 303
Bate, Dudley, of the _Morning Post_, i. 159
Bates, William, B.A., 'Sketch of Rowlandson's Works,' 'Essay on George
Cruikshank,' ii. 379
Bedford, Duke of, i. 359
Bell, Dr., ii. 216
Beresford, James, ii. 178
Billington, Mrs., i. 158
'Black Dick' (Lord Howe), i. 199
'Blackmantle,' Bernard (pseudo), i. 43; ii. 375, 378-9
Blair, Doctor Hugh, i. 198
Blucher, Prince von, ii. 278-9, 280-1, 293-5
'Book for a Rainy Day,' J. T. Smith, i. 70
Borowloski, Count, 'The Polish Dwarf,' i. 186
Bossy, Doctor, ii. 5
Boswell, James, i. 193-8
Boswell's 'Tour to the Hebrides,' i. 84, 193-8
Buonaparte, the Emperor Napoleon, ii. 42-3, 45, 47, 52, 54, 61, 82-3,
93-102, 130, 159, 162-3, 187, 203-4, 255, 258-64, 271-2, 276-82,
289, 291-3
-- Joseph, King of Spain, ii. 95-6, 98-101
-- Louis, King of Holland, ii. 97, 258-9
Buonaparte's Generals, ii. 291
Brightelmstone in 1789, i. 277
Britannia, 117, 136, 141-2, 247; ii. 6
Buckingham, Marquis of, i. 243
Bullock, Proprietor of 'Bullock's London Museum,' ii. 309
Bunbury, Henry, the Caricaturist, i. 61, 78-80, 369
-- the Caricaturist (illustrated biographical sketch of his life by
Joseph Grego), i. 3
-- Henry, Caricaturist (Gambado's 'Annals of Horsemanship and Academy
for Grown Horsemen'), i. 352-3; ii. 101-15, 217, 221-3
Burdett, Sir Francis, i. 359; ii. 74, 181-2, 184, 365
Burke, Hon. Edmund, i. 112, 118-19, 220, 245, 248, 274, 289; ii. 13
Burton, Alfred, 'Adventures of Johnny Newcome in the Navy,' ii. 363-4
Bute, Lord, i. 141
Butler, S., ii. 174, 198
Camden, Lord, i. 244
Canning, George, verses on 'All the Talents,' ii. 69
Canning, George, ii. 166
Carmarthen, Marquis of, i. 244, 248
Cartright, Major John, i. 121
Castlereagh, Lord, ii. 166
Catalini, Madame, ii. 165
Catharine, Empress of Russia, i. 290
Chambers, Sir William (architect of Somerset House), ii. 217
Charles the Fourth, King of Spain, i. 290, 292; ii. 94
Charlotte, Queen, i. 110, 199-210, 220, 228, 230, 252, 290
Chatham, Lord, i. 244
-- General, ii. 164, 166
Chattelier, Miss (Rowlandson's aunt), i. 52, 63-4
Chiffney (jockey to the Prince of Wales), i. 207
Clarke, Mrs. Mary Anne, ii. 135-64, 166, 181
-- Scandal, The, i. 28; ii. 135-64, 181
Clavering, General, ii. 143
Coleraine, Lord, i. 180, 220, 229. (_See_ Hanger)
Collections of Rowlandson's drawings, i. 5. Appendix
Collings, the Caricaturist, i. 82-4, 191, 193
Combe, William, ii. 247, 268, 317-55, 359-62, 271-2
-- -- (author):
'The Three Tours of Doctor Syntax,' ii. 176, 247-52, 266-7, 269-70,
367, 373, 375
'The Dance of Death,' ii. 317-15
'The Dance of Life,' ii. 359-62
'The History of Johnny Quæ Genus,' ii. 371-2
Corbett, Thomas, High Bailiff for Westminster, ii. 140, 153-4
Cornwall, Views in, ii. 56
Cross Reading (Whiteford's), i. 84
Cruikshank, George, caricaturist, i. 16-19
Cumberland, Duke of, ii. 225
Curtis, Commodore, ii. 163-4
Davy, Sir Humphrey, ii. 366
Derby, Lord, i. 359
Devonshire, Duchess of, i. 124, 126-9, 131-2, 135, 141-2, 152, 158;
ii. 59
Didelot, dancer, i. 283
Don Carlos, ii. 94
Duncannon, Lady, i. 135, 141, 158
Dundas (Lord Melville), i. 121, 134, 243-4, 246; ii. 49-51, 60, 136
Dundas, Sir David, ii. 137
Dunthorne, James, i. 226-7, 314
Elliot, Right Hon. Hugh, English Minister at Dresden, ii. 311
Engelbach, Lewis, 'Letters from Italy, or Naples and the Campagna
Felice,' ii. 267, 301-8
English Caricaturists, i. 2
'English Spy, The,' by 'Bernard Blackmantle,' i. 43
Erskine, Lord, i. 112, 359
'Farquhar,' Ferdinand (pseudo), 'Relics of a Saint,' ii. 317
Ferdinand of Spain, ii. 93
Fielding's 'Tom Jones,' ii. 55-6
Fitzgerald, Mr., i. 161
Fitzherbert, Mrs., i. 170, 220, 226, 248, 276
Fox, Hon. Charles James, ii. 49, 58-61, 109, 112-13, 116-17, 119,
123-7, 129, 131-5, 138-43, 154, 221, 231-2, 245, 248, 270, 359
Fox, General, i. 117
Frederick the Great, i. 182-3
French Ambassador, The, i. 147
Gambado, Geoffrey (pseudo Henry Bunbury), 'Academy for Grown
Horsemen,' i. 352-3
-- -- 'Annals of Horsemanship,' i. 352; ii. 102-15
George the Third, i. 115, 119, 140-1, 182-3, 199-210, 220, 228-9, 248,
251-2, 290, 360; ii. 6, 59, 82, 196
Gillray, the Caricaturist (his life, works, and times, by Joseph
Grego), i. 3-4, 54, 106, 143, 229, 242, 328; ii. 197, 223
Gloucester, Duke of, i. 328
Goldsmith, Oliver, 'The Vicar of Wakefield,' ii. 356-9, 375
Gordon, Duchess of, i. 126, 152
Grafton, Duke of, i. 244, 246-8
Grattan, i. 250, 362
Grego, Joseph:
'An Illustrated Biographical Sketch of Bunbury, the Caricaturist,'
i. 3
'The Works of James Gillray, with the Story of his Life and Times,'
i. 3-4
'A Collection of Drawings by Rowlandson.' Appendix
Grenville, i. 244
-- Lord, ii. 59
Guise, General, his collection of pictures at Oxford, ii. 66
Hadfield. Attempted the life of the King, ii. 6
Hamilton, Sir William, Ambassador at Naples, ii. 311-13
-- Lady, ii. 311-13
Hanger, George, i. 180, 220, 229. (_See_ Coleraine.)
Harrison, W. H., 'The Humourist,' ii. 380-6
Hartley, Mrs. (actress), i. 160
Hastings, Warren, i. 226, 230
-- Marquis of, ii. 299
Haydon, B. R., ii. 378-9
Heath, James, i. 85
-- -- letter to, written by the Caricaturist, ii. 48
Hebrides, Boswell's Journal of a Tour in the, i. 193-8
Heywood ('Old Iron Wig'), i. 70
'Historical Sketch of the Art of Caricaturing,' by J. P. Malcolm,
F.S.A., i. 73-6
'History of Caricature and the Grotesque in Literature and Art,'
i. 3, 76
Hobart, Hon. Mrs. (Lady Buckinghamshire), i. 127, 129-30, 134
Holland, Lord, i. 289
Holman, the actor, i. 165, 190
Hood, Admiral Lord, i. 121, 124, 127, 133, 228
Hook, Theodore, 'Chacun à son Goût,' i. 67
Hooper, the boxer, i. 162
Horne-Tooke, John, i. 327, 359; ii. 74
House, Sam, i. 98-9, 108, 129, 131, 138-9
Howe, Lord, i. 67-8, 199
Howitt, the artist, Rowlandson's brother-in-law, i. 50
John Bull, ii. 42, 43, 47, 50-1, 58, 60-1, 75, 82-3, 93, 101, 130, 159
Johnson, Samuel, LL.D., i. 193-8
Junot, General, ii. 101, 204
Kemble, John Philip, ii. 46, 165
Kent, Duke of, ii. 141-4
King of Prussia, The, i. 182-3
Kingsbury, Caricaturist, i. 242, 290
Knight (Miss Cornelia), authoress, ii. 311-12
Lambert, Daniel, ii. 59-60
Leicestershire Giant, ii. 59-60
Leinster, Duke of, i. 249, 251
Life of Henry Bunbury, the Caricaturist, i. 4, 75-9
Lonsdale (Earl of), i. 136-7
Lord Howe's Action, i. 67-8
Lothian, Marquis of, i. 249, 251
Louis XVI. of France, i. 274, 290
-- XVIII. of France, ii. 292, 295
Lowther, Sir James, i. 136
Loyal Volunteers of London and Environs, i. 375
Lunardi, Vincent, i. 163-4
Malcolm, J. P., F.S.A., 'Historical Sketch of the Art of
Caricaturing,' i. 75-6; ii. 184
Manners, Lord Charles, ii. 215-16
Melville, Lord (_see_ Henry Dundas), ii. 49-51, 60-1, 75
Memoirs of John Bannister, Comedian, i. 47
Mitchell, the Banker, i. 68, 71, 85
Moira, Lord, embarkation for _La Vendée_, i. 68
Morland, George, the Artist, i. 86-7, 239
-- -- Portrait of, by Rowlandson, i. 86; ii. 229, 330
Moser, Michael, Keeper at Somerset House, i. 53
Mulgrave, Lord, ii. 166
Munro, Doctor, i. 124
National Collections of Caricatures, i. 5; ii. Appendix.
Nelson, Admiral Lord, i. 350; ii. 52, 54, 311-13
'Newcome, Johnny' (pseudo), Military Adventures of, ii. 298
Ney, Marshal, ii. 291, 293
Nicols, John, Editor of the _Gentleman's Magazine_, i. 282
Night Auctions, i. 70
Nixon, Henry, the Facetious, i. 82-3; ii. 26, 66
Nollekens, J., Artist, ii. 16, 19
Norfolk, Duke of, i. 359
North, Lord, i. 105-6, 108, 112-13, 116, 119, 124-5, 142, 220
O'Connor, i. 364
O'Kelly, Colonel, i. 259-60
O'Meara, Dr., 146, 155
Orleans, Duke of, i. 252-3, 248, 274
Pacchierolti, i. 98
Paoli, General, i. 193
Papworth, J. B., ii. 268
Parsons, the Comedian, i. 70
Paul, Emperor of Russia, ii. 28-9
Perdita, i. 159
Perry, James, of the _Morning Chronicle_, i. 159
Petersham, Lord, ii. 225
Petty, Lord Henry, ii. 58-60
Picturesque Beauties of Boswell, i. 193-8
'Pindar, Peter,' Trick played off on, i. 71-2
-- -- i. 97, 143, 187-8, 192, 200, 210, 361; ii. 13, 217
Pitt, Hon. William, i. 115, 117, 119, 121, 123, 221, 226, 230, 231-2,
243-8, 360; ii. 22, 28, 49, 50
Pomfret, Lord, ii. 225
Pope Pius the Sixth, i. 290
-- -- the (Pius VII.), ii. 44, 51, 163, 204
Portland, Duchess of, i. 124
-- Duke of, i. 289
Potemkin, i. 292
Priestly, Dr., i. 272
Prince of Wales, i. 110, 132, 140, 152, 159, 170, 220, 226, 229-31,
243, 246-7, 248, 251, 274, 290, 298, 303
-- Regent, ii. 294
Prussia, King of, i. 292
Pugin's 'Microcosm, or London in Miniature,' ii. 125-8
Pyne, W. H. (_Ephraim Hardcastle_), 'Wine and Walnuts,' i. 55-6
-- -- -- _Somerset House Gazette_, i. 55, 57-8, 69
Queen Charlotte, i. 110, 199-200, 220, 228
Queen of Spain, ii. 93
Quirk (Boxer), ii. 226
'Quiz' (pseudo), 'The Grand Master, or Qui Hi in Hindostan,'
ii. 299-301
Ramberg, Caricaturist, i. 223, 225
'Remarks on a Tour to North and South Wales in the Year 1797,'
ii. 19-21
Richmond, Duke of, i. 183, 231, 243-4, 246-8
Robinson, Jack, i. 117-18
-- Mrs., i. 159
Romney (the Painter), ii. 311
Ron, Baron (Quack Dentist), i. 211
Roscius, the Infant, ii. 46
Rosedale, John (Mariner), exhibitor of the pictures at Greenwich
Hospital, ii. 71
Rowlandson, Thomas (the Caricaturist), i. 239, 360
-- a student at the Royal Academy, i. 53
-- Academy drawings, i. 22-3
-- and Napoleon, i. 27-8
-- as a landscape artist, i. 14
-- as a marine artist, i. 18
-- as a portrait painter, i. 13
-- at Portsmouth, i. 67
-- biographical references to, i. 54-5
-- book illustrations, i. 35-45
-- chronological summary of his caricatures, ii. 389. (_See_ 4)
-- Continental tours, i. 59, 68-9; ii. 330-1
-- contributions to the Royal Academy, i. 50-65
-- collections of drawings by, ii. Appendix
-- Department of Prints and Drawings, British Museum, ii. Appendix
-- South Kensington Museum, ii. Appendix
Rowlandson, Dyce Collection, South Kensington Museum, ii. Appendix
-- -- at Windsor Castle, ii. Appendix
-- early caricatures, i. 22
-- engraved works, i. 23-30
-- family, the, i. 49-51
-- fortune bequeathed the Caricaturist, A, i. 64
-- gambling proclivities, i. 64
-- _Gentleman's Magazine_, the, obituary notice, i. 55, 94-5
-- George Cruikshank on Rowlandson, i. 16-19
-- his first visit to Paris, i. 52
-- his friends, i. 60-2
-- his publishers, i. 6
-- his schoolfellows, i. 51
-- Illustrations to 'The Tour of Dr. Syntax in Search of the
Picturesque,' ii. 176, 247-52, 266-7, 269-70, 367, 373, 375
-- -- 'The World in Miniature,' ii. 312-17, 362
-- -- 'The English Dance of Death,' ii. 317-55
-- imitations of the drawings of contemporary artists, i. 151
-- in France, Flanders, and Holland, i. 58, 68-9; ii. 330-1
-- in Paris, i. 58-9
-- journeys in England, i. 75, 276-9, 360; ii. 6, 19-21, 56, 169, 181,
239-246, 373
-- letter from, 1804, ii. 48
-- lists of public and private collections. Appendix
-- mode of working at Ackermann's 'Repository of Arts,' i. 31
-- on the Westminster Election, i. 22, 121-43, 153-4
-- portraits of the artist, i. 45-8, 360; ii. 228-30
-- portraits exhibited by, i. 59
-- robbed, i. 65-6
-- successive exhibits at the Royal Academy. Figure subjects, i. 59,
64-5
-- views of the Colleges, Oxford and Cambridge, ii. 186
Rowlandson's 'Sketches from Nature,' ii. 373
-- illustrations to 'The Vicar of Wakefield,' ii. 356-9
-- -- 'The Dance of Life,' ii. 359, 362
-- -- 'An Excursion made to Brighthelmstone in the Year 1782,'
i. 276-9
-- illustrations to Smollett's works, i. 320; ii. 56, 181
-- -- 'A Narrative of the War, 1793-5,' i. 328-9
-- -- 'Academy for Grown Horsemen,' i. 353; ii. 102-15, 181
-- -- Fielding's 'Tom Jones,' i. 304; ii. 55-6
-- illustrations to 'The Annals of Horsemanship,' i. 352-3;
ii. 102-15, 181
-- -- 'Les Délices de la Grande-Bretagne,' i. 305
-- -- 'The Comforts of Bath,' i. 333-49
-- Views of London, i. 349
-- 'Sheets of Picturesque Etchings,' i. 280, 289
-- -- 'Cupid's Magic Lantern,' i. 332
-- -- 'Love in Caricature,' i. 353
-- -- 'Cries of London,' i. 354-6
-- -- _Anti-Jacobin Review_, i. 357-60
Rowlandson, 'Loyal Volunteers of London,' i. 375-7
-- 'Hungarian and Highland Broadside Exercise,' i. 374
-- 'Nautical Characters,' i. 362
-- 'Hogarthian Novelist,' ii. 6
-- illustrations to Sterne's 'Sentimental Journey,' ii. 10, 169-74
-- -- 'The Beauties of Sterne,' ii. 10, 169-75
-- -- 'Remarks on a Tour to North and South Wales,' ii. 19-21
-- -- 'Bardic Museum of Primitive British Literature,' ii. 41
-- -- 'A Compendious Treatise on Modern Education,' ii. 41
-- -- 'Views in Cornwall, &c.,' ii. 56, 169, 181, 239-46
-- -- 'The Sorrows of Werter,' i. 190; ii. 57
-- -- Boswell's 'Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides,' i. 193-8
-- -- 'The Poems of "Peter Pindar,"' i. 192, 201-9
-- -- 'The Pleasures of Human Life,' ii. 83, 180, 362
-- -- 'The Microcosm of London, or London in Miniature,' ii. 125-8
-- -- 'The Miseries of Human Life,' ii. 119-24
-- -- 'Chesterfield Travestie,' ii. 115-17, 224
-- -- 'The Art of Ingeniously Tormenting,' ii. 115, 129, 178
-- -- _The Caricature Magazine_, ii. 115-16
-- -- G. A. Stevens' 'Lecture on Heads,' ii. 117-18
-- -- 'Beauties of Tom Brown,' ii. 115, 181
-- -- 'The Clarke Scandal,' ii. 135-62
-- -- _The Poetical Magazine_, ii. 175-78
-- -- 'The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen,' ii. 176
-- -- J. Beresford's 'Antidote to the Miseries of Human Life,' ii. 178
-- -- Butler's 'Hudibras,' ii. 174, 198
-- 'Sketches from Nature,' ii. 169
-- illustrations to 'Annals of Sporting,' by Caleb Quizzem, ii. 178-9
-- -- 'Petticoat Loose: a Fragmentary Poem,' ii. 238
-- -- 'Poetical Beauties of Scarborough,' ii. 268-9
-- -- Engelbach's 'Letters from Italy and the Campagna Felice,'
ii. 267, 301-8
-- -- 'The Military Adventures of Johnny Newcome,' ii. 298-9, 312
-- -- 'Qui Hi, the Grand Master in Hindostan,' ii. 299-301
-- -- Ferdinand Farquhar's 'Relics of a Saint,' ii. 312, 317
-- -- 'New Sentimental Journal, or Travels in the Southern Provinces
of France,' ii. 362, 368-70
-- -- 'The Adventures of Johnny Newcome in the Navy' (Burton), ii. 363
-- -- 'Characteristic Sketches of the Lower Orders,' ii. 366-7
-- -- 'The History of Johnny Quæ Genus,' ii. 371-3
-- -- 'Crimes of the Clergy,' ii. 373
-- -- Chap Books, ii. 363
Rowlandson, 'The Spirit of the Public Journals for the Years
1823-4-5,' ii. 375
-- -- 'The English Spy,' by Bernard Blackmantle, ii. 378-9
-- -- 'The Humourist' (posthumous), ii. 380-6
-- -- 'Grotesque Drawing Book,' ii. 362
Rutland, Duchess of, i. 152
Salisbury (Lord Chamberlain), i. 327
Sandon, Captain, ii. 143
Sheridan, R. B., i. 229, 245, 248, 274, 289, 330; ii. 46, 58-60, 220.
Sherwin, J. K., engraver, i. 45
Showell, Mrs., ii. 66
Siddons, Mrs., ii. 46
Sièyes, Abbé, ii. 47
Simmons, Thomas (_murderer_), ii. 81
Skeffington, Sir Lumley, i. 180
Smith, John Raffaelle, engraver, i. 47
Smith, John Thomas, portrait of Rowlandson, i. 48; ii. 17
'Nollekens and his Times,' ii. 55; ii. 16-19
'Book for a Rainy Day,' i. 70
Smollett's 'Peregrine Pickle,' ii. 56
Miscellaneous Works, ii. 181
_Somerset House Gazette_, i. 54, 88
Sorrows of Werter, ii. 57
Southcott, Joanna (the 'Prophetess'), ii. 287
Spain, Queen of, ii. 93
Spain, Infants of, ii. 94
Stanislaus the Second, King of Poland, i. 290
Sterne, Laurence, ii. 10, 169-75.
Stevens, G. A., 'A Lecture on Heads,' ii. 117
Sydney, Lord, i. 246
Talleyrand, Prince, ii. 45, 187, 280
Tegg's Caricatures, i. 34
Temple, Lord, i. 119, 140, 141
Thelwall (political lecturer), i. 327, 359
Thicknesse, Philip, i. 275-6
Thurlow, Lord, i. 121-2, 140-1, 220, 243-4, 248, 290
Tierney, Mr., i. 359
Topham, Major (_World_ newspaper), at Vauxhall, i. 63
Topham, Captain, i. 158, 165-7, 183, 190
Townshend, Lord John, i. 228
Towzer, Rev. Roger, ii. 287
Trotter, 51, 61
Vauxhall Gardens, Characters at, i. 156-62
Rowlandson at, i. 62-3
-- Singers at, 63
-- Mrs. Weichsel, i. 63
Wales, Prince of (afterwards George IV.), i. 110, 132, 140, 152, 159,
170, 220, 226, 229-31, 243, 246-8, 251, 274, 290, 298, 303
Walpole, Horace, i. 128
Ward (Boxer), ii. 226
Wardle, Colonel, ii. 135-64, 166, 181
Watson, Brook, i. 244
Weichsel, Mrs., i. 158
_Well-bred Man_, The (H. Nixon), i. 83
Wellington, Duke of, ii. 281, 293-5
Wells, Mrs., 166-7
Weltjé, Cook to the Prince of Wales, i. 71, 248, 251
His house at Hammersmith, i. 73-4
'Werter, Sorrows of,' i. 191; ii. 57
Westmacott, Charles Molloy, i. 43
'The Spirit of the Public Journals for the Years 1823-5,'
ii. 375, 378
'The English Spy,' ii. 378-9
Whitbread, ii. 49, 60-1, 136
Whiteford, Caleb, i. 84-5
Wigstead, Henry, Bow Street Magistrate, i. 60, 81-2, 276-9, 360
Wigstead, Henry, 'An Excursion to Brighthelmstone made in the year
1872,' i. 276-9
'Remarks on a Tour to North and South Wales,' i. 360; ii. 19-21
Wilberforce, ii. 50, 136
Wilkes, Alderman, i. 244
Wilson, Richard, Librarian at the Royal Academy, i. 53, 361
'Wine and Walnuts,' i. 54, 83
Woodward, George Moutard, the Caricaturist, i. 80; ii. 115, 128
'Works of James Gillray, the Caricaturist, with the Story of his Life
and Times,' i. 3-4
Wray, Sir Cecil, 111, 122, 124, 127, 133-4, 136-9, 154
Wright, Thomas, 'History of the Grotesque in Literature and Art,' i. 3
-- 'Caricature History of the Three Georges,' i. 3, 76-7
Würtemburg, King of, i. 327
York, Duke of, and Mrs. Clarke, i. 28; ii. 135-64, 178, 181
INDEX OF TITLES, SUBJECTS, PUBLISHED CARICATURES, ILLUSTRATIONS, &c.
Abroad and at Home, ii. 66
Academy, The, for Grown Horsemen, i. 353
Accidents will Happen, ii. 297
Accommodation, or Lodgings to let, at Portsmouth, ii. 89
Accommodation Ladder, ii. 210
Accurate, An, and Impartial Narrative of the War (1793, 1794, 1795,
&c.), i. 328, 329
Ackermann's Transparency on the Victory of Waterloo, ii. 293
Acquittal, The, or Upsetting the Porter Pot (Lord Melville), ii. 60,
61
Actress's Prayer, The, ii. 31
Acute Pain, ii. 2
Admiral Nelson Recruiting with his Brave Tars after the Glorious
Battle of the Nile, i. 350-1
Admiration with Astonishment, ii. 1
Admiring Jew, The, i. 153
Advantage, The, of Shifting the Leg, i. 349, 351
Adventures of Johnny Newcome in the Navy, The, ii. 363-4
Adventures of Joseph Andrews and his Friend Mr. A. Adams, i. 312
Adventures of Peregrine Pickle, ii. 56
Advice to Sportsmen; selected from the notes of Marmaduke Markwell,
ii. 179-80
Aerostation out at Elbows. Vincent Lunardi, i. 163-4
Affectionate Farewell, The, or Kick for Kick, ii. 280
After Dinner, i. 279
After Sweet Meat comes Sour Sauce, or Corporal Casey got into the
Wrong Box, ii. 194
Ague and Fever, i. 226
'Ah! let me, Sire, refuse it, I implore.' ('Peter Pindar'), i. 207
Alehouse Door, ii. 314
All-a-growing, i. 356
Allegoria, ii. 11
All for Love: a Scene at Weymouth, ii. 147
All the Talents, ii. 67-9
Ambassador of Morocco on a Special Mission, The, ii. 146-7
Amorous Turk, An, i. 352
Amputation, i. 107, 320
Amsterdam, i. 331
Amusement for the Recess; or the Devil to Pay amongst the Furniture,
ii. 161-2
Anatomist, The, ii. 202
Anatomy of Melancholy, The, ii. 86
'And now his lifted eyes the ceiling sought.' 'Peter Pindar,' i. 205.
Angelo's Fencing Room, i. 297-300
Anger, i. 18; ii. 2
Anglers (1611), ii. 220, 222
Anglers (1811), ii. 222
Annals of Horsemanship, i. 352
Annals of Sporting by Caleb Quizem, ii. 178-9
Anonymous Letter, ii. 14
Anticipation (Chr. Atkinson, Contractor, in the Pillory), i. 143
Antidote to the Miseries of Human Life, ii. 178
_Anti-Jacobin Review_, i. 357-60, 362
Antiquarian, i. 252
Antiquarians à la Grecque, ii. 51
Anything will do for an Officer, ii. 62
Apollo and Daphne, i. 150
Apollo, Lyra, and Daphne, i. 364
Apostate, The, Jack Robinson, Political Ratcatcher, i. 117-9
Apothecaries' Prayer, The, ii. 31
Artist, An, Travelling in Wales, i. 360-2
Art of Ingeniously Tormenting, The, ii. 115, 129, 178
Art of Scaling, i. 219, 221
Astronomer, An, i. 366
At Dinner, i. 278-9
At Home and Abroad! Abroad and at Home! ii. 66
Attack, The, i. 289
Attempt to Wash the Blackamoor White, The, in the White Hall, City of
Laputa, ii. 309-10
Attention, i. 2; ii. 1
Attorney, ii. 14
Attributes, ii. 10-13
Awkward Squads Studying the Graces, ii. 220
Bachelor's Fare: Bread and Cheese and Kisses, ii. 253-4
Bacon-faced Fellows of Brazen-Nose Broke Loose, ii. 201
Bad News on the Stock Exchange, i. 325
Bad Speculation, A, i. 366
Bait for the Kiddies on the North Road, A, or 'That's your sort, prime
bang up to the mark,' ii. 184, 186
Ballooning Scene, A, i. 323
Banditti, ii. 297
Bank, The, i. 306
Bankrupt Cart, or the Road to Ruin in the East, i. 370
Barber, A, ii. 13
Barberorum, ii. 12
Barber's Shop, A, ii. 223
Bath, Comforts of (in 12 plates), i. 333-49
Bardic Museum of Primitive British Literature, ii. 41
Bardolph Badgered, or the Portland Hunt, i. 289-90
Bartholomew Fair, ii. 92
Bassoon, The, with a French Horn accompaniment, ii. 206, 208
Bath Races, ii. 194
Battleorum, ii. 12
Bay of Biscay, i. 262, 368
Beast, The, as described in Revelation, chap. xiii. Resembling
Napoleon Buonaparte, ii. 95
Beauties, i. 317-18
'Beauties of Sterne,' ii. 10, 169-75
'Beauties of Tom Brown,' ii. 115-181
Bed-warmer, A, i. 167
Beef à la Mode, ii. 3
Behaviour at Table (four subjects), ii. 117-18
Bel and the Dragon, ii. 216
Belle Limonadière au Café des Mille Colonnes, Palais Royal, Paris,
ii. 272, 274
Benevolence, i. 316-17
'Benevolent Epistle to Sylvanus Urban' (_vide_), i. 282
Billiards, ii. 43
Billingsgatina, ii. 11
Billingsgate, i. 150
Billingsgate at Bayonne, or the Imperial Dinner, ii. 93-4
Bills of Exchange, ii. 6
Bill of Fare for Bond Street Epicures, A, ii. 90, 166-7
Bill of Wright's, The, or the Patriot Alarmed, ii. 162
Billy Lackbeard and Charley Blackbeard Playing at Football, i. 118
Bishop and his Clarke, The, or a Peep into Paradise, ii. 148
Bitter Fare, or Sweeps Regaling, ii. 233
Black, Brown, and Fair, ii. 71
Blackleg Detected Secreting Cards, &c., ii. 84
Blacksmith's Shop, i. 212
Black and White, i. 66
Bloody Boney, the Carcase Butcher, left off Trade, retiring to
Scarecrow Island, ii. 279
Blucher the Brave Extracting the Groan of Abdication from the Corsican
Bloodhound, ii. 278
Blue and Buff Loyalty, i. 233
Boarding and Finishing School, A, ii. 54-5
Bob Derry of Newmarket, i. 105-6
Boney's Broken Bridge, ii. 159
Boney the Second, or the Little Baboon Created to Devour French
Monkeys, ii. 203-4
Boney's Trial, Sentence, and Dying Speech, or Europe's Injuries
Avenged, ii. 294
Boney Turned Moralist: 'What I was, what I am, what I ought to be,'
ii. 282
_Bonne Bouche, Une_, i. 371
Bonnet Shop, A, ii. 187
Bookbinder's Wife, The, i. 371
Bookseller and Author, i. 148
Boot-Polishing, ii. 33
Borders for Halls, i. 364
Borders for Rooms and Screens, slips, i. 364
Boroughmongers Strangled in the Tower, The, ii. 182-4
Bostonian Electors of Lancashire, ii. 310
Boswell, J., the Elder. Twenty caricatures by T. R. in illustration of
B.'s 'Journal of a Tour in the Hebrides,' i. 193-8
Botheration. Dedicated to the Gentlemen of the Bar, i. 173, 317
Boxes! The, ii. 167
Box-Lobby Hero, The; the Branded Bully, or the Ass Stripped of the
Lion's Skin, i. 190-1
Box-Lobby Loungers, i. 180-1
Boxing Match for 800 guineas between Dutch Sam and Medley, fought
May 31, 1810, on Moulsey Hurst, near Hampton, ii. 189-90
Bozzy and Piozzi, i. 97
Brace of Blackguards, ii. 229-30
Brace of Public Guardians, A, i. 328
Brain-Sucker, The, or the Miseries of Authorship, i. 212
Breaking Cover, ii. 90
Breaking up of the Blue Stocking Club, ii. 289
Brewers' Drays, i. 183
Brewer's Dray; Country Inn, i. 213
Brilliants, The, ii. 22-6
Briskly Starting to pick up a Lady's Fan, &c., ii. 84-5
Britannia's Protection, or Loyalty Triumphant, ii. 6
Britannia Roused, or the Coalition Monsters Destroyed, i. 117
Britannia's Support, or the Conspirators Defeated, i. 247
British Sailor, Frenchman, Spaniard, Dutchman, ii. 119
Broad Grins, or a Black Joke, ii. 230
Brothers of the Whip, i. 103
Brown, Tom, Beauties of, ii. 115, 181
Bull and Mouth, The, ii. 168
Bullock's Museum, ii. 309
Burning Shame, The, ii. 152
Burning the Books. Memoirs of Mrs. Clarke, ii. 158
Business and Pleasure, ii. 265
Butcher, A, 269-70
Butler, S. 'Hudibras,' ii. 198
Butterfly Catcher and the Bed of Tulips, ii. 62
Butterfly Hunting, ii. 61
Buy a Trap--a Rat-trap, i. 354-5
Buy my Fat Goose, i. 354
Buy my Moss Roses, or Dainty Sweet Briar, ii. 34
Cabriolet, A, i. 150
Cake in Danger, A, ii. 58
Calf's Pluck, A, ii. 80
Cambridge, Emmanuel College Garden, ii. 184
-- Inside View of the Public Library, ii. 184
Captain's Account Current of Charge and Discharge, The, ii. 64
Captain Bowling Introduced to Narcissa. 'Hogarthian Novelist,' ii. 6
Captain Epilogue (Capt. Topham) to the Wells (Mrs. Wells), i. 165, 183
Careless Attention, i. 256
Caricature Magazine, The, or Hudibrastic Mirror, ii. 115-16
Caricature Medallions for Screens, ii. 6
Carter and the Gipsies, The, ii. 293
Cart Race, A, i. 260
Case is Altered, The, i. 132-3
Cash, ii. 6
Cat in Pattens, A, ii. 237-8
Catamaran, A, or an Old Maid's Nursery, ii. 42
Catching an Elephant, ii. 226
Cattle not Insurable, ii. 167
Chairmen's Terror, The, i. 308
Chamber of Genius, The, ii. 227
Champion of Oakhampton Attacking the Hydra of Gloucester Place, The,
ii. 153-4
Champion of the People, The, i. 120
Chance-Seller of the Exchequer putting an Extinguisher on Lotteries,
The, ii. 374-5
Chaos is come again, i. 283, 287-8
Characteristic Sketches of the Lower Orders (54 coloured plates),
ii. 366-7
Charity Covereth a Multitude of Sins, i. 104-5
Charm, A, for a Democracy, _Anti-Jacobin_, i. 357-60
Chelsea Parade, or a Croaking Member Surveying the Inside and Outside
of Mrs. Clarke's Premises, ii. 149
Chelsea Reach, i. 262
Chemical Lectures (Sir H. Davy), ii. 366
Chesterfield Burlesqued, ii. 224
Chesterfield Travestie, or School for Modern Manners, ii. 115, 117
Christening, A, i. 282
Christmas Gambols, ii. 235
Chronological Summary of Rowlandson's Caricatures, ii. 389. (_See_
pages 387-408.)
Cits Airing themselves on Sunday, i. 372
City Courtship, i. 171
City Fowlers--mark, i. 371
City Hunt, The, i. 371
Civilian, A, i. 366
Civility, i. 222
Clarke's, Mrs., Farewell to her Audience, ii. 156
Clarke's, Mrs., Last Effort, ii. 155
-- Levée, ii. 146
Clarke Scandal, The, ii. 135-62
Clearing a Wreck on the North Coast of Cornwall, ii. 56
Coalition Wedding, i. 112
Coast Scene, A: Rising Gale, i. 221
Coat of Arms, A. Dedicated to the newly-created Earl of Lonsdale,
i. 136
Cobbler's Cure for a Scolding Wife, The, ii. 267-8
Cracking a Joke, ii. 267
Cockney Hunt, ii. 208, 295
Cold Broth and Calamity, i. 293, 313-14
Cole, Mother, i. 125
Collar'd Pork, ii. 6
Collections of Drawings by Rowlandson, ii. Appendix
College Pranks, or Crabbed Fellows Taught to Caper on the Slack Rope,
ii. 199
College Scene, A, or a Fruitless Attempt on the Purse of Old Square
Toes, i. 216-19
Colonel Topham endeavouring with his Squirt to Extinguish the Genius
of Holman, i. 165
Comedy in the Country: Tragedy in London, ii. 74
Comedy Spectators, i. 219
Comforts, The, of Bath (12 plates), i. 333-49
Comforts of the City, i. 366
Comfort in the Gout, i. 156-7; ii. 37
Comforts of High Living, i. 324
Comforts of Matrimony: a Good Toast, ii. 134
Comfortable Nap in a Post Chaise, A, i. 239
Compassion, 14; ii. 2
Compendious Treatise of Modern Education, ii. 41-2
Coming in at the Death of the Corsican Fox: Scene the Last, ii. 278-9
Connoisseurs, i. 364, 366
Consequence, The, of not Shifting the Leg, i. 349-50
Consultation, The, or Last Hope, ii. 84
Contrast, The, 1792. Which is Best (British Liberty, French do.)?
i. 317-18
Conversazione, ii. 214
Convocation, i. 312
Cook's Prayer, The, ii. 33
'Cooks, scullions, hear me, every mother's son!' 'Peter Pindar,'
i. 204.
Copperplate Printers at Work, i. 167
Cornwall, Series of Views in, ii. 239-46
Corporal in Good Quarters, The, ii. 39-40
Corsican and his Bloodhounds at the Window of the Tuileries looking
over Paris, The, ii. 292-3
Corsican Munchausen Humming the Lads of Paris, The, ii. 261
Corsican Nurse Soothing the Infants of Spain, The, ii. 94
Corsican Spider in his Web, The, ii. 94
Corsican Tiger at Bay, The, ii. 93
Corsican Toad under a Harrow, The, ii. 259
Council of War Interrupted, A ('Narrative of the War'), i. 320
Counsellor, A, ii. 22-3
Counsellor and Client, i. 145
Country Cart Horses, i. 150
Country Characters: a series, ii. 13
Country Club, ii. 58, 214
Country Inn, i. 213
Country Simplicity, i. 199
Couple of Antiquities, A, ii. 83
Court Canvass of Madame Blubber, i. 130
Courtship in High Life, i. 170
Courtship in Low Life, i. 170
Covent Garden Nightmare, The, i. 129
Covent Garden Theatre, i. 192
Cribbage Players, i. 222
Cries of London, i. 354; ii. 198
Crimes of the Clergy, ii. 373
Crimping a Quaker, ii. 276-7
Crow, The, and the Pigeon, i. 368
Cully pillaged, A, i. 167
Cumberland, Duke of, ii. 225
Cupid's Magic Lantern, i. 332
Curtain Lecture, A, ii. 16
Cure for Lying and a bad Memory, A, ii. 75, 77
Damp Sheets, i. 293-5
Dance of Death, ii. 317, 355
Dance of Life, The (with 28 coloured engravings by T. Rowlandson),
ii. 359-61
Daniel Lambert, the Wonderful Great Pumpkin of Little Britain,
ii. 59-60
Dasher, A, or the Road to Ruin in the West, i. 371
Days of Prosperity in Gloucester Place, or a Kept Mistress in High
Feather, ii. 147
Deadly-Lively, ii. 298
Death and Buonaparte, ii. 272
Death of Madame République, The, ii. 47
Deer Hunting: a landscape scene, i. 222
Defeat of the High and Mighty Balissimo and his Cecilian Forces on the
Plains of St. Martin's, i. 153
Defrauding the Customs, or Shipping Goods not fairly entered,
ii. 289-90
Delicate Finish to a French (Corsican) Usurper, A, ii. 281
Délices de la Grande Bretagne, Les, i. 305
Delicate Investigation, The, ii. 135-62
Delineations of Nautical Characters, i. 362
Departure, The, i. 140
Departure from the Coast, or the End of the Farce of Invasion, ii. 52
Departure of La Fleur, The, ii. 217
Description of a Boxing Match, June 9, 1806, ii. 84
Description of a Boxing Match for 100 guineas a side between Ward and
Quirk, ii. 226
Design for a Monument to be Erected in Commemoration of the Great,
Glorious, and Never-to-be-Forgotten Grand Expedition, so ably
Planned and Executed in the year 1809. (Gen. Chatham's Expedition.)
ii. 164
Desire (No. 1), ii. 1
Desire (No. 2), ii. 1-2
Despair, i. 20; ii. 2-3
Despatch, or Jack Preparing for Sea, ii. 298
Detection, The, i. 328
Devil's Darling, The, ii. 278
Devonshire, The, or Most Approved Method of Securing Votes, i. 126
Devotee, A, i. 366
Diana in the Straw, or a Treat for Quornites, ii. 44
Die Reise des Doktor Syntax, um das Malerische aufzusuchen. Ein
Gedicht frei aus dem Englischen ins Deutsche übertragen, ii. 373
Dinner, The, i. 223
Dinners Dressed in the Neatest Manner, ii. 215
Dinner Hunt, The, i. 333
Dinner Spoiled, The, ii. 14
Directions to Footmen, ii. 82
Disappointed Epicures, ii. 131
Discovery, The, i. 352; ii. 84, 130
Dissolution of Partnership, or the Industrious Mrs. Clarke Winding up
her Accounts, ii. 145-6
Distillers Looking into their own Business, ii. 214
Distress, i. 372-4
Diver, A, ii. 43
Diving Machine on a New Construction, A, ii. 60
Doctor, ii. 14
Doctor Botherum, the Mountebank, ii. 3-5
Doctor Convex and Lady Concave, ii. 41
Doctors Differ, i. 170
Doctor Drainbarrel Conveyed Home in a Wheelbarrow in order to take
his Trial for Neglect of Family Duty, ii. 194-5
Doctor Gallipot placing his Fortune at the Feet of his Mistress,
ii. 91, 193
Doctor O'Meara's Return to his Family after Preaching before Royalty,
ii. 155
Doctor Syntax in Search of the Picturesque (with 31 illustrations by
T. Rowlandson), ii. 176, 247-52
Doctor Syntax in the middle of a smoking hot political squabble wishes
to wet his whistle, ii. 266-7
Dog Days, The, ii. 228
Dog Fight, A, ii. 206-7
Dog and the Devil, The, ii. 33
Doleful Disaster, A; or Miss Tubby Tatarmin's Wig Caught Fire, ii. 255
Domestic Shaving, i. 258
Doncaster Fair, or the Industrious Yorkshire Bites, ii. 368
Don Luigi's Ball, ii. 305
Don Quichotte Romantique, Le, ou Voyage du Docteur Syntaxe à la
Recherche du Pittoresque et du Romantique, ii. 368
Don't he Deserve it? i. 261
Double Disaster, or New Cure for Love, The, ii. 77
Double Humbug, The, or the Devil's Imp Praying for Peace, ii. 271
Do you want any Brick-dust? i. 354
Dramatic Demireps at their Morning Rehearsal, ii. 191
Draught Horse, The, ii. 214
Dray Horses, Draymen, and Maltsters, i. 150
Dressing for a Birthday (Ladies), i. 272
Dressing for a Masquerade (Cyprians), i. 272
Dressing Room at Brighton, A, i. 280
Dropsy Courting Consumption, ii. 193
Drum-Major of Sedition, The, i. 121
Ducking a Scold, ii. 43
Ducking Stool, The, ii. 229
Duenna and Little Isaac, The, i. 282
Dull Husband, A, i. 267
Dutch Academy, A, i. 306-7
Dutch Merchants, sketched at Amsterdam, i. 331
Dutch Nightmare, or the Fraternal Hug Returned with a Dutch Squeeze,
ii. 260-1
Dying Patient, The, or Doctor's Last Fee, i. 183
Early, An, Lesson in Marching, i. 325
Easter Hunt--Clearing a Fence, ii. 78
Easterly Winds, or Scudding under Bare Poles, ii. 186
Easter Monday, or the Cockney Hunt, ii. 208, 295
Eating House, An, ii. 296
Edward the Black Prince Receiving Homage, i. 249
Effects of Harmony, i. 326
Effects of the Ninth Day's Express from Covent Garden just Arrived at
Cheltenham, i. 229
Election, the Westminster, i. 128-43
Elegance, ii. 33
Embarking from Brighthelmstone to Dieppe, i. 221
Emmanuel College, Cambridge. A Nobleman presenting a collection of
Busts, ii. 184
Emmanuel College Garden, Cambridge, ii. 184
Engelbach, 'Naples and the Campagna Felice,' ii. 257, 301-8
English Address, The, i. 231
English Barracks, i. 294
English Curiosity, or the Foreigner Stared out of Countenance,
i. 145, 322-3
English Dance of Death, ii. 317-55
English Exhibitions in Paris, or French People Astonished at our
Improvement in the Breed of Fat Cattle, ii. 237
Englishman in Paris, ii. 78-9
English Manner and French Prudence, or French Dragoons brought to a
Check by a Belvoir Leap. A Scene after Nature near Ciudad Rodrigo,
ii. 215-16
English Review, i. 10
English Spy, ii. 378-9
English Travelling, or the First Stage from Dover, i. 179, 312
Enraged Son of Mars and the Timid Tonson, The, ii. 205
Enraged Vicar, ii. 66-7
E O, or the Fashionable Vowels, i. 101-2
Epicure, An, i. 238-9; ii. 22
Epicure's Prayer, The, ii. 30
Epicurium, ii. 11.
Epilogue, Captain (Topham), i. 158, 165-7, 183, 190
Essay on the Sublime and Beautiful, An, i. 165
Etching, An, after Raphael Urbina, i. 364
Evening, i. 280-1
Evening. A Drive on the Sands, ii. 6
Evening, or the Man of Feeling, ii. 214
Evergreen, An, ii. 58
Every Man has his Hobby-Horse, i. 135
Exciseman, ii. 14
Excursion, An, to Brighthelmstone made in the year 1782 by Henry
Wigstead and Thomas Rowlandson, i. 276-9
Execution of two Celebrated Enemies of Old England and their Dying
Speeches, ii. 260
Exhibition at Bullock's Museum of Buonaparte's Carriage, taken at
Waterloo, ii. 309
Exhibition 'Stare Case,' Somerset House, ii. 217-8
Expedition of Humphrey Clinker, i. 320
Experiments at Dover, or Master Charley's Magic Lantern, ii. 61
Extraordinary Scene on the Road from London to Portsmouth, An, i. 349
Fall of Achilles, The, i. 152
Fall of Dagon, The, or Rare News for Leadenhall Street, i. 112
Falstaff and his Followers Vindicating the Property Tax, ii. 58
Family Picture ('Vicar of Wakefield'), ii. 358
Family Piece, A, ii. 222
Famous Coalheaver, The, Black Charley Looking into the Mouth of the
Wonderful Coal Pit, ii. 49
Fancy, ii. 33
Fancyana, ii. 10
Fashion, ii. 33
Fashions of the Day, or 1784, i. 147
Fashionable Suit, A, ii. 15
Fast Day, ii. 226
Female Gambler's Prayer, The, ii. 31
Female Intrepidity, or the Heroic Maiden, ii. 365
Female Politicians, ii. 289
Fencing Match, A, i. 239
Feyge Dam, with part of the Fish Market, at Amsterdam, i. 330-1
Fielding's 'Tom Jones,' i. 304
Fifth Clause, The, or Effect of Example, ii. 50
Figure Subjects for Landscapes, Groups, and Views, ii. 312
Filial Affection, or a Trip to Gretna Green, i. 171
Filial Piety (P. W. and George III.), i. 229
_Fille mal Gardé_, or Jack in the Box, ii. 36, 37
Finishing School, A, ii. 54, 55
First Stage from Calais, i. 179, 312
First Stage from Dover, i. 179, 312
Fisherman's Family, The, i. 215, 217
Flags of Truth and Lies, ii. 43
Flight of Buonaparte from Hell Bay, The, ii. 291
Flora, ii. 12
Flower of the City, The, ii. 157
Flowers for your Garden, i. 356
Flying Waggon, ii. 315
Foote's 'Minor,' i. 125
Footman, ii. 14
Foreigner, The, Stared out of Countenance, i. 145, 322-3
Forget and Forgive, or Honest Jack Shaking Hands with an old
Acquaintance, i. 368
For the Benefit of the Champion, i. 142
Fort, The, ii. 298
Four in Hand, A, i. 300
Four o'clock in the Country, i. 281-2
Four o'clock in Town, i. 280-1
Four Seasons of Love, The: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, ii. 286
Fox and the Grapes, The, ii. 97
Fox-Hunters Relaxing, i. 280
Fox-Hunting, i. 222
Free and Easy, i. 59
French Barracks, i. 294
French Dentist Showing a Specimen of his Artificial Teeth and False
Palates, A, ii. 201
French Family, A; (_see_ An Italian Family), i. 58, 170, 272-3
French Inn, ii. 214
French Ordinary, A, ii. 1, 44, 45
French Review, i. 11
French Travelling, or the First Stage from Calais, i. 179, 312
Fresh Breeze, A, i. 258-9.
Freshwater Salute, A, i. 371
Friendly Accommodation, ii. 35
Friends and Foes, up he Goes: Sending the Corsican Munchausen to St.
Cloud, ii. 262-3
Frog-Hunting, i. 269-70
From the Desk to the Throne. A New Quick Step, by Joseph Buonaparte.
The Bass by Messrs. Nappy and Talley, ii. 95
Frontispiece to Tegg's 'Complete Collection of Caricatures relative to
Mrs. Clarke, and the Circumstances arising from the Investigation of
the Conduct of H.R.H. the Duke of York before the House of Commons,'
1809, ii. 145
Front View of Christ Church, Oxford, ii. 184-5
Funking the Corsican, ii. 262
Funeralorum, ii. 11
Fuseli's 'Nightmare' (parody on), i. 129
Gambado. An Academy for Grown Horsemen, ii. 102-15, 181
Gambling Tables, i. 101-3
Game, A, at Put in a Country Alehouse, i. 368
Gamester going to Bed, The, ii. 208, 210
Gardiner, Sir Alan, 327
General Chatham's marvellous Return from his Expedition of Fireworks,
ii. 164-5
General Discharge, A, or the Darling Angel's Finishing Stroke, ii. 153
German Waltz, The (_see_ 'The Sorrows of Werter'), ii. 57
Get Money, &c., ii. 90
Gig-hauling, or Gentlemanly Amusement for the Nineteenth Century,
ii. 34
Gig-Shop, The, or Kicking up a Breeze at Nell Hamilton's Hop,
ii. 199-200
Gilpin's Return to London, i. 174
Giving up the Ghost, or one too many, ii. 267
'Ghost of my Departed Husband, whither art thou gone?' ii. 267
Ghost, A, in the Wine-Cellar, ii. 6
Glee, A: 'How shall we Mortals pass our Hours? In Love, in War, in
Drinking?' ii. 168
Glorious Victory, The, obtained over the French Fleet off the Nile,
August 1, 1798, by the gallant Admiral Lord Nelson of the Nile,
i. 350
Glow-Worms, ii. 55, 231
Glutton, The, ii. 265
'Going! Going!' i. 164; ii. 267
Going to Ride St. George. A Pantomime lately performed at Kensington
before their Majesties, i. 226
Going in State to the House of Peers, or a Piece of English
Magnificence, i. 247
Golden Apple, The, or the Modern Paris, i. 152
Gone, i. 164
Good Night, i. 370
Good Speculation, A, i. 366
Grand Battle, The, between the famous English Cock and Russian Hen,
i. 290-1
Grand Master, The, or Adventures of Qui Hi in Hindostan, by Quiz,
ii. 299-301
Grand Monarque Discovered, or the Royal Fugitives Turning Tail,
ii. 393
Grandpapa, The, i. 313, 320
Grand Procession to St. Paul's, The, on St. George's Day, 1789, i. 252
Gratification of the Senses _à la mode Française_ (Seeing, Tasting,
Hearing, Smelling, Feeling), ii. 10
Great Cry and Little Wool, i. 109
Green Dragon, The, ii. 84
Grinning Match, i. 372
Grog on Board, i. 168, 253-4, 323
Grotesque Border for Rooms and Halls, ii. 10
Grotesque Drawing Book (40 illustrations), ii. 362
Gull, The, and the Rook, i. 368
Hackney Assembly. 'The Graces, the Graces, remember the Graces!'
ii. 235-6
Halt at a Cottage Door, i. 349
Hanoverian Horse and the British Lion, The, i. 123
Hard Passage, A, or Boney Playing Bass on the Continent, ii. 98
Harmonic Society, The, ii. 195, 217
Harmony: Effects of Harmony, i. 174-5, 326
Hatred or Jealousy, ii. 1
Hawks and a Pigeon, i. 47
Haymakers, i. 214
Hazardorum, ii. 112
Head of the Family in Good Humour, The, ii. 130
Head Runner of Runaways from Leipzic Fair, ii. 276-7
Hearts for the Year 1800, ii. 6
Hell Broke Loose; or the Devil to Pay among the Darling Angels,
ii. 160
Hell Hounds Rallying round the Idol of France, ii. 291
'Here's your Potatoes, four full pound for Two-pence,' ii. 34
He won't be a Soldier, i. 349
Higglers' Carts, i. 150
High Bailiff for Westminster, The, i. 140, 153-4
High Fun for John Bull, or the Republicans, i. 352
High-Mettled Racer, The, i. 261
Highness the Protector, His, i. 114
Hindoo Incantations--A View in Elephanta, ii. 300
Hiring a Servant, ii. 220
Historian Animating the Mind of a Young Painter, The, i. 150
History of Johnny Quæ Genus, The. The Little Foundling of the late
Doctor Syntax, ii. 371-3
'History of Tom Jones, a Foundling,' ii. 55-6
Hit at Backgammon, A, ii. 193
Hocus Pocus, or Searching for the Philosopher's Stone, ii. 5
Hodge's Explanation of a Hundred Magistrates, ii. 290
Holy Friar, The, ii. 72-3
Hopes of the Family, or Miss Marrowfat at Home for the Holidays,
ii. 167, 267
Horror, i. 16; ii. 2
Horse Accomplishments, i. 366
Hospital for Lunatics, i. 247
Hot Cross Buns--Two a Penny--Buns, i. 356
Hot Goose, Cabbage, and Cucumbers, ii. 374
Housebreakers, i. 233-4, 293
How to Escape Losing, i. 297
How to Escape Winning, i. 297
How to Pluck a Goose, ii. 36
How to Vault into the Saddle, or a new-invented Patent Crane for the
Accommodation of Rheumatic Rectors, ii. 265
'Hudibras.' 5 Illus. by Wm. Hogarth, ii. 174
Human Life, Miseries of, ii. 71, 119-24, 166
Humbugging, or Raising the Devil, ii. 5
_Humourist, The_, with 50 engravings, &c., after designs by the late
Thomas Rowlandson, ii. 380-6
Humours of Houndsditch, or Mrs. Shevi in a Longing Condition,
ii. 254-5
Humours of St. Giles's, The, i. 223, 225
Hungarian and Highland Broadsword Exercise, i. 374
Hunting Series, i. 223
Huntsman Rising, The, ii. 208-9
Hunt the Slipper: Picnic Revels, ii. 41
Hypochondriac, The, i. 314, 316
Illustrations to Poems of Peter Pindar (Dr. Wolcot), i. 192
Imitations of Modern Drawings, i. 151
Imperial Coronation, The, ii. 44-6
Imperial Stride, An, i. 290
In at the Death, i. 223
Incurable, The: 'My Lodging is on the Cold Ground,' i. 124
Infant Hercules, The, i. 115
Inn Yard on Fire, i. 300-2
Inside View of the Public Library, Cambridge, ii. 184
Interior of a Clockmaker's Shop, i. 109
Interior of Simon Ward, _alias_ St. Brewer's Church, Cornwall, ii. 63.
Interruption, or Inconveniences of a Lodging House, i. 256
Introduction, i. 162
Intrusion on Study, or the Painter Disturbed, i. 169, ii. 38.
Irish Ambassadors Extraordinary, i. 249
Do. do. do. Return, or Bulls without Horns, i. 251
Irish Ambassadors Extraordinary, The, a Galantee Show, i. 248-9
Irish Baronet, The, and his Nurse, i. 368
Irish Giant, The, i. 154-5
Irish Howl, An, _Anti-Jacobin Review_, i. 362-3
Irish Jaunting Car, ii. 282
'I Smell a Rat,' or a Rogue in Grain, ii. 73
'Is this your Louse?' ('Peter Pindar'), i. 201
Italian Affectation. Real Characters, i. 98
Italian Family, An. (_See_ A French Family), i. 58, 170, 314-5
Italian Picture-Dealers Humbugging Milord Anglaise, ii. 228-30
Jack Tar Admiring the Fair Sex, ii. 297
Jew Broker, A, ii. 22, 24
Jews at Luncheon, i. 324-5
Jockey Club, The, or Newmarket Meeting, ii. 214
Jockey's Prayer, The, ii. 32
Jockeyship, i. 170; ii. 39
Johanna Southcott, the Prophetess, Excommunicating the Bishops,
ii. 217
John Bull and the Genius of Corruption, ii. 159
John Bull at the Italian Opera, ii. 52-3, 212
John Bull Listening to the Quarrels of State Affairs, ii. 43
John Bull making Observations on the Comet, ii. 83
John Bull Arming the Spaniards, ii. 101
John Bull's Turnpike Gate, ii. 50-1
Joint Stock Street, ii. 168
Journal of Sentimental Travels in the Southern Provinces of France,
ii. 368-70
Journeyman Tailor, A, ii. 296
Jovial Crew, The, i. 192
Joy with Tranquillity, i. 81-2
Junot Disgorging his Booty, ii. 101
Justice, A, ii. 13
Kick-up at a Hazard Table, A, i. 273-4
Kicking up a Breeze, or Barrow Women Basting a Beadle, ii. 274
Killing with Kindness, ii. 15
King Joe and Co. making the most of their time previous to quitting
Madrid, ii. 99
King Joe's Retreat from Madrid, ii. 96
King Joe on his Spanish Donkey, ii. 96
King's Place, or a View of Mr. Fox's Best Friends, i. 132
Kissing for Love, or Captain Careless Shot Flying, ii. 186
Kitchen-Stuff, ii. 193
Kitty Careless in Quod, or Waiting for Jew Bail, ii. 202-3
La Fleur and the Dead Ass, ii. 173
Lady Hamilton at Home, or a Neapolitan Ambassador, ii. 310-12
Lady in Limbo, A, or Jew Bail Rejected, ii. 37
Lamentable Case of a Juryman, A, ii. 290
Landing Place, A, ii. 315
Land Stores, ii. 226
Last Drop, The, ii. 203
Last Dying Speech and Confession, i. 354
Last Gasp, The, or Toadstools Mistaken for Mushrooms, ii. 254
Last Jig, The, or Adieu to Old England, ii. 363
Last Shift, The, ii. 90
Late Hours, ii. 14
Laughter, ii. 2
Launching a Frigate, ii. 130-1
Lawyerorum, ii. 12, 13
Learned Scotchman, The, or Magistrate's Mistake, ii. 236
Lecture on Heads, by Geo. Alex. Stevens, ii. 117-18
Legerdemain, i. 369
'Letters from Naples and the Campagna Felice,' ii. 267, 301-8
Letter-Writer, The, ii. 303
Libel Hunters on the Look-out, or Daily Examiners of the Liberty of
the Press, ii. 182
Liberty and Fame Introducing Female Patriotism (Duchess of Devonshire)
to Britannia, i. 141
Life and Death of the Race Horse, ii. 211-12
Light Horse Volunteers of London and Westminster, Reviewed by His
Majesty on Wimbledon Common, July 5, 1798, i. 349
Light Infantry Volunteers on a March, ii. 44
Light Summer Hat and Fashionable Walking Stick, ii. 33
Light Volunteers on a March, ii. 44
'Light, your Honour. Coach unhired,' ii. 34
Little Bigger, A, i. 293
Little Tighter, A, i. 292-3
London in Miniature, ii. 125, 128
London Outrider, or Brother Saddlebag, ii. 14
Long Pull, a Strong Pull, and a Pull All together, A, ii. 258-9
London Refinement, i. 199
Long Sermons and Long Stories are apt to lull the Senses, i. 107
Looking at the Comet till you get a Crick in the Neck, ii. 210-11
Loose Principles, i. 245
Loose Thoughts, i. 371
Lords of the Bedchamber, i. 128
Loss of Eden and Eden Lost, The. Gen. Arnold and Eden Lord Auckland,
i. 173
Lottery Office Keeper's Prayer, The, ii. 33
Lousiad, The, i. 200
Love, i. 328
Love in Caricature, i. 353
Love and Dust, i. 234-7; ii. 189
Love in the East, i. 218, 220
Loves of the Fox and the Badger, or the Coalition Wedding, i. 112
Love and Learning, or the Oxford Scholar, i. 182
Love Laughs at Locksmiths, ii. 209
Loyal, The, Volunteers of London, i. 375-7
Lump of Impertinence, A, ii. 166
Lump of Innocence, A, ii. 166
Lunardi, Vincent, i. 163-4
Lust and Avarice, i. 236-7
Luxury and Desire, i. 237
Luxury and Misery, i. 106, 185, 325
Lying-in Visit, A, i. 307; ii. 313
Macassar Oil, or an Oily Puff for Soft Heads, ii. 284
Madame Blubber, i. 127, 129-30, 134
Madame Blubber on her Canvass, i. 129
Madame Blubber's Last Shift, or the Aerostatic Dilly, i. 134
Mad Dog in a Coffee House, A, ii. 131-2
Mad Dog in a Dining Room, A, ii. 131, 133
Mahomedan Paradise, A, i. 352
Maid of all Work's Prayer, The, ii. 30
Maiden Aunt Smelling Fire, A, ii. 58
Maiden Speech, The, i. 165
Maiden's Prayer, The, ii. 30
Major Topham (of the _World_) and the rising genius of Holman, i. 320
Man of Fashion's Journal, A, ii. 35
Man of Feeling, The, ii. 83, 216
Manager (Garrick) and Spouter, ii. 390
Manager's Last Kick, The, or a New Way to Pay Old Debts, ii. 219
Mansion House Monitor (_Poetical Magazine_), ii. 176
March to the Camp, i. 370
Margate, ii. 6
Masquerading, ii. 209-11
Master Billy's Procession to Grocers' Hall, i. 119
Master of the Ceremonies, A, Introducing a Partner, i. 326
Matrimonial Comforts (a series), ii. 14
Measuring Substitutes for the Army of Reserve, ii. 295-6
Medical Despatch, or Doctor Double-Dose Killing two Birds with one
Stone, ii. 194
Meet, The: Hunting Morning, i. 223-4
Melopoyn Haranguing the Prisoners in the Fleet. 'Hogarthian Novelist,'
ii. 6
-- (a distressed poet) and the Manager, i. 320
Melpomene in the Dumps, ii. 46-7
Mercury and his Advocates Defeated, or Vegetable Intrenchment, i. 267
Microcosm of London, or London in Miniature, ii. 125-8
Midwife going to a Labour, A, ii. 199
Military Adventures of Johnny Newcome, ii. 312
Militia Meeting, A, i. 372
Milksop, A, ii. 216
Miller's Waggon, i. 150
Minister's Ass, The, i. 143
Miseries of Bathing, ii. 83
Miseries of the Country, ii. 78
-- of Human Life (50 illustrations), ii. 71, 119-24, 166
-- of London: 'Going out to Dinner,' &c., ii. 64-5
-- -- or a Surly Hackney Coachman, ii. 284
-- -- 'Watermen,' ii. 231-2
-- Personal: 'After Dinner, when the Ladies Retire,' ii. 75-6
-- of Travelling--A Hailstorm, ii. 217
-- -- an Overloaded Coach, ii. 66
Miser's Prayer, The, ii. 30
Misery, i. 185, 325
Mistake, The, ii. 162
-- at Newmarket, or Sport and Piety, A, ii. 78
Mistress Bundle in a Rage, or too late for the Stage, ii. 130
Mock Auction, or Boney Selling Stolen Goods, ii. 264
Mock Phoenix, The, or a Vain Attempt to Rise again, ii. 262
Mock Turtle, i. 152; ii. 237
Modern Antiques, ii. 223
Modern Babel, or Giants Crushed by a Weight of Evidence, ii. 157-8
Modern Education, ii. 41, 47
Modern Egbert, The, or the King of Kings, i. 243
Modern Hercules Clearing the Augean Stables, The, ii. 49
Modish, i. 220
Monastic Fare, ii. 71-2
Money-Lenders, i. 148
-- Scrivener, A, ii. 22
Monkey Merchant, A, ii. 63
Monstrous Craws, or a New-Discovered Animal, ii. 35
More of the Clarke, or Fresh Accusations, ii. 161
-- Miseries, or the Bottom of Mr. Figg's Old Whiskey Broke through,
ii. 83
-- Scotchmen, or Johnny Macree Opening his New Budget, ii. 75
_Morning_--Breakfast at Michiner's Grand Hotel, ii. 6
Morning Dram, The, i. 186
-- or the Man of Taste, ii. 214
Mother Cole and Loader, i. 125
Mother's Hope, The, ii. 86-7
Muck-Worms, ii. 55, 231
Munchausen's Surprising Adventures, ii. 175
Munchausen at Walcheren, ii. 224
Munro, Dr. i. 233
Murphy Delaney, ii. 75
Musical Doctor and his Scholars, A, ii. 297
-- Family, A, ii. 39
My Ass, ii. 295
My Aunt and my Uncle, ii. 83
Nap in the Country, i. 175
Nap in Town (companion), i. 175-6
Napoleon Buonaparte in a Fever on Receiving the Extraordinary Gazette
of Nelson's Victory over the Combined Fleets, ii. 53, 55
Nap Dreading his Doleful Doom, or his Grand Entry into the Isle of
Elba, ii. 281
-- and his Friends in their Glory, ii. 100-1
Napoleon le Grand, ii. 263-4
-- the Little in a Rage with his great French Eagle, ii. 98
Nap and his Partner Joe, ii. 99
Narrative of the War, i. 328-9
Nautical Characters, i. 362
Naval Triumph, or Favours Conferred, i. 99
Neddy's Black Box, i. 245
Négligé, La. Desig. by 'Simplex Mundities,' i. 183
Neighbours, ii. 296
New French Phantasmagoria, A, ii. 47
-- Invented Elastic Breeches, i. 148; ii. 236
-- Sentimental Journal, ii. 362
-- Shoes, i. 320, 324
-- Speaker, A, i. 246-7
-- Tap Wanted, A, or Work for the Plumber, ii. 182-3
Newspaper, The, ii. 10
Nice Fish, i. 238-9; ii. 22
Night Auction, A, i. 233
_Night_--At the Bazaars, Raffling for Prizes, ii. 6
Nincompoop, or Henpecked Husband, A, ii. 69, 70
None but the Brave deserve the Fair, ii. 255
_Noon_--Dining, Margate, ii. 6
Norwich Bull Feast, or Glory and Gluttony, ii. 257
Not at Home, or a Disappointed Dinner-Hunter, ii. 374
Note of Hand, A, i. 369
Nunina, ii. 11
Nursery, The, i. 371
Nursing the Spawn of a Tyrant; or Frenchmen Sick of the Breed,
ii. 204-5
Odd Fellows from Downing Street Complaining to John Bull, ii. 88
Oddities, i. 306
Odes for the New Year, i. 209
Off She Goes, ii. 237
Officer. The Military Adventures of Johnny Newcome, ii. 298-9
Old Angel at Islington, The, i. 319
-- Cantwell Canvassing for Lord Janus (Hood), i. 228
-- Ewe Dressed Lamb Fashion, An, ii. 193
-- Maid's Prayer, The, ii. 30
-- Maid in Search of a Flea, i. 320, 324
-- Man of the Sea, The, sticking to the Shoulders of Sindbad the
Sailor. _Vide_ the 'Arabian Nights' Entertainments.' (Burdett and
Horne Tooke), ii. 74
-- Member, An, on his Road to the House of Commons, ii. 33
-- Poacher Caught in a Snare, An, ii. 374
-- Woman's Complaint, The, or the Greek Alphabet, ii. 130
On her Last Legs, i. 310
Opening a Vein, i. 150
Opera Boxes (4 plates), i. 177-8
Oratorio, ii. 6
Ordnance Dreams, or Planning Fortifications, i. 183-4
Original Drawings by Rowlandson, ii. Appendix
Outré Compliments, i. 192
Oxford, Front View of Christ Church, ii. 184-5
'Oh! you're a Devil, get along, do!' ii. 134-5
Pantheon, i. 283-4, 256-7, 308
Paris Diligence, ii. 189
Parish Officer's Journal, A, ii. 36
Parliamentary Toast, A, 'Here's to the Lady,' &c., ii. 148
Parody on Milton, A, ii. 198
-- The, or Mother Cole and Loader, i. 125
Parson and the Clarke, The, ii. 154
Pastime in Portugal, or a Visit to the Nunneries, ii. 203
Patience in a Punt, ii. 222
Paviour, A, i. 366
Pea-cart, The, i. 241
Peace and Plenty, ii. 282-3
Peasant Playing the Flute (after J. Mortimer), i. 150
Peep into Bethlehem, A, ii. 13
-- into Friar Bacon's Study, A, i. 119
-- at the Gas Lights in Pall Mall, A, ii. 167-8
Penny Barber, A, i. 257
Penserosa, ii. 11
Persons and Property Protected by Authority, i. 168
Peter's Pension ('Peter Pindar'), i. 207
Peter Plumb's Diary, ii. 187-8
Petersham, Lord, ii. 225
Petitioning Candidate for Westminster, The, i. 143
Petticoat Loose, a Fragmentary Poem, ii. 238
Philip Quarrel (Thicknesse), the English Hermit, &c., i. 275
Philosophorum, ii. 10
Philosophy run Mad, or a Stupendous Monument to Human Wisdom,
i. 312-13
Physicorum, ii. 11
Picture of Misery, A, ii. 204
Pictures of Prejudice, ii. 6
Pigeon-Hole, a Covent Garden Contrivance to Coop up the Gods,
ii. 200-1
Piece-Offering, A. Memoirs, Life, Letters, &c., of Mrs. Clarke,
ii. 159
Pilgrimage from Surrey to Gloucester Place, A, or the Bishop in an
Ecstasy, ii. 148
Pilgrims and the Peas, The, ii. 71
Pit of Acheron, The, or the Birth of the Plagues of England, i. 111-12
Pitt Fall, The, i. 243
Place de Mer, Antwerp, i. 331
-- des Victoires, à Paris, La, i. 262-6
Plan for a General Reform, A, ii. 165
Plan for a Popular Monument to be Erected in Gloucester Place,
ii. 156-7
Platonic Love. 'None but the Brave Deserve the Fair,' ii. 74
Pleasures of Human Life, The, ii. 83, 180, 362
-- of Margate, ii. 6
Plot Thickens, The, or Diamond Cut Diamond, ii. 161
Plucking a Spooney, ii. 225
'Plump to the Devil we boldly Kicked both Nap and his Partner Joe,'
ii. 261
_Poetical Magazine_, ii. 175-8
-- Sketches of Scarborough, ii. 268-9
Polish Dwarf, The (Borowlowski), Performing before the Grand Seigneur,
i. 186
Politesse Française, La, or the English Ladies' Petition to his
Excellency the Mushroom Ambassador, i. 145
Political Affection, i. 133
-- Butcher, The, or Spain Cutting up Buonaparte for the Benefit of his
Neighbours, ii. 96
-- Chemist and German Retorts, or Dissolving the Rhenish Confederacy,
ii. 263
-- Hydra, The, i. 231; ii. 58
Poll, The, i. 127
-- of Portsmouth's Prayer, ii. 33
Pomfret, Lord, ii. 225
Pope's Excommunication of Buonaparte, The, or Napoleon brought to his
last Stool, ii. 163
Portsmouth Point, ii. 284-6
Post Boys and Post Horses at the 'White Hart Inn,' i. 222
Post-chaise, A, i. 150, 217
Post Inn, i. 213
Power of Reflection, The, i. 100-1
Pray Remember the Blind, ii. 34
Preaching to some Purpose, ii. 236
Preceptor and Pupil, i. 140
Preparations for the Academy. Old Nollekens and his Venus, ii. 16-19
Preparations for the Jubilee; or Theatricals Extraordinary, ii. 166
Preparing for the Race, ii. 221
-- to Start, ii. 220-1
-- for Supper, i. 279-80
Print Sale, A (Hutchins, Auctioneer, and his Wife), i. 233
Private Amusement, i. 102, 180
Privates Drilling, i. 319
Procession of the Cod Company from St. Giles's to Billingsgate,
ii. 190
Procession of a Country Corporation, i. 366-8
Procession to the Hustings, i. 134-5
Prodigal Son's Resignation, The, ii. 155
Progress of the Emperor Napoleon, The, ii. 101
Progress of Gallantry, or Stolen Kisses Sweetest, ii. 275-6
Propagation of a Truth, The, i. 244
Prophecy explained:--'And there are seven Kings, five are fallen, and
one is, and the other is not yet come, and when he cometh he must
continue but a short space,' ii. 98
Prospect before us, The (Half-a-crown Regency), i. 230
Prospect before us, The (Pantheon), i. 283-4, 286-87
Prospect before us, The (Companion), i. 285-87
Prudent, i. 221
Publican, A, ii. 13
Publican's Prayer, The, ii. 33
Publicorum, ii. 11
Pugin, ii. 125-8
Puff Paste, ii. 237
Puss in Boots, or General Junot taken by Surprise, ii. 204
Q. A. Q. Loaded with the Spoils of India, i. 226
Quaix de Paris, ii. 214
Quack Doctor's Prayer, The, ii. 31
Quaker and the Clarke, The, ii. 159
-- and the Commissioners of Excise, The, ii. 265
Quarter-day, or Clearing the Premises without Consulting your
Landlord, ii. 274
Quarterly Duns, or Clamorous Tax-Gatherers, ii. 49
Quay, The, i. 20
Queer Fish, ii. 42
Rabbit Merchant, ii. 197
Racing, ii. 230-1
Racing Series. The Course, i. 260
" The Betting Post, i. 258-9
" The Mount, i. 261
" The Start, i. 258-9
Rag Fair, ii. 33
Rainbow Tavern, in Fleet Street, in 1800, ii. 19
Raising the Wind: 'When Noblemen,' &c., ii. 53, 233-5
Rapture, ii. 1
Reconciliation, or the Return from Scotland, i. 171-2
Recovery of a Dormant Title, or a Breeches Maker become a Lord, ii. 51
Recruits, ii. 42, 214
Recruiting, ii. 314
-- on a Broadbottom'd Principle, ii. 59
Refinement of Language. A Timber Merchant, &c., ii. 233
Reform Advised, Reform Begun, Reform Complete, i. 319
Reformation, or the Wonderful Effects of a Proclamation, i. 220
Relics of a Saint, by Ferdinand Farquhar, ii. 317
Repeal of the Test Act, i. 270-1
Resignation, The, or John Bull Overwhelmed with Grief, ii. 154
Rest from Labour. Sunny Days, i. 150
Return from Sport, i. 189
-- from a Walk, A, ii. 15
Reynard put to his Shifts, i. 132
Rhedarium, The, i. 101
Richardson's Show, ii. 312-13
Richmond Hill, ii. 42, 214
Ride to Rumford, A, i. 371
Rigging out a Smuggler, ii. 190-1
Rising Sun, The, or a View of the Continent, ii. 162-3
Rival Candidates, The, i. 124
Rivals, The, ii. 231, 284
Road to Preferment, The, through Clarke's Passage, ii. 149
-- to Ruin, ii. 43
Roadside Inn, A, i. 269
Rochester Address, or the Corporation going to Eat Roast Pork and
Oysters with the Regent, i. 251
'Roderick Random.' Lieutenant Bowling Pleading the Cause of Young Roy
to his Grandfather, i. 308-10
-- -- The Passengers from the Waggon arriving at the Inn, i. 310-11
Rogue's March, The, ii. 279
Rosedale, John, Mariner, exhibitor at the Hall of Greenwich Hospital,
ii. 76
Rotation Office, A, i. 96
Rough Sketch of the Times as delineated by Sir Francis Burdett, A,
ii. 365
Round Dance, A, ii. 314
Royal Academy, Somerset House, ii. 216
Ruins of the Pantheon after the Fire which happened Jan. 14, 1792,
i. 308
Rum Characters in a Shrubbery, ii. 91
Run, The, i. 223
Rural Halt, A, i. 214
-- Sports: Balloon-Hunting, ii. 215
-- -- Buck-Hunting, ii. 287-8
-- -- A Cat in a Bowl, ii. 205-6
-- -- or a Cricket Match Extraordinary, ii. 214
-- -- or a Game at Quoits, ii. 212
Rural Sports; or how to show off a well-shaped Leg, ii. 212-3
-- -- A Milling Match: Cribb and Molineaux, ii. 212
-- -- or an Old Mole-Catcher, ii. 208
-- -- or a Pleasant Way of Making Hay, ii. 284
-- -- Smock-Racing, ii. 212-13
Rustic Courtship, i. 171
-- Recreations, ii. 316
Rusty Bacon, ii. 80, 82
Sad Discovery, The, or the Graceless Apprentice, i. 170
Sadness, ii. 2
Sagacious Buck, The, or Effects of Waterproof, ii. 214
Sailors Carousing, i. 188-9
-- Drinking the Tunbridge Waters, ii. 290
-- on Horseback, ii, 202
Sailor's Journal, The, ii. 35-6
Sailor Mistaken, A, ii. 34
Sailor's Prayer, The, ii. 33
Sailors Regaling, ii. 6
Sailor's Will, A, ii. 51
St. James's and St. Giles's, i. 306, 324
St. James's Courtship, i. 364
St. Giles's Courtship, i. 364-5
Sale of English Beauties in the East Indies, A (after James Gillray),
ii. 197
Salisbury, Lord, K. of Würtemburg, and D. of Gloucester, i. 327-8
Saloon at the Pavilion, Brighton, i. 276
Salt Water, ii. 41
Sampson Asleep on the Lap of Delilah, ii. 154
Samuel House, Sir, i. 98-9
Scandal: Investigation of the Charges brought against H.R.H. the Duke
of York, by G. L. Wardle, Esq., M.P. for Devon, with the Evidence
and Remarks of the Members, ii. 181
Scarborough, Poetical Sketches of, ii. 269
Scenes at Brighton, or the Miseries of Human Life, ii. 71, 84
Scene in a New Pantomime to be Performed at the Theatre Royal of
Paris, ii. 292
-- at Streatham: Bozzi and Piozzi, i. 97
-- from the Tragedy of 'Cato,' A, ii. 150
School of Eloquence, The, i. 98
'School for Scandal,' The, i. 228-9
Schoolmaster's Tour, The, ii. 176
Scorn, ii. 2
Scotch Ostrich Seeking Cover, The, ii. 51
-- Sarcophagus, A, ii. 50
Scottifying the Palate, i. 195
Sea Amusement, or Commander-in-Chief of Cup and Ball on a Cruize,
i. 176-7
Searched by Douaniers on the French Frontier, ii. 370
Sea Stores, ii. 226
Seaman's Wife's Reckoning, A. ii. 231
Secret History of Crim. Con., The, plates I., II., ii. 231
Secret Influence Directing the New Parliament, i. 140-1
Second Tour of Doctor Syntax, in Search of Consolation, The, ii. 367
Select Vestry, A, ii. 58
Sentinel, The, Mistakes Tom Jones for an Apparition, ii. 56
Sentimental Journey, The, ii. 10, 169-74
Sergeant Recruiter (Duc d'Orleans), i. 252-3
Series, A, of Miniature Groups and Scenes, i. 282
-- of Small Landscapes, i. 324
Setting out for Margate, ii. 231, 233.
Seven Stages of Man's Schooling, ii. 397
She don't Deserve it, i. 261
-- Stoops to Conquer, ii. 201, 202
-- will be a Soldier, i. 349
Sheets of Borders for Halls, i. 364
-- of Picturesque Etchings.--Cattle at the River. The Horse Race.
A View in Cornwall. The River, Towing Barges, &c. Rustic
Refreshment. Water Pastime, Skating on a Frozen River, i. 280
-- of Picturesque Etchings.--A Four-in-Hand. The Village Dance. The
Woodman Returning. River Scene, Mill, Shipping, &c., i. 289
-- -- Huntsmen Visiting the Kennels. Haymakers Returning. Deer in a
Park, Cattle, &c. Shepherds. Horses in a Paddock. Cattle Watering at
a Pond. A Piggery, i. 289.
Shipping Scene, i. 18
Shoeing--The Village Forge, i. 212
Showell, Mrs.; the Woman who Shows General Guise's Collection of
Pictures at Oxford, ii. 66
Sick Lion, and the Asses, The (York series), ii. 158
Sign of the Four Alls, The, ii. 195-6
Signiora Squallina, ii. 42
Silly, A, ii. 6
Simmons, Thomas (the murderer), ii. 81
Simple Bodily Pain, ii. 2
Single Combat in Moorfields, or Magnanimous Paul O! Challenging All O!
ii. 28-9
Sir Cecil's Budget for Paying the National Debt, i. 122
Sir Jeffrey Dunstan Presenting an Address from the Corporation of
Garratt, i. 232
Six Classes of that Noble and Useful Animal, a Horse, ii. 214
-- Stages of Marring a Face. Dedicated to the Duke of Hamilton,
i. 307-8
-- -- of Mending a Face. Dedicated to the Rt. Hon. Lady Archer, i. 308
Sketch from Nature, A, i. 145
Sketches from Nature, ii. 199, 373
Sketch of Politics in Europe. Birthday of the King of Prussia. Toasts
on the occasion, i. 182-3
Skipping Academy, A, ii. 6
Slang Society, The, i. 162
Slap-Bang Shop, ii. 297
Sleepy Congregation, A, ii. 199
Slugs in a Sawpit, i. 296-7
Sly Boots, ii. 38
Smithfield Sharpers, or the Countryman Defrauded, i. 46
Smoky House and a Scolding Wife, A, ii. 368
Smollett, T., Miscellaneous Works (26 Illustrations by Rowlandson),
ii. 181
Smuggling in, or a College Trick, ii. 190
-- Out, or Starting for Gretna Green, ii. 190
Snip in a Rage, ii. 39
Snug Cabin, or Port Admiral, ii. 43, 88
Social Day, ii. 316
Soldiers on a March, ii. 84
-- Recruiting, i. 349
Song by Commodore Curtis. Tune: 'Cease, rude Boreas,' ii. 163-4
Sorrow's Dry, or a Cure for the Heart Ache, ii. 39, 41, 210
'Sorrows of Werter,' ii. 57
Spanish Cloak, A, ii. 226
Spanish Passport to France, A, ii. 96
Special Pleaders in the Court of Requests, ii. 36
-- Pleading, i. 98
'Spirit of the Public Journals for the years 1823-25,' ii. 375, 377-8
Spiritual Lovers, i. 330
Spitfires, ii. 192-3
Sports of a Country Fair. Part I., ii. 191
-- Part II., ii. 191
-- Part III., a Bengal Tiger Loose, ii. 191
-- Cockburn's Theatre on Fire, ii. 192
Squall in Hyde Park, A, i. 302-4
Squire, ii. 14
Stadthouse, Amsterdam, i. 331
Stage Coach, A, i. 213; ii. 43
-- -- Setting Down at the Dolphin Inn, i. 237
-- -- Setting Out from a Posting-house, i. 222
Start, The, i. 223
State Auction, The, i. 121
-- Butchers, i. 245
-- Watchman, The, discovered by the Genius of Britain Studying Plans
for the Reduction of America, i. 105
Statue to be Disposed of, The, Gloucester Place, ii. 153
Sterne's 'Sentimental Journey,' ii. 169-74
Steward, ii. 14
Stockdale, the Bookselling Blacksmith, one of the King's New Friends,
i. 144
Stockjobber's Prayer, The, ii. 31
Studious Gluttons, i. 312-13
Successful Fortune-Hunter, The, or Captain Shelalee leading Miss
Marrowfat to the Temple of Hymen, ii. 235
Sufferer for Decency, A, i. 257
Suffering under the Last Symptoms of a Dangerous Malady, &c., ii. 84
Suitable Restrictions, i. 245
Sulky, A, ii. 6
Summer Amusement: Bug-Hunting, ii. 208
-- -- a Game at Bowls, ii. 6-9
Summer Amusements at Margate, or a Peep at the Mermaids, ii. 254
_Supplemental Magazine_, i. 180
Surprising Irish Giant of St. James's Street, The, i. 154
Sweating for Opposition, A, by Dr. Willis, Dominisweaty & Co., i. 248
Sweet Little Girl that I Love, The, ii. 88
-- Lullaby, ii. 42
-- Pea, The, ii. 233
Sympathy, ii. 298
-- or a Family on a Journey, i. 174
Symptoms of Restiveness, ii. 79-80
-- of Sanctity, ii. 27-8
Table d'Hôte, or French Ordinary in Paris, ii. 188
Tables are Turned, The. How are the Mighty Fallen, ii. 150
Tables Turned: Miseries of Wedlock, ii. 134
Tailor's Wedding, A, ii. 276
Tailpiece to Tegg's Collection of the York and Clarke's Caricatures,
ii. 156
Tally-ho-rum! ii. 11
Taste, ii. 33
Tastes Differ, i. 175
Tax-gatherer, ii. 14
Tea on Shore, i. 168, 253-5, 323
Templar at his Studies, A, ii. 222
Temptation, i. 168
Terror, ii. 2
Theatrical Candidate, A, i. 330
-- Chymist, A (Holman _versus_ Topham), i. 190
-- Leap-frog, ii. 46
Third Tour of Doctor Syntax, The, in Search of a Wife (25
illustrations), ii. 373, 375
This is the House that Jack Built: O.P. Riots, Drury Lane, ii. 165-6
Three Tours of Doctor Syntax, i. 33; ii. 176, 247-52, 266-7, 269-70,
367, 373, 375
-- Principal Requisites to form a Man of Fashion, The, ii. 286
-- Weeks after Marriage, or the Great Little Emperor playing at
Bo-peep, ii. 186-7
'Throw Physic to the Dogs,' ii. 91, 193, 199
'Tiens bien ton Bonnet, et toi, defends ta Queue,' i. 331
Timber Waggon, i. 150
Times, The: Regency of the Prince, i. 110
-- -- or a View of the Old House in Little Britain, i. 114
Tit-bit for a Strong Stomach, A, ii. 135
-- for the Bugs, A, i. 320
Tithe Pig, i. 268
Too many for a Jew, i. 165
Tooth Ache, The, or Torment and Torture, ii. 375-6
Toper's Mistake, The, ii. 33
Topham endeavouring with his Squirt to Extinguish the Genius of
Holman, i. 166
Touch at the Times, A, i. 231
-- for Touch, or a Female Physician in Full Practice, ii. 206
Tour to the Lakes, A, ii. 80-1
Toxophilites, i. 270
Traffic (Old Clo' men), i. 289, 323-4
Trafficorum, ii. 12
Tragedy in London, ii. 74
-- Spectators, i. 217, 219
Transparency Exhibited at Ackermann's, in the Strand, Nov. 27, 1815.
Day of Celebration of General Peace in London, ii. 294-5
Transplanting of Teeth (Baron Ron), i. 211
Traveller Refreshed in a Stagnant Pool after the Fatigues of a Dusty
Day's Journey, A, ii. 130
Travelling Knife-Grinder at a Cottage Door, i. 222
Trial of the Duke of York, The, ii. 178
Tricks on the Turf--Settling to Lose a Race, ii. 368
Trip to Gretna Green, A, ii. 215
Triumph of Hypocrisy, The, i. 211
-- of Sentiment, The, i. 210
Triumvirate of Gloucester Place, The, or the Clarke, the Soldier, and
the Taylor, ii. 151
Tutor and his Pupil Travelling in France, ii. 217
Twelfth Night Characters (in 24 figures), ii. 214
Two Kings of Terror, The. Transparency exhibited at Ackermann's. The
Allied Victory of Leipsic, ii. 255, 257
-- Patriotic Duchesses on their Canvass, The (Duchesses of Portland
and Devonshire), i. 124
-- of a Trade can never Agree: Mrs. Clarke and Col. Wardle, ii. 160
Twopenny Cribbage, i. 369
Tyrant of the Continent is Fallen, The, Europe is Free, England
Rejoices, ii. 281
Uncle George and Black Dick at their New Game of Naval Shuttlecock,
i. 199
Undertakers Regaling, ii. 26-7
Unexpected Meeting, An, ii. 148
-- Return, An, or a Snip in Danger, ii. 297
Union, The, ii. 22
-- Headdress, The, ii. 33
Unloading a Waggon, ii. 255-6
Vauxhall Gardens, i. 156-62
Veneration, ii. 1
Véry, Madame, Restaurateur, Palais Royal, Paris, ii. 272-3
Vicar and Moses, The (song heading), i. 147
'Vicar of Wakefield' (24 plates), ii. 356-9, 375
Vicar, ii. 14
Vice-Queen's Delivery, The, at the Old Soldier's Hospital, in Dublin,
i. 243
View on the Banks of the Thames, A, ii. 75-7
-- of a Cathedral Town on Market-day, i. 364
Views of the Colleges, ii. 184
-- of Cornwall, ii. 239-46
-- in Cornwall and Dorset (a series), ii. 56
-- in Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Isle of Wight, &c., ii. 169, 181
View on the French Coast, i. 222
Views of London--Entrance of Tottenham Court Road Turnpike, with a
view of St. James's Chapel. Ackermann's Gallery, i. 349
-- -- Entrance of Oxford Street, or Tyburn Turnpike, with a view of
Park Lane, i. 349
-- -- Entrance from Mile End, or White Chapel Turnpike, i. 349
-- -- Entrance from Hackney, or Cambridge Heath Turnpike, with a
distant view of St. Paul's, i. 349
Village Cavalry Practising in a Farmyard, i. 324
-- Doctor, The, i. 96
Virginia, ii. 11
Virtue in Danger, ii. 297
Visit, A, to the Aunt, i. 192, 324
-- to the Doctor, ii. 236
-- to the Uncle, i. 192, 324-5
'Vive le Roi! Vive l'Empereur!! Vive le Diable!!! French Constancy,
ii. 291-2
Volcano of Opposition, The, i. 293
Volunteer Wit, or not Enough for a Prime, ii. 86
Waddling Out, i. 366
Waggon and Horses. 'The Feathers,' i. 332
Waiting for Dinner, i. 276-9
Washing Day, ii. 15
-- Trotters, ii. 1
Watercresses, i. 354
Waterfall, The, or an Error in Judgment, i. 155
Weeping, i. 13; ii. 2
Welsh Sailor's Mistake, The, or Tars in Conversation, ii. 89
'Werter, Sorrows of,' i. 191; ii. 57
Westminster Deserter, The, Drummed out of the Regiment, i. 138-9
-- Election, The, i. 128-143
-- Mendicant, The, i. 137
-- Watchman, The, i. 126
Wet under Foot, ii. 225
White Sergeant giving the Word of Command, A, ii. 74
Who Killed Cock Robin? (_Manchester Massacre_), ii. 365
Who Kills First for a Crown, i. 274-5
Who's Mistress Now? ii. 41, 206
Widow's Prayer, The, ii. 30
Wigstead, Henry. Remarks on a Tour to North and South Wales in the
year 1797, ii. 19-21
Wild Irish, or Paddy from Cork with his Coat Buttoned Behind,
ii. 84, 368
Winding up the Medical Report of the Walcheren Expedition, ii. 182
Wisdom Led by Virtue and Prudence to the Temple of Fame, i. 135
Witches in a Hayloft, ii. 265
Wit's Last Stake, The, or Cobbling Voters and Abject Canvassers,
i. 130-1
Woman of Fashion's Journal, A, ii. 35
Wonderful Pig, The, i. 155
Wonderfully Mended. 'Shouldn't have known you again,' ii. 90
Wonders--Wonders--Wonders! ii. 162
Word-Eater, The (Fox), i. 192, 232-3
Work for Doctors' Commons, i. 306
World in Miniature, ii. 312-16, 362
York Address to the Whale, A, Caught lately off Gravesend, ii. 157
York Dilly, The, or the triumph of innocence, ii. 155
Yorkshire Hieroglyphics!! Plate 1. The Duke's Letter to Mrs. Clarke,
ii. 151-2
-- -- Plate 2. The Duke's Second Letter to Mrs. Clarke, ii. 152-3
York Magician Transforming a Footboy into a Captain, The, ii. 148
-- March, The, ii. 149-50
Yorick and Father Lorenzo, ii. 170
-- Feeling the Grisette's Pulse, ii. 10
Youth and Age?--Contrasts, i. 188
Transcriber's Notes:
Footnotes have been moved to the end of each chapter (in the text
version) and to the end of the text (html version).
Illustrations have been moved to paragragh breaks in a direction which
brings them closer to their descriptions. In the html version this has
left blank pages where page numbers are omitted.
Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.
Obvious typos and punctuation errors have been corrected.
There are many instances of double choices for hyphenations. Some same
words are hyphenated and some aren't. These have been left as printed.
In French both ou and où used.
The use of italics around _foreign_ words in english text, is
inconsistent. These have been left as printed.
'Beef-Steak Club' and 'Beef-steak Club'. These have been left as
printed.
p9. 'up in curious and-out of-the-way points of the political'
changed to 'up in curious and out-of-the-way points of the political'.
p25. 'Damp; Sheets and Slugs in a Saw Pit' should read 'Damp Sheets and
Slugs in a Saw Pit'
p43. 'Die Reise des Doktor Syntax um das Malerische au Frusuchen'
should read 'Die Reise des Doktor Syntax um das Malerische
aufzusuchen'.
p170. November 31, 1785. Jockeyship. Note there is no November 31st in
the calendar year.
p173. 'and successfully in his instance' should be, 'in this instance'.
p190. 'inconvenienced by party prejudices--to to try' removed
extra 'to'.
p253. 'suppositious contrast between high and and low life in port'.
Remove extra and.
p265. 'which would seen to have occupied a frontage facing the
semicircle'. Seen replaced by seem.
p357. 'the parliamentary session had opened at the end of November
1788'. This most likely needs to be the year 1798. Left as printed.
A copy of the Indices printed in Volume 2, have been added at the end
of the text.
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