Chapter XIII: Book XV: c. 5. Lord Fellamar rudely dismissed by Squire Western (1)

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.

_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.

_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.

_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.

_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.

_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.

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.

_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.

_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.)

_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:--

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_.

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.)

_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.

_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!

_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.

_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._

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._

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._

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._