^ / t/ ^ / \ CARICATURE AND SATIRE NAPOLEON I. VOL. I. WORKS BY JOHN ASHTON. A HISTORY OF THE CHAP-BOOKS OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. With nearly 400 Illus- trations, engraved in facsimile of the originals. Crown Svo. cloth extra, "js. 6d. SOCIAL LIFE IN THE REIGN OF QUEEN ANNE. From Original Sources. With nearly 100 Illus- trations. Crown 8vo. cloth extra, "js. 6d. HUMOUR, WIT, AND SATIRE OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. With nearly 100 Illus- trations. Crown 8vo. cloth extra, "Js. 6d. London : CHATTO & WINDUS, Piccadilly. J hi; i:\ii.i • A ^K'-'Ti I I'KOM r.IIl AT L.ONGWOOD. APKIL [8: ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE ON NAPOLEON I. BY JOHN ASHTON AUTHOR OK 'SOCIAL LIFE IN THE REIGN OF QUEEN ANNE' ETC. WITH 115 ILLUSTRATIONS BY THE AUTHOR IN TWO VOLUMES— VOL. I. J'onbon CHATTO & WINDUS, PICCADILLY 1884 All rights reserved LONDON : PRINTED BY SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE AND PARLIAMENT STREET LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA ; -> ' SANTA BARBARA tf 6 v. I PREFACE. This book is not intended to be a History of Napoleon the First, but simply to reproduce the bulk of the Cari- catures and Satires published in England on our great enemy, with as much of history as may help to elucidate them. The majority of the caricatures are humorous ; others are silly, or spiteful — as will occasionally happen nowadays ; and some are too coarse for reproduction — so that a careful selection has had to be made. Gillray and Rowlandson generally signed their names to the work of their hands ; but, wherever a caricature occurs unsigned by the artist, I have attributed it, on the authority of the late Edward Hawkins, Esq., some time Keeper of the Prints at the British Museum, to whatever artist he has assigned it. I have personally inspected every engraving herein described, and the description is entirely my own. Should there, by chance, be an occasional discrepancy as to a date, it has been occasioned by the inconceivable contradictions which occur in different histories and news- papers. To cite an instance : in three different books arc given three different dates of Napoleon leaving Elba, and vi PREFACE. it was only by the knowledge that it occurred on a Sunday, and by consulting an almanac for the year 1 8 1 5, that I was able absolutely to determine it. The frontispiece is taken from a very rare print, and gives a novel view of Napoleon to us, who are always accustomed to see him represented in military uniform. That my readers may find some instruction, mingled with the amusement I have provided for them, is the earnest wish of JOHN ASH TON. CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. CHAPTER I. PAGE BIRTH AND GENEALOGY — HIS OWN ACCOUNT — MAJORCA N OR GREEK EXTRACTION- ENGLISH BIOGRAPHIES .... I CHAPTER II. DESCENT FROM THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK — ANAGRAMS, ETC., ON HIS NAME— THE BEAST OF THE APOCALYPSE - HIS MOTHER'S ACCOUNT OF HIS BIRTH ...... 7 CHAPTER III. COUNT MARBCEUF, HIS PUTATIVE FATHER — POVERTY OF THE BONA- PARTE FAMILY — EARLY PERSONAL DESCRIPTION OF NAPOLEON — HIS OWN ACCOUNT OF HIMSELF SATIRISTS' NARRATION OF HIS SCHOOL-DAYS . . . . . . 1 5 CHAPTER IV. NAPOLEON AT THE ECOLE MILITAIRE— PERSONAL DESCRIPTION— PUSS IN BOOTS — VISIT TO CORSICA— SOLICITS SERVICE IN ENG- LAND REPORTED VISIT TO LON DUN —SIEGE OF TOULON . 22 CHAPTER V. NAPOLEON'S PROMOTION — HIS POVERTY — JUNOT's KINDNESS — REVOLT OF THE SECTIONS - NAPOLEON'S SHAKE THEREIN MADE GENERAL OF THE INTERIOR— INTRODUCTION TO JOSEPHINE — SKETCH OF HER LIFE ........ 29 CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. CHAPTER VI. PAGE JOSEPHINE'S DRESS AND PERSONAL APPEARANCE— HER REPUTED CON- NECTION WITH BARR AS —MARRIAGE WITH NAPOLEON — HER rASTES AND DISPOSITION . . . . . -36 CHAPTER VII. NAPOLEON MADE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE ARMY OF ITALY — HIS SHORT HONEYMOON — HIS FIRST VICTORY — STATE OF THE FRENCH ARMY --THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN — FRENCH DESCENT ON IRELAND — ITS RESULT — STATE OF ENGLAND . . -43 CHAPTER VIII. NAPOLEON DESPOILS ITALY OF HER WORKS OF ART — THE SIEGE OF MANTUA — WURMSER'S SURRENDER — EARLIEST ENGLISH CARI- CATURE OF NAPOLEON — INVASION OF ENGLAND —LANDING IN PEMBROKESHIRE NELSON'S RECEIPT TO MAKE AN OLLA PODRIDA —'THE ARMY OF ENGLAND' . . . . .48 CHAPTER IX. CARICATURES ABOUT THE FRENCH INVASION— FOX'S FRENCH PRO- CLIVITIES—PATRIOTISM IN THE COUNTRY— EXPEDITION TO EGYPT— NELSON'S BLUNDERS — LANDING IN EGYPT — NAPOLEON AS A MAHOMETAN — HIS PROCLAMATIONS . . -54 CHAPTER X. CONDUCT OF FRENCH SOLDIERY NAPOLEON'S HATRED OF ENGLAND THE EGYPTIAN CAMPAIGN — DESTRUCTION OF THE MAMELUKES — BATTLE OF THE NILE— TARDY NEWS THEREOF . . 64 CHAPTER XI. RECEPTION OF HIE NEWS OF THE HAITI. E OF THE NILE— NELSON -ENDS FRENCH ADMIRAL'S SWORD TO THE CITY OF LONDON- VARIOUS ( ARICAI fRES ON THE BATTLE— TYPICAL JOHN BULL. 69 CHAPTER XII. KEYOI/I WD MAS-ACRE AT CAIRO CARICATURES OF THE CAPTURE OF l-KLVrH SHIPS ITCIITINC, FOR THE DUNGHILL, ETC.— PRICE OI BREAD AND CONSOLS IN 1 798 . . . .77 CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. ' CHAPTER XIII. PAGE REPORTED ATTEMPT TO ASSASSINATE NAPOLEON — HIS AMOUR WITH MADAME FOURES — THE EGYPTIAN CAMPAIGN — THE ' SAVANTS ' — CARICATURES ON THEM . . . . .82 CHAPTER XIV. TAKING OF JAFFA, AND MASSACRE OF SOLDIERS — DE BOURRIENNE's ACCOUNT — NAPOLEON'S OWN VERSION . . . .88 CHAPTER XV. THE MASSACRE AT JAFFA, continued — ENGLISH EVIDENCE THEREON — SIEGE OF ST. JEAN D'ACRE — CAPTURE OF NAPOLEON'S BAT- TERING TRAIN — FAILURE OF THE SIEGE, AND RETREAT TO JAFFA. ........ 95 CHAPTER XVI. RETREAT FROM JAFFA — POISONING OF FIVE HUNDRED SOLDIERS — DIFFERENT ENGLISH AUTHORITIES THEREON — NAPOLEON'S OWN STORY, ALSO THOSE OF LAS CASES AND O'MEARA— RETREAT TO CAIRO ........ IOO CHAPTER XVII. THE OLD REGIME AND THE REPUBLICANS — THE ' INCROYABLES ' — NAPOLEON LEAVES EGYPT — HIS REASONS FOR SO DOING— FEEL- ING OF THE ARMY — ACCUSED OF TAKING WITH HIM THE MILITARY CHEST ....... IO9 CHAPTER XVIII. NAPOLEON'S ARRIVAL IN PARIS — HIS POPULARITY— DISSOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF FIVE HUNDRED — GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF THE SCENE — NAPOLEON, SIEYES, AND DUCOS NAMED CONSULS. 117 CHAPTER XIX. NAPOLEON TAKES THE LEAD— SIEYES AND DUCOS ARE DEPOSED — CAMBACERES AND LE1JRUN NAMED SECOND AND THIRD CONSULS — NAPOLEON'S LETTER TO GEORGE THE THIRD — REPLY TO SAME ........ vol. I. a CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. CHAPTER XX. PAGE BATTLE OF MARENGO — DEATH OF DESAIX — SAID TO HAVE BEEN ASSASSINATED — NAPOLEON'S LOVE FOR HIM — SOUP KITCHENS AT PARIS — LAVISH EXPENDITURE OF NAPOLEON'S GENERALS . I29 CHAPTER XXI. PLOTS AGAINST NAPOLEON'S LIFE— THAT OF OCTOBER IO, 180O — THAT OF DECEMBER 24, 180O — NUMBER OF PEOPLE KILLED AND IN- JURED— NAPOLEON 'S PORTRAIT . . . . 1 36 CHAPTER XXII. GENERAL FAST — ADULTERATION, AND COMPULSORY SALE OF STALE BREAD -WAR IN EGYPT -THE BOULOGNE FLOTILLA — NEGOTIA- TIONS FOR PF2ACE — RATIFICATION OF PRELIMINARIES — RECEP- TION IN ENGLAND — GENERAL REJOICINGS . , 141 CHAPTER XXIII. THE PEACE OF AMIENS — CESSION OF TRINIDAD AND CEYLON -IN- TERNATIONAL VISITS— FOX'S TRIP TO FRANCE, AND RECEPTION BY NAPOLEON . . . . . , . 1 50 CHAPTER XXIV. LORD WHITWORTH AS PLENIPOTENTIARY — HIS EOUIPAGE— ENGLISH VISIT PARIS — UNSETTLED FEELING — NAPOLEON BEHAVES RUDELY TO LORD WHITWORTH . . . . . . l6o CHAPTER XXV. GENERAL UNEASINESS —CARICATURES THEREON — ADDINGTON's NE- I'OIISM -NAPOLEON'S DISCOURTESY TO LORD WHITWORTH - TRIAL OF JEAN PELTIER ...... 168 CHAPTER XXVI. THE ULTIMATUM -LORD WHITWORTH I. HAVES PARIS— DECLARATION OF WAR CARICATURES PREVIOUS THERETO— SURRENDER OF HANOVER . . . . . , _ ,-r CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. xi CHAPTER XXVII. PAGE PATRIOTIC HANDBILLS ....... 183 CHAPTER XXVIII. ATTEMPT AT MEDIATION BY RUSSIA -MARTIAL ENTHUSIASM IN ENGLAND — ENROLMENT OF VOLUNTEERS — PARIOTIC HANDBILLS AND SONGS . . . . . . .192 CHAPTER XXIX. PATRIOTIC HANDBILLS, ETC. ...... 199 CHAPTER XXX. INVASION SQUIBS, continued — BONAPARTE'S TEN COMMANDMENTS, ETC. ........ 205 CHAPTER XXXI. INVASION, continued — 'BRITONS, STRIKE HOME ' — BONAPARTE'S WILL 213 CHAPTER XXXII. INVASION SQUIBS, continued — ' BRITONS TO ARMS ' — BRAGGADOCIO — NAPOLEON'S EPITAPH .... . 222 CHAPTER XXXIII. invasion squibs, continued — 'HARLEQUIN invasion' — 'BOB rousem's EPISTLE ' — NAPOLEON'S TOUR TO BELGIUM . . . 232 CHAPTER XXXIV. invasion squibs, continued— THE bottle conjuror --pidcock's MENAGERIE ....... 244 CHAPTER XXXV. INVASION SQUIBS AND CARICATURES, Continued . . . 254 xii CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. CHAPTER XXXVI. PAGE invasion squibs, continued— Talleyrand's disinclination to INVADE ENGLAND ...•••• 266 CHAPTER XXXVII. INVASION SQUIBS— VOLUNTEERS ..... 279 THE EXILE . . • Frontispiece sw ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE on NAPOLEON THE FIRST. CHAPTER I. BIRTH AM) GENEALOGY — HIS OWN' ACCOUNT — MAJORCAN OR GREEK EXTRACTION— ENGLISH BIOGRAPHIES. CURIOUSLY enough, it has never been practically settled whence the ancestors of Napoleon Bonaparte came. He, himself, cared little for the pride of birth, and when, during his Consulate, they manufactured for him a genealogy descending from a line of kings, he laughed at it, and said that his patent of nobility dated from the battle of Monte- nottc. But, still, one would think he ought to know, for family tradition is strong ; and if it can be trusted, this is his own account. 'One day Napoleon questioned Canova about Alficri, and Canova found an opportunity to render an important service to Florence, &c. " Sire," said he, " authorise the President of the Academy of Florence to take care of the frescoes and pictures. I heartily wish it. vol. l n 2 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE That will reflect great honour on your Majesty, who, I am assured, is of a noble Florentine family." At these words the Empress (Maria Louisa) turned towards her husband and said : — " What ! are you not Corsican ? " " Yes," replied Napoleon, " but of Florentine origin." Canova then said : — " The President of the Academy of Florence, the Senator Allessandria, is of one of the most illustrious houses in the country, which has had one of its ladies married to a Bonaparte, thus you are Italian, and we boast of it." " I am, certainly," added Napoleon.' l Prince Napoleon Louis Bonaparte (brother to the Em- peror) published in 1830, at Florence, a French translation of an old book 2 about the sack of Rome, 1 527, which gives an account of the family of the writer. But Majorca also puts in a claim to the older Bonapartes ; and in 1852, Don Antonio Furio, a learned man, Member of the Royal Aca- demies of Belles Lettres of Barcelona and Majorca, &c, made a declaration as to ' the rank, dignity, and extinction of the noble family of Bonapart in the island of Majorca ;' and quotes from a book kept in the archives of Palma, in which are preserved the armorial escutcheons of the noble families of the Island, the arms of Bonapart — which were Dexter, on a field Azure, six stars, Or, placed two by two, Sinister, on a field gules, a lion rampant, Or ; and the Chief Or, bears a scared eagle, sable. lie says the family came from Genoa to Majorca, in which island its members were considered noblemen, and they filled several distinguished offices. In a register of burials relating to knights and gentlemen, written in 1559, the antiquity and nobility of the Bonaparts are clearly authenticated ; and it would 1 Chevalier Artand's Italy, p. 377 ; * L'Univers pittoresque, Europe,' tome 2, Paris, 1S57, ed. Didot. - ' Kagguaglio Storico di tutto 1' occorso, giorno per giorno, nel Sacco di Roma dell' anno 1527, scritto da Jacopo Bonoparte, gentiluomo Samminiatere ' (from San Miniato, near Florence) ' che vi se trovo presente.' ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 3 seem from Don Furio's account (for all of which he gives chapter and verse) that the learned jurisconsult Don Hugo Bonapart left Majorca and went to Corsica, where, in 141 1, he was made Regent of the Chancery of that place ; and, as he settled there, his name was inscribed in the Golden Book of France. This seems pretty circumstantial, until another theory appears — namely, his Greek extraction. Sir J. Emerson Tennent says : J ' There is a story relative to the family name of the Bonapartes, that somewhat excites curiosity as to the amount of truth which it may contain. In 1798, when Napoleon was secretly preparing for his descent upon Egypt, among other expedients for distracting and weak- ening the Porte, French emissaries were clandestinely employed in exciting the Greeks in Epirus, and the Morea, to revolt. In Maina especially (the ancient Sparta), these agents were received with marked enthusiasm, on the ground that Bonaparte was born in Corsica, where num- bers of Greeks from that part of the Morea had found an asylum after the conquest of Candia, in 1669, but they were eventually expelled by the Genoese. ' One of the persons so employed by Napoleon to rouse the Greeks in 1798 was named Stephanopoli ; and one of the arguments which he used was, that Napoleon himself was a Greek in blood, and a Mainote by birth, being descended from one of the exiles who took refuge at Ajaccio in 1673. The name of this family, he said, was Calomeri, KaXofXcpis,' 2 which the Corsicans accommodated to their own dialect by translating it into Buonaparte! Another writer, signing himself RJwdocanakis, in the same periodical, 3 says : 'I am happy to be able to assert 1 Notes and Queries, 3rd scries, vol. xi. p. 307. '-' From KaA^y, good, and Me/ny, part or share -Buona-parte. '■' Notes and Queries, 3rd series, vol. xi. p. 507. K 2 4 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE with confidence, and on the authority of General Kallergis, the intimate friend of the present Emperor, of Prince Pitzipios, and others, that the story devised by Nicholas Stepanapoulos, and mentioned by his niece, the Duchesse d'Abrantes, in her Memoirs, that Napoleon was a Greek in blood, and a Mainote by birth, being descended from the family of Calomeri, who took refuge at Ajaccio, Corsica, was never authoritatively denied. On the contrary, both the first and third Napoleon appeared pleased at the story, whenever it was alluded to in their presence ; probably because they thought it good policy not to deny what they might in future wish to turn to their advantage. As regards the name of KdXofispris or KaKo/xspos, there are still many families of that name in Greece.' Now let us hear what Madame Junot, the aforesaid Duchesse d'Abrantes, the intimate friend of Napoleon, whose families were the closest of neighbours at Ajaccio, says on this subject. 1 'When Constantinc Comnenus landed at Corsica in 1676, at the head of a Greek colony, he had with him several sons, one of whom was named Calomeros. This son he sent. to Florence, on a mission to the Grand Duke of Tuscany. Constantinc dying before the return of his son, the Grand Duke prevailed on the young Greek to renounce Corsica, and fix his abode in Tuscan)-. After some interval of time, an individual came from Italy — indeed from Tuscany — and fixed his abode in Corsica, where his descendants formed the family of Buonaparte ; for the name Calomeros, literally Italianised, signified buona parte or bella parte'. 1 ' The only question is, whether the Calomeros who left 1 Memoir; of Madame Junot, Duchesse d'Abrantes, Hentlcy, London, 18S3. V\ hen quoting from her memoirs I always use this translation. 2 Xapoleon omitted the 'u' in Buonaparte while gencral-in-chief in May 1796. ON NAPOLEON THE EIRST. 5 Corsica, and the Calomeros who came there, have a direct filiation. Two facts, however, are certain — namely, the departure of the one, and the arrival of the other. It is a singular thing that the Comneni, 1 in speaking of the Bona- parte family, always designate them by the names Calomeros, Calomeri, or Calomeriani, according as they allude to one individual, or several collectively. Both families were united by the most intimate friendship. ' When the Greeks were obliged to abandon Paomia to escape the persecutions of the insurgent Corsicans, they established themselves temporarily in towns which remained faithful to the Republic of Genoa. When, at a subsequent period, Cargesa was granted to the Greeks for the purpose of forming a new establishment, a few Greek families continued to reside at Ajaccio.' I have been thus diffuse on his ancestry, because English satirists could not tell the truth on the subject — they were too swayed by the passion of the moment, and had to pander to the cravings of the mob. Take an example, from a broad sheet published in 1803, when our island was in deadly fear of invasion, a ' History of Buona- parte.' ' Napoleon Buonaparte is the son of a poor lawyer of Ajaccio, in Corsica, in which city he was born on the 15th of August, 1769. His grandfather, Joseph, originally a butcher of the same place, was ennobled by Count Nieuhoff, some time King of Corsica. He was the son of Carlos Buonu, who once kept a liquor shop, or tavern, but who, being convicted of robbery and murder, was con- demned to the Gallics, where he died in 1724. His wife, La Birba, the mother of Joseph, died in the House of Correction at Geneva (? Genoa). On the 3rd May, 1736, 1 Madam Junot was very prowl < f her descent from Constantino Com- nenr.s, the tenth I'rotoyeras of Maina, who quitted Greece in 1675, landed at Genoa Jan. 1, 1676, an iv< . C >rsica March 14, 1676. 6 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE when Porto Vecchio was attacked, Joseph Buona brought to the assistance of King Theodore a band of vagabonds which, during the civil war, had chosen him for its leader. In return, Theodore, on the following day, created him a noble, and added to his name Buona the termination Parte. Joseph Buonaparte's wife Histria, was the daugh- ter of a journeyman tanner of Bastia, also in Corsica.' And yet one more, from another equally veracious 'life.' 'Buonaparte's great-grandfather kept a wine-house for factors (like our gin shops), and, being convicted of murder and robbery, he died a galley slave at Genoa, in 1724: his wife was likewise an accomplice, and she died in the House of Correction at Genoa in 1734. His grand- father was a butcher of Ajaccio, and his grandmother daughter of a journeyman tanner at Bastia. His father was a low petty-fogging lawyer, who served and betrayed his country by turns, during the Civil Wars. After France conquered Corsica, he was a spy to the French Govern- ment, and his mother their trull. What is bred in the bone will not come out of the flesh/ ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. CHAPTER II. DESCENT FROM THE MAX IN THE IRON MASK— ANAGRAMS, ETC., ON HIS NAME— THE BEAST OK THE APOCALYPSE — HIS MOTHER'S ACCOUNT OF HIS BIRTH. THE foregoing was the sort of stuff given to our grand- fathers for history ; nothing could be bad enough for Boney, the Corsican Ogre — nay, they even tortured his name to suit political purposes. It was hinted that the keeper of ' the Man with the Iron Mask,' who was said to be no other than the twin (and elder) brother of Louis XIV., was named Bon part ; that the said keeper had a daughter, with whom the Man in the Mask fell in love, and to whom he was privately married ; that their children received their mother's name, and were secretly conveyed to Cor- sica, where the name was converted into Bonaparte, or Buonaparte ; and that one of these children was the ancestor of Napoleon Bonaparte, who was thus entitled to be recognised, not only as of French origin, but as the direct descendant of the rightful heir to the throne of France. They put his name into Greek, and tortured it thus : — Napoleon, Apolcon, Poleon, Olcon, Leon, Eon, On, Na7roA,Hwy, AttoXscov, UoXecov, OXscov, Aewv, Vjmv, ilv, which sentence will translate, ' Napoleon, being the lion of the nations, went about destroying cities.' In the 'Journal des Debats,' 8 Avril, 1 8 14, although not an English satire on his name, it is gravely stated that 8 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE lie was baptised by the name of Nicholas, and that he assumed the name of Napoleon as an uncommon one ; but this name, Nicholas, which was applied to him so freely in France, was but a cant term for a stupid blockhead. Whilst on this subject, however, I cannot refrain from quoting a passage from a French book : 'I do not know what fellow has held that Napolione was a demon, who in bygone times, amused himself by tormenting a poor imbe- cile. The fellow can not have read the life of the Saints : he would then have learned that St. Napolione, whose name is given at length in the legend, is as good a patron as any other ; that he performed seven miracles during his life, and twenty-two and a half after his death — for he had not time to finish the twenty-third : it was an unfortunate tiler who, in falling from a roof, broke both his legs. St. Napoleon had already set one, when an unlucky doctor prescribed some medicine to the sick man which carried him off to the other world.' l There is an extremely forcible acrostic in Latin on his name, which deserves reproduction : — B ona N ationibus 2 U surpavit A uctoritatem O mnium P rincipibus N eutrorum O bedientiam A urum L ibertatem P opulorum E eclesia; A nimas () mni mode- R evera N egans T yrannus E xecrandus. 1 Thiovaparlc ct la famillc, on Confidences (Pin: dc leurs anciens amis, Paris rSi6. - Denying !>y every means the authority of nations, obedience to princes, or liberty to the Church. lie usurped the goods of all, the treasure of neutrals, the souls of nations : in very truth he was an execrable tyrant. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 9 But not only was his name thus made a vehicle for political purposes, but the expounders of prophecy got hold of it, and found out, to their great delight, that at last they had got that theological bugbear, the Apocalyptic beast. Nothing could be clearer. It could be proved to demonstration, most simply and clearly. Every one had been in error about the Church of Rome ; at last there could be no doubt about it, it was Napoleon. Take the following handbill as a sample of one out of many : — A Prophecy {From the iyh Chapter of Revelations') ALLUDING TO BUONAPARTE. Verse \st. ' And a Beast rose out of the Sea, having ten crowns on his head,' &x. This Beast is supposed to mean Buonaparte, he being born in Corsica, which is an island, and having conquered ten kingdoms. Verse $th. 'And a mouth was given him speaking blasphemies; and power given him upon the earth, forty and two months.' Buonaparte was crowned in December, 1804; it is therefore supposed the extent of his assumed power upon earth will now be limited, this present month (June) 1808, being exactly the forty- second month of his reign. Verse 1 6///. ' And he caused all to receive a mark in their hands, and no one could buy or sell, save those that had the mark of the Beast.' To persons conversant in commercial affairs, these verses need no comment. There are, at present, some of these marks to be io ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE seen in this country ; they had the Crown of Italy, &c., at top, and are signed ' Buonaparte,' ' Talleyrand ' ; and all of them are numbered. Verse iBf/i. ' Let him that hath understanding, count the number of the Beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is Six hundred, Sixty and Six.' This verse is curious, and should be read attentively. The method of using letters for figures at the time the Revelations were written is proved by many monuments of Roman antiquity now extant. The Ancient Alphabet Buonaparte's name with Ten Kingdoms of Figures the Figures conquered A. . , N . 40 France B 2 A . 1 Prussia C J P . 60 Austria D 4 . 5° Sardinia E 5 L . 20 Naples F 6 E . 5 Rome G 7 A . 1 Tuscany H 8 N . 40 Hungary I 9 Portugal K JO B . 2 Spain L 20 U . 1 10 M 3° . 50 N 40 N . 40 P 50 60 £: 1 60 Q 70 A . 1 R 80 R . So S T 90 ICO T . E . too 5 U V I IO The Number 1 20 of the Beast 666 X I 30 Y 140 Z '5° N: ipole an liuor aparte 6 6 6 ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. u The above verses are not the only parts of the chapter which have reference to Buonaparte, but the most prominent ones ; the connection throughout has been clearly ascertained. In a curious little book called The Corsican's Down- fall, by a Royal Arch Mason, published at Mansfield in 1 8 14, at p. 6, it says, with reference to the numeration, ' The oldest treatise on the theory of arithmetic is com- prised in the seventh, eighth, and ninth books of Euclid's Elements, about two hundred and eighty years before the Christian era. The first author of any consequence who used the modern way of computing by figures, instead of letters of the alphabet, was Jordanus of Namur, who flourished about 1200 ; and his arithmetic was afterwards published and demonstrated by Johannis Faber Stapulensis, in the fifteenth century. The name, then, and number of the Beast must be discovered (if at all) by the ancient method of computation in use at the time when the pro- phecies were written.' But Bonaparte ungratefully refused to fulfil prophecy by being destroyed at the end of forty-two months, i.e. in June 1808, which must have put the expositors on their mettle. They were, however, fully equal to the occasion, and ingeniously solved the quotation this way. 1 'Power was given unto him to continue forty-and-two months : now it is well known that he was self created, or crowned Emperor of France, on the 2nd day of December 1S04, and that he reigned in full power and authority over the prostrate States upon the Continent until the 2nd day of May 1808, the very day on which the gallant Patriots of Spain made so noble and glorious a struggle to throw off the abominable yoke that he had imposed upon them, 1 The Corsica/! : s Downfall, p. 9. 12 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE which is exactly a period of three years and a half, or forty two months.' An ingenious lunatic, named L. Mayer, found out another way of fathering the Mark of the Beast upon Napoleon. He took the number of sovereigns who had reigned in Europe until Napoleon's arrival — some he has left out to suit his convenience, but that is a trivial matter — the case had to be made out against the unfortunate Emperor. Sovereigns included in the Number of the Beast. 1 Numbers Roman Emperors . . . . . -77 Popes . . . . . . . 1 86 Kings of France ...... 40 Kings of Spain . . . . . . . 78 Kings of Portugal ...... 26 Emperors of German}- . . . 57 Kings of Bohemia . . . . . 31 Kings of Hungary . . . . . . 34 Kings of Poland ...... 35 Kings of Denmark . . . . 35 Kings of Naples and Sicily . . . -3° Kings of Sardinia . . . . . . 36 Bonaparte ....... 1 Total 666 The Society of Antiquaries have, among their hand- bills, one published in 1808, as follows : — Mr. Urban, — The following singular coincidences may furnish matter for reflection to the curious. It lias been generally admitted that the Roman Empire, after passing under seven different forms of government (or se? m heads), was divided into ten kingdoms in Europe (the ten horns of Daniel and John); and that, notwith- 1 lUtonapartc I lie Emperor of t lie French considered as the Lucifer and Gog of hiah and Ezekiel, Cv., by b. Mayer, Lond. 1S06, p. 86. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 13 standing the various changes Europe has undergone, the number of kingdoms was generally about ten. It is not a little surprising that the Heads of t/ie Family of Napoleon, who has effected such a change in the same Empire, are exactly seven, viz. : — 1. Napoleon. 2. Joseph, King of Italy. 3. Louis, King of Holland. 4. Jerome. 5. Murat, Duke of Berg and Cleves. 6. Cardinal Fesch. 7. Beauharnais, the adopted son of Napoleon. And also that the Members 0/ t/ie New Federation are just ten, viz. : — 1. Bavaria. 6. Ysembourg. 2. Wirtemberg. 7. Hohenzollern. 3. Baden. 8. Aremberg. 4. Darmstadt. 9. Salm. 5. Nassau. 10. Leyen. It is also remarkable that in the man's name, Napoleon Buonaparte, there are precisely three times six letters : — Napole on Buon aparte 6 6 6 =666 And in his name is contained the name given by John to the King of the Locusts, who is called 'Apoleon,' or 'the Destroyer.' Even the date of his birth was disputed, for some said he was born on February 5, 1768 — in his marriage registry it is the same, and lie used to tell De Bourrienne, his school- fellow, that he was born on August 15, 1769, and it is so noted in the registry of his entrance into the military school at Bricnne in 1779, and the Ecolc Militairc in 1784, besides being the date used in all documents necessary to his pro- motion. But probably his mother knew somewhat about 14 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE it, and Madame Junot says, 1 speaking of Madame Lsetitia Bonaparte, ' I recollect she this day told us that, being at Mass on the day of the fete of Notre Dame of August, she was overtaken by the pains of childbirth, and she had hardly reached home when she was delivered of Napoleon, on a wretched rug. ... I know not why,' said she, ' it has been reported that Paoli was Napoleon's godfather. It is not true ; Laurent Jiubega 2 was his godfather. He held him over the baptismal font, along with another of our relations, Celtruda Buonaparte.' 3 1 .Memoirs, p. 269. '-' His nephew was afterwards prefect in Corsica. He was a relation of Napoleon. 3 Daughter of Charles Bonaparte, the Emperor's uncle, and wife of Paraviccini, a cousin, also, of Napoleon. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 15 CHAPTER III. COUNT MARBCEUF, HIS PUTATIVE FATHER— POVERTY OF THE BONAPARTE FAMILY — EARLY PERSONAL DESCRIPTION OF NAPOLEON -HIS OWN ACCOUNT OF HIMSELF — SATIRISTS' NARRATION OF HIS SCHOOL-DAYS. In after life, when Napoleon was successful, and had made a position, reports were spread that his real father was Count Marbceuf, who had been in Corsica, and in after life, or at all events at his entrance into it, acted as his bene- factor and patron. La^titia Ramolini, afterwards Madame La^titia Bonaparte, was very graceful and pretty, indeed Madame Junot says of her, 1 ' La^titia was indeed a lovely woman. Those who knew her in advanced life thought her countenance somewhat harsh ; but that expression instead of being caused by any austerity of disposition, seemed, on the contrary, to have been produced by timidity.' Indeed, no one can look at any portrait of Madame Mere, and not be struck with her lofty beauty. This scandal about Count Marbceuf, it must be re- membered, is of French origin, and was well known, and recognised, probably, at its value. To give one illustration, 2 ' La malignitc a fait honncur dc sa naissance au Comtc do Marbcuuf, governeur de l'isle, qui rendait des soins assidus a Madame Buonaparte, jeune femme, belle ct interressantc alors.' 1 Memoirs, p. 7. 2 lhionapartia.ua, on Choix (V Anecdotes airicuses, Paris, 1814. 1 6 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE All our English squibs repeat the tale, and the subjoined is certainly the cleverest of them. 1 About his parentage indeed, Biographers have disagreed ; Some say his father was a farmer, His mother, too, a Cyprian charmer : That his dad Carlo was quite, poor, Letitia a French General's ; If, faithless to her marriage vows, She made a cuckold of her spouse, Then Nap (some characters are rotten) Has been a merrily begotten. But other writers, with civility, Insist he's sprung from old Nobility, And therefore to his father's name Attach the highest rank and fame : Nay, furthermore, they add as true, Nap was Paoli's godson too. But what to this said great Paoli ? ' I stood for one, but 'pon my soul, I At present do not rightly know Whether it was for Nap or Joe.' It was for Joe, if he'd have said it, But Joe has done him little credit. Now let the honest muse despise All adulation, barefaced lies, And own the truth — Then Boney's father Was member of the law, or rather, A pettifogger, winch his friends, To serve their own politic ends, Would keep a secret, knowing well That pettifoggers go to Hell. When France occasioned some alarms, And Corsica was up in arms, 1 The Life of Napoleon, a IluJibrastic Poem in Fifteen Cantos, by Doctor Syntax (William Combe). London, 1 8 1 5. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 17 This Carlo Bonaparte thought fit, His parchments for the sword to quit. He fought, they say, with some applause, Tho' unsuccessful in the cause : Meanwhile, with battle's din and fright, His wife was in a dismal plight ; From town to town Letitia fled, To shun the French, as it is said ; Tho' others whisper that the fair Was under a French Gen'ral's care, And that to keep secure her charms She fondly trusted to his arms. Be this however as it might, After incessant fear and flight, Letitia ('fore her time, mayhap) Was brought to bed of Master Nap : The Cause, we think, of his ambition, And of his restless disposition. The Bonaparte family was not rich, their sole means of living being from the father's professional exertions, and the family was very large, and many mouths to feed ; in fact, they were in somewhat straitened circumstances, but not in such squalid poverty as Gillray depicts them, in the accompanying illustration, where our hero may be seen, with his brothers and sisters, gnawing the bony part of a shin of beef. Madame Junot ' says, ' Saveria told me that Napoleon was never a pretty boy, as Joseph had been ; his head always appeared too large for his body, a defect common to the Bonaparte family. When Napoleon grew up, the peculiar charm of his countenance lay in his eye, especially in the mild expression it assumed in his moments of kind- ness. His anger, to be sure, was frightful, and though I 1 Memoirs, vol. i. p. 10. VOL. T. C 1 8 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE am no coward, I never could look at him in his fits of rage without shuddering. Though his smile was captivating, yet the expression of his mouth when disdainful, or angry, could scarcely be seen without terror. But that forehead which seemed formed to bear the crowns of a whole world ; those hands, of which the most coquettish woman might have been vain, and whose white skin covered muscles of iron ; in short, of all that personal beauty which distinguished Napoleon as a young man, no traces were discernible in the boy.' DEMOCRATIC INNOCENCE. The young Bonaparte and his wretched Relatives in their native Poverty, while Free Footers in the island of Corsica. Napoleon said of himself : ' I was an obstinate and in- quisitive child. I was extremely headstrong ; nothing overawed me, nothing disconcerted me. I made myself formidable to the whole family. My brother Joseph was the one with whom I was oftcnest embroiled ; he was bitten, beaten, abused : I went to complain before he had time to recover his confusion.' At ten years of age, through the medium of his patron, Count Marbceuf, he was sent to the military school at ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 19 Brienne, which he entered on April 23, 1779. Here he was shy and reserved, and not at all liked by his schoolfellows, who twitted him with his poverty, the country whence he came, his name, and made reflections on his mother ; the last particularly exasperating him. His veracious Hudibrastic historian says : — When he two years at school had been, He proved more violent and mean : Unlike his sprightly fellow boys, Amused with playthings and with toys ; At shuttlecock he'd never stop, Nor deign to whip the bounding top. His garden was his sole delight, Which ne'er improv'd his mental sight ; But thus in childhood serv'd to show He was to all mankind a foe. His schoolfellows, in keen sedateness, He robb'd to prove his urchin greatness : Deluded by his wheedling art, Some cheerfully resign'd a part Of their possessions, and to these \ He added what he chose to seize ; L Then, planting it with num'rous trees J And putting palisades all round, He strutted monarch of the ground ; 'Twas on a welcome festive morn, For some great saint divinely born. No matter why, it was a jolly day, Boys must be merry cm a holiday ; And now behold their bulging pockets, Enrich'd with pistols, squibs, and rockets — When some, but humbly begg'd his pardon Threw fireworks into Boney's garden ; 20 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE 'Twas chiefly manag'd by the breeze Which sent them 'mong his plants and trees Bursting, the cracks were oft repeated, Nap's ears were with the thunder greeted : Th' explosions discomposed, I wot, Th' arrangement of the lovely spot. Nap saw it with corroding spite, And now began his lips to bite ; But strove his anger to restrain, Until revenge he could obtain. US/ NAPOLEON BLOWING UP HIS COMRADES. For weeks he plann'd what he should do, And in about a month or two Contrived his infamous design, By having made a kind of mine Beside the garden ; where, in haste, Long trains of gunpowder he plac'd ; I )eliberately now, as stated, He for the little fellows waited ; And just as they were passing through it, A lighted bit of stick put to it ; The hoys were suddenly alarm'd. And some were miserably harm'd, ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 21 While all, with fright and consternation, Were in a state of perturbation. Th' heroic Boney, with a club, Now came the sufferers to drub ; But soon the master was in sight, Which put the Conqueror to flight 22 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE CHAPTER IV. NAPOLEON AT THE ECOLE MILITAIRE — PERSONAL DESCRIPTION — PUSS IN BOOTS — VISIT TO CORSICA —SOLICITS SERVICE IN ENGLAND— REPORTED VISIT TO LONDON — SIEGE OP TOULON. On October 14 or 17, 1784, he left Brienne for the Ecole Militaire at Paris. Gillray, when he drew the picture (on next page) of the abject, ragged, servile-looking Napoleon, could hardly have realised the fact that Napoleon was then over fifteen years of age, and that, having been already five years at a military school, he must necessarily have carried himself in a more soldierly manner. He stayed at the Ecole Militaire till August 1875, when he obtained his brevet of second lieu- tenant of Artillery in the regiment of La Fere. Madame Junot ' tells an amusing anecdote of him at this period, which I must be pardoned introducing here, as it helps us to imagine his personal appearance. ' I well recollect that on the day when he first put on his uniform, he was as vain as young men usually are on such an occasion. There was one part of his dress which had a very droll appearance — that was his boots. They were so high and wide, that his little thin legs seemed buried in their amplitude. Young people arc always ready to observe anything ridiculous ; and, as soon as my sister and I saw Napoleon enter the drawing-room, we burst into a loud fit of laughter. At that early age, as well as in after life, Bonaparte could not relish a joke ; and when he found himself the object of merriment, he grew angry. 1 Memoirs, vol. i. p. 33. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 23 ' My sister, who was some years older than I, told him that since he wore a sword he ought to be gallant to ladies ; and, instead of being angry, should be happy that they joked with him. " You are nothing but a child — a little pensionnaire" said Napoleon, in a tone of contempt. Cecile, who was twelve or thirteen years of age, was highly indig- nant at being called a child, and she hastily resented the affront by replying to Bonaparte, " And you are nothing but a pass in boots!' This excited a general laugh among DEMOCRATIC HUMILITY. Bonaparte when a boy received thro' the King's bounty into the Ecole Militaire at Paris. all present, except Napoleon, whose rage I will not attempt to describe. Though not much accustomed to society, he had too much tact not to perceive that he ought to be silent when personalities were introduced, and his adversary was a woman. ' Though deeply mortified at the unfortunate nickname which my sister had given him, yet he affected to forget it; and to prove that he cherished no malice on the subject, he got a little toy made, and gave it to me. This toy con- sisted of a cat in boots, in the character of a footman run- 24 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE ning before the carriage of the Marquis de Carabas. It was very well made, and must have been rather expensive to him considering his straitened finances. He brought along with it a pretty little edition of the popular tale of Puss in Boots, which he presented to my sister, begging her to keep it as a token of his remembrance' Napoleon afterwards frequently called Junot, Marquis de Carabas, and, on one occasion, Madame Junot, in badi- nage, reminded Napoleon of his present to her, at which he got very angry. During his sub-lieutenancy he was very poor, yet he managed to go to Corsica for six months, whilst Paoli, who had been living in England, was there. There is a curious idea that, about this time (mentioned in more places than one 1 ), he applied for service under the British Government. At this time Bonaparte scarce knew What for his maintenance to do — So he sat down, and quickly wrote A very condescending note, (Altho' a wretched scrawl when written), Which to a Chieftain of Great Britain, He, soon as possible, dispatch'd, In which he swore he was attach'd Unto the British Constitution, And therefore form'd the resolution Of fighting in that country's cause, For George the Third, and for his laws, If that his services were needed, And to his wishes they acceded. It seems that Bonaparte could trade well, He'd fight for any one that paid well : But he a disappointment got, Because his services were not ' For instance, see Notes and Queries, 3rd series, vol. vii. p. 364. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 25 By Britain's chief Commander tried ; The rank he sought for was denied. This was the cause of great displeasure, It mortified him above measure, And he gave England now as many a Curse, as before he e'er gave Genoa. Nay, more extraordinary than all, it was even pretended that he lived some time in England. The Birmingham Journal of April 21, 1855, affirms, on the authority of ' Mr. J. Coleman of the Strand, who is now 104 years of age, and whose portrait and biographical sketch appeared in the Illustrated London News, Feb. 1850, and who knew per- fectly well M. Bonaparte, who, while he lived in London, which was for five weeks, in 1791 or 1792, lodged in a house in George Street, Strand, and whose chief occupation ap- peared to be taking pedestrian exercise in the streets of London. Hence his marvellous knowledge of the great metropolis, which used to astonish any Englishmen of distinction, who were not aware of the visit. I have also heard Mr. Matthews, the grandfather of the celebrated comedian, Mr. Thomas Goldsmith of the Strand, Mr. Graves, Mr. Drury, and my father, all of whom were trades- men in the Strand, in the immediate vicinity of George Street, speak of this visit. He occasionally took his cup of chocolate at the Northumberland, occupying himself in reading, and preserving a provoking taciturnity to the gentlemen in the room ; though his manner was stern, his deportment was that of a gentleman.' Timbs ' endorses this statement, in identically the same words of a portion of the above, which he fathers on old Mr. Matthews, the bookseller in the Strand, but we must recollect that Mr. Timbs was writing the ' Romance of London.' 1 Romance of London, vol. iii. p. 172, ed. 1S65. 26 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE A personal description of Napoleon in 1793 may be interesting, especially as it comes from a trustworthy pen. 1 ' At that period of his life Bonaparte was decidedly ugly ; he afterwards underwent a total change. I do not speak of the illusive charm which his glory spread around him, but I mean to say that a gradual physical change took place in him in the space of seven years. His emaciated thinness was converted into a fulness of face, and his com- plexion, which had been yellow, and apparently unhealthy, became clear and comparatively fresh ; his features, which were angular and sharp, became round and filled out. As to his smile, it was always agreeable. The mode of dress- ing his hair, which has such a droll appearance as we see it in the prints of the bridge of Areola, was then com- paratively simple, for young men of fashion (the Muscadins), whom he used to rail at so loudly at that time, wore their hair very long. But he was very careless of his personal appearance ; and his hair, which was ill-combed and ill- powdered, gave him the look of a sloven. His little hands, too, underwent a great metamorphosis : when I first saw him, they were thin, long, and dark ; but he was subsequently vain of the beauty of them, and with good reason. ' In short, when I recollect Napoleon entering the courtyard of the Hotel dc la Tranquillite in 1793, with a shabby round hat drawn over his forehead, and his ill- powdered hair hanging over the collar of his great-coat, which afterwards became as celebrated as the white plume of Henry IV., without gloves, because he used to say they were an useless luxury, with boots ill-made and ill- blackened, with his thinness and his sallow complexion ; in fine, whenl recollect him at that time, and think what he was afterwards, I do not see the same man in the two pictures.' 1 Memoirs of Madame Jiuiot, vol. i. p. 73. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 27 He was fortunate in obtaining a higher rank in the army, being promoted to be commandant of artillery, and he joined the army besieging Toulon on September 12, 1793. He found his chief, General Cartaux, incompetent, and, from representations made to Paris, Cartaux was super- seded. There was very hard fighting at Toulon before it was taken, Admiral Hood, and General O'Hara, command- ing the British forces. The latter being taken prisoner, much disheartened the English, but, at the final assault, NAPOLEON WORKING THE GUNS AT TOULON. when the town was retaken by the French, the English and Spanish gunners died fighting at their posts. Our metrical History of Napoleon says, — The first shell 'gainst Toulon, 'tis said, The hand of Bonaparte had sped. The vengeance of the French, on entering the town, was terrible ; but many thousands had taken shelter on board the British ships, leaving only a few hundreds to be executed ' according to law.' Our poem somewhat exag- gerates. 28 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE One of the Jacobins, whom Hood Had sent to prison for no good — A noted character indeed — By the republicans was freed. As vengeance he on all design'd Who to the English had been kind, Or in their dreadful situation Promoted the Capitulation, This miscreant selected then One thousand and four hundred men, Whom they determin'd to assassinate — A testimony of surpassing hate ; And Boney was, with general voice, For executioner their choice. Indeed the choice was very good, For Boney was a man for blood. In sets, it was these wretches' lot, To be brought forward to be shot : Nap gave the order with composure, The loaded guns were pointed so sure A dreadful carnage soon ensued — A carnage — horrible when view'd. Yet, gallant Boney, with delight, Remain'd spectator of the sight. Nay, more, himself vers'd in hypocrisy, He thought he might perhaps some mock'ry see So ' Pardon ! pardon ! ' loud he said, To know if they were really dead ; Some, who had counterfeited death, Rose up, and were deprived of breath ! Poor souls ! they knew not when he said it His word was not deserving credit. However two there were more wise, Who, having put on death's disguise, Could not be tempted thus to rise, but tarried till the wolves were gone, And then — a father found his son ! ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 29 CHAPTER V. NAPOLEON'S PROMOTION — HIS POVERTY — JUNOT'S KINDNESS — REVOLT OF THE SECTIONS — NAPOLEON'S SHARE THEREIN — MADE GENERAL OF THE INTERIOR — INTRODUCTION TO JOSEPHINE— SKETCH OF HER LIFE. For the capture of Toulon, Bonaparte was speedily pro- moted ; indeed, his superior officer, Dugommier, in his report, said, ' Reward and advance this young man, other- wise he will find means to advance himself.' He afterwards joined the army at Nice, and was sent on a secret diplomatic mission to Genoa ; on his return from which he was arrested and thrown into prison, where he remained a fortnight before he obtained his release. He was without any employment during the remainder of 1794, and till the autumn of 1795. He was then in very poor circumstances financially, and Madame Junot gives a graphic picture of his distress at this time. 1 ' Bonaparte's servant informed Mariettc that the general was often in want of money ; ' but, he added, ' he has an aide-de-camp who shares with him all he gets. When he is lucky at play, the largest share of his winnings is always for his general. The aide-de-camp's family sometimes sends him money, and then almost all is given to the general. The general, adds the man, loves this aide-de- camp as dearly as if he were his own brother.' The aide- de-camp was Junot, who got a commission after Toulon. 1 Memoirs, vol. i. p. 80 30 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE The wretched Boney, we are told, Reduced, and shivering with the cold, To public houses used to rove, And warm his hands before a stove ; Nay, in Corrozza, it is said, A large score still remains unpaid. He in an humble garret slept, Which never very clean was kept, Hence got he a disorder, which The vulgar people call the ' itch.' Long might have been poor Nap's dejection But for a pending insurrection ; For now was entertained th' intention Of overturning the Convention. The party by Barras were led, He of the rebels was the head ; But, neither brave nor skilful reckon'd, He wish'd to have an able second. This task, by many, as we find, Was conscientiously declin'd ; For every one of them well knew, A dreadful slaughter must ensue. Barras said in a thinking mood, ' I know a rascal fond of blood — A little Corsican blackguard, But now to find him may be hard.' Then, having mentioned Boney's name, They all agreed upon the same ; And Tallien gladly undertook For the said Corsican to look. Soon Boney on their honors waited, Though all in rags as it is stated ; And, matters being quick concluded, No ' saucy doubts or fears : intruded ; Nap with a horse was soon provided, And regimentals he beside had. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 31 This scheme began they to contrive In seventeen hundred, ninety five. And of October, we may say, The fourth was now a fatal day ! For, lo ! the insurgents sallied out, And desolation spread about ; All honest opposition fail'd And blood-stain'd tyranny prevail'd. Men, women, children, at a bitter rate The cries of ' Treason,' did reiterate, But nothing could their fury quell, For women, men, and children fell ! Xow, owing to this revolution, Was formed another Constitution ; Nap this assembly went to meet, And laid his trophies at their feet : These trophies were eight thousand carcases, Among the wounds, too, many a mark was his. A second victory like this, Was to Barras extatic bliss. And Nap, for bravery extoll'd, No longer a blackguard was called ; But as a hero now regarded, Was amply by Barras rewarded. In this life there is many a change, As unexpected and as strange : Then let us hope that this day's sorrow May be tranquillity to-morrow : For, mark you how our hero rose, Who wanted money, shoes, and clothes ; All those he had- -and, what is more, His garret chang'd for a first door ; And such, too, was his happy lot, That he a place for Lucien got ; Who, after this notorious slaughter, Had married an innkeeper's daughter. 32 EX GUSH CARICATURE AND SATIRE This is the satirist's account of the revolt of the Sec- tions, and Bonaparte's part therein. When applied to, he accepted the command, but declared that he must act untrammelled, and not like Menon, who failed through having three representatives of the people to counsel him. This was agreed to, and Barras was chosen chief, with Napoleon under him. The insurgents numbered some 40,000, the troops but 7,000 ; and such was the modera- tion of the latter, that when the insurrection was quelled, there were but seventy or eighty of the people killed, and between three and four hundred wounded. He was then made General of the Interior, and conse- quently Governor of Paris, and this position led him more into society. It is now that we come to a great epoch in his life, his meeting with Josephine, which came about in a somewhat singular manner. At one of his levees, a boy of twelve years, or so, called upon him. The lad was Eugene de Beauharnais, son of a general of the Republic, who was executed a few days before the death of Robespierre, and his errand was to petition Napoleon that his father's sword might be given to him. To quote Napoleon's own words, ' I was so touched by this affectionate request, that I ordered it to be given to him. On seeing the sword he burst into tears : I felt so affected by his conduct, that I noticed and praised him much. A few days afterwards, his mother came to return me a visit of thanks ; I was struck with her appearance, and still more with her esprit! He was always meeting her in society, especially at Barras's house ; and this intimacy, ripening into affection, brought about their marriage. The following series of eight plates, illustrating her life, were drawn by Woodward. Josephine (Marie Josephine Rose de la Pagerie) was born at Martinique, according to De Bourriennc, on June 23, ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 33 1763, but others say it was the same day of the month, only four years later. She was the daughter of a planter in that island, and was a Creole, i.e. one born in a French West Indian settlement. She was fourteen years old when she was brought to France by her father, and being very graceful and pretty, it was not long before she was mar- ried, which was to the Vicomte de Beauharnais, on Decem- ber 13, 1779. The union was not at first a happy one. She went to Martinique, to see her mother, and stayed there about fifteen months. Her husband was a general A PLANTER S DAUGHTER A FRENCH COUNTESS. in the army of the Rhine, but was singled out by Robe- spierre as a victim of his tyranny, was imprisoned and beheaded. Josephine was also imprisoned, and it was at La Force that she met with Madame Tallien — ' Notre Dame de Thcrmidor,' as Arsene Houssaye calls her --who was also in prison. Here, uncertain as to their fate, the female prisoners played at mock trials and executions (for the trials always ended in condemnation), and day by day their numbers grew less, as they were taken away to the real tragedy which the)' had rehearsed. Scandal (French VOL. I. D 34 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE before it became English) says that Barras, smitten by her charms, had her released on condition that she became his mistress. Mere is one French account : l ' A cette epoque, la jcune veuve du malheureux vicomte de Beauharnais, A LOOSE FISH. liARRAS' MISTRESS. mort sur l'cchafaud, languissait aux Magdclonettcs, ou, depuis longtems, elle etait detenue commc suspectc. In- 1 Amours et Avcnturcs du Vicomte'de Ban-as, Paris, 1S17. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. y timement lice avcc Hoche, elle le pria dc parlcr pour elle a Barras, alors tout-puissant. Celui-ci ne connaissait la vi- comtesse que de reputation ; il voulut la voir, et lui rendit visite dans sa prison. . . . Barras, seduit par la conversa- tion et les charmes personnels de la jeune veuve, devint, a la premiere visite, et son protecteur, et son ami. Deux jours aprcs, elle fut rendue a la liberte.' That Josephine gave rise to this scandal, is probably owing to her intimacy with Madame Tallien and Barras. Barras, she was bound to be grateful to, for by his means, a part of her husband's property was restored to her ; but it was Tallien who, at his wife's entreaty, obtained the liberty, both of Josephine and Duchesse d'Aiguillon. Madame Tallien's receptions were the most brilliant in Paris, where the prettiest and wittiest women met the men most distinguished in any way, and common gratitude, at least, would have led Josephine to the assemblies of her dear friend, who had shared her imprisonment, and ob- tained her release. 36 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE CHAPTER VI. Josephine's dress and personal appearance— her reputed con- nection WITH BARRAS — MARRIAGE WITH NAPOLEON — HER TASTES AND DISPOSITION. Let us for a moment, as an antidote to the caricaturist's pictures, see what was Josephine's dress at this period. 1 ' Here is Madame de Beauharnais, that excellent Josephine, whose heart is not made for coquetry, but who throws a childish joy into her dress. With an air less dramatic and superb than her rivals, 2 the joyous and kindly Creole is, perhaps, the most French of the three, Madame Tallien is the most Greek, and Madame Viconti the most Roman. Josephine wears a wavy dress, rose and w T hite from top to bottom, with a train trimmed at the bottom with black bugles, a bodice six fingers deep, and wearing no fichu ; short sleeves of black gauze, long gloves covering the elbow of noisette colour, which suits this beautiful violet so well ; shoes of yellow morocco ; white stock- ings with green clocks. If her hair is dressed after the Etruscan manner, ornamented with cherry-coloured rib- bons, I am sure it is impossible to approach nearer to the antique. To tempt the fashion is the sole ambition of the pretty Josephine, but it happens that the celebrated Madame de Beauharnais sets it.' It is impossible to quit this subject without some 1 Noire Dame de 7'hermhlor, p. 429. 2 Mmlame Tallica and Madame Viconti. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. yj contemporary quotations, as they help us to realise the truth, or falsehood, of the caricaturist. 1 ' Madame Tallien was kind and obliging, but such is the effect on the mul- titude of a name that bears a stain, that her cause was never separated from that of her husband. The following is a proof of this, Junot was the bearer of the second flags, which were sent from the army of Italy to the Directory. He was received with all the pomp which attended the reception of Marmont, who was the bearer of the first colours. Madame Bonaparte, who had not yet set out to join Napoleon, wished to witness the ceremony ; and, on the day appointed for the reception of Junot she repaired to the Directory, accompanied by Madame Tal- lien. They lived at that time in great intimacy ; the latter was a fraction of the Directorial royalty with which Josephine, when Madame Beauharnais, and, indeed, after she became Madame Bonaparte, was in some degree invested. Madame Bonaparte was still a fine woman ; her teeth, it is true, were already frightfully decayed, but when her mouth was closed she looked, especially at a little distance, both young and pretty. As to Madame Tallien, she was then in the full bloom of her beauty. Both were dressed in the antique style, which was then the prevailing fashion, and with as much of richness and ornament as were suitable to morning costume. When the reception was ended, and they were about to leave the Directory, it may be presumed that Junot was not a little proud to offer to escort these two charming women. Junot was then a handsome young man of five and twenty, and he had the military look and style for which, indeed, he was always remarkable. A splendid uniform of a colonel of huzzars set off his fine figure to the utmost advantage. When the ceremony was ended, he offered one arm to 1 Madame JunoPs Memoirs, vol. i. p 249. 38 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE Madame Bonaparte, who as his general's wife was entitled to the first honour, especially on that solemn day ; and offer- ing his other arm to Madame Tallien, he conducted them down the staircase of the Luxembourg. The crowd stepped forward to see them as they passed along. " That is the general's wife," said one. " That is his aide de camp," said another. " He is very young." " She is very pretty. — Vive le General Bonaparte ! — Vive la Citoyenne Bonaparte ! She is a good friend to the poor." "Ah !" exclaimed a great fat market woman, " She is Notre Dame des Victoires ! " " You are right," said another, " and see who is on the other side of the officer ; that is Notre Dame de Septembre ! " This was severe and it was also unjust.' We must not trust to the caricaturist's portrait of Jose- phine. She was good looking and graceful then, but, after- wards, she did become very stout. We must never forget in looking over the folios of caricatures of this period, that the idea of caricaturing then was to exaggerate everything, and make it grotesque ; it is only of modern years that the refinement of a Leech, Tenniel, or Proctor, gives us carica- ture without vulgarity. After seeing Josephine as she really was, it will be worth while to compare the satirist's idea of her, and her marriage with Napoleon. Nap changed on entering Society, Obscurity for notoriety ; He to Barras only inferior, Commands the army of th' interior. As pride in office is essential, His manners now were consequential ; Conducting all affairs of weight, The little man was very great ; And by this sudden rise to dignity, He gave full weight to Ins malignity. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 39 Barras, now moved by his persuasions, Consulted him on all occasions ; A greater compliment, too, paid he, He got for him, a cast off lady : A widow rich, as they relate, But how so rich, 'tis hard to state, Her spouse, for politics reputed, By Robespierre was executed, And she was by Barras protected, Till he at length the fair neglected. However, she procured with great art, A man of colour for a sweetheart ; By which no fortune's manifested, For men of colour are detested ; They married would have been, moreover, But that — in stepped another lover ; There are some writers who pretend, The lady's virtue to defend ; For, in the character they draw, She's guilty of but one faux pas ; But others, probably censorious, Declare her lapses were notorious, And that, devoid of sense and shame, She even gloried in the same ; So reckoning all things, the amount is, She was a condescending countess. The lady was, as it appears, Older than Nap by twenty years ; But, for a man, who scorned to prove The votary or slave of love — Whispering soft nonsense, and such stuff — She certainly was good enough. Short, like himself, and rather bulky, But not so insolent and sulk)'. 4 o ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE As by Barras, too, recommended (No matter from what stock descended), It certainly must be allow'd Of such a wife he should be proud. So, locked together, soon were seen, Brave Boney and fair Josephine. The pictorial caricaturist, Gillray, gives us February 20, 1805, ' Ci-devant occupations, or Madame Tallien, and the Empress Josephine Dancing Naked before Barras, in the Winter of 1797 — a fact' ' At the foot of this etching, which depicts the sensual bon viveur, Barras, looking on at the lascivious dancing of his two mistresses, Madame Tallien and Josephine, it says : ' Barras (then in power), being tired of Josephine, promised Bonaparte a promotion, on condition that he would take 1 Gillray, evidently, was not particular as to dates, for Napoleon married Josephine in 1796. ON NAPOLEON THE EIRST. 4i her off his hands. Barras had, as usual, drank freely, and placed Bonaparte behind a screen, while he amused himself with these two ladies, who were then his humble depen- dents. Madame Tallien is a beautiful woman, tall and elegant. Josephine is smaller, and thin, with bad teeth something like cloves. It is needless to add that Bona- parte accepted the promotion, and the lady, now Empress of France ! ' Barre, who notoriously wrote against Napoleon, says : * ' And not satisfied by procuring him a splendid appoint- ment, he made him marry his mistress, the Countess de j^-. -Xi --v.: -o Beauharnais, a rich widow, with several children ; and who, although about twenty years older than Bonaparte, was a very valuable acquisition to a young man without any fortune. The reputation of the Countess de Beauharnais was well established, even before the Revolution : but Buonaparte had not the least right to find fault with a woman presented to him by Barras.' At all events they were married, and here is G. Cruik- shank's idea of the ceremony, and here, also, he depicts the bridesmaids and groomsmen. Their honeymoon was of the shortest, for De Bourricnnc 1 History of the French Consulate under Napoleon Buonaparte, &c,, by W. Barre, London, 1S04. 42 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE says : ' He remained in Paris only ten days after his mar- riage, which took place on the 9th of March, 1796. Madame Bonaparte possessed personal graces and many good qualities. I am'convinced that all who were acquainted with her must have felt bound to speak well of her ; to few, indeed, did she ever give cause for complaint. Benevolence was natural to her, but she was not always prudent in its exercise. Hence her protection was often extended to per- sons who did not deserve it. Her taste for splendour and expense was excessive. This proneness to luxury became a habit which seemed constantly indulged without any motive. What scenes have I not witnessed when the moment for paying the tradesmen's bills arrived ! She always kept back one half of their claims, and the discovery of this exposed her to new reproaches. How many tears did she shed, which might easily have been spared !' We here see the caricaturist's idea of Josephine as a French general's wife. A GENERALS I.ADV, ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 43 CHAPTER VII. NAPOLEON MADE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE ARMY OF ITALY — HIS SHORT HONEYMOON — HIS FIRST VICTORY — STATE OF THE FRENCH ARMY — THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN — FRENCH DESCENT ON IRELAND ITS RESULT— STATE OF ENGLAND. NAPOLEON now waxed great. Through Barras' influence he was made Commander in Chief of the army of Italy, and bade adieu to his wife after the very brief period of con- jugal life, as aforesaid, and, on the way to join the army, he visited his mother and family, at Marseilles, writing frequent and affectionate letters to his newly married bride. Montenotte was his first victory, the precursor of so many ; and on April 11, 1796, he there defeated the Aus- trian general, Beaulieu, who was compelled to retreat, leaving behind him his colours, and cannon, about two thousand prisoners, and about a thousand killed. The French army then was in a bad state, according to a serious historian. 1 ' The extreme poverty of the trea- sury may be understood from the fact that the sum of two thousand louis was all that could be collected to furnish him (Napoleon) with means for so important a command. By an organised system of pillage, says Lanfrey, the Re- publican coffers were soon replenished to the amount of several millions ! ' Another historian 2 says : ' Scherer, who was at that time commander-in-chief of the army of Italy, had recently urged for money to pay his troops, and for horses to replace those of his cavalry which had 1 R. II. Home. - G. M. liusscy. 44 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE perished for want of food ; and declared that, if any delay took place in furnishing the requisite supplies, he should be obliged to evacuate the Genoese territory, and repass the Var. The Directory found it easier to remove the General than to comply with his request.' Our poetic history relates : — Such was the army's sad condition, They had no clothes nor ammunition. Besides, a scarcity of food, And even that little, was not good. They had no money — may be said — And why ? The men were never paid. But his intentions wisely Nap hid, Whose methods were as strange as rapid. He promis'd, when he was appointed, To get them everything they wanted ; And, what is more, too, their protector be, Without expense to the Directory. In his deceptions he succeeded, And now procur'd all that he needed. His troops which were with hunger nigh dead, Were with good victuals soon provided ; They for new clothes exchang'd their rags, And then with Rhino fill'd their bags ; 'While Xap, as you may well believe, These people laughed at in his sleeve. It is not within the province of this work to follow Napoleon in his victorious career in Italy, except the English caricaturist should notice him, and he had not yet attained to that questionable honour ; but a very brief synopsis of his battles in 1796 may be acceptable. Alontc- notte, April 11 ; Millesino, April 14; Began, April 15 ; Mondovi, April 21 : Lodi, May 10; Lonado, August 3 ; ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 45 Castiglione, August 5 ; Roveredo, September 4 ; Bassano, September 8 : San Giargo, September 1 3 ; Areola, No- vember 15. Barre says : ' The campaign in Italy was extremely brilliant, and withal revolutionary. Buonaparte attributed all the glory almost exclusively to himself. His secretary, who wrote his despatches, did it so as to flatter the generals and the army, but still as if all the merit belonged to the commander-in-chief. It seems that General Ber- thier made a bargain with Buonaparte, to whom he sold his talents for the sake of becoming rich without any responsibility. When Buonaparte was raised by the mixed faction, he made Berthier Minister of War ; and in that capacity he has shown himself more rapacious than any of his predecessors. Every contractor is obliged to give him one hundred thousand livres as a present {pot de vin) with out which there is no contract.' He tells a story which bears somewhat on the above. ' It happened once, that whilst he was playing at cards, having General Massena for his partner, that general made a mistake; when Buona- parte started, all of a sudden, in a violent passion, and exclaimed, Sacre Dieu ! General, yon make me lose. But General Massena instantly retorted with a happy sarcasm : Be easy, General, remember that I often make you win. Buonaparte could never forget nor forgive that boil mot' This story also figures in poetry : — In numbers being three to one, A Battle at Monte Notte he won : The Austrian General he defeated, And therefore with huzzas was greeted. But, tho' of this affair Conductor, Massena had been his instructor. Yet, when (would you believe it, Bards ?) Nap's partner at a game of Cards, 46 EXGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE He scrupled not his friend t' abuse — ' Zounds ! general, how you make me lose ! ' The general, patient all the while, Thus answer'd with a gracious smile, ' For such a loss don't care a pin, Remember, Nap, I've made you win? Tho' nothing but the truth he spoke, Nap never could forgive the joke. It is impossible to pass over in silence an event which happened in 1796, in which, although Napoleon was not personally interested, all England was. This was no less than an attempted invasion of Ireland by the French ; relying on being supported by the Irish, who were disaf- fected then, as now. The expedition failed, although it was numerous and well-found, having General Hoche and 25,000 men with it. By defective seamanship, many of the ships were damaged, and a 74 gun ship, the Sednisant, was totally lost. Only one division, commanded by Admiral Bouvet, reached Ireland, but anchored in Bantry Bay, where they did nothing, but speedily weighed anchor, and returned to France. The following is an official letter on the subject : — Dublin Castle, December 29, 1796. My Lord ' — The last accounts from General Dalrymple are by his aide-de-camp, Captain Gordon, who left Bantry at ten o'clock a.m. on Tuesday, and arrived here this morning. Seventeen sail of French ships were at that time at anchor on the lower part of Bear island, but at such a distance that their force could not be ascertained. A lieutenant of a French frigate was driven on shore in his boat, in attempting to quit his vessel, which was dismasted, to the admiral. He confirms the account of the fleet being French, with hostile views to this country, but does not appear to know whether the whole fleet, which consisted of about 17 sail of the line, 1 5 frigates, and including transports and luggers, amounted : The Lord Mayor of London, Thomas blackball. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 47 to fifty sail, were all to re-assemble off Bantry. General Hoche was on board, commanding a considerable force. I have the honour to be, my lord, Your lordship's most obedient servant, T. Pelham. Just let us glance for one moment at the social position of England at that time. For the first three months of the year the quartern loaf was is. 3d. ; in April it fell to icW. : in June it rose to lie/. ; in September it fell to S^d. ; at which it remained all the year. There was a surplus of revenue over expenditure of over twenty-three millions, which must have gratified the Chancellor of the Exche- quer ; the exports exceeded those in 1795 by 1,781,297/., and the London Brewers brewed 142,700 more barrels of porter than the previous year ; 3 per cent. Consols varied from 71 in January (the highest price) to $6§ in December (nearly their lowest). ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE CHAPTER VIII. NAPOLEON DESPOILS ITALY OF HER WORKS OF ART — THE SIEGE OF MANTUA — WURMSER'S SURRENDER — EARLIEST ENGLISH CARICATURE OF NAPOLEON — INVASION OF ENGLAND— LANDING IN PEMBROKESHIRE ■ — NELSON'S RECEIPT TO MAKE AN OLLA PODRIDA — 'THE ARMY OF ENGLAND.' SUCH a subject as the spoliation of Italian works of art was not likely to go a-begging among caricaturists, so George Cruikshank illustrated the poet Combe. \ 'A A-W^ 7#'%->' •3L SEIZING THE ITALIAN WORKS OK ART. As Nap (for his extortions fam'd), Of livrcs twenty millions claim'd ; Which sum, we also understand, Pope Pius paid upon demand ; And sixteen million more, they say, Was hound in two months' time to pay With these exactions not content, To further lengths our hero went : ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST 49 A hundred paintings, and the best, Were, we are told, his next request. At his desire, the precious heaps came, (It was indeed a very deep scheme), Loretta's statues so pleased Boney, They instantly packed up Madona : These relics then, without delay, To Paris Boney sent away ; And there they formed an exhibition As proof of Papal superstition. At the siege of Mantua, Wurmser sent his aide-de-camp Klenau to Napoleon to treat for terms of peace. G. Cruik- NAl'OLEON AM) HIS GUARD. shank depicts the scene. Klenau is brought in blindfolded, and Bonaparte, surrounded by his guard, strikes a melo- dramatic attitude, worthy of a pirate captain at a trans- pontine theatre. The real facts are thus described by Horn. ' Mantua was now without hope of relief. The hospitals were crowded, the provisions exhausted ; but Wurmser still held out. Napoleon informed him of the rout and disper- sion of the Austrian army, and summoned him to surrender. The old soldier proudly replied that "he had provisions for VOL. I. E 50 ENGLISH CARICATURE A AW SATIRE a year ; " but a few clays afterwards he sent his aide-de- camp, Klenau, to the head-quarters of Serrurier to treat for a surrender. 'At the conference, a French officer sat apart from the two others, wrapped in his cloak, but within hearing of what passed. After the discussion was finished, this officer came forward and wrote marginal answers to the conditions proposed by Wlirmser ; granting terms far more favour- able than those which might have been exacted in the extremity to which the veteran was reduced. " These," said the unknown officer, giving back the paper, " are the terms that I grant, if he opens his gates to-morrow ; and if he delays a fortnight, a month, or two months, he shall have the same terms. He may hold out to his last morsel of bread ; to-morrow I pass the Po and march upon Rome." Klenau, recognising Napoleon, and struck with the generosity of the conditions he had granted, owned that only three days' provisions remained in Mantua.' The earliest English caricature of Napoleon that I have met with, was published on April 14, 1797, all those hither- to given, being of later date. It is not worth reproducing, as the artist had evidently no knowledge of what manner of man Napoleon was. It is called the 'French Bugabo 1 frightening the Royal Commanders.' Bonaparte (a per- fectly fanciful, and horrible sketch) is seated on the back of some impossible Saurian — meant, probably, for the devil — who is vomiting armies and cannon. He calls out, ' Egad, they run well. Courez done Messieurs les Princes ! ! ! ' Of the two royal commanders running away, Frederick Duke of York is calling out to his companion, ' I wish I was at York. Come on, Charles, follow me.' Fox, who acts the part of ' the sweet little cherub that sits up aloft,' says, ' Run, Frederick, run Charles, Mack, Wurmsell, Kell ; 1 A bogey, a bugbear. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 51 well done D'Alvinzi, now Davidovich.' The poor Pope is being trodden under the beast, and cries out, ' Oh Lord ! this rebel son of mine pays me no homage whatever.' Of all the attempts of the French to invade England, perhaps the most ludicrous was that which took place in February 1797. On the 22nd of that month, a French corvette, and a lugger, made for the coast of Pembrokeshire, and there landed some 1,200 men. Two days after, they surrendered to Lord Cawdor, and were sent to Haverford- west : but, before the arrival of the military, the peasants attacked them with rough weapons, such as pikes and scythes. The ships, which brought this invading army over, were captured on their return to Brest. The following is an official letter to the Lord Mayor, respecting the event : — My Lord, — I have the honour to acquaint your lordship that intelligence has been received that two French Frigates, a Cor- vette, and a lugger, appeared off the East of Pembrokeshire, on the 22nd instant, and, on the evening of that day, disembarked some troops (reported by deserters to be about 1,200 men, but without any field pieces). Every exertion had been made by the Lord Fieutenant, and gentlemen of that county, and its neighbour- hood, for taking the proper steps on this occasion ; and the great- est zeal and loyalty has been shewn by all ranks of people. Im- mediately, on an account having been received at Plymouth, of this force having appeared in the Bristol Channel, frigates were despatched from Plymouth in quest of them. I have the honour to be, &c. Portland. In the 'Times ' of March 13, 1797, is the following : — Commodore Nelson's Receipt to make an Olla-Podrida. Take a Spanish first-rate, and an 80 gun ship and after well battering and basting them for an hour, keep throwing in your force baits, and be sure to let them be 7ceii seasoned. Y our Ji re 52 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE must never slacke?i for a single moment, but must be kept up as brisk as possible during the whole time. So soon as you perceive your Spaniards to be well stewed and blended together you must then throw your own ship on board of the two-decker. Lash your sprit-sail-yard to her mizen-mast : then jump into her quarter gallery, sword in hand, and let the rest of your boarders follow as they can. The moment you appear on the 80 gun ship's quarter deck, the Spaniards will all throw down their arms and fly : you will then have only to take a hop, step and a jump, from your stepping stone, and you will find yourself in the middle of the first-rate's quarter-deck with all the Spaniards at your feet. Your Olla Podrida may now be considered as completely disked and fit to be set before his Majestv. — Nelson's New Art of Cookery. Negotiations for peace with France had been going on during the year, and Lord Malmesbuiy went over to Lisle to conduct them on the part of the English, but they came to nothing. The French, however, in order to keep us in anxiety, massed large quantities of troops on their coast, which the Directory ordered should be called the 'Army of England,' and they gave Bonaparte the command of it. It was destined to come to nothing. Napoleon had made peace with the Austrian s, and was then given the above command. Among themselves ' they had indeed, On Nap's departure all agreed ; Lor, one of his prodigious sway, 'Twas policy to send away. So Barras, who had such a wise head, Albion's immediate fall advised. And to send Boney, he thought best, To head the army in the West, Which had a pompous appellation, As 'twas to rouse the English nation ; 1 The Directory. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 53 The ' Army of England ' it was named, Though never for an action famed ; They had, indeed, for the occasion, (We mean of the resolv'd invasion), Rafts and Balloons, and ships for diving, And other matters were contriving. The business settled, Barras wrote To his dear Bonaparte a note. ' Your loving friend now reinstates you, Another victory awaits you — To Albion's shores conduct your army, There's nothing there that can alarm ye ; I will each necessary thing lend, That you may sack the Bank of England : On London's Tower let them see The Standard of French Liberty.' Some of the Ministers it seems Thought this the maddest of all schemes ; Tho' Barras with fine words cmbellish'd it — Not even Mr. Boney relish'd it ; And very soon, it must be own'd The project wisely was postpon'd. Thus stood things at the end of 1797, a year which left the public pulse — the Three per Cent. Consols— at 49 (they had, in September, dropped to 47 1), and the quartern loaf about eightpence all the year through. 54 EXGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE CHAPTER IX. CARICATURES AIJOL'T THE FRENCH INVASION— FOX'S FRENCH PROCLIVITIES PATRIOTISM IN THE COUNTRY — EXPEDITION TO EGYPT — NELSON'S BLUNDERS— LANDING IN EGYPT — NAPOLEON AS A MAHOMETAN — HIS PROCLAMATIONS. In 1798 the caricatures with regard to the relations between France and England became more numerous, and in this year the personal entity of Napoleon is confessed, and his likeness, a somewhat rough one, but still recognisable, is established. An early one in this year is, the ' Storm Rising, or the Republican Flotilla in danger,' Feb. 1798, by Gillray. Fox, Sheridan, the Duke of Bedford, and Mr. Tierncy are represented as working a windlass, which is used to pull over the Flotilla. This is represented by a huge raft bristling with cannon ; a large fort is in the centre, and minor ones all around which bear flags inscribed ' Liberty, Atheism, Blasphemy, Invasion, Requisitions, Plunder, Beggary, Murder, Destruction, Anarchy, and Slavery. It is represented as coming from Brest, where the devil is seen dancing on a guillotine, fiddling, and singing, " Over de Vater ! over de Vater to Charley ! " ' Fox's coat lies on the ground, together with a paper, a ' List of the New Repub- lican Ministry. Citizen Yolpone (Fox) Premier.' Their designs, however, are being defeated by Pitt, who as Eolus, is raising a storm, and blowing against the Flotilla, the Admirals Duncan, Curtis, Howe, Gardiner, Trollope, Colpoys, St. Vincent, Seymour, Parker, and Onslow. A ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 55 somewhat similar idea was worked out in a caricature by- Isaac l Cruikshank, January 28, 1789. In March Sir John Dalrymple drew, and Gillray etched, a series of four caricatures. The first was called the ' Con- sequences of a successful Fiench Invasion,' and it shows the French clearing out the House of Commons, and the members in fetters. The second engraving is, ' We explain de Rights of Man to de Noblesse.' Paine's doctrines are being carried out in far more than their entirety. A guillotine takes the place of the throne, and the French commander orders, a la Cromwell, one of his men, ' Here, take away this bauble ! but if there be any gold on it take it to my lodging.' The next one is a slap in the face for Ireland, and is 1 He was (he father of our great caricaturist, George ; hut there is little doubt from the internal evidence of the pictures, that George either wholly produced, or materially helped in the execution of many caricatures signed with his father's name. 56 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE called, ' We fly on the wings of the wind to save the Irish Catholics from persecution,' and French sympathy is shown by a priest being stabbed, and the holy vessels trampled on. The fourth is ' Me teach de English Republicans to work,' and the French are represented as cruel taskmasters. Men and women are put to work in the fields, and Repub- licans, with fearful whips, keep them up to the mark of efficiency. Others are harnessed to a plough, and are kept well to their work by a most cruel lash. Napoleon gave up all idea of invading England, and in May the expedition to Egypt was formed. Fox's French proclivities are shown in a caricature (the Shrine of St. Anne's Hill, 1 May 26, 1798, Gillray) where he is seen on his knees before an altar, on which are a cap of liberty, and two busts of Robespierre and Buonaparte. The reredos is composed of a guillotine, and the tables of the ten commandments arc labelled ' Droit dc l'homme. 1. Right to worship whom we please. 2. Right to create and bow down to anything we chuse to set up. 3. Right to use in vain any name we like. 4. Right to work 9 days in the Week and do what we please on the tenth. 5. Right to honor both Father and Mother when we find it necessary. 6. Right to Kill. 7. Right to commit Adultery. 8. Right to Plunder. 9. Right to bear what Witness we please. 10. Right to covet our Neighbour's house and all that is his.' Nichols, Tierncy, Lauderdale, Bedford, Lansdowne, and Norfolk, appear in the upper background as Chcrubin. When the invasion panic was abroad, patriotism was rampant, and everybody was very brave — on paper. This was the sort of stuff the people were fed on, of which I will give but two or three verses out of the eight. 2 1 Fox's residence. - The True Union, May ir, 1798. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 57 While deeds of Hell deface the World, And Gallia's throne in ruin lies, While round the Earth revolt is hurl'd, And Discord's baneful Banner flies — Loud shall the loyal Briton sing To arms ! to arms ! your bucklers bring, To shield our Country, guard our King, And George and England save. Ne'er shall the desolating Woe That shades with horror Europe o'er, To us her hideous image shew, Or steep in blood this happy shore ; Firm as our rock-bound Isle we'll stand, With watchful eye and iron hand, To wield the might of Britain's land, And George and England save. Oh, happy Isle ! wise order'd State ! Well temper'd work of Freedom's hand ! No Shock of Realms can touch thy fate, If Union bind thy sea-girt Land ! Vainly the storms shall round thee ring, While Britain's sons in concord sing, We'll shield our Country, guard our King And George and England save. To give some idea of the commotion caused by the threat of invasion, and yet not to be wearisome on the sub- ject, I will only give the warlike items in the number of the True Briton, from which the above verses arc taken, and which may be accepted as a fair sample. ' We under- stand that the Duke of Bedford has received an answer from his Royal Highness the Commander in Chief to his offer of service, that it would be highly acceptable to the Government if he would exert his influence in Devonshire for the defence of the Coast.' ' His Grace the Duke of 58 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE Grafton has not only offered to furnish his waggons and horses to Government, in case of emergency, but has also expressed his desire to encourage all his neighbours and tenants to assist with their persons and teams as far as may be in their power.' ' Last week there was a respect- able Meeting of the Inhabitants of Stowmarket, at which it was unanimously agreed to form a Volunteer Corps of Infantry for the defence of that Town and Hundred.' ' In the county of Bedford, Lord Ongley, Mr. Trevor, and Mr. Whitbread, raise, each of them, a troop of Yeomanry. The town of Bedford raises a troop of Volunteer Cavalry.' ' A Meeting was held at Newmarket on Sunday last, after Divine Service, for aiding Government in case of Invasion, pursuant to the Regulations of Mr. Dundas's Defence Bill ; when the Inhabitants all came forward in a very laudable manner for that purpose, and most of the labourers offered their services as pioneers, or in any other capacity that may be deemed necessary.' ' The farmers of the Parish of Tarvin, in Cheshire, have set a noble example to their brethren throughout the Kingdom, in having entered into an agreement that they will, at a moment's notice, in case of actual invasion, or imminent danger thereof, furnish their respective teams, with able horses and drivers, for the service of Government, free from any payment or gratuity- whatever ; and the number of each which they bind them- selves to furnish, arc 39 waggons, 68 carts, 347 horses, and an adequate number of drivers.' This is the voluntary, patriotic side of the question ; take next day's paper, and we sec, ' There was a sharp press from the ships in Yarmouth Roads on Tuesday even- ing, by which means some good Seamen were procured.' There is a vast amount of humour in 'Anticipation, Ways and Means, or Buonaparte really taken ' (I. Cruik- shank, August 13, 1798). This represents a booth at a ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 59 country fair, where a Pierrot in tricolour costume (Fox), is showing to a lot of yokels a highly imaginative show canvas of Napoleon, with huge mouth and teeth, goggle eyes, two daggers, and immense boots and spurs. ' To be seen here alive, the noted Bony Parte, from Egypt. jggT An undoubted likeness.' With tears streaming down his cheeks, he assures his audience that ' he is certainly taken. I never was so pleased at any event in the whole course of my life.' Pitt, who, suffering from gout, sits down and acts as trumpeter to the show, addresses the people thus: 'Believe me, I do not mean to deceive you this time : he is really taken, and in this Booth at this present moment. Out with your pence good people — don't be so shy- — Tumble up Mr. Bull — the only booth in the fair! don't be alarm'd — he is perfectly tame I assure you.' The expedition to Egypt may be said to be the start- ing-point from which came the numerous caricatures of Napoleon. Before this, he had been known only by his victorious career in Italy, and had never come into active hostility with England ; but now that we were to measure our strength with the Chief of the ' Army of England,' he became an important person, and, consequently, the carica- turists, ever feeling the public pulse, took him up, and found it to their benefit. The occupation of Egypt by the French, if successful, would have led to their attacking our empire in India, and this was Napoleon's design. Why the flotilla was ever allowed to go on its way unmolested, is hard to conceive ; but it was so, and on May, 19, 1798, sailed out of Toulon 13 sail of the line, 7 frigates, 62 gunboats, and 400 transport vessels, having 20,000 troops and large quan- tities of military stores on board. There were also \2\ men learned in different branches of science, who accom- 60 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE panied the expedition, and the whole was under the supreme command of Napoleon. On June 1 1 they reached Malta, which surrendered without resistance, and then went on their way. Nelson followed them, and got to Malta, where he arrived on the 22nd, only to find that the French had left some days before, on which he sailed for Alexandria, getting there on June 28, but found no news of the French fleet ; so, instead of waiting for them, he steered northward for Caramania, and then went to Sicily ; whence, after refit- ting, he sailed again for Alexandria. In the meantime the French, of course, took advantage of his (to them) lucky absence ; and, on July 2, they dis- embarked the army, and took possession of Alexandria, but not without some loss on the side of the French ; and the bodies of the soldiers thus slain were by Napoleon's orders buried at the foot of Pompey's Pillar, and their names were to be engraved on the Column. And now, as it will be a frequent article of impeach- ment against Napoleon in this book, let us examine into the truth of his turning Mahometan, and see, first, what foundation it had in fact from the mouths of his own countrymen. Dc Bourrienne gives a proclamation made by Napoleon to his soldiers before their arrival in Egypt, from which I extract only those sentences bearing on this subject : — Head Quarters, on board the ' Orient.' The 4th Messidor, Year VI. (June 22, 179S.) Soldiers, — The people amongst whom you are going to live, are Mahometans. The first article of their faith is this : 'There is no God but God, and Mahomet is his Prophet.' Do not con- tradict this. Behave to them as you have behaved to the Jews — to the Italians. Pay respect to their muftis, and their imams, as you did to the rabbis and the bishops. Extend to the ceremonies prescribed by the Alcoran, and to the Mosques, the same tolera- ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 61 tion which you showed to the synagogues, to the religion of Moses, and of Jesus Christ. The Roman legions protected all religions. And again, the same author says : ' On arriving at Alexandria, the General in Chief issued a proclamation to the people of Egypt, which, besides adverting to the insults and extortions experienced by French merchants from the Beys, contained the following passages : — ' " People of Egypt, — You will be told that I am come to destroy your religion — do not believe it. Be assured that I come to restore your rights, to punish the usurpers, and that I respect more than the Mamelukes, God, his prophet, and the Alcoran. Tell them that all men are equal in the eye of God ; wisdom, talents, and virtue make the only difference. ' " Cadis, Sheiks, Imans, Scorbajis, tell the people that we are the friends of the true Mussulmans. Have we not destroyed the Pope-, who says that war ought to be made upon Mussulmans ? Have we not destroyed the Knights of Malta, because those bigots believed that God required them to raise their swords against the Mussulmans ? " ' And again (still quoting from the same authority), in a proclamation to the people of Cairo, dated from Ghizeh, 4th Thermidor, year VI. (July 22, 1798) : ' Fear nothing for your families, your houses, or your property ; and least of all, for the religion of the prophet, which I respect (J'ah/ie).' In another proclamation to the inhabitants of Cairo, according to ' Buonapartiana,' he is made to say : ' Make known to the people that since the world has been a world, it was written, that having destroyed the enemies of Islamism, the Cross should be thrown down ; I have come from the extreme confines of the West, to fulfil the task which has been imposed upon me. Shew your people that in the book of the Koran, in more than twenty passages, that what 62 EXGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE has happened has been predicted, and that what will happen is equally explained.' In a French History 1 he is described as conversing with the Muftis and Imams in the Pyramid of Cheops. At p. 171 he says, ' Honour to Allah ! ' at p. 172, ' Glory to Allah ! There is no other God but God, Mahomet is his prophet, and I am one of his friends;' and at p. 173, ' Mufti, I thank you, the divine Koran is the joy of my soul, «—*■ 1W JV 6** DEMOCRATIC RELIGIOX. Bonaparte turning Turk at Cairo for Interest, after swearing on the Sacrement to support y Catholic Faith. and the occupation of my eyes. I love the prophet ; and I am reckoning, before long, to sec and honour his tomb in the Holy City.' It is not worth while to multiply instances. His policy led him to conciliate the people, and, probably, his utter- ances were rather more in accordance with their religious ideas than would have been conformable in the mouth of a zealous Christian. But to the English caricaturist and satirist they were bonnes bouches, and they twisted and 1 Hisloire de Bonaparte, Premier Cvn.ul, Depitis sa Naissance, jusqifa la Paix Jc Luneville, I'aris, chez Barba, 1S01. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 63 distorted them to suit their purposes. It became almost an article of belief with the average Englishman, that Napoleon had embraced the Mahometan religion. Were there not his own proclamations to prove it ? Gillray even depicted him as undergoing a ceremony of reception into the Mahometan religion, surrounded as he is by Muftis, one of whom puts a turban on his head, another sonorously reads from the Koran, whilst a third brandishes a fearful knife for circumcision. 64 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE CHAPTER X. CONDUCT OF FRENCH SOLDIERY — NAPOLEON'S HATRED OF ENGLAND— THE EGYPTIAN CAMPAIGN— DESTRUCTION OF THE MAMELUKES — BATTLE OF THE NILE — TARDY NEWS THEREOF. After the entry into Alexandria, Napoleon, by several proclamations, imposed the strictest discipline upon his soldiers ; and, although it is possible some irregularities may have occurred on the part of the troops, such scenes as were depicted by Cruikshank and Combe, one with his pencil, the other with his pen, were simply impossible. He took the City by surprise, For he was always very wise, And with extreme amaze and dread, To mosques the people gladly fled. Regenerators yet annoy'd them, For they o'ertook and soon destroy'd them : And horrible indeed to tell, Both men and women quickly fell ; Nay, even the infants at the breast ! How sad the cries of the distrest ! As trophies of this glorious fight, The spears held up the babes to sight ; While this unparalleled ferocity Was call'd a incizing generosity. The avowed object of Napoleon's expedition was to punish the Beys, of whom there were twenty-four, who kept up a force of some eight thousand Mamelukes, splendid ON NAPOLEON THE EIRST. 65 cavalry, recruited from slaves bought in Georgia, the Caucasus, and even in Europe. The pretence against them was injustice and oppression against French merchants ; but the real reason for it is in the proclamation dated on board the ' Orient,' of 4th Messidor, year VI. : ' Soldiers, you are about to undertake a conquest, the effects of which on civilisation and commerce are incalculable. The blow you are about to give to England, will be the best aimed, and the most sensibly felt, she can receive, until the time when you can give her her death blow) . . . The Destinies are with us. MASSACRE IN EGYPT, The Mameluke Beys who favour exclusively English com- merce, whose extortions oppress our merchants, and who tyrannise over the unfortunate inhabitants of the Nile, a few days after our arrival will no longer exist.' With what intensity Bonaparte hated England ! For example, take this little extract from Madame Junot, 2 to whose brother Napoleon was speaking: '" England !" he then rejoined. "So you think in Ban's that we are going to attack it at last ? The Parisians are not mistaken ; it is indeed to humble that saucy nation that we arc arming. 1 The italics arc mine. — J. A. 2 Memoirs, vol. i. p. 209 VOL. I. F 66 ENGLISH CARICATURE AXD SATIRE England ! If my voice has any influence, never shall Eng- land have an hour's truce. Yes, yes, war with England for ever, until its utter destruction." ' Alexandria was taken and garrisoned ; but this was only the commencement of the campaign. Cairo must be reached speedily, and at all hazards. Then came that terri- ble march across the desert, from the 7th to the 10th of July — with generals all but mutinous, with Lannes and Murat dashing their cocked hats on the sands and trampling upon them in sight of the soldiers ; the burning sun, the scarcity of water, harassed by enemies, human and insect — what joy could exceed theirs when they reached the Nile at Rahmanie ! That wild rush into the water, without even thinking of the depth, and then the welcome shade and the juicy melons in such abundance ; it must have been a glimpse of heaven to those poor half-maddened, half- starved soldiers. After a brief rest they pushed on towards Cairo. On July 19 they sighted the pyramids ; on the 21st they had to encounter Mourad Bey, who had a force of 8,000 Mamelukes, forty pieces of cannon, and 20,000 infantry Then was it that, pointing to those grand historical monuments, Napoleon addressed his soldiers with the ever- memorable and oft-quoted speech : ' Soldiers ! From the summit of those pyramids forty centuries look down upon you.' We know the issue of that battle — how, out of 8,000 Mamelukes that proudly sat their steeds that morning, G,ooo bit the dust ere night. The French that day drank deep of blood, for 10,000 of the Egyptian troops lay dead on the field ; they took 1,000 prisoners, and all their artillery and baggage. They could make no further stand, and the way to Cairo was open. A small force under Dupuy took possession of the city, which they found almost ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 67 deserted, and on July 24, the Sultan Kebir, or King of Fire, as the natives had christened Napoleon, made his formal entry into Cairo. A brief rest to tranquillise the place and restore confidence to its returning inhabitants, and then, leaving Desaix in charge of the city, Napoleon went in pursuit of Ibrahim Bey, and drove him into Syria. But what news was to welcome the conqueror back to Cairo ? Sad indeed was the tale he heard — nought less than the destruction and capture of his whole fleet, save two ships, which effected their escape. Nelson had made up for lost time, and on August 1 he fought the ' Battle of the Nile,' when 'L'Orient' was blown up, and young Casa- bianca, the son of the captain of the ship, with it. We all know the poem by Mrs. Hemans commencing, 'The boy stood on the burning deck.' De Bourrienne does not disguise the effect this disaster had upon Napoleon. He says : ' The catastrophe of Aboukir came like a thunderbolt upon the General-in-Chief. In spite of all his energy and fortitude, he was deeply dis- tressed by the disasters which now assailed him. To the painful feelings excited by the complaints and dejection of his companion-in-arms, was now added the irreparable mis- fortune of the burning our fleet. He measured the fatal consequences of this event at a single glance. We were now cut off from all communication with France, and all hope of returning thither, except by a degrading capitula- tion with an implacable and hated enemy. Bonaparte had lost all chance of preserving his conquest, and to him this was indeed a bitter reflection.' But with what different feelings was the news received in England ! There was no steam, no electricity, then ; men did not receive their news red-hot as we do now, but had to wait for it, more or less calmly, according to their temperament. Let us take this battle of the Nile as an 68 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE example. It was fought on August I. On September I the ' True Briton ' (from which the following extracts are taken) gives its readers an ' Extract from a letter from Strasbourg, of the 20th August,' in which a circumstantial account of the total destruction and capture of the French fleet by that of England is given, together with a veracious statement that ' the latter lost their Admiral Nelson, who, nevertheless, two hours before he died of his wounds, received General Buonaparte on board his ship (the ' Cul- loden ') Prisoner, with all his General Staff.' This corre- spondent's veracity is only equalled by his impartiality. On September ij we hear of the sailing of the English fleet from Syracuse in quest of her enemy. On September 2 1 we have a quotation from the ' Redacteur ' of September 14: 'The same Letters inform us, that the Squadron of Admiral Brucys had anchored on the coast of Bignieres, and was preparing to return to France, when it was attacked by the English Squadron, which was superior to ours, both in the number and the size of the vessels ; that on both sides the action was maintained with a degree of obstinacy, of which History affords no example ; that during the action the Vessel of the French Admiral was burnt ; that two or three French Ships sunk ; and that some others, both French and English, ran aground after having lost all their Masts ; and that, finally, some other French ships, quite disabled, remained on the spot where the Battle was fought.' ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 69 CHAPTER XI. RECEPTION OF THE NEWS OF THE BATTLE OF THE NILE — NELSON SENDS FRENCH ADMIRAL'S SWORD TO THE CITY OF LONDON — VARIOUS CARICATURES ON THE BATTLE— TYPICAL JOHN BULL. It was not till October 2 that a glimmer of the truth, through rather a roundabout channel, appeared in the papers ; and later on that day appeared a ' London Gazette extra- ordinary,' with Nelson's despatches, which were very brief. Who can wonder at the excessive national rejoicing? People were drunk with joy. Tske a few paragraphs from the ' Times ' of October 3 : — 'DRURY LANE. — After the play, the news of Admiral Nelson's glorious victory produced a burst of patriotic ex- ultation that has been rarely witnessed in a theatre. " Rule Britannia" was unanimously called for from every part of the house, and Messrs. Kelly, Dignum, Sedgcwick, Miss Leak, and Mrs. Bland, came forward and sung it, accompanied by numbers of the audience. It was called for, and sung, a second time. The acclamations were the loudest and most fervent we have ever witnessed. ' The following lines, written for the occasion, were intro- duced by Mr. Dignum and Mr. Sedgcwick — Again the tributary Strain Of grateful Britons let us raise, And to the Heroes on the Main, Triumphant add a Nelson's praise. 70 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE Though the Great Nation proudly boasts Herself invincible to be ; Yet our brave Nelson still can prove Britannia, Mistress of the Sea. The audience were not satisfied with this repeated mark of exultation, but in the effusion of enthusiastic loyalty, called for " God save the King," which was received with reiterated plaudits.' ' Immediately that the news of the gallant victory ob- tained by Admiral NELSON was known at Lloyd's, a sub- scription was opened for the relief of the widows and orphans of the brave men who perished in fighting for their country.' 1 ' Every man in this country may address Admiral Nelson with Shakespeare, Horatio, thou art e'en as brave a man As e'er my understanding cop'd withal. The Capture of the French Fleet by NELSON, has reduced BUONAPARTE to the situation of Macbeth, There is no going hence, nor tarrying here.' ' A person last night, in the gallery of Drury Lane house, calling frequently for the tunc of BRITONS STRIKE HOME, 2 was immediately silenced by the appropriate observation of another at some distance from him, "Why, damn it, they have — have not they ? " ' ' An affray happened last night opposite to the Admi- ralty, where the crowd was very great. The mob, as usual, 1 Eleven hundred guineas were collected at once on the first day, besides which, the Times, October 4, says, 'The Royal Exchange and London Assur- ance Companies have subscribed 100 guineas each, and the East India Company have voted 1,000/. towards this benevolent and patriotic fund.' - From Bomluca, by Henry Purcell, A.i>. 1710. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 71 insisted on every person of genteel appearance pulling off their hats ; six Officers passing along, were ordered to pay the same compliment to the mobility, and, refusing to do so, the populace attempted to force their hats off. The Officers drew their swords, and it was said that some persons were wounded.' The next day's ' Times ' (October 4) says : ' To shew the zeal for Illumination in honour of our late splendid Victory, a chaise last night passed through the town, in which were three Ladies, with large cockades in their head dresses. The inside of the chaise was lighted up ; a postillion was on each horse with flambeaux in their hands, besides two out- riders, also carrying flambeaux.' ' It was remarked by a loyal Hibernian, on the official news of Admiral Nelson's victory, that nothing on cartli could resist us by sea! The mob after a day or two became so uproarious that the magistrates were compelled to order the cessation of the illuminations. On October 3 the Court of Common Council met, two hundred strong, when the Lord Mayor read the subjoined letter from Nelson — Vanguard, Mouth of the Nile : August 8th, 1798. My Lord, — Having the honour of being a freeman of the City of London, I take the liberty of sending to your Lordship the sword of the commanding French admiral, Monsieur lilanquet, who survived after the battle of the 1st, off the Nile, and request that the City of London will honour me with the acceptance of it, as a remembrance that Britannia still rules the waves ; which that she may for ever do, is the fervent prayer of Your lordship's Most obedient Servant Horatio Nelson. Light lion, the Lord Mayor of London. 72 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE Naturally, this gratifying memorial of this splendid victory was welcomed with enthusiasm, and orders were given to provide a suitable case, with inscription, for it ; and the Council voted Nelson a sword, value 200 guineas ; also the freedom of the City in a gold box, value 100 guineas, to Captain Berry, who was captain of the admiral's flagship, the ' Vanguard ; ' and the thanks of the court to every one concerned. The caricaturists soon pounced upon the subject, and the way in which the news of the victory was taken by different statesmen is very amusingly shown. (Gillray, October 3, 1798.) Burdett, who is always represented with his crop of hair combed over his eyes, is reading the ' Extraordinary Gazette,' and, in astonishment, exclaims, ' Sure I cannot see clear ? ' Jekyll is telling Lord Lansdownc how nine French ships of war were captured and two burnt ; but his lordship claps his hands to his ears, and calls out, ' I can't hear, I can't hear.' The Duke of Bedford will not believe it, and is tearing up the notification of ' the complete destruction of Buonaparte's Fleet,' exclaiming, ' It's all a damn'd Lye ; ' whilst poor Erskine, with Republican briefs before him, drops the paper which tells him of the capture of Bonaparte's despatches, and, with a smelling-bottle to his nose, plaintively calls out, ' I shall faint, I, I, I.' The poor Duke of Norfolk, whose many empty bottles of port testify to his inebriate condition, is very ill, and gives his opinion that ' Nelson and the British Fleet ' is ' a sickening toast.' Ticrney is in despair, and with the ' End of the Irish Rebellion ' in his pocket, and on his knees a paper, End of the French Navy. Britannia rules the Waves,' calls out, with upturned eyes, ' Ah ! our hopes are all lost.' Moodily, with his head resting on his hands, sits Sheridan, with a ' List of the Republican Ships taken and destroyed ' before him, and his thoughts arc of prudence, ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 73 ' I must lock up my Jaw.' Black-visaged Fox, wearing a Cap of Liberty, has kicked over the stool that hitherto has supported him, and mournfully bidding ' Farewell to the Whig Club,' says, ' and I end with Eclat.' This victory of the Nile is very graphically depicted (Gillray, October 6, 1798) in the ' Extirpation of the Plagues of Egypt ; — Destruction of Revolutionary Crocodiles ; — or — The British Hero cleansing y e Mouth of y e Nile.' Here Nelson has half-a-dozen crocodiles (typical of captured French ships) hooked and in his power, whilst, with a stout cudgel of ' British Oak,' he is spreading deadly blows and consternation into a quantity of tricoloured crocodiles. The blowing up of the ' Orient ' is shown by one crocodile which is thus being destroyed. Another caricature (October 7, 1798) of the victory of the Nile is ' The Gallant Nellson bringing home two uncom- mon fierce French Crocodiles from the Nile as a present to 74 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE the King.' The one-armed hero is leading by a chain Fox and Sheridan, who have their jaws muzzled by rings, and Fox's mouth is also secured by a padlock, ' a mouthpiece for hypocrites.' They are both weeping copiously, after the fabled manner of crocodiles. Nelson is saying, ' Come along you Hypocritical dogs, I dare say your Dam'd sorry now for what you've done. No, no, I shall bring you to my Master ; ' whilst John Bull, habited as a countryman, exclaims, ' Aye, aye, what ! Horatio has got 'em at last. Why, these be the Old Cock Deviles. I thought as how he would not go so far for nothing. 5 This goes well with that of October 3. A very curious caricature is (Ansell, October 24, 1798) Bonaparte in Egypt, ' A terrible Turk preparing a Mummy for a present to the Grand Nation.' A Turk, terrible indeed, has Napoleon by the throat, and, with sword in hand, is going to despatch him, saying, ' As for you, you Dog of no Religion, I'll sacrifice you at the tomb of the Prophet, whose name you have prophaned for the purposes of Murder, Rapine, and Plunder.' Napoleon, whose defenceless state is typified by his swordless scabbard being broken, is endeavouring to mol- lify the wrath of the Turk. ' Now, mild and gentle Sir, don't be so rough : do you think I would cut your throat, ravish your wives, or plunder your house ? No, by Mahomet I would not. Sacre Dicu, I would not. Ah, Diable, you'll choak me.' Fox, Erskine, Sheridan, and the Duke of Norfolk are kneeling down, begging for Napoleon's life, whilst a Turk, who exclaims, ' You agree together so well, I think I'll fix you together for life,' has a bowstring ready to strangle all four. Pleads Fox, ' Pray don't hurt our dear friend, he would not hurt Man, Woman, or Child. He can't bear the sight of blood ; as tor plunder or deception, he is the determined ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 75 enemy to both, by he is, and we are ready to swear it.' Sheridan and Erskine say — the one, ' d — n me if he ayn't, and we are ready to swear it ; ' the other, ' I'll swear it, I, I, I, swear it' ' John Bull taking a luncheon ' (Gillray, October 24, 1798) is an extremely graphic caricature, and introduces us to the popular idea of John Bull, who, certainly, is never represented in this period with any of the refinement that Leech, Doyle, Tcnniel, or any of our modern caricaturists depict him ; tastes and habits were coarser then than now, and John Bull was always shown in the rough. The second portion of the title of the picture helps us to realise the popular fancy, 'or — British Cooks cramming old Grumble Gizzard with Bonne Chcre.' All his admirals and captains are bringing him food. Nelson presents him with a Fricasec a la Nelson, a huge dish of French ships ; others arc bearing dishes, such as Desert a la Warren, Fricando a la Howe, a la Gardner, a la Bridport, a la Vincent, Dutch Cheese a la Duncan. John Bull is seated, devouring these viands, which are to be washed down with mighty draughts of True British Stout, exclaiming, 'What! more Krigasccs ? why you sons o' 7 6 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE b s, you, where do you think I shall find room to stow- all you bring in ? ' Fox and Sheridan are seen through an open window, running away, calling out, ' Oh curse his Guts, he'll take a chop at us next' There is another one with similar motif by Ansell, November i, 1798. The ' destruction of the French Collossus ' (Gillray, November 1, 1798) is a painful picture. The huge creation strides from Egypt to France ; its head being a skull, with vipers crawling in and out — its hands and feet being imbrued in blood ; it clutches the guillotine, and tramples the Bible, Crucifix, and scales of Justice under foot. Round its neck is the bleeding head of Louis XVI. Britannia (typified by a shield of the national flag) hurls a thunderbolt, and shatters the huge statue into pieces. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 77 CHAPTER XII. REVOLT AND MASSACRE AT CAIRO — CARICATURES OF THE CAPTURE OF FRENCH SHIPS — FIGHTING FOR THE DUNGHILL, ETC.— PRICE OF BREAD AND CONSOLS IN 1 798. I HAVE omitted an episode which, to be chronologically correct, should have been introduced earlier ; and here, as usual, we find a French authority for what might seem an English slander : Emilc de la Bedoliere, in his ' Tableau Chronologique dc l'Histoire dc Napoleon,' gives the story of the revolt at Cairo very tersely : — October 21. — 'During two months the Mussulmans patiently supported the yoke of the conquerors ; but the establishment of a registration of landed property became the cause of a violent insurrection. 'On the 30th Vendemaire, year VII. (October 21, 1798), a multitude ran through the streets, and massacred all the French they met. Bonaparte repaired to the scene, and took measures to cut the communications between the different quarters of the city, which were in the hands of the insurgents. Fifteen thousand of them took refuge in the great mosque, and refused to surrender. A hail of bombs, shells, and bullets, threatened to engulph them under the debris of their last asylum Soon they uttered lamentable cries, implored the mere)' of the gencral-in- chief, and surrendered at discretion.' Combe thus versifies this event :— 78 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE Mock liberty caus'd disaffection, And soon commenc'd an insurrection. According to our hero's plan Of course a massacre began : The streets were clear'd, and all the men Ran to the mosques for refuge then. The troops, tho', having forc'd the doors, Strew'd with combustibles the floors, And such indeed the conflagration, It was a grand illumination ; With screams and groans the air was fill'd, For some were burn'd and some were kilPd — All indiscriminately slain, Who had for quarter begg'd in vain. At length our hero was inclin'd Tho' somewhat slowly, to be kind ; He granted quarter, and he trusted All would be quietly adjusted. He knew, which certainly was verified, They had sufficiently been terrified. Cruikshank, of course, grossly exaggerates the fact, and represents the French soldiery savagely attacking, even with pickaxes, the Egyptians who are endeavouring to escape from the mosque. In November (12th) of this year, Rowlandson produced a plate called ' High fun for John Bull, or the Republicans put to their last shift.' This represents him as being in great glee at having captured so many ships, whilst the French are hard at work making fresh ones, which they are baking by batches in a Dutch Oven (an allusion to their being built in Holland). A Frenchman, with a large trayful of ships, calls out, ' Sacre clicu, Citoycns, make a Haste wit one autre Fleet, den we will shew you how to make one grande Invasion.' Another, a Spaniard, with a tray of cannon on his head, says, ' How ! That Nelson, ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 79 wit one Arm and Eye can take our Ships by Dozens, then vat shall we do against the autres, wid two Arms and Eyes, dey will have two dozen at a time." A stolid Dutch- man is baking a batch, grumbling the while, ' Donder and Blaxam to dis Fraternization ; instead of smoaking mine Pipes and sacking De Gold, dis French Broders make me build ships dat Mynheer Jan Bull may have de Fun to take dem.' Another Frenchman adds, ' Well you may talk, make haste, when dat English Nelson take our ships by the Douzaine.' John Bull, who holds a whip in his hand, says, ' What ! you could not find that out before, you stupid Dupes ; but since you began the fun, you shall keep on. So work away, Damn ye, else Jack Tar will soon be idle.' A sailor carrying a trayful of ships on his head, calls out, ' Push on, keep moving, I'll soon come for another cargo. Old England for ever. Huzza ! ' 'Fighting for the Dunghill — or — Jack Tar settling Buonaparte,' is by Gillray, November 20, 1798. Napoleon is terribly punished, his body being a mass of bruises and wounds, the worst being a large one in the breast, and labelled. Nelson. Blood is streaming from his nose, and Jack is driving him out of the world altogether, having his 80 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE foot upon Malta, whilst Napoleon is insecure in Turkey This engraving is an extremely typical one of the burly, beef-fed Englishman, and the ' skinny Frenchman,' the ' Johnny Crapaud ' of the time, any number of whom an Englishman was supposed to be a match for — One skinny Frenchman, two Portugee, One jolly Englishman beat 'em all three. Napoleon is depicted by Gillray (December 8, 1798) as being in a fearful rage — and an extremely diverting sketch it is. It is called ' Buonaparte hearing of Nelson's Victory, swears by his sword to extirpate the English from off the Earth. See Buonaparte's Speech to the French Army at Cairo, published by authority of the Directory in Volney's Letters.' His melodramatic pose, and costume, are superb. A huge cocked hat and feathers, the hat adorned with a crescent (to show his supposed Mahometan proclivities), as well as a tricoloured cockade, surmounts his head, which bears a most ferocious expression, somewhat heightened by the formidable pigtail which he wears. A huge green necktie is round his neck, and he wears a tri- coloured scarf, in which are stuck a pistol and dagger ; boots, with huge spurs, add to the dignity of the costume. He is waving his bloody sword, and stamps upon a paper, ' Nelson's Victory over the Fleet of the Republic,' while he shouts out : ' What ? our Fleet captured and destroyed by the slaves of Britain ? by my sword and by holy Mahomet I swear eternal Vengeance ! yes, when I have subjected Egypt, subdued the Arabs, the Druses, and the Maronites ; become master of Syria ; turn'd the great river Euphrates, and sailed upon it through the sandy deserts ; compelled to my assistance the Bedouins, Turcomans, Kurds, Arme- nians, and Persians ; formed a million of cavalry, and pass'd them upon rafts, six or seven hundred miles over the ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 81 Bosphorus, I shall enter Constantinople. Now I enter the Theatre of Europe, I establish the republic of Greece, I raise Poland from its ruins, I make Prussia bend y c knee to France, I chain up y e Russian bear, I cut the head from y e Imperial Eagle, I drive the ferocious English from the Archipelago, I hunt them from the Mediterranean, and blot them out from the catalogue of Nations. Then shall the conquer'd Earth sue for Peace, and an Obelisk be erected at Constantinople, inscribed " To Buonaparte, conqueror of the World, and extirpator of the ENGLISH NATION.'" This brings the year 1798 to a close of the prosperity, or otherwise, of which we may judge by the price of the quartern loaf, which averaged 8^d. for the year, and by the three per cent. Consols., which were 49^ in January, and 52^ in December ; but in this, as in other stocks, there was much fluctuation : for instance, in September Consols, were 49! ; then came the news of the victory of the Nile, and up they went to 56J,-, only, how- ever, to fall to 50^. But they rose again in November to 57 £, fell again to 52^-, and rose in December to 56. VOL. I. 82 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE CHAPTER XIII. REPORTED ATTEMPT TO ASSASSINATE NAPOLEON — HIS AMOUR WITH MADAME FOURES — THE EGYPTIAN CAMPAIGN — THE ' SAVANTS ' — CARICATURES ON THEM. The new year opens with a somewhat curious print by I. Cruikshank, January I, 1799, of the ' Ghost of Buona- parte appearing to the Directory.' The latter arc in fear- ful dismay at the apparition, which, attired in the airiest of costume, shakes his notched sword at them, saying, ' Regi- cides, Parricides, Matricides, and Patricides, this is the effect of your insatiable thirst for Conquest; this is your reward for my glorious Achievements in Italy, Germany, &c. — to die by the hand of an Assassin, a d — d Mussulman : and all my Brave Legions Destroyed by Water melons and the Arabs. Go, Murderers in cold blood, may your conscious guilt ever prey upon your vitals, and may the name of Nelson ever haunt you, sleeping and waking ' ! What is meant by his dying 'by the hand of an Assassin,' I do not know ; but probably some rumour was afloat to that effect, as Barre observes : 'Whilst Buonaparte and his army were thus cut off from Europe, the most absurd reports were spread (no doubt by the partisans of the artful Corsican) repre- senting him as a victim of the Directory, who had thought proper to remove so great, famous, and fortunate a general. 'They pretended that the Directory, unable to repay the signal services of Buonaparte, and, fearing, at the same time, his popularity, had contrived, with Talleyrand, to flat- ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. ' 83 ter the ambitious vanity of that young conqueror with an expedition, which would raise his fame above the glory acquired by Alexander, or Caesar. They added, that, as Buonaparte was sure of being director at the next election, the Directory had resolved to put him out of the way, by sacrificing him and his army ; having even directed that the fleet should be exposed to certain destruction, in order that no possibility could exist of his return.' The 'Times' of January 2, 1799, has the subjoined : — The following Epigram has been handed about in Paris. The French points are all that can be remembered by the Gentleman who has put it in an English dress. ' France, to get rid of Turbulence, Sends her best Soldiers far from hence, With promises, and wishes, hearty ; Pleas'd and content that what so e'er May happen either here or there, To hazard all in Bona-parte. ' And still, though rous'd by home alarms, Nay, threatened by the world in arms, France holds her head up bold and hearty — Since now each Directorial Elf, By losing Bonaparte's self Enjoys the loss in Bona-parte? Meanwhile Napoleon was taking things pretty easily in Egypt, enjoying himself after his manner. It is a marvel that none of the English caricaturists ever depicted this portion of his life. True, Gillray, as we have seen, drew him in Turkish costume ; but he never wore it but once, and then but for a very short time. But why did they spare him in his amour with Madame Eoures (Pauline, or Queen of the Hast, as the army christened her) ? De Bourrienne makes no secret of it. I le says : 'About the middle of September in this year (1798), Buonaparte r. 2 84 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE ordered to be brought to the house of Elfy Bey, half a dozen Asiatic women, whose beauty he had heard highly extolled. However, their ungraceful obesity displeased him, and they were immediately dismissed. A few days after, he fell violently in love with Madame Foures, 1 the wife of a lieutenant of Infantry. She was very pretty, and her charms were enhanced by the rarity of seeing a woman, in Egypt, who was calculated to please the eye of a Euro- pean. Bonaparte engaged, for her, a house adjoining the palace of Elfy' Bey, which he occupied. He frequently ordered dinner to be prepared there, and I used to go there with him at seven o'clock, and leave him at nine. ' This connection soon became the general subject of gossip at head-quarters. Through a feeling of delicacy to M. Foures, the General in Chief gave him a mission to the Directory. He embarked at Alexandria, and the ship was captured by the English, who, being informed of the Cause of his mission, were malicious enough to send him back to Egypt, instead of keeping him prisoner.' But he was not one to waste much time in dalliance. Turkey was not at all satisfied with the occupation of Egypt, and two armies were assembled, one in Syria, and one at Rhodes ; the former of which had already pushed forward into Egyptian territory as far as El-Arisch, and also a train of artillery had been placed at Jaffa (the ancient Joppa). The commander of this corps d'armce (Achmet Pacha) had earned the unenviable title of Djczsar, or the Butcher. Napoleon, very early in the year 1799, marched against him, his busy brain having schemed the plan of crushing these Turkish troops, a demonstration against Constantinople itself, a forced peace with the Porte, and 1 There is a long account of this lady in Amours secretes de Napoleon, des Princes et Princesses de sa fa mi lie, d-Y., by M. de 13. . . . 2 vols., Paris, 1844, 121110, ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 85 then hey ! for India. To pave the way for this latter he actually wrote to Tippoo Sahib, saying he was coming to deliver him from the English yoke, and requesting his answer, which he might possibly have received, had not Tippoo been killed on May 4 of that year. Napoleon, by way of conciliating the Egyptians, assisted at the celebration of Ramadan,' with great pomp, which, naturally, would afford his detractors another opportunity for outcry at his Mahometan proclivities. As soon as it was over, he set out against Achmet Pacha, and, on Febru- ary 17, El-Arisch capitulated, and the army marched to Gaza. How'the vanguard lost their way, and their terrible sufferings in the desert, it boots not to tell. Gaza was taken, its stores were confiscated, and then Jaffa was their bourne, which was reached, and invested^ on March 4. Before reading the sad page of history which Jaffa gives us, let us glance at one or two caricatures which appeared in England about this time. Napoleon had taken with him, in his expedition to Egypt, Denon and divers other learned men to investigate the archaeology of the country, &c, and most valuable were the services of the Institute,' as this body of savants was called. They furnished some fun to the army, and the cry, when any danger threatened, of the Asses and the Savants to the centre,' was naturally productive of mirth ; the army also christening the asses ' Demi-savants? Gillray makes great fun of the expedition to Egypt, and satirises the French soldiers unmercifully ; nor do the poor savants who accompanied the army fare any better. A good example is the 'Siege de la Colonne de Pompec, or Science in the Pillory,' published March 6, 1 799. At the foot of the picture is : ' It appears by an intercepted letter from General Klebcr, dated Alexandria, 5 brumaire, 7th year of the Republic, that when the garrison was obliged to 86 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE retire into the New Town, at the approach of the Turkish Army, under the Pacha of Rhodes, a party of the scavans, who had ascended Pompey's Pillar for scientific purposes, was cut off by a Band of Bedouin Arabs, who, having made a large Pile of Straw, and dry Reeds, at the foot of the Pillar, set fire to it, and rendered unavailing the gallant defence of the learned Garrison, of whose Catastrophe the above design is intended to convey an idea. ' To study Alexandria's store Of Science, Amru deem'd a bore And briefly set it burning. The Man was ignorant, 'tis true, So sought one comprehensive view Of the light shed by learning. Your modern Arabs grown more wise, French vagrant Science duly prize ; They've fairly bit the biters. They've learnt the style of Hebert's Jokes, Amru to books confined his Hoax ; These Bedouins roast the writers. 5 The savants are, indeed, in a parlous state, on the broad summit of the pillar, exposed to fire from below, and the guns and pistols of the Arabs ; they defend themselves as well as possible by hurling their globes, and scientific instruments, at their assailants, who are exceedingly as- tonished at them. A balloon, La Diligence d'Abyssinie, is fired at, and struck, the aeronauts, one of whom has a parachute, being precipitated to the ground. 'The Institute,' which was modelled on that of Paris, also gave scope to Gillray's facile pencil, and he published a scries of half a dozen plates, in the first one of which it was most amusingly caricatured. It was published on March 12, 1799, and called, ' L'Insurrcction do l'lnstitut Amphibie— The pursuit of Knowledge.' A savant is depicted as study- ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 87 ing a work ' Sur l'Education du Crocodile,' some plates from which have dropped out. They show how useful the croco- dile may become, by training, to tow vessels, and to ride and drive on land. He evidently is intending to put his theories into practice, for he has brought with him, to the river's side, a saddle, a fearfully cruel bridle, and a huge whip, when he is seized by an enormous saurian, and de- voured. Another learned man, who has been reading ' Les Droits du Crocodile,' drops it, when he finds one of these creatures asserting its rights by seizing his coat-tails. ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE CHAPTER XIV. TAKING OK JAFFA, AM) MASSACRE OF SOLDIERS--DE KOURRIENNE'S ACCOUNT — NAPOLEON'S OWN VERSION. It is sad to turn from this rollicking fun to the episode of Jaffa ; but it cannot be dismissed, as it has afforded so much employment to the detractors of Napoleon, and to the English satirists of the time. First of all, let us give the version of an eye-witness (Dc Bourrienne), friend of, and secretary to, Napoleon. It is rather long, but no word of it can be omitted, as it gives every argument that can be brought forward to palliate the sickening massacre. ' On the 4th of March we commenced the siege of Jaffa. That paltry place, which, to round a sentence, was pom- pously styled the ancient Joppa, held out only to the 6th of March, when it was taken by storm, and given up to pillage. The massacre was horrible. General Bonaparte sent his aides do camp, Bcauharnais and Croisicr, to appease the fury of the soldiers as much as possible, to observe what was passing, and to report to him. They learnt that a considerable part of the garrison had retired into some vast buildings, a sort of caravanserais, which formed a large enclosed court. Bcauharnais and Croisicr, who were dis- tinguished by wearing the aide de camp scarf on the arm, proceeded to that place. ' The Arnauts and Albanians, of whom these refugees were almost entirely composed, cried, from the windows, ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 89 that they were willing to surrender, upon an assurance that they would be exempted from the massacre to which the town was doomed ; if not, they threatened to fire oh the aides dc camp, and to defend themselves to the last extremity. The two officers thought that they ought to accede to the proposition, notwithstanding the decree of death which had been pronounced against the whole garri- son, in consequence of the town being taken by storm. They brought them to our camp in two divisions, one con- sisting of about two thousand five hundred men, the other of about fifteen hundred. ' I was walking with General Bonaparte, in front of his tent, when he saw r this multitude of men approaching, and, before he even saw his aides de camp, he said to me in a tone of profound sorrow, "What do they wish me to do with these men ? Have I food for them ? ships to convey them to Egypt or France ? Why, in the Devil's name, have they served me thus ? " After their arrival, and the explanations which the General in Chief demanded, and listened to with anger, Eugene and Croisicr received the most severe reprimand for their conduct. ' But the deed was done. Four thousand men were there. It was necessary to decide upon their fate. The two aides de camp observed, that they had found themselves alone in the midst of numerous enemies, and that he had directed them to restrain the carnage. "Yes, doubtless," replied the General in Chief, with great warmth, "as to women, children, and old men — all the peaceable inhabit- ants ; but not with respect to armed soldiers. It was your duty to die, rather than bring these unfortunate creatures to me. What do you want me to do with them ? " These words were pronounced in the most angry tone. 'The prisoners were then ordered to sit down, and were placed, without any order, in front of the tents, their hands $o EX GUSH CARICATURE AND SATIRE tied behind their backs. A sombre fury was depicted in their countenances. We gave them a little biscuit and bread, squeezed out of the already scanty supply for the army. ' On the first day of their arrival, a council of war was held in the tent of the General in Chief, to determine what course should be pursued with respect to them. The Council deliberated a long- time without coming to any decision. ' On the evening of the following day, the daily reports of the generals of division came in. They spoke of nothing but the insufficiency of the rations, the complaints of the soldiers — of their murmurs and discontent at seeing their bread given to enemies, who had been withdrawn from their vengeance, inasmuch as a decree of death, in con- formity with the laws of war, had been passed on Jaffa. All these reports were alarming, and especially that of General Bon, in which no reserve was made. He spoke of nothing less than the fear of revolt, which would be justi- fied by the serious nature of the case. ' The Council assembled again. All the generals of division were summoned to attend, and, for several hours together, they discussed, under separate questions, what measures might be adopted, with the most sincere desire to discover and execute one which would save the lives of these unfortunate prisoners. ' Should they be sent to Egypt ? could it be done ? 'To do so, it would be necessary to send with them a numerous escort, which would too much weaken our little army in the enemy's country. How, besides, could they and the escort be supported till they reached Cairo, having no provisions to give them on setting out, and, their route being through a hostile territory, which we had exhausted, which presented no fresh resources, and through which we, perhaps, might have to return ? ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 91 ' Should they be embarked ? ' Where were the ships ? where could they be found ? All our optical instruments, directed over the sea, could not descry a single friendly sail. Bonaparte, I affirm, would have regarded such an event as a real favour of fortune. It was, and I am glad to have to say it, this sole idea, this sole hope, which made him brave, for three days, the murmurs of his army. But in vain was help looked for, seawards — It did not come. ' Should the prisoners be set at liberty ? 'They would then proceed to St. Jean d'Acre to rein- force the Pacha, or else, throwing themselves into the mountains of Naplouse, would greatly annoy our rear and right flank, and deal out death to us, as a recompense for the life we had given them. There could be no doubt of this. What is a Christian dog to a Turk ? It would even have been a religious and meritorious act in the eyes of the Prophet. 'Could they be incorporated, disarmed, with our soldiers in the ranks ? ' Here again the question of food presented itself in all its force. Next came to be considered the danger of having such comrades, while marching through an enemy's country. What might happen in the event of a battle before St. Jean d'Acre? Could we even tell what might occur during the march? and — finally — what must be done with them when under the ramparts of that town, if we should be able to take them there ? The same embarrass- ments with respect to the questions of provisions, and security, would then recur with increased force. ' The third day arrived without its being possible, anxiously as it was desired, to come to any conclusion favourable to the preservation of these unfortunate men. The murmurs in the camp grew louder — the evil went on 92 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE increasing — remedy appeared impossible — danger was real and imminent. ' The order for shooting the prisoners was given and executed on the ioth of March. We did not, as has been stated, separate the Egyptians from the other prisoners. There were no Egyptians. ' Many of the unfortunate creatures composing the smaller division, which was fired on close to the sea-coast, at some distance from the other column, succeeded in swimming to some reefs of rocks out of the reach of mus- ket shot. The soldiers rested their muskets on the sand, and, to induce the prisoners to return, employed the Egyptian signs of reconciliation, in use in that country. The)- came back ; but, as they advanced, they were killed, and disappeared among the waves.' Thus far De Bourrienne. Now let us hear what Napo- leon himself says of the matter. 1 ' He spoke about the measures which he had caused to be taken at Jaffa. " After the assault," said he. " it was impossible to restore any kind of discipline until night. The infuriated soldiers rushed into the streets in search of women. You know what kind of people the Turks are. A few of them kept up a fire in the streets. The soldiers, who desired nothing more, whenever a shot was discharged, cried out that they were fired upon from certain houses, which the)- immediate]} - broke open, and violated all the women they found." 'I replied' 2 that Miot . . . positively asserted that he (Napoleon) had caused between three and four thousand Turks to be shot, some days after the capture of Jaffa. Napoleon answered : "It is not true that there were so 1 Napoleon in Exile, or a Voice from St. Helena, d-v., by Barry E. O'Meara. 2 vols., London, 1S22. Vol. ii. p. 127. - Ibid., vol. i. j). 329. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 93 many. I ordered about a thousand or twelve hundred to be shot, which was done. The reason was, that amongst the garrison of Jaffa, a number of Turkish troops were discovered, whom I had taken a short time before at El-Arish, and sent to Bagdat upon their parole not to serve again, or to be found in arms against me for a year. I had caused them to be escorted twelve leagues on their way to Bagdat, by a division of my army. But those Turks, instead of proceeding to Bagdat, threw themselves into Jaffa, defended it to the last, and cost me a number of brave men to take it, whose lives would have been spared, if the others had not reinforced the garrison of Jaffa. Moreover, before I attacked the town, I sent them a flag of truce. Immediately afterwards we saw the head of the bearer elevated on a pole over the wall. Now, if I had spared them again, and sent them away upon their parole, they would directly have gone to St. Jean d'Acre, where they would have played over again the same scene that they had done at Jaffa. In justice to the lives of my soldiers, as every general ought to consider himself as their father, and them as his children, I could not allow this. ' " To leave as a guard a portion of my army, already small and reduced in number, in consequence of the breach of faith of those wretches, was impossible. Indeed, to have acted otherwise than I did, would probably have caused the destruction of my whole army. I, therefore, availing myself of the rights of war, which authorise the putting to death prisoners taken under such circumstances, indepen- dent of the right given to mc by having taken the city by assault, and that of retaliation on the Turks, ordered that the prisoners taken at El-Arish, who, in defiance of their capitulation, had been found bearing arms against me, should be selected out and shot. The rest, amounting to a 94 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE considerable number, were spared. I would," continued he, " do the same thing again to-morrow, and so would Welling- ton, or any general commanding an army under similar circumstances ! " ' Between these two partial accounts there are grave dis- crepancies — both parties trying, as far as possible, to excuse the deed ; but, if De Bourrienne can be relied on, his account of the cold-blooded massacre must be the true one, for he says, ' I confine myself to those details of this act of dreadful necessity of which I was an eye-witness.' ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 95 CHAPTER XV. THE MASSACRE AT JAFFA {continued) -ENGLISH EVIDENCE THEREON — SIEGE OF ST. JEAN D'ACRE- CAPTURE OF NAPOLEON'S BATTERING TRAIN- FAILURE OF THE SIEGE, AND RETREAT TO JAFFA. It is a singular thing, that, even in the very meagre ac- counts, of transactions in Egypt no mention of this should have got into the English newspapers ; but I have searched, and can find none. But when, in 1803, this country was in fear of invasion, it was brought up, and used with great effect, in stimulating patriotism. Take, as an instance, one ] out of the thousands of broadsides which then flooded the country, and we shall find that the fact, although broadly stated, has not been exaggerated. ' On the 7th that town was taken by assault. This affair is on all hands allowed to have been bloody in the extreme ; but a talc has been brought to light, and attested by persons of undoubted credit, so blood)", so diabolical, as to outstrip everything which such an expression is calculated to describe. ' It is asserted that three days after the capture of the town, three thousand eight hundred prisoners were marched to a rising ground, and there massacred by means of musquetry, grape shot, and the bayonet. This fact was first made known in Europe by Sir Sidney Smith, and Mr. Morier, Secretary to Lord Elgin, now a prisoner in Paris ; its history has been minutely given by Colonel Sir Robert 1 History of Buonaparte, price CJ. Printed l>y Cux, Son, & Baylis, 75 Great Oueen Street. 96 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE Wilson, of Hompesch's hussars, and its truth has been attested by Dr. Wittman who accompanied the army of the Grand Vizir.' This Dr. Wittman was the physician to the British Military Mission, which went with that army through Turkey, Syria, and Egypt, and who wrote a narrative of his travels, in which, at p. 128, he says the unfortunates were dragged ' to the sand hills, about a league distant, in the way to Gaza, and there most inhumanly put to death. I have seen the Skeletons of those unfortunate victims, which lie scattered over the hills ; a modern Golgotha, which re- mains a lasting disgrace to a Nation calling itself civilised.' Sir Robert Wilson says : ' Vollics of musquetryand grape instantly played against them ; and Buonaparte, who had been regarding the scene through a telescope, when he saw the smoke ascending, could not restrain his joy, but broke out into exclamations of approval ; indeed, he had just rea- son to dread the refusal of his troops thus to dishonour themselves. Klebcr had remonstrated in the most strenuous manner, and the officer of the Etat-Major, who commanded (for the general to whom the division belonged, was absent) even refused to execute the order without a written instruc- tion ; but Buonaparte was too cautious, and sent Berthicr to enforce obedience. . . . The bones still lie in heaps, and are shown to every traveller who arrives ; nor can they be confounded with those who perished in the assault, since this field of butchery lies a mile from the town.' Combe, of course, does not forget this incident. Another bloody work ensued Which the brave Nap with rapture view'd — - He near four thousand prisoners had, The number almost drove him mad ; Because so many men to feed, Required a deal of food indeed. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 97 He chid his troops for being so good, And said such mercy was of no good. Resolv'd to get rid of his burthen, (Tho' Kleber ventur'd to demur then,) He bade his troops the men surround, And march them to a rising ground ; The soldiers did as he directed, And they by Boney were inspected ; It seems our hero was inclin'd If 'twas his interest, to be kind ; Now Nap, among these Captives rude, An aged Janizary view'd ; And, with a contumacious sneer, Said he ' Old man, what brought you here '. ' The Janizary, no way frighten'd, Although unconscious how it might end, Replied ' That question soon I can, Sir, By asking you a like one, answer, To serve your Sultan, you'll rejoin — And the same answer now is mine.' This frankness all around delighted, And admiration, too, excited. Behold — our very hero smiled, As if he had been reconciled. That smile, some whispered, is a gracious one. This guess was not, tho', a sagacious one ; The Janizary was not spared, His fellow-prisoners' fate he shared ; But previously brave Nap withdrew, And at a distance had a view ; The signal given — none dared to stop — The musquetry went pop — pop — -pop. Nap thro' his spy glass marked the fun, And cried out 'bravo ' when 'twas done — His soldiers, who the dead surrounded, Humanely stabbed and killed the wounded VOL. I. 98 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE Napoleon now turned his attention to the siege of St. Jean d'Acre, where the garrison had the advantage of European aid, besides which, Sir Sydney Smith cruised about the fort, and Napoleon's battering-train, which had been captured, was duly pointed at the besiegers. He was, besides, called off to help Kleber, who was in an awkward situation at Mount Thabor, and had been fighting Achmet Pasha, who had a considerably superior force, from six in the morning till one in the afternoon. Not one moment too soon did Napoleon make his appearance ; but he turned the tide of battle, and the Turks were defeated with the loss of 5,000 or 6,000 men, and all their stores, &c. Back they went to St. Jean d'Acre, and did their best at the siege ; but it was not to be. Reinforcements were thrown into the town, Napoleon's army grew smaller, pro- visions got scarcer, the plague was in their midst ; so, send- ing his sick and wounded to Jaffa, he raised the siege and began to retreat on May 20. OAIeara tells us Napoleon's version of the causes which led to this. 1 ' " The chief cause of the failure there was that Sir Sydney Smith took all my battering-train, which was on board of several small vessels. Had it not been for that, I would have taken Acre in spite of him. He behaved very bravely, and was well seconded by Phillipeaux, a Frenchman of talent, who had studied with me as an engineer. . . . The acquisition of five or six hundred sea- men as cannoniers, was a great advantage to the Turks, whose spirits they revived, and whom they showed how to defend the fortress. ' " But he committed a great fault in making sorties, which cost the lives of two or three hundred brave fellows, without the possibility of success. For it was impossible he could succeed against the number of the French who were 1 Vol. i. p. 209. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 99 before Acre. I would lay a wager, he lost half of his crew in them. He dispersed proclamations among my troops which certainly shook some of them, and I, in consequence, published an order, stating that he was mad, and forbidding all communication with him. Some days after, he sent, by means of a flag of truce, a lieutenant, or a midshipman, with a letter containing a challenge to me, to meet him at some place he pointed out, in order to fight a duel. I laughed at this, and sent him back an intimation that when he brought Marlborough to fight me I would meet him. Notwithstanding this, I like the character of the man." ' The French reached Jaffa on May 24, and found the hospitals full of wounded and those sick of the plague. Compelled still to retreat, it was necessary to remove the sick ; and, to encourage his soldiers in the task, and to show them how little was the risk, Napoleon is said to have handled several of the infected. ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE CHAPTER XVI. RETREAT FROM JAFFA POISONING OF FIVE HUNDRED SOLDIERS — DIF- FERENT ENGLISH AUTHORITIES THEREON NAPOLEON'S OWN STORY, ALSO THOSE OF LAS CASES AND O'ilF.ARA RETREAT TO CAIRO. BUT this retreat became the subject of a dreadful accusa- tion against Napoleon, which must have hit him hard at the time of his projected invasion in 1803 — aye, quite as hard as the massacre at Jaffa. It was nothing less than that he poisoned, with opium, 500 of his sick soldiers, before he left Jaffa. There was a solid foundation for this fearful charge, as will be shown hereafter. Combe speaks of it thus — Another great thing Boney now did, "With sick the hospitals were crowded, He therefore planned, nor planned in vain, To put the wretches out of pain ; He an apothecary found — for a physician, since renown'd, 'J 'he butchering task with scorn declined, Th' apothecary, tho', was kind. It seems that Romeo met with such a one, This is a mournful theme to touch upon, Opium was put in pleasant food, The wretched victims thought it good ; J Jut, in a few hours, as they say, About six hundred, breathless lay. The truth of this has never been accurately established, but I fancy, at that time, there were very few Englishmen ON NAPOLEON THE EIRST. 101 who did not thoroughly believe it. Sir Robert Wilson wrote : ' Buonaparte finding that his hospitals at Jaffa were crowded with sick, sent for a physician, whose name should be inscribed in letters of gold, but which, from important reasons, cannot be here inserted ; on his arrival, he entered into a long conversation with him respecting the danger of contagion, concluding at last with the remark, that something must be done to remedy the evil, and that the destruction of the sick at present in the hospital, was the only measure which could be adopted. The physician, alarmed at the proposal, bold in the confidence of virtue, • s 'i w ■'"' _.L f-s' -':. / yy V -5 POISONING THE SICK AT JAI'l'A. and the cause of humanity, remonstrated vehemently, respecting the cruelty, as well as the atrocity, of such a murder ; but, finding that Buonaparte persevered and menaced, he indignantly left the tent, with this memorable observation ; " Neither my principles, nor the character of my profession, will allow mc to become a murderer ; and, General, if such qualities as you insinuate are necessary to form a great man, I thank my God that I do not possess them." ' Buonaparte was not to be diverted from his object by moral considerations ; he persevered, and found an apothc- 102 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE cary, who (dreading the weight of power, but who since has made an atonement to his mind, by unequivocally con- fessing the fact) consented to become his agent, and to administer poison to the sick. Opium, at night, was distributed in gratifying food, the wretched, unsuspecting, victims banqueted, and, in a few hours, five hundred and eighty soldiers, who had suffered so much for their country, perished thus miserably by the order of its idol. . . . ' If a doubt should still exist as to the veracity of this statement, let the Members of the Institute at Cairo be asked what passed in their sitting after the return of Buonaparte from Syria ; they will relate, that the same virtuous physician, who refused to become the destroyer of those committed to his protection, accused Buonaparte of high treason, in the full assembly, against the honour of France, her children, and humanity ; that he entered into the full details of the poisoning of the sick, and the massacre of the garrison, aggravating these crimes by charging Buonaparte with strangling, previously, at Rosetta, a number of French and Copts, who were ill of the plague ; thus proving that this disposal of his sick was a premeditated plan, which he wished to introduce into general practice. In vain Buona- parte attempted to justify himself; the members sat petri- fied with terror, and almost doubted whether the scene passing before their eyes was not an illusion.' Dr. Wittman assures his readers that whilst he was in Fgypt with the army, a man was pointed out to them as having been the executioner of Napoleon's commands to poison the sick and wounded French soldiers in the hos- pitals of Jaffa. Barre says : ' Although neither Sir Robert Wilson nor Dr. Wittman mention the name of the worthy physician who refused with horror, and of the infamous wretch, who basely consented to become the executioner of the sick ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 103 soldiers, it is now well known that the former was the worthy physician Dr. Desgenettes, and the latter, one Rouyer, an infamous apothecary, who thus became the murderer of his own countrymen, in compliance with the wishes of a Corsican assassin.' In a little periodical, called ' Ring the Alarum Bell ! ' (which only ran four numbers), published in 1803, is the following, written by a General Danican : ' In 180 1, I met at a lazaretto in Sicily, with a number of French Soldiers just come from Alexandria. With one of them I con- tracted habits of intimacy during my stay, and who fre- quently related to me some curious particulars of the con- duct of Buonaparte in Egypt. . . . Having been witness to the poisoning scene at Caiffa he related to me the following anecdote. A grenadier, who had lost two brothers, was amongst the unfortunate wretches slightly affected with the pestilential disease. From what he had previously observed in the hospital, he had become more suspicious than his companions in distress, and he had scarcely taken the Corsican physic, than he immediately discharged it, made his way out of the hospital, and escaping the guard, whom he contrived to knock down, he gained the column under the command of Kleber, at whose feet he threw himself, and, in the intercession, almost of despair, conjured him to let him mount one of the camels, describing what he had escaped from, and venting the most energetic maledictions on the Poisoner in Chief. The poor wretch, in the most piteous manner, assured General Kleber that he would keep at a distance from the arm}-, so that no one should be in any danger of catching his disorder, except the camel. Kleber granted his request ; the grenadier was saved and recovered, and was alive when the English landed under the brave Abcrcrombie.' Xow let us hear the Emperor's side of the question) 104 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE beginning with De Bourrienne. 'Orders were given directly to undermine the fortifications and blow them up ; and, on the 27th May, upon the signal being given, the town was in a moment laid bare. An hour afterwards, the General in Chief left his tent and repaired to the town, accom- panied by Berthier, some physicians and surgeons, and his usual staff. I was also one of the party. A long and sad deliberation took place on the question, which now arose, relative to the men who were incurably ill of the plague, or were at the point of death. After a discussion of the most serious and conscientious kind, it was decided to accelerate a few moments, by a potion, a death which was inevitable, and which otherwise would be painful and cruel. . . . ' I cannot say that I saw the potion administered. I should state an untruth if I did. I cannot name any person concerned in the matter, without hazarding a mis- representation. But I well know that the decision was come to after that deliberation, which was due to so im- portant a measure ; that the order was given, and that the infected are dead. What ! shall that which formed the subject of the whole conversation of the head quarters, on the clay after leaving Jaffa, and was spoken of without any question of its reality ; which was regarded by us as a dreadful, but unavoidable, misfortune ; which was never mentioned in the army but as a fact, of which there was no doubt, and only the details of which were inquired after — I appeal to every honourable man who was present, for the truth of what I state — shall that, I say, be now stigmatized as a malignant calumny, fabricated to injure the reputation of a hero, who, were this the only reproach that might be addressed to him, would go down with little blemish on his character, to posterity ? ' Las Cases is specially wroth with Sir Robert Wilson, ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 105 but, even he, cannot successfully whitewash his beloved emperor. His attempted vindication is too long to be re- produced in extenso, but it goes to prove how widely spread in the army was the belief that the sick were hurried to their rest at Jaffa. ' A circumstance, which will not a little sur- prise those who have yet to learn how little credit is due to public report, and which will serve to show the errors that may creep into history, is that Marshall Bertrand, who was himself with the army in Egypt, (though certainly in a rank which did not enable him to come into immediate contact with the General in Chief) firmly believed, up to the period of his residence at Saint Helena, the story of poison having been administered to sixty invalids. The report was circulated, and believed, even in our army ; therefore, what answer could be given to those who tri- umphantly asserted, " It is a fact, I assure you, I have it from officers who served in the French army at the time." Nevertheless, the whole story is false. I have collected the following facts from the highest source, from the mouth of Napoleon himself. ' 1st. That the invalids in question who were infected with the plague, amounted, according to the report made to the General in Chief, only to seven in number. ' 2nd. That it was not the General in Chief, but a pro- fessional man, who, at the moment of the crisis, proposed the administering of opium. ' 3rd. That opium was not administered to a single individual. ' 4th. That the retreat having been effected slowly, a rear-guard was left behind in Jaffa for three days. ' 5th. That on the departure of the rear guard, the invalids were all dead, except one or two, who must have fallen into the hands of the English.' But Las Cases, in his zeal, tries to prove too much ; for, 106 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE in a later passage, he says, that since his return to Paris he has had opportunities of conversing with those whose situation and profession naturally rendered them the first actors on the scene, and he finds ' that no order was given for the administering of opium to the sick,' and ' That there was not at the period in question, in the medicine chest of the army, a single grain of opium for the use of the sick.' So he admits that the emperor had the proposition made to him, by a man who must have known he had not the means to cany it out. Is Barry O'Meara to be trusted ? Let us hear what his testimony is (also professedly from the emperor's own lips). '"Previously to leaving Jaffa," continued Napoleon, " and after the greatest number of the sick and wounded had been embarked, it was reported to mc that there were some men in the hospital so dangerously ill, as not to be able to be moved. I ordered, immediately, the chiefs of the medical staff to consult together upon what was best to be done, and to give mc their opinion on the subject. Accordingly they met, and found there were seven or eight men so dangerously ill, that they conceived it impossible to recover, and also that they could not exist twenty-four or thirty-six hours longer ; that, moreover, being afflicted with the plague, they would spread that complaint amongst all who approached them. Some of them, who were sensible, perceiving they were about to be aban- doned, demanded with earnest entreaties, to be put to death. Larrey was of opinion that recovery was impos- sible, and that those poor fellows could not exist many hours ; but as they might live long enough to be alive when the Turks entered, and experience the dreadful torments which they were accustomed to inflict upon their prisoners, he thought it would be an act of charity to comply with their desires, and accelerate their end by a ON NAPOLEON THE EIRST. 107 few hours. Desgenettes did not approve of this, and replied, that his profession was to cure the sick, and not to despatch them. "'Larrcy came to me immediately afterwards, informed me of the circumstances, and of what Desgenettes had said ; adding, that perhaps Desgenettes was right. ' But,' continued Larrcy, ' those men cannot live more than a few hours, twenty-four, or thirty-six at most ; and, if you will leave a rear-guard of cavalry to stay and protect them from advanced parties, it will be sufficient.' Accordingly I ordered four or five hundred cavalry to remain behind, and not to quit the place until all were dead. They did remain, and informed me that all had expired before they had left the town ; but I have heard since, that Sydney Smith found one or two alive when he entered it. This is the truth of the business. . . . ' " You have been amongst the Turks, and know what they arc ; I ask you now, to place yourself in the situation of one of those sick men, and that you were asked which you would prefer, to be left to suffer the tortures of those miscreants, or to have opium administered to you?" I replied, " Most undoubtedly I would prefer the latter." " Certainly, so would any man," answered Napoleon ; " if my ozuu son (and I believe I love my son as well as any father does his child) were in a similar situation with those men, I would advise it to be done ; and, if so situ- ated myself, I would insist upon it, if I had sense enough, and strength enough to demand it. . . . ' " If I had thought such a measure, as that of giving opium, necessary, I would have called a council of war, have stated the necessity of it, and have published it in the order of the day." lie afterwards gees on to say that if he had done so, some of his soldiers would have been sure to have shot him.' io8 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE I have gone thus at length into these occurrences at Jaffa, to show how widely spread was the belief in them, and also to prove that these scandals were not of British origin. Whatever amount of truth there may be in them, readers must judge, as I have laid both sides fairly be- fore them. That there was foundation for them, there can be no doubt — but we know that a talc does not lose in telling. The return to Cairo, and the battle of Aboukir, are soon dismissed by the satirist, and not chronicled by the caricaturist. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 109 CHAPTER XVII. THE OLD REGIME AND THE REPUBLICANS — THE ' INCROYABLES ' — NAPOLEON LEAVES EGYPT — HIS REASONS FOR SO DOING— FEELING OF THE ARMY — ACCUSED OF TAKING WITH HIM THE MILITARY CHEST. It is refreshing, and like going among green pastures and cool streams, to leave for a while political caricature, with its ambitions, and its carnage, and find a really funny social skit, aiming at the follies of the times, even if it be only in ridiculing extravagance in dress. Exceedingly droll is a social caricature by Gillray (August 15, 1799), where a courtly old gentleman of the Court of Louis XVI. bows low, saying, 'Je suis votre tres humble scrvitcur,' whilst the ruffianly French ' gentleman of the Court of Egalite ' replies with a sentence unfit for repro- duction. (See next page.) Littre, in his magnificent dictionary, gives a very terse definition of these ' Incroyables ' : ' S. m. Norn donne aux petit maitrcs sous le Directoirc, parce q'uon les entendait s'ecricr a tout propos, e'est vraiment incroyablc ; et, parce que leur costume etait tellement exagere qu'il depassait la croyance commune.' They were Napoleon's detestation, according to Madame Junot, and she describes them with feminine minuteness. ' They wore grey greatcoats with black collars and green cravats. Their hair, instead of being a la 'J'itus, which was the prevailing fashion of the day, was powdered, plaited, and turned up with a comb, no ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE while on each side of the face hung two long curls, called dog's ears (oreilles de chieii). As these young men were very frequently attacked, they carried about with them large sticks, which were not always weapons of defence ; for the frays which arose in Paris at that time were often provoked by them.' Pardon must be begged for this digression, and the matter in hand strictly attended to. Napoleon left Egypt on August 23, 1799, and reached A FRENCH GENTLEMAN OF THE COURT OF LOUIS XVI. ^^ A FRENCH GENTLEMAN OF THE COURT OF EGALITE. France October 8 of that year. The causes for this step will be detailed a little later on. Meanwhile the carica- turist was watching events on the Continent, and, after his lights, depicting them. With those not personally affect- ing Napoleon we have nothing to do ; and of him — Egypt being a far cry — wc have but few, until after his return, when he was brought prominently before European notice. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. in Gillray thought he saw his power declining, and on September I, 1/99, he published 'Allied Powers, Un- booting Egalite.' In this picture Napoleon is being badly treated. One foot is on a Dutch cheese, which a Hollander is plucking away ; a British tar has him fast round the waist, and arms ; whilst a Turk, of most ferocious de- scription, his dress being garnished with human ears, is pulling his nose, and slashing him with his scimitar, St. Jean d'Acre, which is reeking with blood. Prussia, backed up by Russia, is drawing off Italy, which serves as a boot for one leg, and, with it, a large quantity of gold coin. The causes which induced Napoleon to leave Egypt cannot better be made known, and understood, than by quoting from De Bourrienne, who was an actor in this episode. He says : ' After the battle, 1 which took place on the 25th July, Bonaparte sent a flag of truce on board the English Admiral's ship. Our intercourse was full of politeness, such as might be expected in the communica- tions of the people of two civilised nations. The English Admiral gave the flag of truce some presents, in exchange for some we sent, and, likewise, a copy of the French Gazette of Francfort, dated 10th June, 1799. 2 For ten months we had received no news from France. Bonaparte glanced over this journal with an eagerness which may easily be conceived. ' " Heavens ! " said he to me, " my presentiment is vcri- 1 OfAboukir. - "Which probably gave details of the defeats of the French by Suwaroff, who is thus described in the Vicuna Gazctts. (according to his portrait by Gillray, May 23, 1799) : 'This extraordinary man is now in the prime of life, :-ix feet ten inches in height, never tastes either wine or spirits, takes but one meal a day, and every morning plunges into an ice bath ; his wardrobe consists of a plain shirt, a white waistcoat and breeches, short boots, and a Russian cloak ; lie wears no covering on his head either by day or night ; when tired, he wraps himself up in a blanket, and sleeps in the open air ; he has fought twenty-nine pitched battles, and been in seventy-five engagements.' ii2 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE fied : the fools have lost Italy. All the fruits of our victories are gone ! I must leave Egypt ! " ' He sent for Berthier, to whom he communicated the news, adding that things were going on very badly in France — that he wished to return home — that he (Berthier) should go along with him, and that, for the present, only he, Gantheaume, and I, were in the secret. He recommended him to be prudent, not to betray any symptoms of joy, nor to purchase, or sell, anything. c He concluded by assuring him that he depended on him. " I can answer," said he, " for myself and Bourrienne." Berthier promised to be secret, and he kept his word. He had had enough of Egypt, and he so ardently longed to return to France, that there was little reason to fear he would disappoint himself by any indiscretion. ' Gantheaume arrived, and Bonaparte gave him orders to fit out the two frigates, the Muiron and the Carrcre, and the two small vessels, the Revanche and the Fortune, with a two months' supply of provisions for from four, to five, hundred men. He enjoined his secrecy as to the object of these preparations, and desired him to act with such circumspection that the English cruisers might have no knowledge of what was going on. He afterwards arranged with Gantheaume the course he wished to take. Nothing escaped his attention.' Bonaparte concealed his operations with much care ; but still some vague rumours crept abroad. General Dugua, the commandant of Cairo, whom he had just left, for the purpose of embarking, wrote to him on August 18 to the following effect : — ' I have this moment heard, that it is reported at the Institute, you are about to return for France, taking with you Monge, Berthollet, Berthier, Lannes, and Murat. This news has spread like lightning through the city, and ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 113 I should not be at all surprised if it produced an unfavour- able effect, which, however, I hope you will obviate.' Bonaparte embarked five days after the receipt of Dugua's letter ; and, as may be supposed, without replying to it. On August 18, he wrote to the Divan of Cairo as follows : ' I set out to-morrow for Menouf, from whence I intend to make various excursions to the Delta, in order that I may, myself, witness the acts of oppression which are committed there, and to acquire some knowledge of the people.' He told the army but half the truth : ' The news from Europe, 5 said he, 'has determined me to proceed to France. I leave the command of the army to General Kleber. The army shall hear from me forthwith. At present I can say no more. It costs me much pain to quit troops to whom I am so strongly attached. But my absence will be but temporary, and the general I leave in command has the confidence of the government, as well as mine.' At night, in the dark, on August 23, he stole on board : and who can wonder if the army expressed some dissatis- faction at his leaving them in the lurch ? From the many works I have consulted, whilst writing this book, I can believe the words of General Danican (who has been before quoted) in ' Ring the Alarum Bell ! ' — ' Immediately after Buonaparte's midnight flight from Egypt, with the Cash of the army, he was hung in effigy by the Soldiers ; who, in dancing round the spectacle, sang the coarsest couplets (a copy of which I have now in my possession) written for the occasion, to the tunc of the Carmagnole, beginning: "So, Harlequin has at length deserted us! — never mind my boys, never mind ; he will at last be really hanged ; he promised to make us all rich ; but, instead, he VOL. 1. I H4 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE has robbed all the cash himself, and now's gone off: oh ! the scoundrel Harlequin, &c. ; &c." ' This charge against Napoleon, of running away with the treasure-chests, is, like almost all the others, of French origin. Hear what Madame Junot says, as it shows the feeling of the French army on this point, that some one had taken them (for Napoleon's benefit) : ' A report was circulated in the army that Junot was carrying away the treasures found in the pyramids by the General in Chief. He could not carry them away himself (such was the FLIGHT FROM EGYPT. language held to the soldiers), ' and so the man who possesses all his confidence is now taking them to him.' The matter was carried so far that several subalterns, and soldiers, proceeded to the shore, and some of them went on board the merchantman which was to sail with Junot the same evening. They rummaged about, but found nothing ; at length they came to a prodigious chest, which ten men could not move, between decks, " Here is the treasure!" cried the soldiers; "here is our pay that has been kept from us above a year ; where is the key?" Junot's valet, an honest German, shouted to them in vain, with all ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 115 his might, that the chest did not belong to his cheneral. They would not listen to him. ' Unluckily, Junot, who was not to embark till evening, was not then on board. The mutineers seized a hatchet, and began to cut away at the chest, which they would soon have broken up, had not the ship's carpenter come running out of breath. " What the devil are you at ? " cried he, " mad fellows that you are : stop ! don't destroy my chest — here's the key." He opened it immediately, and lo ! — the tools of the master carpenter.' Barre, of course, alludes to this alleged robbery, and Combe writes of his desertion of his troops as follows : — Aboukir castle having won, Our hero thought it best to run. The bravest man will run away, When it is dangerous to stay ; But, as he to his troops declared, By him all dangers should be shared, And that on no account he'd leave them, 'Twas proper he should now deceive them. The cunning he display'd in fight, He manifested in his flight. On some pretence, it seems, he wrote To certain generals a note, Acquainting them with what he wanted, The time and place, too, he appointed. These generals, so well they fared, The. fame of his desertion shared. When to th' appointed place they got, Nap was already on the spot ; And, what of all things made them glad, Tie military chest lie had ! He left his arm)-, — but we find He left these words for them behind : ' This parting grieves me sore, altho' meant To be for only a short moment.' n6 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE This caricature is presumably by Gillray, although it is not signed by him ; and, as it was published on March 8, 1800, it is absolutely prophetic, for Napoleon is pointing to a future imperial crown and sceptre. This is especially BUONAPARTE LEAVING EGYPT. For an Illustration of the above see the intercepted Letters from the Repub- lican General Kleber to the French Directory respecting the Courage, Honor, and Patriotism of , the Deserter of the Army of Egypt. curious, as it shows how, even then, the public opinion of England (of which, of course, the caricaturist was but a reflex) estimated him. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 117 CHAPTER XVIII. NAPOLEON'S ARRIVAL IN PARIS — HIS POPULARITY — DISSOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF FIVE HUNDRED- GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF THE SCENE — NAPOLEON, SIEYES, AND DUCOS NAMED CONSULS. NArOLEON arrived in Paris at, for him, a happy moment, for the Directory was then as good as defunct. There was a feeling that a strong hand was needed to guide the affairs of the nation, and Generals Moreau and Jubert had already been offered the post of First Magistrate of the Republic, and each had declined the honour. When Napoleon landed, he was hailed as The Man, and his arrival was telegraphed to Paris, where it created an immense sensation. On the day after his arrival, he had an interview with the Directors, to whom he explained the state of the army in Egypt, and told them, how, having heard of the disasters that had befallen their armies, he had returned home to help them ; but, although he was offered his choice of commands, he would have none of them, and lived quietly at Paris. The Council of Five Hundred even gave him a public dinner ' — but he was steadily working out the ends he had in view. What that was, was evident to the English people, for 1 In the Times of November 15, 1799, we read of this dinner (November 7) that ' Buonaparte gave the toast, "To the union of all Frenchmen."' The same paper records that Bonaparte had presented Moreau with a robe enriched with diamonds, which lie brought from Egypt, and was valued at 10,000 livres. This probably purchased his aid in the coup d'etat of the 18th Brumaire. iiS ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE his aim was shown very amusingly in a caricature by an un- known artist (November 1799). Napoleon, who, even then, is represented as crowned, appears as a crocodile, in jack- boots and sword, squeezing the life out of two frogs, whilst the dismay of the others is most comically rendered : a body- guard of crocodiles, in military uniform, back up their leader. On November 9, he was made commandant of the forces in Paris, which prepared him for the explosion of the 1 8th Brumaire, year 8 (November 10, 1799). The expulsion of the Council is most graphically told in the 'Times' of November 18, eight days after the event, showing how slowly news travelled then. The scene must have been painted by an eye-witness, for it gives the whole previous debate — which at last turned on Napoleon's appointment as commandant. It is so well told, I cannot help giving it in its entirety. ' Grandmaison. "We are only offering crossing and contradicting propositions, without coming to any decision: I move that you begin by declaring the appointment of Buonaparte to be unconstitutional." ' "Yes, yes," was resounded from several parts of the Hall. ' L. [ucien) Buonaparte quitted the Chair, which he gave up to Chazal, and said, " I entreat the Council calmly to reflect on the commotion that has manifested itself. It may not be needless to represent" — (Here he was inter- rupted by a loud voice, who said, " Do not attempt to amuse us ") — " I propose " (continued Lucien Buonaparte) " that you summon the General who commands to appear before you." ' " We do not acknowledge him," exclaimed several Members. '"When cool consideration" (observed Buonaparte) "shall have stilled in your breasts the extraordinary emotion which you have testified " {murinurs), " you will, perhaps, be ON NAPOLEON THE EIRST. 119 sensible of the injustice done General Buonaparte. What- ever may be the event, I now, in your presence, lay down on the altar of the Country, the badge of Magistracy with which the people had invested me." ' On saying these words, he laid down his badge of office on the President's table : upon which the doors of the Hall were opened, and twenty Grenadiers entered. They advanced towards the Bureau, took L. Buonaparte into custody, and, placing him in the midst of them, they con- ducted him out of the Hall. ' The Council was seized with extreme agitation. Cries, vociferations, and tumultuous confusion, arose from the Members suddenly quitting their places. Not a word could be distinctly heard. ' Grandmaison, Blin, Delbrel, Bigonnet, Sherlock, Cro- chon, and several other Members, pressed forward towards the tribune. ' Sherlock made an effort to speak, but could scarcely make himself heard among the tumult. " I move," said he, " that you call back your President, whose resignation you have not accepted." ' " He could have done nothing better," exclaimed several Members, " than to have given it in." ' Meantime, at a distance was heard the sound of drums that beat the pas de charge. , . . Soon after, for the third time, the doors of the Hall were thrown open ; and a third time the spectators endeavoured precipitately to escape by leaping out of the windows. ' An officer came forwards, followed by a numerous guard, exclaiming with a loud voice, " General Buonaparte orders the Hall to be cleared." Upon which, the troops advanced into the Hall, the further part of which remained occupied by the Deputies, who had not retired. The soldiers suspended their march for a moment, in order to 120 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE afford time for the Hall to be cleared. About a Dozen of Members, among whom was Blin, remained near the Tribune, or at the Bureau ; one of them who was at the Tribune, exclaimed, ' " What arc you, Soldiers ? are you anything else than guardians of the National Representation ; and do you dare to menace its safety, to incroach on its independence — is it thus that you tarnish the laurels which your courage has won ? " ' This harangue was coldly listened to by the soldiers, who advanced into the Hall with drums beating. The Members who stood near the Bureau and the Tribune, were at length obliged to yield their places to the soldiers, who took possession of them. As the latter advanced into the Hall, these members went out at the opposite door. In a few minutes the Hall was completely cleared. It was then five o'clock. ' Several members set out immediately for Paris, others remained at St. Cloud to observe the deliberations of the Council of Elders, and the extraordinary movement of the troops who filled the square of the palace. From time to time were heard the cries of Vive Buonaparte ! Vive la Re- pub lique ! ' General Buonaparte, on hearing the Council of Five Hundred had withdrawn, advanced towards the soldiers and harangued them. ' He entreated them to remain calm, and to rest assured that the good cause should triumph. They all answered by shouts of Vive Buonaparte ! ' The scene depicted in the accompanying illustration is somewhat dramatically told by Napoleon himself in his proclamation of 19th Brumairc : 'I presented myself before the Council of Five Hundred, alone, unarmed, my head uncovered, just as the Ancients had received and ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 121 applauded me. My object was to restore to the majority the expression of its will, and to secure to it its power. ' The stilettos which had menaced the Deputies, were instantly raised against their deliverer. Twenty assassins rushed upon me, and aimed at my breast. The grenadiers of the legislative body, whom I had left at the door of the hall, ran forward, and placed themselves between me and the assassins. One of these brave grenadiers (Thorne *) had his clothes pierced by a stiletto. They bore me off.' DISSOLUTION" OF THE COUNCIL OF FIVE HUNDRED. Th' appointed meeting now took place, Producing tumult and disgrace, Some of the members, when desired, Refused to take the oath required, Insisting Nap should not be spared But as an outlaw be declared. As President Nap's brother sat, So Lucien hemm'd and /tav.i'd ox. that. But so outrageous was the strife, He found it hard to save his life ; His eloquence he now display'd, ' Napoleon must be heard,' he said. Then Boney came — in great dismay ; Th' Assembly ordered him away — A gross exaggeration, for he only had his coat torn by a had sufficient courage to collar him. >ej uty w In 122 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE But such an order was mere fudge, The brave Napoleon scorn'd to budge ; And several began to push in, To tear to pieces Nap and Lucien. Nap gave the word — his troops attended, By grenadiers he was defended ; Tremendous now the hurly-burly, Each phiz appear'd confounded surly ; They drew their daggers in a rage, And civil war began to wage. Amidst these violent attacks, Now some were thrown upon their backs, And others fell upon their faces, And others, on their proper places ; While many, uttering sad groans, AVere found upon their marrow bones. Gillray, of course (November 21, 1799), touched on it, but not very effectively, his picture ' Exit Liberte a la Francais ! — or — Buonaparte closing the Farce of Egalite, at Saint Cloud, near Paris, November 10, 1799,' being the weakest caricature of any on this subject. Napoleon is directing his troops, who are charging the Council with fixed bayonets. The Council met again at night, but simply to do as they were bid. Thorne, the grenadier with the torn coat, was decreed to have deserved well of his country, as were also Napoleon, Lefebvre, Murat, Berthier, and many others. Sixty-one members of the Council were expelled, and Article two of the Resolution, passed that night, says, — ' The Legislative Body creates provisionally an Execu- tive Consular Committee, composed of Citizens Syeyes and Roger Ducos, Ex-Directors, and Buonaparte, General. They shall bear the name of Consuls of the French Republic.' ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 123 CHAPTER XIX. NAPOLEON TAKES THE LEAD— SIEYES AND DUCOS ARE DEPOSED — CAM- BACERES AND LEBRUN NAMED SECOND AND THIRD CONSULS — NAPOLEON'S LETTER TO GEORGE THE THIRD— REPLY TO SAME. NAPOLEON had now got his foot fairly on the ladder, but it was he alone who was to mount it. At the first meeting of the Consuls, Sieyes asked, ' Which of us is to preside ? ' Ducos had grasped the position, and replied, ' Do you not see that the General presides ? ' There is a caricature by Cawse (November 30, 1799) of ' Satan's return from Egypt Earth. Discovered in Council with Belzebub and Belial — a Sketch after Fuseli l ! ! ! ' Here Napoleon forms the centre figure, one foot resting on a skull, the other on the Marseillaise hymn and the Council of Five Hundred. Behind him is a glory, with a trinity formed of three daggers — Sieyes, Ducos, and Buonaparte. Devils surround him, and, at his feet, is a howling French mob. Our hero, now, the people guided, And a new government provided. First Consul, modestly he claim'd, Two others were Sub-Consuls named ; But these were not in Boney's way, For the first Consul had full sway. And now these Consuls took an oath, For Nap to swear was never loth. 1 This was one of Fuseli's celebrated 'Milton Gallery,' a series of 47 pictures, produced between the years 1790 and 1800. I2 4 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE Thus elevated, Josephine Imagin'd she would be a queen ; But she by Nap was harshly told, That six and forty was too old ; His mother, who the lady hated, Advised him to be separated ; By her persuasions, Nap, of course Began to think of a divorce. He ponder'd ev'ry afternoon, And rubbing once his forehead, soon The lady's banishment decreed, Because — their tempers disagreed. In fact, her faults he recollected, And her caresses now rejected. But, as 'twill not improve our morals, We'll pass these matrimonial quarrels. As Nap a love of pow'r betray'd, He great munificence display'd ; For he rewarded with donations, His friends, especially relations. He to his mother acted handsome, As he bestowed on her a grand sum ; For Joe, and Lucien, he provided, Who, at this time, in France resided — How suddenly success awaits men ! Both Joe, and Lucien, he made Statesmen. It was not probable that Napoleon would rest con- tented with the provisional position he occupied. A fresh government had to be constituted, of which he must be the head : and so the Constitution of December 13 was manu- factured, and afterwards passed into law. Article 23 provided, ' The sittings of the Senate are not to be public' Article 24, ' The Citizens Sieyes, and Roger Ducos, the Consuls quitting their functions, are appointed members of the Conservative Senate. They shall assemble along with ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 125 the second and third Consuls nominated by the present Constitution. These four Citizens shall appoint the Majority of the Senate, which shall then complete itself, and proceed to the elections entrusted to it.' Article 39. ' The Government is entrusted to three Consuls appointed for ten years, and indefinitely re- eligible. Each of them is to be elected individually with the distinct quality of Chief, Second, or Third Consul. The first time the Third Consul shall only be named for five years. For the present time General Bonaparte is appointed Chief Consul, Citizen Cambaceres, now Minister of Justice, Second Consul, and Citizen Lebrun, Member of the Com- mittee of Antients, Third Consul.' Article 41. ' The Chief Consul is to promulgate the laws : he is to name and revoke at pleasure the Members of the Council of State ; the Minis- ters, Ambassadors, and other principal foreign agents, the officers of the army by land and sea, the members of local administration and the Commissioners of the Government at the Tribunals. He is to appoint all Judges, Criminal and Civil, as well as Justices of the Peace, and the Judges of Cassation, without the power of afterwards revoking them.' Article 43. ' The salary of the Chief Consul shall be 500,000 francs for the 8th year ' (ending September 22, 1 800). ' The salary of the other two Consuls shall be equal to three-tenths of that of the first.' So that we see Napoleon fully knew how to take care of himself. On January 1, 1800, Gillray published 'The French Triumvirate settling the New Constitution ' — and mighty wise they look. (Sec next page.) In the year 1799, Consols ranged from 55 in January to 62\, the closing price in December. Bread, however, was dear, the average of the quartern loaf being i^d. It was in the latter part of this year that Napoleon notified to George the Third his elevation to the dignity 126 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE of First Consul, and appropriately chose Christmas Day on which to date his letter, which breathed (sincerely or not) ' Peace on earth, goodwill towards men.' Bonaparte, First Consul of the Republic, to His Majesty the King of Great Britain and Ireland. Paris 5 Nivose year VIII. of the Republic. Called by the wishes of the French Nation to occupy the first magistracy of the French Republic, I deem it desirable, in entering on its functions, to make a direct communication to your Majesty. Must The War, which for four years, has ravaged every part of the world, be eternal ? Are there no means of coming to an understanding? How can the two most enlightened nations of Europe, more powerful and stronger than is necessary for their safety and inde- pendence, sacrifice to the idea of a vain grandeur, the benefits of commerce, of internal prosperity, and domestic happiness? How is it they do not feel that peace is as glorious as necessary ? ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 127 These sentiments cannot be strangers to the heart of your Majesty, who rules over a free nation, with no other view than to render them happy. Your Majesty will only see in this overture my sincere desire to effectually contribute to a general pacification, by a prompt step, free and untrammeled by those forms, which, necessary, perhaps, to disguise the apprehensions of feeble states, only prove in the case of strong ones, the mutual desire to deceive. France and England, by abusing their strength, may for a long time yet, to the misery of all other nations, defer the moment of their absolute exhaustion ; but I will venture to say that the fate of all civilised nations, depends on the end of a war which enve- lopes the whole world. signed Bonaparte. The British Government did not quite see it, but con- sidered that the claws of the French eagle required yet more cutting. They had been partially operated on at the Nile, and at Acre. Italy was no longer under French rule. Suwarrow's victories had severely crippled the French, who were, besides, very weak financially. Add to this, that there were 140,000 Austrians gathering along the Rhine. But still it was judged they were yet too sharp for the peace of Europe. The answer from the English Court, Vex'd Nap, according to report : 'Twas to the Minister address'd, It being candidly confess'd That there appear'd not the least cause To break through ceremonial laws ; In this his Majesty agreed, Peace was desirable indeed, If that his Majesty were able T' obtain one permanent and stable ; But that at present there was poor hope 1 or England, and indeed for Europe, 128 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE Till France her lawful princes own'd The Bourbons — whom she had dethron'd. This, really, was the tenor of Lord Grenville's reply, dated January 4, 1800, which is far too long, and unin- teresting, to reproduce. Gillray caricatured this letter of Napoleon's (February 24, 1800) in ' The Apples and the Horse dung, or Buona- parte among the Golden Pippins ; from an old Fable. Explanation. — Some horse dung being washed by the current from a neighbouring dunghill, espied a number of fair apples swimming up the stream, when, wishing to be thought of consequence, the horse dung would every moment be bawling out, " Lack-a-day, how we apples swim ! " See Buonaparte's " Letter to his Majesty," and Mr. Whitbread's " Remarks upon the Correspondence between Crowned Heads." ' Although Gillray did not choose a very savoury subject to illustrate his caricature, yet there is much humour in it. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 129 CHAPTER XX. BATTLE OF MARENGO— DEATH OF DESAIX — SAID TO HAVE BEEN ASSAS- SINATED NAPOLEON'S LOVE FOR HIM — SOUP KITCHENS AT PARIS — LAVISH EXPENDITURE OF NAPOLEON'S GENERALS. THERE was very little caricature of Napoleon in the year 1800, for the best of reasons, that we had very little to do with him, as he was occupied till May in settling" his Government, and then he left for his Italian campaign. But in this year (May 12) Gillray issued a series of eight DEMOCRATIC CONSOLATIONS. Buonaparte on his Couch surrounded by the Ghosts of the Murder'd — the dangers which threaten his Usurpation, and all the Horrors of Final Retribution. plates,' Democracy, or a Sketch of the life of Buonaparte,' of which 1 have already given three — 'Democratic Inno- cence,' 'Democratic Humility,' and ' Democratic Religion.' As four are not very interesting, I have not given them, VOL. I. K 130 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE only the last of the series, which, evidently, was meant to be extended. Combe, even, had very little to say of this time, lightly touching the passage of the Alps, the occupation of Milan and Pavia, the defeat of the Austrians at Montebello, and the battle of Marengo, where he makes an assertion I can- not find elsewhere, nor trace to any French source, except De Bourrienne. Soon after this the gallant fellow The Austrians drove from Montebello, And then did he, with all his men go, To aid the battle of Marengo ; Here was indeed a bold resistance, Brave Boney saw it at a distance : And at this time, it is not doubted, Nap's army was completely routed ; Indeed, it grieves the muse to say, Our hero cried, and ran away ; But brave Desaix, who was not idle, His horse soon grappled by the bridle, And turning round the Consul's phiz, He said, while anger ruffled his, ' Citizen Consul, look before ye — That is the road to fame and glory. Nap bit his lip, and swore by heaven, Th' offence was not to be forgiven ; Indeed, as many understand, That hour the Gen'ral's fall he plann'd. By A 7 ictor and Desaix defeated, The Austrians in their turn retreated. This Victor, who destruction hurl'd Made always a great noise in the world, for lie had been a drummer, so The way to beat he'd cause to know. But, while victorious, now we find Desaix received a shot behind, ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 131 His Aid-du-camp was bribed to do it, And well, too, the First Consul knew it ; Besides the shot, a base attack ! He got a stab, too, in the back ; He fell, and instantly expir'd — His death by Boney was desired : Yet when they told him he was dead, ' Why can't I weep ? ' he faintly said. This scandalous accusation is too contemptible to be thought true for a moment; but I must reproduce it, to show what was said of Napoleon in England. Yet, in a portion of it, there is a small substratum of truth. Hear what De Sv^ ; 32% "3 Bourrienne says : 'The death of Desaix was not perceived at the moment it took place. He fell without saying a word, at a little distance from Lcfcbvrc-Dcsnoucttcs. A battalion-sergeant of the ninth brigade of light infantry, commanded by Barrois, seeing him extended on the ground, asked permission to pick up his cap. It was found to be perforated behind ; and this circumstance leaves it doubtful whether Desaix was killed by some unlucky inadvertency while advancing at the head of his 132 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE troops, or by the enemy when turning towards his men to encourage them.' Other accounts speak of his being shot in the breast. How Napoleon loved Desaix, is best told by them who knew him well, and let them bear witness against this gross calumny. De Bourrienne says : 'After supper, the First Consul dictated to me the bulletin of the battle. When we were alone, I said to him, " General, here's a fine victory. You recollect what you said the other day, about the pleasure with which you would return to France after striking a grand blow in Italy : surely you must be satisfied now ? " — " Yes, Bourrienne, I am satisfied. But Desaix ! . . . Ah, what a triumph would this have been if I could have embraced him to-night on the field of battle ! " As he uttered these words, I saw that Bonaparte was on the point of shedding tears, so sincere and profound was his grief for the death of Desaix. He certainly never loved, esteemed or regretted, any man so much.' O'Meara writes : ' Asked him if it were true that Desaix had, a little before his death, sent a message of the following purport to him : " Tell the First Consul that I regret dying before I have done sufficient to make my name known to posterity." Napoleon replied, " it was true," and accompanied it with some warm eulogiums on Desaix.' As a matter of fact Napoleon could not sufficiently honour the memory of his comrade, so highly did he esti- mate him. He spoke, in his bulletins, of the irreparable loss his death caused him ; he took for his own aides-de- camp, Rapp, and Savary, who had acted in this capacity to Desaix. A medal was struck in his honour, his statue should have been erected on the Place des Yictoircs, solemn ceremonies were ordered, masses were said, and a monument was raised, by subscription, on the Place Dauphine, Paris. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 133 It is amusing to read in the newspapers of the day (with the exception of the ' Times ') the spiteful things said against Napoleon. But Cobbett, in the ' Porcupine/ outdoes them all, and spits his venom on the most harmless deeds. ' The late establishment of Soup shops in Paris, naturally excites some curious ideas. Madame Bonaparte, their patroness, who is also a sprig of nobility, seems in no small degree attached to the ancient regimen ; hence probably her wish to revive soup meagre, frogs, &c. Nor is it less remarkable that the French should wish to establish soup shops, just at the time when they were falling into disuse in this country.' ' ' The Morning Post tells us that " the Chief Consul has taken a thousand sub- scription tickets for the soup establishments at Paris." This is at once a proof of that plenty which we have been told exists in France, and of the Charity of the Chief Consul. If ever there was a country more degraded than all others, it is France. Should there be, amongst the people of that country, one man left, who entertains antient notions, what must be his mortification and shame to see his countrymen not only ruled, but actually fed like paupers, by a low bred upstart from the contemptible island of Corsica ! And this, ye gods ! is the Grand Nation ! This is the nation who is to change the public law of Europe ! This is the nation to whom Britons are requested to bow down their heads ! To return to the " soup establisJunents" we should be glad to know how the Corsican came by the money to purchase a thousand tickets. Was it part of the dower which Barras gave him with his bride ? We rather think he wrung it from the hands of the sovereign people. What a base, what a despicable, race of slaves ! They submit to assessments, forced loans, requisitions, and con- fiscations ; they sec their treasure seized on by millions 1 No. S, Nov. 7, 1S00. 134 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE upon millions, and they applaud the " charity and generosity ' of the plunderer in chief, because he bestows on them the fractions in soup maigre ! ' 1 Cobbett did not write with ink, but with gall, and was not at all particular as to the veracity of his statements. Take the following examples : 2 ' Lucien Buonaparte is holden in detestation in France. His office, as Minister of the Interior, gives him the command of very large sums, which he wastes in every kind of dissipation, and in the most scandalous manner, in order, forsooth ! to support his rank as a Prince of the Blood ! ! ! He is protected by the whole power of his brother, whose vanity, the leading foible in his character, leads him to confer on the members of his family, all the advantages and prerogatives of Sovereign princes. This conduct has rendered him the object of incessant ridicule, and considerably diminished his popularity. ' Another species of evil peculiar to a corrupt military government, prevails in a very great degree, and has become particularly offensive to the French, viz. the influ- ence and insolence of generals. ' All the generals attached to Buonaparte, those who supported him in his usurpation, and those who were with him in Egypt, bear an exact resemblance to the minions and favourites of the Roman Emperors. These men have the public treasure almost entirely at their disposal. General Lasnes, one of the Consul's chief friends, spends the enormous sum oi five hundred thousand livres (upwards of twenty thousand guineas ! ! I) a month, at Paris, where he and his aids de camp occupy one of the most magnifi- cent hotels in that capital. Buonaparte, not being able to supply his favourites with sufficient specie for defraying 1 The Porcupine, No. 13, Nov. 13. ■' Ibid. No. 28, Dec. 1. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 135 their unbounded cxpences, grants them congees iV exporta- tion, i.e. an exclusive permission to export various articles the exportation of which is prohibited by law ; these con- gees are sold to mercantile men, who purchase them at a very high price.' ' To the facts, which we stated on Monday, respecting the prodigality of Buonaparte and his creatures, we may add the instance of General Ney. This Republican Bashaw has fixed his head-quarters at Neubourg, at the expence of which place, his table is furnished at the rate of ninety pounds sterling a day ! The French have a proverb, the truth of which they and their neighbours now experience to their sorrow : " II vaut micux qu'une cite soit brulee, q'un parvenu la gouverne " — -A city had better be burnt to ashes, than submit to the rule of an upstart vagabond.' x 1 The Porcupine, No. 30, Dec. 3, 1800. 136 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE CHAPTER XXI. plots against napoleon's life— that of october io, l8oo — that of december 24, isoo nump.er of people killed and injured — napoleon's portrait. The two plots against Napoleon's life which occurred in this year must not be forgotten. Let us have Combe's version, which does not much exaggerate the facts of the cases : — It seems the Jacobins against Our hero greatly were incensed : His levees, drawing-rooms, and so forth, They look'd upon as deeds of no worth ; The pageantry he held so dear, Did not Republican appear ; And, at such goings on distrest, Their indignation they exprest ; Our hero consequently saw The need of keeping them in awe ; So he contrived a plot, which seems The masterpiece of all his schemes ; And in this plot, too, he resolved His greatest foes should be involved. Fouche pretended, on th' occasion, (For Nap allow'd of no evasion) That some conspirators had got Daggers and pistols, and what not, To make the Conqueror their aim, When from the Opera he came. Nap to the Opera went indeed, One gave the signal, as agreed ; ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 137 Three men were instantly arrested Three whom great Bonaparte detested. They got it seems a dagger from one, But carrying daggers now was common ; He was from Nap at a great distance, This proof, tho', was of no assistance ; When the supposed assassination Had undergone examination, They seiz'd on others, as directed, For having such a scheme projected ; One prov'd at home that night he slept, For being ill, his bed he kept ; All this, however, had no weight, For Nap's resentment was too great. They suffered by the guillotine, Which was his favourite machine ; Save one, th' Italian too, I wot, From whom the dagger had been got, Nap banish'd him, and with him too, Th' Italian patriotic crew ; Four thousand, as historians say, For no offence were swept away. The first plot was that of October 10, 1800, and it has, certainly, somewhat of a police ' get up ' about it. The First Consul knew all about it through an ex chef de bataillon named Ilarrcl, who used to come every night to De Bourrienne, and tell him what the so-called conspirators had done. He supplied Harrel, at Napoleon's request, with money, &c. Napoleon was never in any danger, and four men perished by the guillotine. Barrc says : ' Still the persons designed, and arrested, on the very spot of the premeditated murder, were strictly searched about their proper persons, and neighbouring places, and not an arm, nor even a pin, was found. With what, then, could those pretended conspirators commit a 138 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE murder, since, at the very moment, and on the very spot where it was to have been perpetrated, no kind of arms were found about them ? ' That such was the case, it was asserted, and never denied, in the course of the trial. ' The only witness was one Hard, an acknowledged spy of the police, holding the rank of Captain. 1 And on the single evidence of a spy, devoted to, and paid by, the police, four men (Arena, Ceracchi, Demerville, and Topino-Lebrun,) were condemned to death. . . . ' Those unfortunate men having appealed from such iniquitous judgment, as grounded on many erroneous statements, and irregular proceedings, the court of appeals divided, when it was found that eight judges were for repealing, and eight for confirming, the judgment. ' The division being equal, five more judges were added to the sixteen, when the iniquitous judgment was con- firmed.' The other attempt upon Napoleon's life was genuine enough. On December 24, 1800, Haydn's Oratorio of the ' Creation ' was to be performed at the Opera. He was sleepy, and disinclined to go, but was overpersuaded, and went. Luckily his coachman was drunk, and drove faster than usual. In the Rue St. Nicaise there was a loud explosion, two or three seconds after he had passed the place where it had occurred. A barrel of gunpowder, surrounded by grapeshot, and pieces of iron, was fixed in a cart, and fired when Napoleon passed. He escaped, but twenty people were killed, and fifty-three wounded, including St. Regent who fired the train. The coachman was so drunk that he drove on, thinking it was only a salute that had been fired. There are several, and contradictory, versions of this event, but this seems to be the most authentic — ON NAPOLEON THE EIRST. 139 For this conspiracy ideal Was soon succeeded by one real. While the First Consul, with delight, Was going to the play one night ; His carriage pass'd a narrow way, Where an infernal barrel lay — This barrel of a sudden blew up, And the combustibles all flew up. With great dismay was Boney filled, No wonder — some were hurt and kill'd ; The windows of the carriage broke, And most tremendous was the smoke : The coachman luckily enough, Had taken plenty of strong stuff ; And, not regarding any evil, Drove thro' the passage like a devil ; His whip applied when there was need, And saved his master by his speed. Had coachee been of drink no lover, With Nap it would have been all over. The Jacobins (for, as related, This party the brave Consul hated,) Were mark'd for this assassination, And many suffered transportation. Indeed our hero firmly swore, (As he had often done before, For he would swear thro' thick and thin), The British had a hand therein — It seems the gentleman forgot John Bull disdains a wicked plot. Cobbctt, of course, improves the occasion. 1 'Miserable slaves ! For an instance of base flattery, surpassing any- thing we have hitherto seen, take the following from the Chef du Cabinet: "The explosion of the infernal machine ' The Porcupine, No. 60, Jan. 7, 1S01. 140 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE broke twenty-nine pictures, out of thirty, which ornamented an apartment in the street of St. Thomas. The single picture which escaped, was that of the Chief Consul. One would be ready to affirm (mark this) that the same God, who watches over the life of the first Consul, protected even his likeness " ! ! ! What Emperor was it that talked of making his horse a Consul} An English blood horse would be disgraced by becoming the successor of Buonaparte.' And again : ' ' Buonaparte's embracing the Parisian addressers, puts us in mind of the good old ceremony of the thief's kissing the hangman! ' The Porcupine, No. 61, Jan. 8, 1S01. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 141 CHAPTER XXII. GENERAL FAST — ADULTERATION, AND COMPULSORY SALE OF STALE BREAD — WAR IN EGYPT — THE BOULOGNE FLOTILLA — NEGOTIATIONS FOR PEACE — RATIFICATION OF PRELIMINARIES-RECEPTION IN ENGLAND — GENERAL REJOICINGS. It is sad to take up the very first number of the ' London Gazette ' for 1801, and find ' A Proclamation for a general Fast,' which was to be held on February 13, the reason wherefore is stated thus : ' We, taking into Our most serious consideration the heavy Judgments with which Almighty God is pleased to visit the Iniquities of this land, by a grievous Scarcity and Dearth of divers Articles of Sustenance, and Necessaries of Life &c.' The war bore grievously on the Commons, and, conse- quently, Napoleon was in like measure abhorred. Nothing short of the thought of approaching famine could have caused Parliament to pass, and the king give his royal assent to, ! ' An Act to prevent until the Sixth Day of November, One Thousand Eight Hundred and One, and from thence to the End of Six Weeks from the Commence- ment of the then next Session of Parliament, the manufac- turing of any fine Flour from Wheat, or other Grain, and the making of any Bread solely from the fine Flour of Wheat ; and to repeal an Act, passed in the Thirty-Sixth Year of the Reign of His present Majesty, for permitting Bakers to make and sell certain Sorts of Bread, and to make more effectual Provision for the same.' "Phis took' effect on January 31, 180 1. 1 Dec. 31, 1S00. 142 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE ' An Act to prohibit, until the First Day of October, One thousand eight hundred and one, and from thence to the End of Six Weeks next after the then next Session of Parliament, any Person or Persons from selling any Bread which shall not have been baked Twenty-four Hours.' This Act was 41 Geo. III. cap. 17, and it recites the reason in the preamble : ' Whereas it is expedient to reduce as much as possible, at the present moment, the consumption of Wheat flour. And whereas it appears a considerable saving would arise if Bread was prohibited from being sold until it had been baked a certain time, &c.' The penalties of non-compliance ranging from $s. to 40^. Here is a receipt given for adulterated bread : ' Im- provement of bread, with economy of flour, and saving of expense : — Take one pound of ground rice, put it in cold water sufficient to cover it, and something more, boil it, and it will absorb all the water, and weigh four pounds ; mix four pounds of flour with it, knead them well together, and lighten them with yeast, like common bread, and they will produce ten pounds ten ounces of excellent bread, which will not cost more than twopence halfpenny per pound, and will save one half in the consumption of flour. N.B. this bread will keep moist a week.' When we remember that bad bread was on January 1, 1 80 1, \s. ()\d. per quartern loaf, on March 5, is. io\d., and although it dropped after harvest as low as io\d., yet closed December 31 at is. o\d., and that this bad bread had to be eaten stale, all through Boney, we cannot wonder that the people did not love him. His direct presence was brought home to all and every one daily, by means of that most susceptible bodily organ, the stomach. It was hitting John Bull in a very vulnerable part. The war in Egypt still kept on, and in February re- inforcements of 15,330 men, under the command of Sir ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 143 Ralph Abercrombie, set sail in a fleet of 175 vessels or ships. In March they defeated the French under Menon, the rene- gade, but at the cost of the life of the brave Abercrombie. On April 19, Rosetta surrendered to our forces, and on June 27 Cairo capitulated, on condition that General Belliard, with all his troops, arms, and bag-gage, should be taken back to France. On their march back to the coast, Menon, finding his cause hopeless, surrendered on the same terms, and thus ended the French occupation of Egypt. With Napoleon's concordat with the Pope we have nothing to do, except that his satirists here did not forget to contrast his attendance at the solemn Te Benin at Notre Dame with his pseudo-Mahometanism in Egypt. What more affected us, was the arming along the Channel coast, and the Flotilla at Boulogne, which was to act as transport for the army for the invasion of England. The French themselves laughed at these little cockle-shells of boats, teste Madame Junot : — 'Boulogne was designated from the year 1801, as the chief station of the enterprise against England. The greatest activity suddenly prevailed in all ports of the Channel ; camps were formed on the coast, divisions of light vessels were organised, and multitudes were built. The Flotilla, as it was called, created apparently with the greatest exertion, and all the apparatus of preparation, spread, as was intended, alarm on the opposite shore. The Boulogne Flotilla was composed of extremely light boats, so small, that at Paris, where everything forms the subject of a jest, they were called walnut shells. Brunct, who at this time was a truly comic actor, performing in some piece which I do not remember, was eating walnuts, the shells of which, after a little preparation, he launched upon some water in a tub by his side. "What arc you doing?" said his fellow 144 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE actor. " Making des peniches," replied Brunet. This was the name by which the flat-bottomed boats of the flotilla were known at Paris. But poor Brunet was made to atone by twenty-four hours' imprisonment for his unseasonble joke on the Government ; and the day after his release the same piece was performed. When Brunet should have made the interdicted reply, he was silent. The other actor repeated the inquiry as to what he was doing. Still Brunet made no answer, and the other with an air of impatience proceeded : " Perhaps you do not know what you are about ? " " Oh yes ! " said Brunet, " I know very well what I am about, but I know better than to tell." The laugh was general, and so were the applauses ; and, in truth, nothing could be more droll than the manner in which this was uttered ; Brunct's countenance in saying it was of itself sufficient to provoke universal hilarity.' But, in very truth, John Bull was not much frightened : there was Nelson, and his fleet, and people had great faith in them. But Nelson could do little against this passive fleet. On August 3 he bombarded Boulogne, sunk five gun-boats, and damaged others; and on the 15th of the same month he tried to capture, or destroy, these gun- boats, but was unsuccessful in his attempt, as the French had chained them to the shore. We now come to the principal event of the year, the Peace — over which there was much coquetting. As early as March, Lord Hawkesbury, the then Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, addressed a letter to M. Otto, signifying King George's desire to enter into negotiations for the restoration of peace. These negotiations for peace were naturally noticed, and one very good etching, by Roberts, ' Negotiation See Saw,' shows Napoleon and John Bull engaged in that pas- time seated on a plank ' Peace or War.' Bonaparte says, ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 145 * There Johnny, now I'm down, and you arc up — then I go up and you go down Johnny — so we go on.' John Bull does not enjoy the situation so much, but grumbles, ' I wish you would settle it one way or other, for if you keep bumping me up and down in this manner I shall be ruined in Diachilem Plaster.' A somewhat elaborate etching, also by Roberts (no date, 1 801), depicts 'John Bull's Prayer to Peace, or the flight of Discord.' He is on his knees praying the follow- ing to Peace : ' Sublime Descendant of Happiness, incline thine ear to the Petition of thy poor Patient, worn out oppressed I. Bull, who humbly prayeth thee that thou would'st in the first place exert thy influence, and be the means of restoring to me again those lost Liberties and Privileges I have been so basely rob'd of, and that you would'st be pleased also to put a speedy stop to cruel monopolizing, and e'er it be long, send me thy attendant Plenty, to comfort me and my long suffering numerous Family, and may that horrid Demon Discord never return again.' Peace, whom the eye of Providence watches over, replies : ' Thy Prayer shall be fulfill'd, Plenty awaits thee with all her blessings, her pace is slow but sure.' Bona- parte and Pitt, who is represented as covered with serpents, are retreating. On October 1, preliminary articles of peace with France were signed at Lord Hawkesbury's office at Downing Street, by his Lordship, and M. Otto on the part of the French Government, and great were the rejoicings at the event, although not so great as they might have been. The ' Times ' of October 3 says : 'F'hc public were so impa- tient to express their feelings on the occasion of the News of the Preliminaries of Peace being signed, that almost all the public streets were illuminated last night. This was evidently not the wish of the Government, who have VOL. I. L 146 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE deferred a general illumination until the ratification of them comes back from France. Accordingly, none of the Public Offices were illuminated, nor either of the Theatres. The ratification of the Preliminaries is expected from Paris on Tuesday next.' No wonder ' the public were so impatient to express their feelings,' their joy must have been so great. Long- suffering, they had borne the burden and heat of a long war, cheerfully too, and gladly must they have welcomed its conclusion. In Paris the joy was the same. The 'Times,' Octobcr 10, says : ' The Intelligence . . . was announced to the inhabitants of Paris by discharges of Artillery, and was proclaimed by torch light throughout the streets. At night there was a general illumination. Never was joy more fervently expressed.' One of the most practical tests of renewed confidence was the great variation of 3 per cent. Consols — in Sep- tember 58^ ; in October 6g\. On October 10 came the preliminaries, ratified. Let us see the ' Times' ' account : — ' London October 12th. On Saturday morning, at ten o'clock, General Daurostan, 1 Chef de Brigade in the Artillery, and Aide de Camp to General Bonaparte, arrived at M. Otto's house in Hereford Street, with the ratification of the French Government of the Preliminaries of Peace signed on the 1st inst. between Lord Hawkesbury and M. Otto in Downing Street. ' The Preliminaries were ratified in Paris on the 5th ; but General Daurostan was not dispatched till Wednesday evening, in order to give time for a magnificent gold box to be made, in which the ratification was enclosed to Lord Hawkesbury. The General was also delayed by his car- riage breaking down upon the road. 1 Lauriston. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 147 ' After breakfasting at M. Otto's, the General, accom- panied by the Minister, and Mr. St. John (Mrs. Otto's brother), proceeded to ReddisJis Hotel, in St. James's Street, where he dressed, and afterwards went to Downing Street. On their way thither, the populace took the horses from the carriage, and drew it through the principal streets. As soon as the Ratifications had been exchanged, Lord Hawkesbury sent a letter to the Lord Mayor. . . . General Daurostan cannot fail to communicate to his Court the very flattering manner in which he had been received in London. His carriage having been drawn to St. James's Street, he alighted and came forward to the window, and bowed to the populace. On his way to Downing Street, they drew his carriage through the Park. Lord St. Vincent happening to be at the garden-gate of the Admiralty, the mob gave the gallant Admiral three hearty cheers, who, in return, recommended them to take care of the strangers, and not to overturn the carriage. ... It is understood that there will be another illumination this evening. The Bank and Post Office have given notice of their intending to do so.' Cobbett foamed at the mouth over this Peace, and his utterances are so caustic as to be well worth reproduction. 1 ' We request our readers to observe, that henceforth we shall be very particular in what we say about the most illustrious Sovereign Consul Buonaparte. Oh ! how we shall extol him ! We shall endeavour to give our readers the earliest information, when he rises, breakfasts, dines, sups, and spits. With all reverence, we shall treat of his lovely, chaste, and bonny Queen — thus by way of a touch : ' It is with superlative pleasure we inform our readers, that the last news from France represents the health of 1 Porcupine, No. 291, Oct. 3, 1800. 148 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE the First Consul to be improving. This glory of the world, is returned to his country palace at Malmaison. But it was after October 10, when the Ratification had arrived, that Cobbett's wrath boiled over, and he appears at his finest. In the number for October 12, he gives vent to his impassioned feelings in words like these : l ( On Saturday last, such a scene was exhibited in this metropolis, as we never expected to have lived to witness, and having witnessed it, we care not how soon we resign our exist- ence ! . . . a vile degraded rabble, miscalled Britons, took the horses out of the carriage which contained the two French Citizens, Otto and Lauriston — the latter of whom they mistook for the brother of Buonaparte — and dragged it from Oxford Street to Downing Street ; then back through the Park, and, not content with taking the usual carriage road, dragged it through the Mall, a place appro- priated, exclusively, as a carriage road, to the use of the Royal Family ! ! ! ' But Cobbctt had good reason to be sore, for the mob had smashed the windows of his dwelling-house in Pall Mall, and at his office in Southampton Street, because he would not illuminate ; so he takes his revenge in a peculiar man- ner. ' He did not know that there existed in the country, any force whatever, to compel his Majesty's subjects to exhibit, at night, manifestations of joy at an event which, in the morning, he had stated his reasons for believing to be a subject of deep concern. But he has unfortunately found himself mistaken ; and he is, therefore, under the necessity of apprizing his readers, that, until the principles of the British Constitution, and the laws of the realm, which have ever been objects of his fervent admiration, and most zealous support, can rise superior to the destructive rage of a senseless and infuriate rabble ; until he can derive that 1 Porcupine, No. 29S. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 149 protection from the Police of the Country, which every subject has a right to claim, but which he has, hitherto, been unable to obtain ; until, in short, that " tumult of exultation," and that " delirium of Joy," which a Ministerial writer so emphatically described, and so earnestly wished, might increase, shall have subsided, the publication of The Porcupine will cease, and the mob be left to exercise their vengeance on an empty office.' But he did not long leave the populace thirsting for his utterances, for the paper was resumed on October 15. At length all parties pleased to yield, A treaty was in London seal'd ; And Nap with pleasure had to say That England own'd his Cons'lar sway. The Royalists were vex'd at this, They took the treaty much amiss ; It seem'd (as for a time it was) Destructive of the Bourbon cause. This Amiens treaty, as 'twas termed Was in October month confirm'd ; And London, tho' so ill repaid, Illuminations grand display'd. 150 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE CHAPTER XXIII. THE PEACE OF AMIENS — CESSION OF TRINIDAD AND CEYLON— INTER- NATIONAL VISITS— FOX'S TRIP TO FRANCE, AND RECEPTION BY NAPOLEON. An unknown artist, probably Ansell, produced on October 26, 1S01, a caricature of 'The Child and Champion of Jacobinism new Christened (vide Pitt's Speech).' Bonaparte is bending over a font, which is supported by Egyptian sphinges, whilst a bishop calls out, ' Name this Child.' Add- ington and Pitt are the godfathers, and Lord Hawkesbury is the godmother. Pitt replies, ' Deliverer of Europe and Pacificator of the World.' Addington says, ' I hope he will abolish the Slave Trade'; and the godmother mentions, ' You need not say anything about the march to Paris.' Gillray (November 9, 1801) gives us a very elaborate picture of 'Political Dreamings — Visions of Peace! — Per- spective Horrors ! ' Windham, who was the leader of the war party, is asleep, and his dreams are full of incident — too full, indeed, to recapitulate here. But the principal scene in the sleeping man's vision is Napoleon dragging to the guillo- tine by a halter, Britannia, whose trident is broken, as also is her shield. 'The Balance of Power,' by Ansell (December 1, 1801 , shows a pair of scales, in which Bonaparte weighs down Pitt and the Lord Chancellor. Pitt ruefully exclaims, ' So this is the Balance of Power we have been making such a fuss about -a pretty piece of business we have made of it. Curse that sword of his, 'tis that has made us kick the Beam.' ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 151 Hostilities with France having ceased with the ratifica- tion of the preliminaries of peace, there was but little cari- caturing of Napoleon, and none of an offensive character. Napoleon occupied his time in attending to home affairs, as also did the British Government. But the peace was not absolutely concluded, and much diplomatic wrangling took place, as usual, before the Peace of Amiens was really signed on March 27, 1802. Its principal articles must be briefly enumerated here, as they will be found of use in understanding forthcoming caricatures. England restored to France, Spain, and Batavia, all the possessions which had been occupied or conquered during the war, with the exception of Trinidad and Ceylon. Malta was to be restored to the Order of St. John of Jeru- salem — the British troops to evacuate the island within three months, or sooner ; but Malta was to be independent, such independence being guaranteed by the Great Powers, and the ports to be open to the vessels of all nations, with the exception of those belonging to the Barbary Powers. These are the principal articles necessary for us to bear in mind. Due credit was given to Bonaparte's astuteness, and our plenipotentiary, Lord Cornwallis, was considered no match for him. The Caricature year of 1802 seems to open with one 152 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE by Ansell (January 9), ' A Game at Chess ' between Bona- parte and Lord Cornwallis. Bonaparte says, ' Check to your King- Remember this is not the first time, and I think a very few Manoeuvres more will compleatly con- vince you that I am better acquainted with the Game I am playing, than you are aware of.' Cornwallis, tearing his hair, exclaims, ' Curse it, I shall lose this game. You are too much for me.' This was followed by another from the same pencil (February 8), called ' Cross examination,' where Lord Cornwallis is button-holing Bonaparte, and saying, ' There is great delay in our negociation comeing to a conclusion, and I understand our People are very uneasy lest you should be Humbugging us — Your fleet having sail'd, has given cause for many conjectures, and to tell you the truth it puzzles me a little to know what your intention is.' Bonaparte's reply is plain and simple, ' I have to tell you, Sir, that I do not desire to give you the information you seem to wish for, and whether I sign or not, is of little consequence to the Republican government ; our fleet I am in hopes will pick up something.' In March 1802 Woodward produced a somewhat dreary picture called ' The National Institute's first Inter- view with their President.' Napoleon, seated under a canopy, says to Sheridan, Fox, Bedford, and Burdett, ' Gentlemen, you arc welcome, and I invite you to the Honors of the sitting.' Sheridan, who is kneeling, holds a phial and box in his hands, and begs that Napoleon will ' Be pleased to accept some true poetic Tincture, and a small Box of Pizarro l Pills.' Fox, who has a money bag under his arm, says, 'I have brought a pound and a half of Patriotism for your eminence.' The Duke of Bedford opines that ' He'll not be displeased with a few Bedford 1 An allusion to his play of that name. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 153 biscuits ; ' and Burdett, with his hair, as usual, combed over his eyes, refers to his present, ' I have brought him a Phial of Genuine Bastile Balsam.' But when once the peace was signed, much show was made of shaking hands and being friends. Englishmen went over to France in numbers ; Frenchmen reciprocated, but not to the same extent. This feeling is shown by the caricaturist, for on April 14, 1802, was published (artist unknown) a picture entitled ' A Peaceable Pipe, or a Con- sular Visit to John Bull' Napoleon and John Bull are in amicable converse, smoking, and drinking beer. John Bull says, ' Here's to you, Master Bcney Party ; come, take another whiff, my hearty ! ' To this hospitable invitation Napoleon replies, ' Je vous remercie, John Bull, I think I'll take another pull.' Mrs. Bull is hard at work mending John's breeches, which are wofully dilapidated : says she, soliloquising, ' Now we are at Peace, if my Husband does take a drop extraordinary I don't much mind, but when he was at war, he was always grumbling. Bless me, how tiresome these old breeches are to mend ; no wonder he wore them out, for he had always his hands in his pockets for something or other.' As before said, with the peace came mutual intercourse between England and France, and there is a picture by Ansell (May 14, 1802), which represents 'A Trip to Paris, or Iohn Bull and his Spouse, invited to the Honors of the Sitting ! ! ' Napoleon receives John Bull and Ireland, and when seated, Napoleon addresses them thus : ' Indeed, Mr. Bull, I am quite charmed with you — there is something so easy and polite in your manners.' John Bull, however, is not to be taken in by such palp- able ' b/arncy,' and replies, ' Come — come Mounscer Bonny party, that's all gammon d'ye sec. D — n me if I know more about politeness than a Cow docs of a new shilling ! !' 154 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE Ireland looks very angrily at her spouse, and remonstrates : * For shame, Mr. Bull, what will the Jontleman think of your Blarney about gammon and cows, and Bodder and nonsense ; by St. Patrick, I must send you to Kilkenny to larn good breeding.' Some of these caricatures were rather dreary ; take, for example, ' The Consular Warehouse or a Great Man nail'd to the Counter ' (Cawse, May 20). Napoleon is keeping a shop, selling, among other things, ' Preserved Promises, Pickled Piety from Rome, Oil of Lodi, Marengo Olio, Bullet Bolusses. advice gratis. N.B. One Pill is a dose, also Islands for Home Consumption Martinique — St. Lucia.' John Bull has just bought two, paid for in good hard cash, and takes his goods home with him. Under one arm he carries the ' Island of Indemnity, ci-devant Ceylon ' — under the other is the ' Island of Security, ci-devant Trinidad.' They hardly seem to be John Bull's idea of a bargain, for he is saying, ' They be very light to be sure — but harkee, my worthy, — - you'll not forget to carry on a little trade with the Old Shop ; if you don't, you know, a Rowland for an Oliver, that's all.' Napoleon, however, reassures him with 'We'll not talk of that at present, Mr. Bull ; all you have to do, is to take care of your new Islands ; mind you don't tumble down, and break them, before you get home — They are very brittle, but a very good article for all that.' As the year grew older, the entente cordiale grew colder. Suspicions of Napoleon's intentions were aroused, and Malta was not evacuated as per treaty. One or two warn- ing caricatures, stormy petrels, made their appearance, and in the autumn of this year appeared ' The Corsican Con- jurer raising the plagues of Europe.' He is shewn with huge cocked hat and an ample robe, which is held up by the Devil, who encourages him, ' That's right my fine fellow ^If you don't kick up a pretty dust in the world, never ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 155 trust the Devil again — that's all.' Napoleon is waving a rod over a caldron, in which are serpents, and a devil, the steam from which is labelled, in different clouds, ' Anarchy, Pride, Murder, Confusion, Treason, War, Plunder, Revenge, Massacre, Avarice, Cruelty, Usurpation, Hatred, Horror, Envy, Blasphemy, Malice, Craft, Falsehood, and Terror.' There is another one, ' Parcelling out John Bull,' which is a queer conceit. Napoleon has a huge pair of Com- passes, with which he is measuring John Bull — congratu- lating himself that ' He really will make a pretty addition to my departments — he cuts out extremely well indeed.' There is the Wig Department, Department of the Head, Arm Department, Department of the Body, Fob Depart- ment, Breeches pocket Department, Right and Left Leg Divisions. But John Bull assures his friend, in no kindly spirit, ' Harkce Young one, you have forgotten the Fist Department, and if you don't take away your d — d Com- passes, I'll give you a relish of it. Cut me out, indeed ! why, I'll fight you with one hand tied behind me.' This caricature is neither signed nor dated, but it was undoubt- edly issued in the autumn of 1802. We have seen that it was fashionable for Englishmen to run over to France after the conclusion of peace, and Charles James Fox was no exception to the rule ; but he had to wait a little, until after the Westminster election, when, on July 15, he was returned head of the poll. lie did not long delay the trip, and on July 29 he set out on his journey, accompanied by his wife, the Hon. St. Andrew St. John (afterwards Lord St. John) and a young Irishman named Trotter, 1 who wrote an exhaustive account of their journey. On the 4th of August, Napoleon had been elected 1 Memoirs of Ike Later Years of tlie Ritfit Honourable Charles James Fox, by John Bernard Trotter, Ivstj., late private secretary to Mr. Fox, London, 1 S 1 1 . 156 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE Consul for life, a step which might probably tend to con- solidate peace, and which rendered his position equal to any other European sovereign. When Fox reached Paris, it was rumoured that this was only preliminary to his taking a higher rank, with the title of Emperor of the Gauls. Just then, Englishmen were in great favour at Paris, and Fox's arrival created a great commotion. All vied with each other to pay him attention, and it was settled he should be nz 1 * r ''Y Vyy^'K &/AV/ ! L '^ '\\; ; - I., ■ [V ^ AAA presented to the First Consul at his next levee, which took place on September 3. Caricaturists, like poets, must needs be allowed some licence, and Gillray (November 15), in his picture of the ' Introduction of Citizen Volponc, 1 and his Suite, at Paris,' draws slightly upon his imagination as to Napoleon's state at this reception ; still the allegorical globes, and the intro- duction of Rustan the Mameluke, add a fictitious dignity to the picture. The actual scene, as it was viewed by an eye-witness, 2 1 Fox. '-' Trotter. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. *57 is thus described : ' We reached the interior apartment, where Buonaparte, First Consul, surrounded by his generals, ministers, senators, and officers, stood between the second and third Consuls, Le Brun and Cambaceres, in the centre of a semicircle, at the head of the room ! The numerous assemblage from the Salle des Ambassadeurs, formed into another semicircle, joined themselves to that, at the head of which stood the First Consul.' Gillray's portrait of Charles James Fox is not very much exaggerated. Let us hope that of Mrs. Fox is. This lady, although she was married to Fox on September 28, 1795, was never introduced to his friends as his wife until this journey. She was always believed to be his mistress, Mrs. Armistcad. 1 She made him a good and loving wife, and he was very fond of her. Trotter describes the actual presentation thus : ' Buona- parte, of a small, and by no means commanding figure, dressed plainly, though richly, in the embroidered con- sular coat, without powder in his hair, looked like a private gentleman, indifferent as to dress, and devoid of all haughtiness in his air. . . . The moment the circle was formed, Buonaparte began with the Spanish 1 Her real name, vide his Marriage Register, was Elizabeth l>. Cane. 158 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE Ambassador, then went to the American, with whom he spoke some time, and so on, performing his part with ease, and very agreeably ; until he came to the English Ambassador, who, after the presentation of some English Noblemen, announced to him Mr. Fox ! He was a good deal flurried, and after indicating considerable emotion, very rapidly said, " Ah ! Mr. Fox ! I have heard with pleasure of your arrival — I have desired much to see you — I have long admired in you the orator, and friend of his country, who in constantly raising his voice for peace, consulted that country's best interests — those of Europe — and of the human race. The two great nations of Europe require peace ; — they have nothing to fear ; they ought to understand and value one another. In you, Mr. Fox, I see, with much satisfaction, that great statesman who recommended Peace, because there was no just object of war ; who saw Europe desolated to no purpose, and who struggled for its relief." ' Mr. Fox said little, or rather, nothing, in reply, — to a complimentary address to himself, he always found in- vincible repugnance to answer ; nor did he bestow one word of admiration or applause upon the extraordinary and ele- vated character who addressed him. A few questions and answers relative to Mr. Fox's tour terminated the inter- view.' Other caricaturists took the matter up, for Fox's visit to Paris was naturally commented on ; and there is an engraving by Anscll (November 8, 1802), 'English Patriots bowing at the Shrine of Despotism.' These ' Patriots ' are Pox, Erskine, and Combe, the brewer, who was Lord Mayor. The}- are represented as bowing in the most lowly fashion — so low, indeed, that Fox has burst his trousers behind ; and with one voice they assure Napoleon that they ' arj, with the highest consideration, your Super Royal ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 159 Consulship's most Devoted, most Obsequious, and most honored Servants.' Bonaparte, seated in almost regal state, criticises them : ' Oh, from the World ! O'Connor's friends — Fox, ha ! how old are you ? A Brewer ; Lord Mayor, ha ! great pomp. Mr. Brief, ha ! a great Lawyer can talk well. There, you may go.' Thus we see they did not quite get hold of the right version of this interview, as 'Taking leave' was satirised by a nameless artist (November 12, 1802), and represents Fox bowing very humbly to the First Consul, who is crowned with death's-head and cross-bones, daggers, pistols, and swords, and regards him in an extremely haughty manner. i6o ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE CHAPTER XXIV. LORD WHITWORTH AS PLENIPOTENTIARY — HIS EQUIPAGE— ENGLISH VISIT PARIS— UNSETTLED FEELING — NAPOLEON BEHAVES RUDELY TO LORD WHITWORTH. In June, Lord Whitworth was appointed ambassador extraordinary, and minister plenipotentiary, to the French Republic, and the state he then kept up was a striking contrast to the plainness of Republican equipages. It was different under the Empire ; but then the word Citizen had not been dropped, and there was a certain affectation of simplicity. The English attracted great attention by the splendour of their equipages, and there is a caricature (nameless, December 14, 1802) of 'Lord Whitworth's Coachman at Paris.' His get-up is, certainly, ' exceeding magnifical,' and is the wonder of the Parisians. It is almost too much for his equanimity, for he is shown as saying, ' How the Mounseers stare at me ! D — n me, if I don't think they take me for the Ambassador.' The effects of the peace were hardly realisable for a time, and Woodward gives us an amusing caricature of the state of the empire (December 20, 1802). It is called 'A Peep at the Lion,' which is supposed to be on show. Out- side the Exhibition Pitt is inviting Europe, generally, to 'Walk in Ladies and Gentlemen, and sec the famous Lion. Though I have some share in the concern, I have nothing to do with showing him, I assure you — I am not his keeper ; the Lion I used to show was very fierce, but this is quite quiet and peaceable.' Inside, the Lion is shewn as lying down, ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 161 but with one eye open, Napoleon patting him on the head, saying, ' Poor fellow, poor fellow, what a beautiful Animal, — how sound he sleeps.' But the Chancellor, Lord Eldon, warns him, ' You had better not be too free with him Sir, In case of an accident. He is now asleep with one eye, and awake with the other.' At the opening of the year 1803, although the storm clouds of war were ominously gathering, yet all seemed peace. The English enjoyed the rare treat of visiting France, and, generally, being of the better class, were well received. The year opens in a kindly spirit with ( The first kiss these ten Years ! or the meeting of Britannia and Citi- zen Francois ' (Gillray, January 1, 1803), which is a remark- ably good caricature. Britannia, owing to the peace, has grown prosperous, and stout ; her trident and shield arc put away in a corner, and the portraits of Napoleon and George the Third repose, in loving juxtaposition, on the wall, intertwined with palm-branches. Says Citizen Fran- cois (his sword and cocked hat being laid aside), 'Madame, pcrmcttcz me to pay my profound esteem to your engaging person ! and to seal on your divine Lips my everlasting at- tachment.' .Madame Britannia replies, ' Monsieur, you arc VOL. I. M l62 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE so truly a well bred Gentleman ! and tho' you make me blush, yet you kiss so delicately, that I cannot refuse you ; tho' I was sure you would deceive me again ! ! ! ' A most amusing picture (Gillray, January i, 1803) 1S that called ' German Nonchalance, or the vexation of Little Boney. vide the Diplomatique's late Journey through Paris.' It represents the Austrian ambassador being driven furi- ously through Paris, his luggage being directed ' a Londres.' With the utmost insouciance, he is taking a pinch of snuff, calmly regarding Napoleon, who is standing on some HOP FROM INDIGENCE IN CORSICA TO AFFLU- ENCE IN FRANCE. Step FROM ASPIRING AM- OTION TO THE SUMMIT OF POWER. — -Jump FROM CALAIS TO DOVER, WHERE LITTLE JOHN LULL DOES THE COKSICAN OVER. 1 steps, and is in a fearful rage. With arms and legs out- stretched, and his hat fallen off, he yells out, ' Ha, diable ! va t'en, Impertinent ! va t'cn ! is dere von Man on Earth who not worship little .Boney ? Soldats ! aux Armcs ! re- venge ! ah ! Sacre Dicu, je suis tout trcmblant.' The soldiers, however, although preparing to draw their swords, do not appear to be particularly anxious to avenge their insulted leader. This incident arose from the Austrian minister nccrlectiner January 1, 1803. Artist unknown. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 163 to pay his respects to the First Consul, whilst passing through Paris. As an evidence of the uneasiness of public political feel- ing, take the following. In January 1803 was published a caricature by Raymond, called ' Leap Frog.' Napoleon has already jumped over the bowed backs of Holland and Spain. The poor Dutchman exclaims, ' He has left the Swiss and Italians a Mile behind — and as for me he has knocked my hat off and broken my pipe — pretty encourage- ment this to play at Leap-frog.' The don ruefully says that ' By St. Jago — my back is almost broken.' Napoleon is now jumping over Hanover, who plaintively asks, 'Why did I submit to this ? ' but the conqueror only says, ' Keep down your head Master Hanoverian, my next leap shall be over John Bull.' But that individual, who looks uncom- monly belligerent, with clenched fists, exclaims, ' I'll be d — d if you do Master Corsican.' The English Government, seeing how Napoleon was aggrandising himself, and seeing also that this country, alone, could save the liberty of Europe, did not hurry to conform with the treaty of Amiens, and surrender all the advantages gained by the late long struggle ; and although, with reluct- ance, the Cape, and other Batavian settlements, were given up, excuses were always to be found for not evacuating Malta. On January 25, Lord Whitworth and Talleyrand had an interview, and the latter, after bitterly complaining of the licence of the British press, which he said ought to be curbed, or suppressed, asked plainly what were the intentions of the British Government with regard to Malta ? It is to this interview, probably, that the following caricature owed its existence. How Cobbctt lashed Addington, for his nepo- tism, in his ' Annual Register ' ! ! 'The Evacuation of Malta' (Gillray, February 9, 1803; 1 64 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE is vividly, almost too graphically, depicted. Ferocious little Bonaparte has hold of poor frightened Addington by his necktie, and, by flourishing his enormous sword, compels him to evacuate Malta, Egypt, Cape of Good Hopej St. Domingo, Guadaloup, and Martinique. In vain Addington pleads, ' Pray do not insist upon Malta ! I shall certainly be turned out ! and I have a great many Cousins and Uncles and Aunts to provide for yet.' But his merciless enemy will hear of no compromise, and yells out ' All ! All ! you Jean F — t — e! and think yourself well off that I leave you Great Britain ! ! ! ' A French officer mildly remonstrates, and suggests, ' My General, you had better not get him turned out, for we shall not be able to humbug them any more.' Ansell executed an engraving (February 10, 1803) °f the ' Rival Gardeners,' which represents Napoleon, and George III., tending their respective gardens, which are di- vided by the Channel. Napoleon has a number of plants labelled ' Military poppies,' which flourish well ; but he is greatly concerned about his principal flower, which has a very drooping head and flagging leaves. He cannot understand it. 'Why, I don't know what is the reason ; my Poppies flourish charmingly ; but this Corona Impcrialis is rather a delicate kind of a plant, and requires great judgment in rearing.' His rival, however, points with pride to the sturdy British Oak, whose vigour is matchless, and is in full bloom, with a royal crown. He replies, ' No, No, Brother Gardener, though only a ditch parts our grounds, yet this is the spot for true Gardening; here the Corona Brilanica and y c Heart of Oak will flourish to the end of the world.' On March 8, the king sent a message to Parliament, respecting military preparations in the ports of France and Holland, and acquaints the I T o;:se of Commons that 'he lias iudged it c::neJ.'_;-t to r.drr^t additional measures of ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 165 precaution for the security of his dominions ;' and this gives us the key to the next caricature — ' Physical Aid, or, Britannia recover'd from a Trance, also the Patriotic Courage of Merry Andrew, and a peep thro' the Fog,' was published by Gillray, March 14, 1803, and is a very amusing picture. Bonaparte, and his flotilla, are crossing the Channel, and Sheridan, with fool's cap and bell, a tattered harlequin suit, a lathen sword, ' Dramatic Loyalty,' a shield with a Medusa's head, the snaky hair of which is labelled ' Envy, abuse, bouncing, puffing, detrac- 'A THEATRICAL HERO.' tion, stolen jests, malevolence, and stale wit,' and a paper, in his sash, endorsed 'Ways and means to get a living,' calls out, ' Let 'em come ! dam'mc ! ! ! Where are the French Buggabos ? single-handed I'd beat forty of 'em ! ! ! dam'me I'd pay 'em like Renter's shares, sconce off their half- crowns ! ! ! mulct them out of their benefits, and come y c Drury Lane Slang over 'em.' Britannia, suddenly aroused from her trance, screams out, 'Doctors and ministers of disgrace defend me,' and attempts to rise. Addington is attempting to recover her, 1 66 ENGLISH CARICATURE A AD SATIRE by holding a bottle of gunpowder to her nose, saying ' Do not be alarm'd, my dear Lady ! The Buggabos (the Honest Gentlemen, I mean) are avowedly directed to Colonial ser- vice, they can have nothing to do Here, my lady — nothing to do with US ! do take a sniff or two to raise your Spirits, and try to stand, if it is only upon one leg.' Lord Hawkes- bury is presenting, in a feeble manner, to Britannia, her spear — with broken point, and her shield, which is sadly cracked, and bleats forth, ' Yes, my lady, you must try to stand up, or we shall never be able to march to Paris.' Fox, who is wilfully screening his face with his hat, exclaims, ' Dear me — what can be the reason of the old lady being awaked in such a fright ? I declare I can't see anything of the Buggabos ! ' On the ground lies the treaty of peace torn. On March 13, Napoleon behaved in a very rude, and intemperate, manner to Lord Whitworth respecting the non-evacuation of Malta — which scene is thus versified : — Our hero now, with great chagrin, Begg'd of Lord Whitworth to call in. Agreeably to his request, Th' Ambassador became his guest, And in the Cab'net of the Thuilleries, Napoleon play'd off all his fooleries. 'What is the cause,' he cried, 'of this? How comes it England acts amiss ? I swear that ever)' provocation, Daily augments my indignation ; Why are these libels to annoy me, Pensioned assassins to destroy me ? Why Malta's non-evacuation, And Alexandria, by your nation ? You'd fain keep Malta — 1 believe you, But part of France Pel rather give you. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 167 Why all these provocations ? why o' late, The Amiens treaty dare to violate ? ' Nap ask'd so many questions now, That not an answer he'd allow. Lord Whitworth moved his lips, but then Our hero wagged his tongue again. It seems Lord Whitworth wish'd to say, France for infringements led the way ; But when that she was pleased to stop, And all her base aggressions drop, The treaty England would fulfil, For that, indeed, was England's will. In spite of Nap's vociferation, His Lordship made this observation : ' My sovereign's actions ne'er have been Insidious, treacherous, or mean, Because it is the king's desire More to preserve than to acquire.' 1 68 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE CHAPTER XXV. GENERAL UNEASINESS — CARICATURES THEREON — ADDINGTON'S NEPOTISM — NAPOLEON'S DISCOURTESY TO LORD WIIITWORTH —TRIAL OF JEAN- PELTIER. ' The Political Cocks' (by Ansell, March 27, 1803) is very graphic. Napoleon, a game cock armed with terrific spurs, is calling across the Channel to Pitt, who, standing on the British Crown, is crowing lustily. Napoleon says, ' Eh THE POLITICAL COCKS. Master Billy, if I could but take a flight over this brook, I would soon stop your Crowing. I would knock you off that Perch, I swear by Mahomet, the Pope, and all the Idols I have ever worshipped.' Pitt, however, replies, ' Tuck-a- roo — too— that you never can do ! ! ! ' This was a fine time for the caricaturists, and their works came thick and fast. Telling their own talc, they need no explanation. ' An Attempt to swallow the World ' (artist ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 169 unknown, April 6, 1803) shows Napoleon attempting this difficult feat — John Bull looking on, and remarking, ' I'll tell you what, Mr. Eoneypartee, when you come to a little spot I have in my eye, it will stick in your throat and choak you.' West (April 6, 1803) engraved 'John Bull teased by an Earwig.' Napoleon, drawn very small, is on John Bull's shoulder, pricking his cheek with his little sword. This annoys the old man, and, looking up angrily from his meal of bread (Ceylon), and cheese (Malta), he says, ' I tell you what, young one — -if you won't let me eat my bread and cheese in peace and comfort, I'll blow you away, you may depend upon it.' To which the Earwig replies, ' I will have the Cheese, you Brute, you ; I have a great mind to annihilate you, you great overgrown Monster.' ' Easier to say than to do ' (I. Cruikshank, April 14, 1803) shows Bonaparte seated before a New Map of the World, attempting to erase the British Isles. A Dutch- man, with a lighted candle, suggests, ' Got for d — n de ting — here take te candle, and burn tern out.' On the other side, a Spaniard says, ' Here, my friend, take the paste- brush, and stick a piece of your three-coloured flag over them.' Whilst a Jew, who has a label coming out of his pocket, ' Subscription to new loan,' says, ' I tink if I lend a little more monish at Turty per shent, it will soon annihilate dem.' Bonaparte reflects : ' I cannot scrape these little islands out of the map. As for your plan, Mynheer, we did try to burn them once, but they would not take fire ; and let me tell you, Don Diego, they arc not so easily over- run with any flag as you may think ! I believe Moses's plan the best ; that, and a threat now and then may probably do the business.' 'An Attempt to undermine John Bull, or working through the Globe ' (Roberts, April 16, 1803;, shows i7o ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE Napoleon standing on ruins, surrounded by ' Territories pickaxed with impunity ' — Switzerland, Italian Republic, Batavian Republic ; and he is now commencing operations with his pickaxe on John Bull, saying, ' O, the Pick axe is infinitely the best way — I shall soon be at the little fellow, that's his abode, I know it by the white cliffs.' John Bull is lying down, sword in hand, with his ear on the ground, and says, ' I hear you burrowing away, my fine fellow ; but it won't do. — As soon as you pop your head above the surface, you shall be saluted with a few of John Bull's pop- guns.' Another caricature (artist unknown, April 16, 1803), called ' A stoppage to a Stride over the Globe,' shows a colossal Napoleon bestriding the World, whilst a small John Bull, on England, is hacking at his foot, with a sword. Napoleon, in disgust, is calling out, ' Ah ! who is it dares to interrupt me in my progress ? ' ' Why, 'tis I, little Johnny Bull, protecting a little spot I clap my hand on, and d — n me if you come any farther — that's all.' Ansell, too, the same date (April 16, 1803), drew ' The Governor of Europe, Stoped in his career, or Little B n too much for great B te.' Here a huge Bonaparte has attempted to put his foot on Britain, and John Bull has cut it off. Napoleon, dancing with pain and loss of blood, drops his sword, yells out, 'Ah, you tarn John Bull ! ! You have spoil my Dance ! ! You have ruined all my Projets.' Little John Bull, pointing to his native land, says, ' I ax pardon, Master Boney, but as we says, Pazvs off, Powpcy, we keep this little spot to ourselves, you must not dance here Master Boney.' Rowlandson (May 1, 1803), brought out 'John Bull listening to the quarrels of State affairs.' Napoleon is talking to the Chancellor, and says, 'And so — if you do so, I do so. 1 The Chancellor, in an evident fright, exclaims ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 171 tremulously, ' Oh ! Oh ! ! ' whilst old John Bull looks on, listening, all eyes and expectation, with his hair on end, ' I declare my very wig stands on end with curiosity. What can they be quareling about ? O that I could but be let into the secret ! If I ax our gentleman concerning it, it is ten to one if he tells me the right story.' On May 2, 1803. Gillray produced a very effective cari- cature called ' Doctor Sangrado curing John Bull of Reple- tion, with the kind offices of young Clyster pipe l and little Boney. A hint from Gil Bias.' John Bull is seated, very weak indeed, held up by Lord Hawkesbury. Fox and Sheridan are behind, bringing warm water, and everybody in the drawing is exhorting the patient to ' Courage.' Addington is performing the operation, and the blood streams forth copiously. Napoleon catches in his cocked hat, Ceylon, Malta, Cape of Good Hope, and West Indies ; whilst young Clyster pipe holds out his hat, labelled ' Clerk of the Pells,' and catches a stream ' 3,000/. per annum.' This scandalous job, his father having given him this lucra- tive sinecure when he was very young, excited much adverse comment at the time. 'Britannia repremanding a Naughty Boy!' (artist un- known, May 3, 1803). Britannia, with a helmet on her 1 A name bestowed on young Addington. 172 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE head, her shield by her side, a spear in one hand, and a birch rod in the other, stands on the shore at Dover. On the top of the cliffs is a crown on a cushion. Napoleon, attired, as usual, in an enormous cocked hat, stands on the shore at Calais, whimpering, ' I'm tired of this great hat, I will have that crown.' But says Britannia : ' Stay where you are, you little troublesome Urchin. If once you cross the Dyke you'll get a good birchin ! ' ' Lunar Speculations ' is the whimsical title of a picture by Ansell, May 3, 1803. Bonaparte is looking through a large telescope, mounted on a tripod, at the moon ; and he is saying : ' I wonder the Idea never struck me before ! The place would easily be taken, and has undoubtedly great capabilities — Besides they would make me Em- peror : — and then, the sound of the Title Emperor OF THE Full MOON — oh ! delightful ! I'll send for Garner ' and his balloons and set about the scheme immediately.' John Bull, looking at him quizzically, and holding his very fat sides, says : ' What ! going to revolutionize the Moon, Bonny ? That's a good one, however — To be sure, you talk'd of paying a visit to my little island, and one should certainly be as easily accomplished as the other.' The situation was getting more strained daily, and Napoleon did not mend matters by his studied discourtesy to Lord Whitworth. ' Indeed,'" said Whitworth, ' you mistake, We wish a lasting peace to make.' ' Pay more respect to treaties, then,' Cried Nap, and raised his voice again ; ' What use are treaties ? — all my eye — If violated — fie — oh fie — What use are treaties ? woe to those Who don't respect them — they're my foes ; 1 Garnerin, the aeronaut. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 173 Yes, they're my foes — I tell you flat, And I don't value them — not that.' This said, his argument to back, He with his fingers gave a crack, The Company were all ashamed, And his indelicacy blamed ; His manners were so ungenteel, That each now turn'd upon his heel. England's Ambassador was bent The Consul's conduct to resent. He sent a note of all that pass'd From the beginning to the last, Then sought for passports, as advis'd ; At this the Consul was surpris'd ; But England now was irritated, For in the Moniteur 'twas stated, That she could never, single handed, Contend with France — so he demanded His passports — likewise he averr'd, That war, he to suspense, preferr'd. His lordship's wish they strove t' evade, The passports daily were delay'd. Lord YVhitworth, soon as they were granted, Set off for London, as he wanted. By way of parenthesis, I may say that Napoleon made loud complaint about the libels published about him in England ; and, to show the impartiality of the Government, and their desire to do justice, even at a time when war between the two countries was almost morally certain, a Frenchman, named Jean Peltier, was prosecuted for libelling' 1dm, the indictment being ' That peace existed between N. Bonaparte and our Lord the King ; but that M. Peltier, intending to destroy the friendship so existing, and to de- spoil said Napoleon of his consular dignity, did devise, print, 174 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE and publish, in the French Language, to the tenor follow- ing, &c.' It is never worth while to go into the words of the libel (which appeared in a periodical called L'Ambigii), which is purely political, and which would never be noticed nowadays. I only introduce the episode to shew that the English Government even went out of their way to con- ciliate Bonaparte, and that the libel, as usual, sprang from French sources. He was unanimously found guilty, and judgment was to have been delivered next term, but, war being renewed, he was never called upon to appear. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 175 CHAPTER XXVI. THE ULTIMATUM — LORD WHITWORTH LEAVES PARIS — DECLARATION* OF WAR — CARICATURES PREVIOUS THERETO — SURRENDER OF HANOVER. Now came the ultimatums on both sides. The presenta- tion of an ultimatum is hardly a personal caricature of Napoleon, but it belongs to the history of the times. One picture was published May 3, 1803, by an unknown artist, and was called ' Waste Paper.' A French officer holds four ultimatums in his hand, and presents John Bull with No. 1. A servant, behind, carries a huge sack of ultimatums. The Frenchman thus speaks : - Monsieur Jean Bull, I am come from De Grand Nation to present you vone Ultimatum. If you not like dat — I present you vone oder— I have got seventy tree Tousand Ultimatum, and you must agree to vone or de oder — or, begar, I sal kick you outofde Europe. My lacquey has got Dem in de Sac, and will leave dem for your consideration. Health and Fraternity, Citizen Bull ! ' John Bull uplifts his cudgel, and his bulldog growls. Says the old man, ' Hark ye, Mr. Frog ! I was just feeling in my pocket, for a little bit of waste paper, and you have just supplied me in time : so now get you gone, or I'll shew you the use of my Horns, by tossing you out of old England.' But this giving of ultimatums was not all on one side. I. Cruikshank (May 14, 1803) drew 'Ultimatum, or the Ambassador taking proper steps.' Our ambassador ' is 1 Lord Whitworth. 176 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE just stepping into his carriage, and, whilst doing so, presents Napoleon with an ultimatum, saying, with national cour- tesy, ' Be quick, or d — me I'm off.' Napoleon is depicted as being deeply affected by this conduct. He weeps copi- ously, and wrings his hands, whimpering, ' Pray stop, and I will agree to anything.' There is a caricature by an artist unknown (May 18, 1803), called 'The Bone of Contention,' which is labelled Malta. Bonaparte, looking very fierce, menaces John Bull with his sword, exclaiming ' By the Bridge of Lodi ! by the plains of Marengo ! ! by everything that is great and terrible — I command you to surrender that bone ! ! ! ! ' John Bull, however, has set his foot upon that bone, and is pre- pared to defend it with his oaken cudgel. He laconically replies 'You be d — d.' This subject was also treated by Ansell (June 14, 1803) in ' The Bone of Contention, or the English Bulldog and the Corsican Monkey.' The monkey, in a fearful and wonderful cocked hat, calls out, ' Eh ! you Bull Dog, vat you carry off dat Bone for ? I vas come to take dat myself. I vas good mind to lick you, but for dem Dam Tooths.' Whilst John Bull, typified as a bulldog, has the bone, Malta, firmly between his teeth, and growls defiance. Lord Whitworth left Paris on May 12, and arrived at Dover on the i/th, 1 where he met General Andreossi, the French minister, on the point of returning to France. On the iSth, George III. sent his Declaration of War to both Houses of Parliament, and Nelson hoisted his flagon board the Victory, at Portsmouth, the same day. Thus ended a peace which had existed only one year and sixteen days. Of course, the caricatures were, necessarily, prepared a day or two before their publication, so the dates do not de- pend upon the events which took place. Such an one is 1 St. "James's Chronicle, May j 7 19, 1S03. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 177 'Armed Heroes,' Gillray, May 18, 1803, which is amusing. It is Addington who is bestriding the Roast Beef of Old England. Lord Hawkesbury sits behind him ; whilst the two other figures respectively represent Hely Addington and Bragge Bathurst, who were members of the Addington family, and had been provided with good places by their powerful relative. Napoleon looks with hungry eyes on the beef, and ex- claims : — Ah, ha ! sacre dieu ! vat do I see yonder ? Dat look so invitingly Red and de Vite ? Oh by Gar ! I see 'tis de Roast Beef of Londres Vich I vill chop up, at von letel bite ! to? ARMED HEROES. Addington is in a curious state of mind, between bluster and fear, calling out, ' Who's afraid ? damme ? — O Lord, O Lord, — what a Fiery Fellozv he is ! — Who's afraid ? damme ? — O dear! what will become of y"' Roast Beef ? Damme! who's afraid ? — O dear ! — dear ! ' The medicine bottles peeping out of his pockets are a delicate allusion to Addington's parentage, his father having been a physician. The caricatures which follow are simply dated May ; VOL. I. N 178 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE but, from their internal evidence, they precede the declara- tion of war. Bonaparte is represented as being excessively frightened at the prospect of a rupture with England, and, in May 1803, an etching (artist unknown) was produced, shewing 'A Little Man Alarmed at his own Shadow.' He is cowering, and trembling, and looking back at his length- ened shadow on a wall, saying ' Mercy on us — what tall figure is that. It surely can't be Johnny Bull ? No, no, that cannot be, it is not lusty enough for him.' A very graphic caricature is ' Maniac Ravings, or Little Boney in a strong Fit. Vide Lord W 's x account of a visit to the Thuilleries.' Here he is depicted in a fearful state of frenzy ; he has kicked over the consular chair, a globe (with all Europe expunged, except the British Isles), dashed his hat to the ground, upset a table, with all his writings on it, broken his sword and scabbard ; and, whilst tearing his hair, stamps frantically on such papers as ' Wyndham's Speeches,' ' Cobbett's Weekly Journal,' 'Anti- Jacobin Review,' 'Wilson's Egypt,' &c. His 'Maniac Rav- ings ' are veritably so. ' Oh Egypt, Egypt, Egypt ! Oh, St. Domingo, Oh ! Oh, the liberty of the English Press ! English Bloodhounds ! Wyndham ! Grenville ! Pitt ! Oh I'm murdered ! I'm assassinated ! ! London Newspapers ! Oh ! Oh ! Oh ! Revenge ! Revenge ! come Fire ! Sword ! Famine ! Invasion ! Invasion ! Four Hundred and Eighty Frenchmen ! British Slavery and everlasting Chains ! ever- lasting Chains ! O Diable ! the Riches ! Freedom ! and Happiness of the British Nation ! Ah ! Liable, Diable, Diable ! Malta ! Malta ! Malta ! Oh, cursed Liberty of the British Press ! Insolence of British Parliament ! Treaty of Amiens ! Damnation ! British trade and commerce ! Oh ! Oh ! Oh ! English calumniating Newspapers ! Oh, Sebas- tiani ! Sebastiani ! Oh, Georges ! Arras ! de Rolle ! Dutheil ! 1 Whitworth. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 179 O Assassins ! Treason ! Treason ! Treason ! Hated and Betray'd by the French ! Despised by the English ! and laughed at by the whole world ! ! ! Oh, English Newspapers ! ! ! English Newspapers ! ! ! ! English Newspapers !!!!!' Woodward drew a picture (May 1803) of 'A great Man Intoxicated with Success,' and depicted Boney with a very ' how came you so ? ' expression of countenance, reeling along, and saying, ' Ah Johnny Bull, how are you my Boy — I am going to re-establish slavery — I am grown very Pious. I — I — I'll double my guards. I — I — I don't know what I'll do.' John Bull is utterly astonished at such con- duct. ' Why, bless your heart, my fine fellow, you be Muzzy — I dare say you find it difficult to stand. Now, let me advise you — take a little Nap — if it's only for a quarter of an hour, you can't think how much it will refresh you.' Another caricature, apparently by Woodward, was published in May 1803, 'Bonaparte and the Quaker.' Bonaparte's attitude is decidedly aggressive and bullying : ' So they are all Great Men in your Country, eh ! — but I suppose they are like you — not very fond of fighting — is not that the case Master Quaker ? ' Brother Broadbrim replies, ' Little Man, it is not the case. I myself encourage not fighting. But if thou, or any of thy Comrades, darest to cross the great waters, my Countrymen shall make Quakers of you all' The national feeling was well expressed in a caricature (May 1803) — Bonaparte is represented as a mighty mush- room, looking, with no very benign expression of countenance, on John Bull, who, embracing the British Oak, exclaims, ' You may look as cross as you please, master Mushroom : but here stands the British Oak, and by St. George and the Dragon, not a leaf of it shall fall to the Ground.' On May 28, George III., as Elector of Hanover, issued a proclamation, in which he said that, abiding by N 2 180 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE the treaty of Luneville, he would, as Elector of Hanover, take no part in the war. But, notwithstanding this, the Electorate of Hanover surrendered, by capitulation, to General Mortier on June 3. This prologue is necessary for us to understand the following halfpenny broadside : — A PEEP INTO HANOVER, OR A faint Description of the Atrocities committed by the French in that City. It will be remembered, that the Electorate surrendered without Resistance. This we do not mention, as increasing our Com- passion for the Inhabitants, which it certainly does not ; but as increasing our abhorrence of the Invaders, who, without Provoca- tion, or Pretext of Resistance, have perpetrated the Atrocities, of which the following is a faint outline : Ever since the Conquest, the whole Electorate has been a scene of Pillage and Butchery, which is said to yield only to the fate of Switzerland, in Spring 1798. The French Soldiers have the most unbounded Indulgence of their ruling passions of Rapa- city, Cruelty and Lust ; — In the City of Hanover, and even in the Public Street, Women of the Highest Rank have been violated by the lowest of that brutal Soldiery, in presence of their Husbands and Fathers, and subjected, at the same time, to such additional and undescribable Outrages, as the brutal Fury of the Violators, enflained by Drunkenness, could contrive. We have seen the names of some of these unfortunate Ladies : but the Honour of their Families, and the Peace of their own future Lives (if they can have peace) forbid us to publish them. The Baron de K , a well known partisan of French Philosophy and Politics, went to the Commandant of Hanover, and claimed his Protection, as an admirer of the French Revolution ! but he found no more favour in the Sight of the Aga of Sultan Bonaparte's Janisaries, than the most loyal Noblemen in Hanover. The French Officer told him, ' All that ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. i8r Jacobinism is now out of Fashion — Go about your business ! ' Nor have we heard that the Philosophers of Gottingen, the Enthu- siasts of Equality and Perfectability, have been at all better treated. — Such are the tender Mercies of the Wicked ! Such are the Gangs of ferocious Banditti, whom the Murderer of Jaffa let loose on the civilized World ! Such, and ten thousand times worse, is the Fate prepared for England, if the valour of her people do not avert it ; for England will assuredly be more oppressed, in proportion as she is more dreaded, envied, and hated. To shew any symptom of Neutrality in such a Cause, not to support it with all our might, is the foulest Treason against the People of England ; and the poorest honest Labourer, who has a Mother, or a Sister, a Wife, or a Daughter, has, in truth, as much reason as the highest Duke in the Land to detest the Traitor. English- men think of this and profit by Example. These were the kind of handbills (of which there are hundreds in variety) which were circulated, to arouse and stimulate martial fire and patriotic ardour in the Britannic mind. Their name is Legion, and I have had to read them all, in order to pick out the examples given in this book. They are curious, and help us, more than any other history, to gauge the temper of the times. It was a verit- able scare. Hardly having felt any of the benefits of peace, the English were once more involved in war, with the almost certainty, this time, of having their, hitherto almost inviolate, islands invaded by the French. We can hardly wonder, therefore, at the hearty hatred our fore- fathers felt for the ' Corsican Ogre,' to whom all this tur- moil was due ; and, to do them justice, they did hate him with a thoroughly genuine detestation— so much so, that the}' did not always scrupulously investigate the truth of some of the very questionable statements dished up for 1 82 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE them (and they were highly spiced). There can be no manner of doubt but that these broadsides and handbills, together with the caricatures, had the desired effect in rousing the nation to a fervid patriotism, and, as they did so, it is perhaps hardly right to question the legality of their statements, but accept them according to the doctrine that ' the end justifies the means.' ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 183 CHAPTER XXVII PATRIOTIC HANDBILLS. On June 10, 1803, Gillray published an extra-sized picture of ' French Invasion — or Buonaparte Landing in Great Britain.' The French fleet is nearing land, and boats, full of armed men, are putting off. Bonaparte, and a large body of troops, including cavalry, have landed ; but, before they can scale the cliffs, and are yet on the shore, a few artillerymen, with two guns, have utterly routed them. It is Sauve qui pent. Napoleon, joining in the flight, throws away his sword ; the army is utterly demoralised, the ground being strewn with dead. I. Cruikshank drew a not very interesting caricature, (June 10, 1803) of ' The Scarecrow's arrival, or Honest PAT giving them an Irish Welcome.' Napoleon, as a skeleton, is leading an army of skeletons, who arc wading through the sea. He is just putting his foot on the shore, and, to encourage his troops, calls out, 'Now, my boys, halloo away — vil frighten Mr. Bull out of his wits, we vil make them quake like the Dutch, the Italian, the Swiss, and the rest of our Friends.' But a sturdy Irishman receives them with a shovel- full of mud in their faces. ' Och it is your own pratty figure it is, Master Bonny, d'ye think that Pat was to be blarney 'd by such Scare Crows. No, no, Bother, the time is gone by : Pat's Eyes arc wide open, and, look ye, if you don't imme- diately jump into the Sea to save your lives, I will shovel you all there to save mine.' 1 84 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE Here is a stirring appeal to the army : — BRAVE SOLDIERS. Defenders of your Country. The road to glory is open before you. — Pursue the great career of your forefathers, and rival them in the field of honour. A proud and usurping Tyrant (a name ever execrated by English- men) dares to threaten our shores with Invasion, and to reduce the free born Sons of Britain to Slavery and Servitude. For- getting what English Soldiers are capable of, and ranking them with the hirelings of the powers who have fallen his prey on the Continent, he supposes his threat easily executed. Give him a lesson, my brave Countrymen, that lie will not easily forget, and that France may have by heart, for a Century to come! Neither the vaunting Hero (who deserted his own Comrades and Soldiers in Egypt), nor the French Army, have ever been able to cope with British valour when fairly opposed to it. Our Ancestors declared that One Englishman was ever a match for Three Frenchmen — and that man to man was too great odds in our favour. We have but to feel their sentiments, to confirm them — you will find that their declaration was founded on experience ; and that even in our day, within these three years, an army of your brave Comrades has convinced its admiring Country, that the balance is still as great as ever, against the enemy. Our Edward, the illustrious Black Prince, laid waste the country of Prance, to the Gates of Paris, and, on the Plains of Cressy, left n Princes and 30,000 men dead upon the Field of Battle — a greater number than the whole English Army boasted at the beginning of the action. The same heroic Prince, having annihilated the Fleet of France, entirely routed her Army at Poictiers, took her King prisoner, and brought him Captive to London, with thousands of his Nobles and People, and all this against an Army six times as numerous as that of the English ! Did not our Harry the Fifth invade France, and at Agincourt oppose an Army of 9,000 men, sickly, fatigued, and half starved, to that of the French, ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 185 amounting to 50,000 ; and did he not leave 10,000 of the enemy dead upon the field, and take 14,000 prisoners, with the loss of only 400 men ? Have we not, within this century, to boast a Marlborough, who, (besides his other victories) at Blenheim slew 12,000 of the French, and made 14,000 Prisoners, and in less than a month conquered 300 miles of Territory from the Enemy 1 Did not the gallant Wolfe, in the year 1759, gain the Heights of Abra- ham with a handful of British Troops, and, afterwards, defeat the whole French Ar?ny, and gain possession of all Canada, &-r. ? And are not the glories of our Abercromby and the Gallant Army of Egypt fresh in your minds? An Army of 14,000 Britons, who landed in the face of upwards of 20,000 troops of .France, and drove from a country, with whose strongholds they were acquainted, and whose resources they knew how to apply, a host of Frenchmen, enured to the Climate, and Veterans in arms? Did they not cut in pieces that vaunted Corps of Buonaparte's, 7chose successes against other Powers had obtained for it the appella- tion ^/"Invincible — And is not their Standard (all that is left of it) a trophy, at this moment, in our Capital ? The Briton fights for his Liberty and Rights, the Frenchman fights for Buonaparte, who has robbed him of both ! Which, then, in the nature of events, will be most zealous, most active, and most terrible in the Field of Battle? the independent sup- porter of his country's cause, or the Slave who trembles lest the arms of his comrades should be turned against himself ; who knows that his Leader, his General, his Tyrant, did not hesitate, after having Murdered 4.000 disarmed Turks, in cool blood, to Poison 300 of his own sick Soldiers, of men who had been fighting his battles of ambition, and been wounded in his defence — English Soldiers will scarcely credit this, but it is on record, not to be doubted, never to be expunged. But more ; read and blush for the depravity even of an enemy. It is not that these bloody deeds have been perpetrated from necessity, from circumstances how- ever imperious at the moment ; they were the acts of cool and deliberate determination, and his purpose, no less sanguinary, is again declared in the event of success in his enterprise against 1 86 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE this Country. Feeling that even the slavish followers of his for- tune were not to be forced to embark in this ruinous and destruc- tive expedition, he declares to them, in a public proclamation, or decoy, that 70/ien they have la?ided in this Country, in order to make the booty the richer, No Quarter shall be given to the Base English ivlio fight for their perfidious Government — that they shall be Put to the Sword, and their Property distributed among the Soldiers of the Victorious Army ! I ! Say, is this the conduct of a Hero? is this the man who is destined to break the spirit of Englishmen ? shall we suffer an Assassin to enter our blessed Country, and despoil our fields of their produce — to massacre our brave Soldiers in cool blood, and hang up every man who has carried arms ? Your cry is vengeance for the insult — and Vengeance is in your own hands. It must be signal and terrible ! Like the bolt from Heaven, let it strike the devoted Army of Invaders ! Every Frenchman will find his Grave where he first steps on British grotmd, and not a Soldier of Buo7iapartis boasted Legions shall escape the fate his ambitious Tyrant has prepared for him ! BRITOXS STRIKE HOME ! Or your Fame is for ever blasted, — Your Liberties for ever lost ! ! ! This is very bombastic and 'high-falutin,' but English- men were in a very grievous fright, nevertheless. Still harping on the prospect of a French landing, we ha\-e a caricature by T. West (June 13, 1803) of ' Britannia correcting an Unruly Boy.' Britannia has got Boncy across her knee, and, having taken down his breeches, is ad- ministering such a sound castigation with a birch rod, called the United Kingdom, as to bring forth copious streams of blood. Needless to say, our hero is repentant, and prays 'Oh forgive mc this time and I never will do so again. Oh dear! Oh dear! you'll entirely destroy the Honors of the Sitting' But the stern matron still keeps on, with ' There take that, and that, and that, and be more careful not to provoke my anger more.' ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 187 We have an illustration of the homely proverb of ' Set a beggar on horseback &c.,' in 'The Corsican Beggar Riding to the Devil,' by Ansell (June 15, 1803), Here we have Hell treated in the mediaeval manner, a huge, gro- tesque, dragon-like head, with outstretched jaws, vomiting flames. Napoleon, on a white charger, hugging himself with the idea that ' Sure they will make me Emperor,' is riding straight to it ; whilst two devils are in a high state of jubilation. One opines that ' He is sure to come ; we will finish your ambition,' the other politely calls out, ' Shew him in.' Ireland asks John Bull, ' Hey Johnny, who's that ?' and gets as a reply, ' Tis Boney going Post, brother Pat.' The Gallic Cock, crowing on its dunghill, screams, ' This is nothing new.' Here is a passionate appeal, supposed to come from one of the softer sex : — MEN OF ENGLAND. I\:c. 'Bout Religion at Rome you once made a great Pother, Have pulled down one Pope, and then set up another ! In Egypt I've heard of your 'wonderful Works, How Mahomet you worshipp'd, to flatter the Turks ! Derry down, &c. The Deeds you there acted with Poison and Ire, On my Realms are recorded in Letters of Pire ; Not an Imp in my Service, but boasts of your Fame, And 'grins, horribly' grins -when he mentions your name. Derry down, <\x. 204 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE You boast much, dear Consul, of Liberty's Tree, You say that the Dutch and the Swiss are quite free ! If such Freedom as this to give Britain's your aim, Try your skill, that I soon to yourself may lay claim ! Derry down, &c. When the Time shall arrive that's determin'd by Fate — That you quit for Invasion your Consular Seat ; Fear not — if bold Britons should prove your o'erthrow, You're sure of a Seat in my Kingdom below ! Derry down, &:c. DEATH OF THE CORSICAN FOX. Gillray(July 20, 1803) produced the 'Death of the Cor- sican Fox — Scene, the last of the Royal Hunt,' in which George III. holding his horse's bridle, with one hand holds up the Corsican Fox, to throw to his hounds, St. Vincent, Nelson, Sydney Smith, Gardner, Cornwallis, and others — shouting merrily, meanwhile, 'Tally ho ! Tally ho! ho! ho! ho!' ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 205 CHAPTER XXX. INVASION SQUIBS, CONTINUED — BONAPARTE'S TEN COMMANDMENTS, ETC. THE NEW MOSES OR Bonaparte's Ten Commandments. Translated from a French Manuscript, By Soliman the Traveller. And when the great man came from Egypt, he used cunning, and force, to subject the people. The good, as well as the wicked, of the land trembled before him, because he had won the hearts of all the fighting men ; and, after he had succeeded in many of his schemes, his heart swelled with pride, and he sought how to ensnare the people more and more, to be the greatest man under the Sun. The Multitude of the people were of four kinds ; some resem- bled blind men, that cannot see ; some were fearful, who trembled before him ; others courageous, and for the good of the people, but too weak in number ; and others yet, who were as wicked as the great man himself. And when he was at the head of the deluded nation, he gave strict laws, and the following command- ments, which were read before a multitude of people, and in a full congregation of all his priests : 1. Ye Frenchmen, ye shall have no other commander above me, for I, Bonaparte, am the supreme head of the nation, and 206 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE will make all nations bow down to you, and obey me, as your Lord, and Commander. 2. Ye shall not have any graven images upon your coin, in marble, wood, or metal, which might represent any person above me ; nor shall ye acknowledge any person to excel me, whether he be among the living or the dead ; whether he be in the happy land of the enlightened French, or in the cursed island of the dull English ; for I, the Chief Consul of France, am a jealous hero, and visit disobedience of an individual upon a whole nation, and of a father upon the children, and upon the third and fourth generation of them that hate me ; and shew mercy unto those that love me, and humble themselves. 3. Ye shall not trifle with my name, nor take it in vain ; nor shall you suffer that any other nation treat it disrespectfully, for I will be the sole commander upon earth, and make you triumph over your enemies. 4. Remember, that ye keep the days of prayers, and pray for me as the head of the Nation and the future Conqueror of the base English. Ye shall pray fervently, with your faces cast upon the ground, and not look at the priest when he pronounces my name ; for I am a jealous hero, and delight in my priests, because they are humble, and I have regarded the lowliness of their hearts, and forgiven them all their past iniquities. And ye priests, remember the power of him, who made you his creatures, and do your duty. 5. Respect and honour all French heroes, that ye may find mercy in mine eyes for all your iniquities, and that ye may live in the land, in which I, the Lord, your Commander, live. 6. Ye shall not murder each other, save it be by my own com- mands, for purposes that may be known to me alone ; but of your enemies, and all those nations that will not acknowledge your, and my, greatness, ye may kill an infinite number; for that is a pleasing sight in the eyes of your supreme commander. 7. Ye shall not commit adultery at home, whatever ye may do in the land of infidels, and the stiff-necked people ; for they are an abomination to the Lord, your Commander. 8. Ye shall not steal at home, but suppress your covetousncss, ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 207 and insatiable desire of plunder, until ye may arrive in the land of our enemies. Ye shall neither steal from them with indiscretion, but seem to give with the left hand, when the right taketh. 9. Ye shall not bear false witness against your neighbour, if he should distinguish himself in the land of the enemies. 10. Ye shall not covet any thing of your neighbour, but every- thing of your enemies ; his jewels, his gold, his silver, his horse or ass, his maid, his daughter, his wife, or anything in which your hearts find delight ; and ye may take it, but still with cunning ; for the Lord, your Commander, loveth mildness, more than strength, to please the people when he plunders. — Use the sword in battle, cunning after it, look for plunder, but subject the people to me ; — herein lie all my commandments, and those who keep them shall be protected by my power and prosper in all my under- takings. MASTER BONEY'S HEARTY WELCOME TO ENGLAND. Being the Song of Songs, and worth all the Songs in the World put together. To l;e sung, or said, by every Jovial Fellow, who is a True Lover of our good King and most happy Constitution. Should Boney come hither, our Britons declare, They'd flog the dog well — you may surely guess where : While others have vow'd, they would hang him as high, As Haman the Jew — 'twixt the earth and the sky. Boney down, down, down, Boney down. Some say they will treat him no butter than fleas, And 'twixt thumb and finder they'll give him a squeeze : Whilst some by the ears, the vile Ruffian they'll lug, And others will give him a good Cornish hug. boney down, >.iUJd ■: -suii jii. a, \ V < V-.. n •• - -y >^i>> \w :r '- *> X John Hull, he made at me dc scoff, and call'd me Gasconader, Ky gar, me find lie ne'er will flinch —from any French Invader '. Lack, lack a day, fal lal, &x. And now, what vex me worse than all, John Bull prepare for war, Sir, 1 or, fraught with vengeance, he send out that valiant dog, Jack Tar, Sir, 15 y gar, he sweep de Channel clean, and den he mar our sport, Sir, lie either take de ships of fiance, or block them in de port, Sir, Lack, lack a day, fal lal, ,Vc. \ m!.. I. 1; 242 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE This spoil'd my scheme for sending troops from Gallia's shore to Dover, So then, by gar, me send them off, and then they took Hanover ; But, for to ratify the terms, th' Elector did not choose, Sir, Because, I'm told, the British King, to sign them did refuse, Sir. Lack, lack a day, fal lal, &c. ! next I make more gasconade, and then most loudly boast, Sir, That I would send flat-bottom'd boats, and soon invade de coast, Sir, ' That all the men in arms I found, by gar, I'd take their lives, Sir, And put to sword the Britons all, their children, and their jcires, Sir/.'/' I ack, lack a day, fal lal, ' A Peep at the Corsican Fairy.' Here little Boney is chained to a table and padlocked by The British Navy. An Italian, Swiss, Dutchman, and Spaniard are looking curiously at him, thus making their remarks : ' Monsieur John Bull, I think I have seen this little Gentleman before — he was with us in Italy.' ' We shall never forget him in Switzer- land.' ' My frow once persuaded me to show our house, and he took possession of the whole premises.' ' By St. Diego, he is a curious little fellow.' John Bull is showing him, and has a sweetmeat labelled ' Malta ' in his hand : ' Oh yes, sir, he is a great Traveller — but don't come too near him ; he is very cholerick ; he put himself into a great passion with me about the sugar plumb I hold in my hand — indeed, if it was not for my little chain and padlock, I could not keep him in any sort of order.' It is well known that Talleyrand was averse to the in- tended invasion of England, and some time in September 1803, Gillray produced 'The Corsican Carcase Butcher's Reckoning Day, New Style, Xo Quarter Day ! ' a portion of which is here given. Talleyrand his ecclesiastical status expressed by the cross on his partially military cocked hat) restrains Napoleon from invading Kngland, although the Conqueror has on his seven-league boots. In the distance are the white cliffs of Albion, surrounded by ships of war, and a huge bull bellows defiance. At the open door the Russian bear looks in, enraging Napoleon almost to frenzy. 272 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE On the ground is a coop full of foxes labelled 'From Rome, not worth killing.' ' The Germanic Body ' lies in a sadly mutilated condition, having lost its head, feet, and hands ; one of the latter — the right hand — lies close by, labelled ' Hanover.' A poor, lean, gaunt dog, ' Prussia,' is in a kennel ' put up to fatten.' The food provided for it is blood, or ' Consular Whipt Syllabub.' In a trough lie the bodies of six Mamelukes, 'Jaffa Cross breeds,' whose blood drains into a receptacle ' Glory.' On the walls are hung a sheep, ' True Spanish Flccc'd ' ; a dead Monkey, ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 273 ' Native Breed ' ; an ass ' from Switzerland,' and a pig ' from Holland.' BONEY AND TALLEY. The Corsican Carcase Butcher's Reckoning Day. New Style. No Quarter Day ! Says Boney the Butcher to Talley his man, One settling day as they reckon'd, ' Times are hard — 'twere a sin, Not to keep our hand in ' — Talley guessed at his thoughts in a second. 2. Then he reach'd the account book— turn'd over awhile ' I have it — see here are the Dutch, Sir.' Boney cries ' It appears That they're much in arrears.' Quoth Talley ' They doiit owe us much, Sir ! ' 3- 'Here's Parma, Placentia ; there's Naples and Rome' Talley smil'd ' They are nothing but bone, Sir ! ' ' For the present pass Prussia • What think you of Russia ? ' ' 'Twere as good that we let her alone, Sir ! ' 4- ' My ambition unsated, my fury unquenched, Let Europe now shake to her bases : For in)- banner unfurPd, I defy all the world, And spit iu tli' ambassadors 1 paces.' 1 VOL. I. T 274 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE 5- Seeing raw-head and bloody bones wondrous irate, Talley turn'd o'er the leaf with his finger ; ' Here's Hanover — if- — ' ' If what ? ' in a tiff Cries Boney, ' Tell Mortier to bring her. 6. ' Let her bleed till her life strings are ready to burst, To drain her let Massena shew you ; The job being done, And all her fat run, We'll give up her trunk to — you know who. 7- ' This will do for a breakfast — read on.' Talley read, Each page they conn'd over and over, ' I can find nothing here ; We must stop, Sir, I fear.' Boney scowl'd, and then pointed to Dover. ' Shall I want employ — whilst a breed there exists So sleek, and so tempting to slaughter ? Reach my cleaver and steel, I'll not sit at a meal- Till' — Talley cries 'Think of the JVater.' 9- 'A soul such as mine, by the Koran I swear, Such childish impediment scorns, Sir ; I will bait this great Bull, And his crest I will pull.' Cries Talley ' Remember his horns, Sir.' ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 275 ' Psha ! my mouth 'gins to water, and yearns for the feast, Such dainty, such delicate picking ; By his horns I will seize him, Goad, worry, and teaze him : ' Quoth Talley — '■He's given to kicking. 1 ' Let him kick, let him toss, and for mercy implore, Be mine the proud task to refuse it ; The fates shall obey, I will have my way ; ' Talley mutters, l I hope yon won't lose it.' 1 Sound the cleaver and marrow bones,' Boney exclaims, ' Strait this herd in my power shall be, Sir ; ' ' Should you once reach the shore,' (Talley said somewhat lower,) 'You'll soon be at top of the tree. Sir.' i3- ' Don't jest with thy master, thou recreant knave ! Am I, Sir, or am I, Sir, no king? By the Prophet I swear' — ' Cry you mercy — forbear ! ' Quoth Talley, ' I thought you were joking.' 14. 'Am I such a lover of jibes or of jests, Do I ever smile ? ' Boney cried, ' Sir ; ' ' No, that I may say But to blast or betray ; ' (But tli is, '1 "alley uttered aside, Sir.) 276 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE 15- He calls on Great Mahomet, swears by his beard, The Lama he begs to be civil ; Now tells all his complaints To the Calendar Saints, And now sends them all to the Devil. 1 6. Tims prepared, he clasp'd firm the dread steel in his hand, And wielded his cleaver on high, Sir ; — ' Oh thou Bull, thou Gra?id Bete ! Oh thou barb of my Fate ! This day thou most surely shalt die, Sir ! ' 17- I 'ho' artful and cunning some madmen appear, The simplest expedient will turn 'em ; Talley saw what he meant ; On the schemes he was bent, And fully resolv'd to adjourn 'em. Now Boney grown wilder, his eyes seem'd to start, And loudly began he to bellow ; When Talley seized hold Of this hero so bold, And pinion'd the poor little felloii'. 19. 1 Oh, brave, great, and noble, magnanimous man ! To save thee thy servant is bound, Sir ; The Sea it is deep, And the shores they are steep, Most certainly you 7c'/// be drowtid, Sir. ON NAPOLEON THE EIRST. 377 ' Think how precious your life is to France and to me, Obey then your fate, and don't mock it ; Think what we shou'd do, Mighty Sir, without you, With our liberties all in your pocket. 'Nay — sweet, gentle Sir' (Boney kick'd with all might), ' Oh ! — this chivalry's quite out of fashion ! ' Talley had his own way, Not a word did Bo say, For speak he could not for his passion. ' Dread Sir, your great project is worthy yourself, Your knife shall soon hit the bull's throat, Sir. Fd only premise, Were I fit to advise, ' Tivould be better to order a boat, Sir.' 23- ' A boat, aye, a boat ! why there's reason in that,.' boney cries with a scowl of delight, Sir ; for the truth must be told. He knew Talley of old, And felt in a devilish fright, Sir. 24. Boney thought that the boat was a much safer plan. He voted the counsel discreet, Sir ; Ouoth Talley ; "lis done, And the day is your own, Just — take — care — to avoid the Elect, Sir.' 278 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE 25- Talley cautiously then let the little man down, When the little man softened his features ; Yet though little in size, Sir, His soul is as high, Sir, As the cross at the top of Saint Peter's. 26. Little Boney shook hands then with Talley the good ; {And thought how he best might dispatch him) Whilst Talley as meek, Kiss'd the Mussulman's cheek, (And swore in his heart to o'er match him.) 27. They drank to their hopes — hob a nobb'd to their scheme, Which promis'd such royal diversion ; Thus cordial they sat, And, in harmless chit chat, Sketch'd the plan of this water excursion. 28. When the boat will be ready we none of us know, Talley swears 'twill be here in a trice, Sir ; But it must be confess'd, Boney's not in such haste, Since he thought of the business twice, Sir. 29. Then a health to the Butcher ! and life long enough, That he once of the Bull may a view get, For, whenever we meet, If he skulk from the Fleet, We will find him head quarters in Newgate. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 279 CHAPTER XXXVII. INVASION' SQUIBS— VOLUNTEERS. 'The Corsican Locust' (West, September 1803) shows him hovering over a picnic party, saying : ' Bless me, how comfortably these People live.' The party consists of an Englishman, Irishman, and a Scotchman. The first has roast beef, plum-pudding, and a foaming tankard, before him, and, regarding the insect, says : ' As sure as I'm alive, that Corsican locust smells the Roast Beef and Plumb pudding.' Paddy has only ' praties,' but looks up at it, and asks : ' Perhaps, my Jewel, 'tis a potatoe or two you want, but the clivil a halfpeth do you get from me.' The Scotchman, with his basin and spoon in his hands, thinks : ' Perhaps the Chceld would like a little o' my Scotch Broth — but Sandy is too cunning for that.' ' The Grand Triumphal Entry of the Chief Consul into London ' is by an unknown artist (October 1, 1803). He is escorted by volunteer cavalry, and is seated, bareheaded and handcuffed, with his face towards the tail of a white horse, 1 his legs being tied under its belly. The horse is led by two volunteers, one of whom carries a flagstaff with the tricolour under the Union Jack, and on the summit is perched Boney's huge hat, labelled ' For Saint Pauls.' One of the mob is calling out : ' We ma)- thank our Volunteers for this glorious sight.' 1 I ndicativc of I Iamnrr. 28o ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE Of ' The Corsican Pest, or Belzebub going to supper,' by Gillray (October 6, 1803), only a portion is given in the THE CORSICAN PEST, OR liELZEKCP. GOING TO SUPPER. illustration, but nothing of moment is omitted. The fol- lowing are the lines under this broadsheet : — Buonaparte they say, aye good lack a day ! "With French Legions will hither come swimming, And like hungry Sharks, some night in the dark, Mean to frighten our Children and Women. Tol de rol. When these Gallic Foisters gape wide for our Oisters, Old Neptune will rise up with glee, Souse and Tickle them quick, to be sent to old Nick, As a treat from the God of the Sea. Tol de rol. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 281 Belzebub will rejoice at a Supper so nice, And make all his Devils feast hearty ; But the little tit bit, on a fork, he would spit, The Consular Chief, Buonaparte ! Tol de rol. Then each Devil suppose, closely stopping his nose, And shrinking away from the smell, ' By Styx,' they would roar, ' such a damn'd Stink before Never entered the kingdom of Hell.' Tol de rol. Full rotten the heart of the said Buonaparte, Corrupted his Marrow and Bones, French evil o'erflows, from his Head to his Toes, And disorder'd Hi s Brains in his Sconce ! To! de rol. His pestiferous breath, has put Millions- to Death, More baneful than Mad dog's Saliva, More poisonous he, all kingdoms agree, Than the dire Bohan-Upas of Java — Tol de rol. By the favour of Heaven, to our Monarch is given The power to avert such dire evil, His subjects are read}-, all Loyal and Steady, To hurl this damn'd Pest to the Devil. Tol de rol. An unknown artist (October 11, 1803) gives us 'The Fallancc of Power or the Issue of the Contest.' The hand of Providence is holding the balance, and John Full, whose good qualities are named ' Valour, Justice, Honor, In- tegrity, Commerce, Firmness, Trade, Heroism, Virtue,' is rapidly ascending; and, according to his own account, 'There's a sweet little Cherub that sits tip aloft, will take 282 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE care of the fate of John Bull. But poor Boney, with a heavy burden on his back of ' Shame, Disgrace, Obloquy, Cruelty, Murder, Plunder, Rapine, Villainy, and Hypocrisy,' is sinking into the earth, which emits flames to consume him. ' Thoughts on Invasion, both sides the water,' by Charles (October n, 1803), shows us the English coast defended by volunteers. John Bull, laughing, is seated in a chair, under which is a cornucopia, running over with corn, wine, beef, and all kinds of provisions. The old boy is chuckling : ' I can't help laughing at the thought of In- vasion, but there is no knowing what a mad man may attempt, so I'll take care to have my coast well lined, and I think 80,000 such men as me, able to eat all the Boney rascals in France, and if they mean Invasion, I have sent a Specimen of Bombs into Calais ! ' The ships are shown in the act of bombarding that place, while Boney sits very miserable, with a tricolour foolscap on his head, moaning : ' I wish I had never promis'd to Invade this terrible John Bull, but how shall I avoid it, with Credit to myself and honour to the French Nation ? and this bombarding Calais gives me the Bl Blu Blue Devils.' A blue devil behind him is saying : ' You must go now, Boney, as sure as I shall have you in the end.' ' The little Princess and Gulliver' is by Ansell (October 21, 1803), an d, of course, the Gulliver is Napoleon, whom a Brobdingnagian princess (Charlotte of Wales) has plunged into a basin of water, and, with her fist, keeps beating him as he rises to the top, saying : ' There you impertinent, boasting, swaggering pigmy — take that. You attempt to take my Grandpapa's Crown indeed, and plunder all his subjects ; I'll let you know that the Spirit and Indig- nation of every Girl in the Kingdom is roused at your Insolence.' ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 283 ' The Centinel at his Post, or Boney's peep into Walmer Castle ! ! ' (Ansell, October 22, 1803) shows Boney, with a boat-load of troops, arrived on the English Coast, but they are at once disconcerted by the appearance of the sentinel, Pitt, who challenges, ' Who goes there ? ' With abject fear depicted on the countenance of Bonaparte and his fol- lowers, the former exclaims: 'Ah! Begar — dat man alive still. Turn about, Citoyens— for there will be no good to be done — I know his tricks of old ! ! ' There are two caricatures on the same subject, one attributed to Gillray, but signed C.L.S. (October 25, 1803), the other by I. Cruikshank, to which the same date is attributed. One is evidently copied from the other, for the motif is the same in both. I prefer the former, and there- fore describe it. It is called ' French Volunteers marching to the Conquest of Great Britain, dedicated (by an Eye Witness) to the Volunteers of Great Britain.' A mounted officer leads a gang of chained, handcuffed, and pinioned, scarecrow-looking conscripts, some of them so weak that they have to be carried in paniers on donkey-back, or drawn on a trolley ; whilst a poor, dilapidated, ragged wretch, also chained by the neck, and with his hands tied behind him, brings up the rear of the procession. ' John Bull guarding the Toy Shop ' (J. B., October 29, 1803) shows a shop-window containing such toys as the India House, St. James's, the Bank, Custom House, Tower, and the Treasury. Little Boney, with his handkerchief to his eyes, is weeping, and crying : ' Pray, Mr. Bull, let me have some of the Toys, if 'tis only that little one in the Corner ' (the Bank). But John Bull, who is in full regi- mentals, and armed with his gun, replies, in his rough, insular way : ' I tell you, you shan't touch one of them — so blubber away and be d — d.' The volunteer force was a SS ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE That England I hate, and its armies subdued, The slaughter of Jaffa shall there be renew'd. Not a wretch that presumes to oppose, but shall feel The flames of my fury, the force of my steel. Their daughters, and wives, to my troops I consign ; So shall vengeance, sweet vengeance, deep-glutted, be mine, Their children — TALLEYRAND. What ! massacre them, my dread Lord ? BUONAPARTE. Why not ? with me Pity was never the word ! That island once conquer'd, the world is my own, And its ruins shall furnish the base of my throne. TALLEYRAND. What a project ! how vast ! — yet allow me one word ; Sir, the English are brave, and can wield well the sword. In defence of their freedom, their King, and their soil, Not a man but would dare the most perilous toil. Should our troops but appear, they will rush to the field, And will die on the spot to a man e'er they yield. In defence of their honour, their women will fight, And their navy, triumphant, still sails in our sight. BUONAPARTE. Hush, hush, say no more lest some listeners should hear, And our troops should be taught these fierce Britons to fear. They are brave ; and my soldiers have felt it— what then ? Our numbers are more — to their five, we are ten. Say their sailors are skilful, oak hearted, and true. One army may fail, yet another may do. And though thousands should fatten the sharks in the sea. There are thousands remaining, to perish for me. In a night, or a fog, we will silent steal over, And surprise unexpected, the Castle of Dover. ON NAPOLEON THE FIRST. 289 Then to gull the poor dupes of that navy bound land, You have lies ready coin'd — His your trade, at command. We will tell them, and swear it, our sole end and aim, Is to make them all equally rich — all the same. I see by your smile you interpret my meaning, That where my troops reap, they leave nothing for gleaning. They soar at a palace, they swoop to a cot, And plunder — not leaving one bone for the pot. Now, Sir, to your duty, your business prepare, Leave the rest to my Genius, my fortune, my care. \Exit Buonaparte, Talleyrand looking after him. TALLEYRAND. Your fortune, I fear, Sir, will play you a trick : — Notwithstanding his vaunts, he is touch'd to the quick. What folly ! what madness, this project inspires, To conquer a nation, whom liberty fires. Even now from their shores, loudly echoed, I hear The song of defiance appalling mine ear. Their spirit once rous'd, what destruction awakes ! What vengeance, the wretched invaders o'ertakes. Prophetic, I plead, but my warning is vain, Ambition still urges, and maddens his brain : Fired with hopes of rich booty, his soldiers all burn, They may go, some may land, but not oxe will return". J. B. (November 5, 1803) produced ' Boney in time for Lord Mayors Feast.' At this banquet a sailor produces Napoleon chained, and with a collar round his neck. He thus introduces him : ' FIcre he is, please your Honors. We caught him alive, on the Suffolk Coast. He was a little qucerish at first, but a few Stripes at the Gangway soon brought him about. I told him he was just in time for the Lord Mayor's Show. What does your honor think of him for the Man in Armour?' The Lord Mayor, glass in hand, says : 'Ay, you see how we live at this end of the VOL. I. U 290 ENGLISH CARICATURE AND SATIRE. town, but you get no Roast beef here, Master Boney — Let him have plenty of Soup Maigre— and in the evening take him up to the Ball Room for the amusement of the Ladies — Come, heres the glorious Ninth of November.' ' Destruction of the French Gun Boats — or Little Boney and his friend Talley in high Glee ' is presumably by Gillray, though not signed by him (November 22, 1803). It represents the total destruction of the French flotilla by the English fleet — which Napoleon, mounted on Talley- rand's shoulder, is watching with great glee through a rolled-up paper (Talleyrand's plan for invading Great Britain), which is being used in lieu of a telescope. He shouts out, in great delight, ' Oh my dear Talley, what a glorious sight ! We've worked up Johnny Bull into a fine passion ! My good fortune never leaves me ! I shall now get rid of a Hundred Thousand French Cut Throats whom I was so afraid of! Oh, my dear Talley, this beats the Egyptian Poisoning hollow ! Bravo Johnny ! pepper 'em Johnny ! ' Ansell is answerable for ' Boney's Journey to London, or the reason why he is so long in coming, i.e. because he travels like a Snail with his house at his back ' (November 23, 1803). He is portrayed as being in a wooden house, drawn by his soldiers, who are being unmercifully whipped with a knout-like weapon. Napoleon, calling out to the officer who is administering the punishment, ' You Vaga- bones, make haste, Vite, Vite, or I shall not get to London by Christmass. Give them more of the Fraternal Whip, the dam Rascals do not know the value of Liberty.' END OF THE FIRST VOLUME- Zpottiswoode