The life of William-Cobbett, written by himself. "Now you lying varlets you shall see how a plain tale will put you down!" / [graphic] : No. 1

"Cobbett as a small boy, ragged but sturdy, eggs on a bull-dog which is mauling a cat. He has thrown to the ground tankards strung on a strap, and inscribed 'Jolly Farmer'; behind him lies his hat, filled with apples. A goose followed by goslings escapes to the right. Behind is a ramshackle thatched cottage, a country ale-house of the lowest grade with the sign on a tall post: 'The Olde Jolly Farmer of Farnham--Gaffer Cobbett'. From the doorway, closed by a half-door and serving as a window, old Cobbett looks out. He holds a frothing tankard, and grins approvingly at his son; his likeness to Cobbett shows his identity. An old woman, evidently Mrs. Cobbett, looks over his shoulder, clenching her fists angrily at the fate of the cat. On the door-posts are chequers, sign that ale is sold, and above the door: 'Goode Entertainment for Man and Beaste'. Under the thatch, in the gable, is a casement window with broken panes; on the wall is nailed a dead rat; there is also a bill headed by fighting-cocks: 'Cock Fighte--Farnham--Old Cobbett Feeder', Smoke rises from a broken cask, thrust into the thatch, and serving as a chimney. A wagoner in a smock, holding his whip, sits on a bench by the door, draining a jug. In a line with the ale-house is a latrine of dilapidated planks and of the roughest kind, by which a sow is rooting. Above it on a line hang a ragged shirt and stockings. Trees form a background with the top of a church spire."--British Museum online catalogue