Temperance enjoying a frugal meal [graphic]

"The King sits in an armchair in profile to the left, bending forward to eat a boiled egg, holding the egg-cup in his left hand. Opposite him, and partly concealed by the left margin, sits the Queen, avidly stuffing salad into her mouth. On the small round table are a bowl of salad and two jugs or oil and vinegar. Everything in the room denotes miserliness: the King has tucked the end of the table-cloth into his collar to protect his dress; his breeches are patched; his chair is swathed in protective coverings, his feet rest on a mat which protects the carpet. A richly chased flagon, decorated with the royal arms, which stands on the ground beside him, is inscribed 'Aqua Regis'. The handle of the bell-pull is covered by a bag. Behind the King's back, and on the extreme right, is a fire-place; in the grate is a vase containing snowdrops, holly, and mistletoe, to show that although it is winter there is no fire (cf. BMSat 7322). A grotesque figure in relief squats above the oval grate, his hands in a muff. On the chimney-piece stand a small pair of scales such as were then used for weighing guineas; see BMSat 5128, &c, resembling those held by the Queen in BMSat 8081; a candelabra formed of a woman's figure, 'Munificence', holding two empty cornucopias; one candle is intact, the other has burned low and is covered by an extinguisher surmounted by a crown. Above the chimney-piece is a picture: 'The fall of Manna', in which the Bible story is realistically depicted: round cakes (? or coins) descend from Heaven and are caught in sacks by Jews wearing contemporary dress; behind are tents and a mountain. Above the King's head hangs an empty picture frame inscribed 'The Triumph of Benevolence'. Below it hangs an oval miniature of the King in profile to the right, inscribed 'The Man of Ross' (John Kyrle (1637-1724), noted for frugality and charity, see 'D.N.B.'), and above it is the lower arc of another empty frame inscribed 'Epicurus'. In the foreground (right) behind the King is an iron-bound and padlocked chest on and beside which are three books: 'Life of Old Elwes' (the miser, a popular work by Topham), 'Dr Cheyne on the benefits of a Spare Diet', and 'Essay on the dearness of Provisions' (cf. BMSat 6993). Behind the Queen is the heavily bolted door of a strong-room; on it hangs a placard: 'Table of Interest, 5 pr Cent. 5 Million . . . 250,000' (&c, the total interest forming a colossal but scarcely legible amount). Above the door is the lower part of an empty frame: 'Parting of the Loaves & Fishes.'"--British Museum online catalogue