Martin's Bill in operation [graphic]

"Three men sit at a table absorbed in an oyster feast, while Richard Martin (M----n), sensing cruelty to oysters, enters, followed by a constable with his staff (left). Papers hang from his pocket: M . . . . s Bill to prevent Cruelty to Animals, and a book projects: Gullivers Travels--A Voyage to . . . Ho[uyhnhnms]. Martin points imperiously to the table, the constable makes a wry face. A lean elderly man (Dr K----r) sits with his back to the door on a piano-stool on which are sheets of music. At his feet is a paper: The Oyster crossed in Love as sung by Messs Sinclair & Gamon at Covent Garden O gentle Swain yr Knife [refrain] Nor Wound a Heart so soft as mine. Dr E----y, wearing tartan, stands over a tub of Natives, opening oysters. The third man's face is concealed. On the table, besides oyster-shells, &c, are a candle burnt low and a large jug of Hot Milk. The walls are covered with shelves. On one set (left), inscribed Larder of Death, are druggist's jars, &c. These include Opium, Oxalic Acid, Calomel, with a box of Gamboge. The other, inscribed Good Living, are laden with food: a pie, a chain of sausages, a sirloin, jar of Cherry Bounce, round of beef, a Scots Haggis, a hare, a bird. There is also (left) a high shelf of books."--British Museum online catalogue