The idle 'prentice turn'd away, and sent to sea [graphic]

A sea chest stamped "Tho Idle his Chest" set in a row boat on the Thames tells us that it is Tom Idle who is being rowed out to sea by a waterman smoking pipe. Using his fingers to make horns on his head, Tom also makes a face at the sailor who points to a gallows on the shore (Cuckold's Point), while another sailor shows him a rope. Idle's mother sits before him wiping her weeping eyes. In the background on shore are various ships and a line of windmills. In the lower left corner, Tom's Indenture floats on the waves. The left of the frame is decorated with a scourge, manacles and a hangman's rope; on the right frame hang the mace of the City of London, the alderman's gold chain and a sword of state