"The interior of a room in a cottage. General Gunning (left) as an old gipsy-woman, but wearing a military coat, is seated (on a drum) at a table, facing his daughter. In place of a sword he wears a broom. He seals a letter, a number of seals and a letter 'To D------ of M------' [Marlborough] are on the table beside him. Miss Gunning holds a pack of cards (the ace of spades uppermost) to her lips, saying, "I Swear that I never wish'd or tried directly or indirectly to get a Coronet; that I never saw or writ to Lord B------[Blandford] or Lord L--------- [Lorne], in all my Life; - that Men are my aversion; - & that I never had any thing to do with, with the Groom, in all my born days; - Will that do, Dad?" He answers, "Well done, Bett! we'll get thro' the Business I'll warrant you; - we can write with all sorts of hands, we've got all kinds of Seals, & with the assistance of our old Friend under the Table, we shall be able to gu them yet daughter but I must be Mum". Through a hole in the boards under the table the Devil emerges, surrounded with flames, he holds up a torch exultantly, saying "Swear!" Gunning melts his sealing-wax in the torch, the right is an open hearth over which hangs a cauldron full of coronets. Beside it (left) sits Mrs. Gunning, blowing the fire with a pair of bellows formed of a book: 'Letter to the D------ of A' (see BMSat 7983). She says: "That's right, my sweet innocent Angel! say Grace boldly! make haste my dear little lovely Lambkin! - I'll soon blow up the Fire, while Nauntee-Peg helps to cook up the Coronets; we'll get you a nice tit-bit for Dinner, before we've done, my dear little deary." Opposite her and on the extreme right an old woman, dressed in rags stands over the cauldron with a spoon, saying, "Puff away, Sister! the Soup will soon boil - law's me, how soft the Green Peas do grow, & how they Jump about in the Pot when you Puff your Bellows!" Behind her is a placard: 'Waltham Abbey - by Peg Niffy'. (Mrs. Gunning, née Minifie, was said in the Press to have written a novel called Waltham Abbey, this she denied. 'Letter . . .', p. 89.) On the wall behind Miss Gunning is a print of the pillory (the punishment for perjury) and a bill: 'Affidavit of Eliz: Canning.' Behind her father are 'The Life of a Soldier', 'The Man of Honor a Catch', and 'The useful Groom a new song'. Through a door (left) behind Gunning is seen a groom holding a horse; he says, "I'm ready to ride, or swear, or any thing". A signpost points 'to Blenheim'."--British Museum online catalogue
Alternative Title:
Peep at the conjuration of Mary Squires & the Gypsey family
Description:
Title etched below image., Printmaker from British Museum catalogue., Sheet trimmed to plate mark., Temporary local subject terms: Allusion to John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll -- Allusion to George William Campbell, 6th Duke of Argyll -- Allusion to George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough -- Allusion to George Spencer, 5th Duke of Marlborough -- Literature: allusion to Susannah Gunning's Waltham Abbey -- Interiors: cottage -- Pictures amplifying subject: title page of Waltham Abbey -- Pictures amplifying subject: pillory -- Furniture: tables -- Military drums -- Coronets -- Utensils: ladles -- Inkpots -- Seals -- Sealing-wax -- Minifie, Margaret "Auntee Peg"., and Watermark: armorial shield with fleur-de-lis on top and initials G R below.
Publisher:
Pubd. March 25th, 1791, by J.M. Fobes [sic], N. 3 Piccadilly
Subject (Name):
Canning, Elizabeth, 1734-1773., Squires, Mary, -1762., Gunning, Mrs. 1740?-1800 (Susannah),, Gunning, Miss 1769-1823 (Elizabeth),, Gunning, John, -1797, and Minifie, Margaret
Subject (Topic):
Bellows, Brooms & brushes, Card games, Cauldrons, Devil, Drums (Musical instruments), Fireplaces, Grooms (Weddings), Playing cards, and Torches
