The fourth plate in the series The rake's progress. In this scene two baliffs, one with an arrest notice in his hand, have stopped Tom Rakewell's sedan chair in St. James's Street; Tom is presumably on his way to White's gaming house which can be seen in the background. They are foiled in their attempt to arrest Tom for debt as Sarah Young, the young woman whom he had seduced and abandoned, offers the bailiffs her purse instead. Sarah is now a dealer in millinery as is suggested by the notions falling from her purse. In the right foreground a shoe-black apparently taking advantage of the situation to take hold of Tom's elegant walking stick. Above them a careless lamplighter spills some oil on Tom's head. To the left a Welshman, probably the creditor, honouring St David's day (March 1st) with a leek in his hat, accompanied by his manicured dog, simply watches the scene. In the distance is the gate of St James's Palace with a crowd of sedan-chairs approaching to celebrate the birthday of Queen Caroline
Alternative Title:
O vanity of youthfull blood, so by misuse to poison good ...
Description:
Title, state, and imprint from Paulson., Added title from first two lines of the verse etched below image., After the painting now at Sir John Soane's Museum., and "Plate 4"--Lower right corner.
Publisher:
Wm. Hogarth
Subject (Topic):
Bailiffs, Dogs, Children, Lamps, Lust, Seduction, Sedan chairs, Seamstresses, Street vendors, Young adults, Ethics, Rake's progress, and Traffic congestion
