"The lion, with the face and wig of Melville, lies gazing up, blood falling on the papers under his paws: 'Plans for Manning tfthe Navy - List of ships built in 1804 ... of ye Line'; 'Abolition of Impress'. He is struck down by the blast from a blunderbuss whose muzzle is a tankard inscribed 'Whitbreads Entire'. This is fired by St. Vincent who crouches (left) behind a withered tree. The blast issues from a circle of froth inscribed 'Report'. Part of it, inscribed 'Condemnation without Trial', passes above the lion and strikes Britannia to the heart. She is leaning against an ancient but flourishing oak on the extreme right. The blast that strikes Melville is inscribed 'Invectives', 'Popular Clamour', 'Envy', 'Disappointed Jacobins', 'Malice'. On the upper part of the withered tree sits a monkey with the head of Wilberforce, holding up an open book: 'Solution of Vital Xianity', but directing at Melville a blast from his posteriors inscribed 'Cant! - Envy! - Abuse! - Hypocrisy! - Cruelty.' Three asses are kicking up their heels at Melville as they scamper off towards the mountainous background. The nearest has the head of Sidmouth, with ass's ears. He is laden with panniers inscribed 'Physick for the Lion.'; these are heaped with medicine-bottles, one labelled 'Emetic for ye Lion'; there are also a 'Clyster for the Lion', and a box of 'opening Pills' (cf. BMSat 9849), The other asses are Hily Addington and Bragge, cf. BMSat 9986. The latter (right) turns his head to say: "Very highly indebted to the Lion, brother Heeley!" His panniers are inscribed 'Provisions for the Doctors Family' and 'Trifles procured thro' the Lions Generosity'; they are piled high with papers: 'Pension to Brother Brag &...'; 'Annuity to all our Cousins'; '£40000 pr Ann'; 'Sinecure'; 'Pension for Aunts'; 'Pension for Brother Hely'; 'Pension'. The other ass (Hiley) answers: "Then give him another kick, Brother Braggey". He is laden with a sack of 'Candid Whorehound'. The lion is also assailed by a fox (Fox) who viciously bites his hindquarters, and by a serpent with the head of Grey (Whitbread's brother-in-law) who bites his neck. Three small rats, wearing legal wigs and bands (right), run viciously toward the lion; they are (left to right): Jekyll (see BMSat 9179), Erskine, and Robert Adair, an ardent Foxite, cf. BMSat 7158. A dog, its collar inscribed 'Kinard' (Kinnaird), bites the lion's tail, while one foot is in a plate containing a bare bone, and inscribed 'Melville-Castle' with a coronet."--British Museum online catalogue.
Description:
Printmaker from British Museum catalogue., Three lines of quoted text following title: "And now, all the sculking herd of the forest, some out of insolence, others in revenge ..." Vide, Aesop's fables., and Title etched below image.
Subject (Name):
Auchincloss, Hugh Dudley--Ownership., Erskine, James Francis,--1743-1806--Caricatures and cartoons., Fox, Charles James,--1749-1806--Caricatures and cartoons., Grey, Charles Grey,--Earl,--1764-1845--Caricatures and cartoons., Harvey, Francis--Ownership., Humphrey, Hannah, active 1774-1817, publisher., Kinnaird, Charles Kinnaird,--Baron,--1780-1826--Caricatures and cartoons., Melville, Henry Dundas,--Viscount,--1742-1811--Caricatures and cartoons., Sidmouth, Henry Addington,--Viscount,--1757-1844--Caricatures and cartoons., and Wilberforce, William,--1759-1833--Caricatures and cartoons.
"Pitt stands in the House of Commons, facing the Opposition benches; he causes a tremendous explosion by uncorking a bottle containing the bloated and scowling face of Sheridan, whose hair swirls up into the neck of the bottle. He stands like a waiter with a napkin, marked with a crown and 'GR', under his left. arm; the bottle is between his bent knees, and in his right. hand is a corkscrew, held directly over the bottle. Similar bottles, corked and labelled, stand on the Opposition benches. In the foreground, facing Pitt, are bottles containing the heads of (l. to r.) Tierney, labelled 'a Glass of All-Sorts', Fox, labelled 'True French Wine' [see BMSat 9735, &c], Windham, labelled 'Brandy and Water', and in profile to the left., Grey, labelled 'Goosberry Wine'. All look up at Pitt with anxious melancholy. Rows of bottles recede in perspective on the back benches; only three contain heads: a melancholy profile (see BMSat 10372) of Burdett, labelled 'Brentford Ale' [the polling place for Middlesex], Erskine, labelled 'Spruce Beer' [frothy explosive stuff], and behind these two a partly concealed profile labelled 'Elder Wine'. Next Burdett is a bottle of 'Whitbreads Small-Beer'. Another bottle is labelled 'Mum'. On the ground behind Pitt lies an open bottle of 'Medicinal Wine' spilling its contents, and containing the head of Sidmouth (Addington, see BMSat 9849), with closed eyes suggesting death rather than sleep. Behind, on the extreme left., is part of the Speaker's chair, only a portion of wig being visible. The violent explosion spreads across the upper part of the design; it contains the words 'Bouncings', 'Growlings', 'Fibs! Fibs! Fibs', 'Abuse', 'Abuse', 'Damn'd Fibs', 'Invectives', 'Old Puns', 'Groans of Disappointment', 'Stolen Jests', 'Invectives', 'lame Puns', 'Invectives', 'Loyal Boastings', 'Dramatic Ravings', 'Low Scurrilities', 'Stale Jokes', 'Fibs, Fibs, Fibs! Egotism'. [Commas have been added.] Below the design: " - the honble Gentm tho' he does not very often address the House, yet when he does, he always thinks proper to pay off all arrears, & like \ "a Bottle just uncork'd bursts all at once, into an explosion of Froth & Air; - then, whatever might for a length of time lie \ "lurking & corked up in his mind, whatever he thinks of himself or hears in conversation, - whatever he takes many \ "days or weeks to sleep upon, the whole common-place book of the interval is sure to burst out at once, stored with \ "Studied-Jokes, Sarcasms, arguments, invectives, & every thing else, which his mind or memory are capable of embracing \ "whether they have any relation or not to the Subject under discussion - See Mr P-tts speech on ye Genl Defence Bill."--British Museum online catalogue.
Description:
Title etched in bottom part of image.
Subject (Name):
Auchincloss, Hugh Dudley--Ownership., Burdett, Francis,--1770-1844--Caricatures and cartoons., Erskine, Thomas Erskine,--Baron,--1750-1823--Caricatures and cartoons., Fox, Charles James,--1749-1806--Caricatures and cartoons., Grey, Charles Grey,--Earl,--1764-1845--Caricatures and cartoons., Harvey, Francis--Ownership., Humphrey, Hannah, active 1774-1817, publisher., Pitt, William,--1759-1806--Caricatures and cartoons., Sheridan, Richard Brinsley,--1751-1816--Caricatures and cartoons., Sidmouth, Henry Addington,--Viscount,--1757-1844--Caricatures and cartoons., Tierney, George,--1761-1830--Caricatures and cartoons., and Windham, William,--1750-1810--Caricatures and cartoons.
