English Caricaturists and Graphic Humourists of the Nineteenth Century Part 2

[Ill.u.s.tration: W. H. BUNBURY. _"The Salutation Tavern," July 21st, 1801._

A FASHIONABLE SALUTATION.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: G. M. WOODWARD. _"General Complaint," May 5th, 1796._

"Don't tell me of generals raised from mere boys, Though, believe me, I mean not their laurel to taint; But the general, I'm sure, that will make the most noise, If the war still goes on, will be General Complaint."

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FOOTNOTES:

[1] "Nor London singly can his porter boast, Alike 'tis famed on every foreign coast; For this the Frenchman leaves his Bordeaux wine, And pours libations at our Thames's shrine; Afric retails it 'mongst her swarthy sons, And haughty Spain procures it for her Dons.

Wherever Britain's powerful flag has flown, there London's celebrated porter's known."

--_The Art of Living in London_ (6th edition 1805).

[2] One quotation shall suffice. Mr. William Bates tells us in his admirable "Maclise Portrait Gallery":--"He _never_ transgressed the narrow line that separates wit from buffoonery, pandered to sensuality, glorified vice or raised a laugh at the expense of decency. Satire _never_ in his hands degenerated into savagery or scurrility. A moral purpose _ever_ underlaid his humour; he sought to instruct or improve when he amused." Mr. Bates will, we hope, pardon us if we say that this is not quite the fact. George Cruikshank in truth was no better or worse than his satirical brothers, and his tone necessarily improved from the moment he took to ill.u.s.trating books.

[3] Since the above was written, strange to say, caricature appears to be showing symptoms of revival.

[4] "The Fine Arts," by William Hazlett, p. 29.

[5] "Critical and Historical Essays," vol. iii., p. 574.

[6] We can scarcely call the wonderful series of historical cartoons which he executed at sixteen _caricatures_, even in the modern sense of the word. Whatever humour they possess is neutralized by the grim irony which, even at this early period, characterized his work.

[7] "Etching and Etchers," by Philip Gilbert Hamerton, third edition, p. 246.

[8] Thomas Hood's "Etching Moralized," in _New Monthly Magazine_, 1843, vol. lxvii. p. 4, and _seq._

CHAPTER II.

_MISCELLANEOUS CARICATURES AND SUBJECTS OF CARICATURE, 1800-1811._

PROPOSED METHOD OF ARRANGEMENT.

Although Gillray began his work in 1769,--thirty years before our century commenced, and Rowlandson five years later on, in 1774, their labours were continued some years after 1799, and are so interwoven, so to speak, with the work of their immediate successors, that it is almost impossible in a work dealing with nineteenth century caricaturists to omit all mention of them. In collecting too materials for the present treatise, we necessarily met with many anonymous satires, without signature, initials, or distinguishing style, which may be, and some of which are probably due to artists whose pencils were at work before the century began. Even if equal in all cases to the task of a.s.signing these satires to the particular hands which designed and executed them, we submit that little real service would be rendered to the cause of graphic satire. It appears to us therefore that the most convenient method will be to indicate in this and the following chapters _some_ of the leading topics of caricature during the first thirty years of the century, and to cite in ill.u.s.tration of our subject such of the work of anonymous or other artists, for which no better place can be a.s.signed in other divisions of the work.

[Ill.u.s.tration: JAMES GILLRAY. _June 20th, 1789._

SHAKSPEARE SACRIFICED, OR THE OFFERING TO AVARICE.

Alderman Boydell, as High Priest within the magic circle, preparing an oblation to Shakspeare; the demon of Avarice, seated upon the List of Subscribers, hugging his money-bags; Puck on his shoulders blowing bubbles of "immortality" to the promoter of the "Gallery" about to be published. Shakespeare himself, obscured by the Aldermanic fumes.

Figures of Shakspearean characters above.

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The attention of the public during the first fifteen years of the century was mainly directed to the progress and fortunes of the great national enemy, Napoleon Bonaparte. The hatred with which he was regarded in this country can scarcely be appreciated in these days; and in order that the cause of this bitter antipathy may be understood, it will be necessary for us to consider Bonaparte's general policy in relation to ourselves.

18TH BRUMAIRE.

The close of the century had been signalized in France by the memorable revolution of "the eighteenth Brumaire." The Directory had ceased to exist, and a provisional consular commission, consisting of "Citizens"

Sieyes, Ducos, and Bonaparte, was appointed. On the 13th of December, the legislative committees presented the new const.i.tution to the nation, the votes against it being 1,562 as against 3,012,659 in its favour.

Bonaparte was nominated first consul for ten, and Cambaceres and Lebrun (nominal) second and third consuls for five years.

Although Bonaparte, as soon as he was appointed First Consul, made direct overtures to the king of England with a view to peace, he had himself to thank if his overtures met with no corresponding return. To accomplish the revolution of the "eighteenth Brumaire," he had found it necessary to quit Egypt. The English knew the French occupation of Egypt was intended as a direct menace to British interests in India. Lord Granville, therefore, in his official reply, without a.s.suming to prescribe a form of government to France, plainly but somewhat illogically intimated that the "restoration of the ancient line of princes, under whom France had enjoyed so many centuries of prosperity, would afford the best possible guarantee for the maintenance of peace between the two countries." This New Year's greeting on the part of Lord Granville put an end, as might have been expected, to all further communications.

THE FRENCH DRIVEN OUT OF EGYPT.

The French, however, had no business in Egypt, and England was resolved at any cost to drive them out of that country. With this object in view, the armament under the command of Sir Ralph Abercrombie effected its disembarkation at Aboukir on the 8th of March, 1801. A severe though indecisive action followed five days afterwards. On the 20th was fought the decisive battle of Alexandria. General Hutchinson, on the death of the English commander, followed up the victory with so much vigour and celerity, that early in the autumn the French army capitulated, on condition of being conveyed to France with all its arms, artillery, and baggage. The capitulation was signed just in time to save French honour; for immediately after the conclusion of the treaty, a second British force, under the command of Sir David Baird, arrived from India by way of the Red Sea. Bonaparte's favourite project of making Egypt an _entrepot_ for the conquest of Hindostan was thus most effectually checkmated.[9]

On the 1st of October, 1801, _preliminaries_ of peace between France and Great Britain were signed in Downing Street; on the 10th, General Lauriston, aide-de-camp to the First Consul, having arrived with the ratification of these preliminaries, the populace took the horses from his carriage and drew it to Downing Street. That night and the following there was a general illumination in London.

The "preliminaries" referred to were those of the very unsatisfactory "Peace of Amiens," as it was called. Its terms, by no means flattering to this country, were shortly these: France was to retain all her conquests; while, on the other hand, the acquisitions made by England during the war were to be given up. Malta and its dependencies were to be restored (under certain restrictions) nominally to the Knights of St.

John of Jerusalem; the French were to evacuate Naples and the Roman States; and the British Porto Ferrago, and all the ports possessed by them in the Mediterranean and the Adriatic.

[Ill.u.s.tration: JAMES GILLRAY. _Sept., 1796._

A PEEP AT CHRISTIE'S, OR TALLY-HO AND HIS NIMENEY PIMENEY TAKING THE MORNING LOUNGE.

A study of Lord Derby and Miss Farren (the actress), a few months before their marriage, enjoying the Fine Arts, he studying "The Death of Reynard," she "Zenocrates and Phryne."

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BONAPARTE ESTABLISHES AN ENGLISH NEWSPAPER IN PARIS.

All this time a violent paper war had been maintained between the English press and the _Moniteur_, the official organ of the Consular Government. In the month of August, 1802, Bonaparte prohibited the circulation of the English newspapers, and immediately after the issue of the order, the coffee houses and reading rooms were visited by his police, who carried away every English journal upon which they could lay their hands. By way of answer to English abuse (to which Napoleon was singularly sensitive), the First Consul now established an English newspaper in Paris, which was thenceforth unceasingly occupied in vilifying the Government and people of England. This paper was called _The Argus_, and an Englishman, one Goldsmith,--whilom proprietor of the _Albion_ newspaper in London,--was actually found mean enough to undertake the peculiarly dirty office of its editor.

The _denouement_ was not long delayed. On the 13th of March, 1803, occurred the extraordinary and well-known scene between the First Consul and the English amba.s.sador, Lord Whitworth. Bonaparte, in the presence of a numerous and astonished Court, vehemently accused England of breach of faith in not carrying out the provisions of the treaty, by still remaining in possession of Malta. The episode appears to have been of an extraordinary character, and the violence and ferocity of Bonaparte's language and behaviour, maintained till the very close of the interview, must have contrasted strangely with the coolness of the English amba.s.sador.

The restoration of Malta to the Knights of St. John was of course a mere nominal rest.i.tution, for, except in name, the Knights of St. John had ceased to exist. The First Consul really wanted the island for himself; and while he accused us of breach of faith, was himself acting all the while contrary to the spirit of the treaty of Amiens. While requiring that we should drive the royalist emigrants from our sh.o.r.es, he demanded that the English press should be deprived of its liberty of speaking in such frank terms of himself and his policy. His unfriendly conduct did not end here. At this very time he was actively employed in fomenting rebellion in Ireland, and in planting (under the nominal character of consuls) spies along our coast, whose treacherous objects were accidentally discovered by the seizure of the secret instructions issued to one of these fellows at Dublin. "You are required," said this precious doc.u.ment, "to furnish a plan of the ports of your district, with a specification of the soundings for mooring vessels. If no plan of the ports can be procured, you are to point out with what wind vessels can come in and go out, and what is the greatest draught of water with which vessels can enter the river deeply laden."

Still there was no actual breach of the nominal peace between the two countries until the 12th of May, on which day Lord Whitworth left Paris.

He landed at Dover on the 20th, meeting there General Audreossi, Napoleon's minister to the English Court, on the point of embarking for France.

ENGLAND DECLARES WAR.

For two days before, that is to say on the 18th of May, 1803, England had issued her declaration of war against France. In this doc.u.ment, our government alleged that the surrender of Malta to the knights of St.