The Pictorial Press Part 12

G. The Norwich's ditto, Cap. Herbert.

H. The Worcester's ditto, Cap. Main.

I. The Admiral's Ship, the Burford.]

'On the afternoon of the 21st about two o'clock we came up with Porto Bello Harbour, where the Spaniards had hoisted upon the Iron Castle the Flag of Defiance; and, as we were told by themselves afterwards, they wished earnestly for our attempting to come in, as believing they could sink us all immediately, but said they feared we were only making a second Bastimento Expedition, and would not give them the pleasure of engaging us.' Then follows a long and circ.u.mstantial account of the conflict. 'Notwithstanding they had discharged very few Guns for some Minutes before we came up; yet as if they had resolved to summon up all their Courage against the Flag, they welcomed us with a terrible Volley, which being at so short a Distance, took Place with almost every Shot.

One struck away the Stern of our Barge; another broke a large Gun upon our upper Deck; a third went thro' our Foretop-Mast; and a fourth, pa.s.sing thro' the Arning within two Inches of our Main-Mast, broke down the barricado of our Quarter-Deck, very near the Admiral, and killed three Men in a Moment, wounding five others which stood by them. This look'd as if we should have b.l.o.o.d.y work, but was far from discouraging our brave Fellows.' The Spaniards being driven from their guns, the English landed:--'One man set himself close under an Embossier, whilst another climbed upon his Shoulders and enter'd under the Mouth of a great Gun. This so dismay'd the Spaniards that they threw down their Arms and fled to the Top of the Castle; from whence scaling backwards we could see them run into the woods by hundreds and fly for their lives.'

The place being taken, the writer gives a minute account of the damage done and the booty taken. He says:--'We have also had the good luck to find about 10,000 Dollars belonging to the King of Spain, which I had the Pleasure of being present at the searching for, when we found it in the Customhouse,' &c.

The writer of the above account signs himself Wm. Richardson, and gives the explanations to the letters on the woodcut, a facsimile of which is engraved.

To account for the enthusiasm with which Admiral Vernon's victory at Porto Bello was received we must remember that the nation had previously been wrought up to a high state of fever about Spain, and the declaration of war had been received in the most jubilant manner. We can therefore understand that the conductors of the _Daily Post_, infected by the popular fervour, would gladly seize the opportunity of producing in their pages the drawing and description by an eye-witness of this naval victory. This early example of ill.u.s.trated news, though it has nothing pictorial about it, is extremely interesting, showing as it does the tendency of newspapers, in times of excitement, to call on the artist's pencil to aid the writer's pen. It was in reference to this war that Walpole said, when the bells were ringing joyfully, 'They may ring the bells now, but they will soon be wringing their hands.'

To the preceding example of a _daily_ paper attempting to ill.u.s.trate current events I will add an instance of a _penny_ paper doing a similar thing at about the same period. _The Penny London Post, or, The Morning Advertiser_, was a paper published three times a-week, and in the number for Jan. 9th, 1748-9, there is given 'A view of the Public Fireworks to be exhibited on occasion of the General Peace concluded at Aix La Chapelle the 7th Day of October 1748.' The engraving is little more than a diagram, and accompanies a description of the arrangements made for the occasion, amongst which there was to be a band of a hundred musicians to play before the fireworks began, 'the Musick for which,'

says the _Penny London Post_, 'is to be composed by Mr. Handel.'

We are accustomed to think of the immortal author of _Tom Jones_ as a novelist only. Henry Fielding was, however, also a journalist, a pamphleteer, and a justice of the peace for Middles.e.x and Westminster.

Amidst his other labours he found time to edit the _Jacobite's Journal_, a paper started to support the House of Hanover after the Rebellion of 1745. It was a sheet of four pages, published every Sat.u.r.day, and the first twelve numbers were adorned with a woodcut heading which has been attributed to Hogarth. This heading was discontinued after the twelfth number, and in number 13 there is an elaborate article, replete with sarcastic humour, explaining the reasons for its discontinuance. The _Jacobite's Journal_ purported to be edited by 'John Trott-Plaid, Esq.,'

and was essentially satirical in its tone. In the second number there is the following reference to the engraved heading:--

'As my Wife appears in her Plaid on _a.s.s-back_ behind me at the Head of this Paper, it will not I hope be imagined that I have brought her abroad only to take the Air, without a.s.signing to her any share in this undertaking.

'The _Mystery of Jacobitism_ doth not, like that of _Free Masonry_, exclude the Female World; for tho' all Jacobites are not, as some wicked Whigs have represented us, _old women_, yet women we have in great Numbers among us, who are as learned in the knowledge of our Mysteries, and as active in the celebration of our Rites, as any of the Male Species; and many of these are so far from deserving the name of _old_, that their age scarce yet ent.i.tles them to the name of _women_.'

As I before stated, the heading is left out after the twelfth number.

Whether it had sufficiently served its purpose as a caricature of the Jacobite party, and was no longer needed, or whether it really took up too much room, as stated by the editor, its discontinuance was made the occasion of publishing a leading article, part of which I am tempted to transcribe as an excellent specimen of Fielding's satire.

'There is scarcely anything more provoking than to be totally misunderstood, and by that means to have our compliments received as Affronts, and our Panegyrick converted into Satire.

'It cannot therefore be wondered at, if I am not well pleased with that gross misunderstanding of the Emblematical Frontispiece so long prefixed to my Paper, which hath generally prevailed, and which, among other good Reasons, hath at length induced me to displace it for the future. By this Error of the Public, a Contrivance of mine (the expense of much laborious thinking) to do Honour to the Jacobite Party, hath been represented as the Means of vilifying and degrading it.

'But, seriously, could the Art of Man have carried the Glory of Jacobitism higher than it was carried in this print, where a Jacobite of either s.e.x was seen cloathed in Mystery, and riding on one of the most honourable Beasts in the Universe, while Popery servilely attends, leading it by the Halter, and _France_ and the Republican Party are dragged after Heels. Is not here depictured that notable and mysterious Union of _French_ Interest, Popery, Jacobitism, and Republicanism; by a Coalition of all which Parties this Nation is to be redeemed from the deplorable State of Slavery, under which it at present labours?

'It would be endless to enumerate all the Mistakes and ridiculous Conceits entertained on this occasion. Some have imagined we intended to insinuate that the Protestant Jacobites were led by the Nose by Popery, and spurr'd on by _France_ and the Republicans; whereas nothing can be more certain in Fact, than that Popery and _France_, and the Republicans, have ever been the mere Dupes and Fools of the said Jacobites.

'Many have endeavoured to discover Resemblances to real Persons in the figures there exhibited. By the Popish Priest, it hath been said we design to represent the old Chevalier; and by the Figures on the a.s.s, the young Chevalier his Son and the famous _Jenny Cameron_.

'Others have found out Likenesses of less Importance, and several Squires and Country Gentlewomen of _Staffordshire_ and other Counties, who never travel beyond the limits of a Fox chace, have been supposed to ride, once a week, Post all over the Kingdom in this Paper.

'But the most egregious Errors have been committed in Misconstructions concerning the a.s.s. Several ingenious and witty Printers of News Papers have very facetiously taken occasion to call the Author himself an a.s.s; supposing probably, that as Scripture informs us an a.s.s once spoke, so certain Descendants of the same Family might write, which Faith, perhaps something within their own Experience, might sufficiently encourage them to receive.

'To mention no more of these absurd Conjectures, I must here inform my Reader, that by the Body of the a.s.s we intend to figure the whole Body of Jacobitical doctrine.

'Now as there was no Symbol among the Antients, of which the Emblematical Meaning was so plain and easy to be discovered, our Party could never have so universally mistaken it, had it not been for that want of Learning among us, which I lamented in my last Paper. Hence being misled by those erroneous opinions, which the Moderns have propagated to the great disadvantage of a.s.ses, the Jacobites have been unwilling to discover any Resemblance between themselves and an Animal which the wise Antients saw in so respectable a Light, and which the ignorance of latter Ages hath highly dishonoured by odious Comparisons with certain Individuals of the Human Species.

'Thus _Homer_ is well known to have liken'd one of his princ.i.p.al Heroes to this n.o.ble Animal; which was in such Esteem among the antient _Jews_, that he was not only an object of their Devotion, but they are said to have preserved his Figure in ma.s.sy Gold in the Temple of _Jerusalem_.

'If the Transfiguration of _Midas_ in the _Metamorphosis_ doth but little Honour to the Ears of our Symbol, the Story of _Lotis_ which the same Poet tells in his Fastorum, is greatly in praise of his Braying, by which the Chast.i.ty of that Nymph was rescued from the wicked Designs of her insidious Lover.

'In such esteem hath this n.o.ble Beast been held among the Learned, that I have seen a Book composed in his Favour and ent.i.tled _Laus Asini_: not to mention the celebrated performance of _Apuleius_ to which he hath given the Name of the _Golden a.s.s_.

'Instead therefore of being displeased with the Emblem, our Party have great Reason to be vain on this Occasion, nor do I think there can be a greater Comparison than of a Protestant Jacobite to an a.s.s, or one more to the Honour of the former.

'First, what can so well answer to that n.o.ble and invincible obstinacy, which I have more than once celebrated in our Party, as the intractable and unalterable Nature of this Animal, which gave rise to an antient Proverb alluded to by _Horace_ in his Satires:--

'"---- Your Art As well may teach an a.s.s to scour the Plain And bend obedient to the forming Rein."

'And again in his Epistles:--

'"Democritus would think the writers told To a deaf a.s.s their story ----"

'Which may most strictly be applied to all those writers, who have endeavoured to convince the Jacobites by argument.

'Again what can give us a more adequate Idea of that Firmness, with which we have supported all the ill-usage of the worst of Sovereigns without Resentment, than the laudable Indifference which an a.s.s hath for the same; whom you may beat, whip, kick, and spur as long as you are pleased, he still trudges on without altering his Pace.

'To omit many other obvious Resemblances, such as Braying, &c, the famous story of the Countryman and the a.s.s, briefly touched upon by _Horace_ in the Epistle addressed to his own Book, is so perfect a Picture of Jacobitism, that I have been inclined to think as the Antients are known to have inveloped all their Mysteries in Fable and Allegory, that no less than Jacobitism itself was intended to be couched under this story: "A certain Countryman observing an a.s.s making towards a Precipice, ran to him, and catching hold of his Tail, endeavoured with all his Might to withhold him from Destruction; but the more the Countryman attempted to preserve him, the more obstinately the a.s.s contended against his kind Preserver, and the more eagerly was bent upon accomplishing his fatal Purpose. The Countryman at last, wearied out with his Endeavours to save an obstinate Beast against his own will, and having probably received some Thanks from his Heels for his intended kindness, instead of pulling any longer, gave the a.s.s a Push, and tumbled him headlong down the Precipice which he had been so industriously pursuing."

'I make no doubt but many of our good Enemies the Whigs, who have well imitated this Countryman in the former part of his Behaviour, would imitate him likewise in the latter, was it not that they cannot precipitate us without tumbling down themselves at the same time.

'These are the Mysteries, then, which have been couched under my Frontispiece, and which, tho' their meaning must now appear to have been so plain, have nevertheless stood exposed so long at the Head of this Journal, without having been, as I can find, understood by any.

'Perhaps I shall be asked, why I have now displaced them, since, after so large and full an Explanation, they cannot fail of being highly agreeable to that Party for whose use chiefly this Paper is calculated; and who would, for the future, worship my a.s.s with the same Veneration with which the _Jews_ of old did theirs.

'Now, tho' the Indignation which I have exprest in the Beginning of this Essay at the many gross and absurd Misconceptions which have been vented by the Public, would alone very well justify the Discontinuance of my Emblem so much abused, there are, to say the Truth, two other Reasons which have had a stronger Weight with me in producing this Determination. The former of these is, that the a.s.s and his Retinue do indeed take up too much room, and must oblige us either to suppress Part of our Lucubrations, or some of those material articles of News which we weekly transcribe from others; or lastly those pieces of Intelligence called Advertis.e.m.e.nts, which tho' not always most entertaining to our Reader, do afford very agreeable Entertainment to ourselves.

'A second and a very strong Motive with us, is to lend all the a.s.sistance in our Power to a very worthy and willing, tho' weak Brother, the learned and facetious Novelist, Mr. _Carte_; whose great Romance, tho' in our Court of Criticism, where we shall always act impartially, we have been obliged like other Judges, to condemn, contrary to our own Inclinations, to be grubb'd, we shall always privately esteem as a work calculated solely for the use of our Party. As we have therefore, to our great Concern, received very credible Information that the said work begins already to be considered only as a Heap of Waste Paper, we have thought proper to lend our Frontispiece to our good Brother, in order that it may be prefixed to the future Volumes of that great Work advising him to omit the words _London Evening Post_, and to insert _English History_ in their stead. This will not fail of greatly recommending his Performance to our Party, who never willingly read anything but what an a.s.s may at least be supposed to have bray'd.

'I could wish, moreover, that the learned Novelist would take our Advice in another Instance, and for the future deal forth his excellent work in weekly Portions or Numbers; I do not mean in such a Form as the real History of _England_ is now publishing by Mr. Waller; but in the same manner with those true and delectable Histories of _Argalus_ and _Parthenia_, _Guy_, Earl of _Warwick_, the _Seven Champions_, &c., in which Form, at the price of 1d. each, when embellished by our Frontispiece, I make no doubt of a.s.suring him as universal a Sale as the inimitable Adventures of _Robinson Crusoe_ formerly had throughout this Kingdom.'

The 'Mr. Carte' to whom Fielding proposed to lend his 'Frontispiece' was Thomas Carte, the historian, who had just brought out the first volume of his _History of England_, in which he showed such decided Jacobite predilections that his work was ruined in consequence. He professed to be acquainted with the case of a person who had been cured of the King's Evil by the Pretender, then an exile in France, and this so disgusted many of the subscribers to his book that they withdrew their names and abandoned the author and his work together. He, however, brought out two more volumes, and a fourth was published after his death. It was probably in allusion to this story of the Pretender curing the King's Evil that Fielding speaks of Carte as 'the learned and facetious novelist;' and doubtless the 'great Romance' referred to was intended for his history of England. Fielding and Carte both died in the same year, 1754.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF FORT FOURAS, AS IT APPEARED IN THE SHIPS FROM THE CHARENTE, FROM 'OWEN'S WEEKLY CHRONICLE,' 1758.]

During the next ten years I have found no ill.u.s.trations in the newspapers of that period. In 1758 there was a newspaper published ent.i.tled _Owen's Weekly Chronicle, or Universal Journal_, a sheet of eight pages, size of the _Athenaeum_, price two-pence halfpenny. About this time the English Government, in carrying on the war against France, despatched several expeditions to the French coast, none of which redounded much to the credit of the British arms. One of these expeditions was against Rochfort, and it turned out a failure, which caused much dissatisfaction. _Owen's Weekly Chronicle_ for June 3, 1758, published a long article on the subject, ill.u.s.trated with a woodcut view of Fort Fouras. The writer concludes, with true newspaper vehemence, in the following words:--'Where is the glory of the British name? Where are the terrors that used to accompany our fleets and armies? Let it not be said the treasures of the country are poured forth in vain by an united and willing people; that our enemies are become invulnerable; and every blow our Ministers meditate impracticable. The Duke of Marlborough and Lord George Sackville are gone with Lord Anson and Sir Edward Hawke upon the present grand expedition; and we hope their courage and experience will revive the sinking honour of their country; and show that France is both vulnerable and impotent when the power of Britain is properly exerted.' Unfortunately, the sinking honour of the country was not much revived by the 'grand expedition' here referred to; for, after an ineffectual attempt on St. Maloes, the Duke of Marlborough embarked in such haste that he left his tea-spoons behind him: and these were afterwards sent home in a cartel-ship by the Duke d'Aiguillon in polite contempt. I have copied the woodcut above referred to, which is ent.i.tled, 'A Perspective view of Fort Fouras as it appeared in the ships from the Charente,' and the following description is given of it:--'Fouras was the tower of an old parish church, which, soon after the foundation of Rochefort, in 1688, Louis XIV. purchased of the proprietors to make a Tour de Garde, for repeating signals from the Isles of Oleron and Aix up to Rochefort, which is one of its present uses. A fort and garrison being established in the isle of Aix, Fouras was found to be the nearest and most secure communication in all weathers with that island; so that in process of time barracks and lodgments were built therein, and it was fortified to the sea by a strait curtain.'

For the view of Fort Fouras _Owen's Weekly Chronicle_ must have been indebted to some one on board one of the British ships. Naval and military officers in all parts of the world are among the most valued correspondents of the modern ill.u.s.trated newspaper; and it is interesting to notice that so long ago as the taking of Porto Bello and the attack on Rochefort there were men engaged in those expeditions whose spirit and intelligence prompted them to supply the newspapers of the day with sketches and information. The view of Fort Fouras is the earliest attempt I have seen in a newspaper to give a pictorial representation of a place in connexion with news.

Wood-engraving was the only cheap method of ill.u.s.tration within the reach of newspapers, but the art barely existed at this time. The few woodcuts published in newspapers were not only coa.r.s.ely and rudely executed, but sometimes the efforts of the ill.u.s.trator did not get beyond a rough plan or map, and even this, as I have before remarked, was not always engraved. In further confirmation of this statement I may refer to _Lloyd's Evening Post_ of April 17, 1765, where one of the pages is taken up with a plan representing the trial of a Peer in Westminster Hall. This is done entirely with lines, type, and printer's ornaments. Although there is no account given of this trial in _Lloyd's Evening Post_, the plan must have referred to the case of Lord Byron, who was tried in Westminster Hall for the murder of Mr. Chaworth, April 16 and 17, 1765.

In the winter of 1764-5 a strange wild beast was said to have appeared in France, devouring women and children, and spreading dismay and terror through the whole of Languedoc. What this ferocious creature was, or whence it came, no one knew; but the fear inspired by its presence was universal. The district which it specially haunted procured for it the name of the Wild Beast of the Gevaudan, by which designation it became famous not only in the South of France but throughout the country, and even in foreign lands. The earliest account of this ferocious monster appeared in the official journal of Paris in the following words:--

'A very strange wild beast has lately appeared in the neighbourhood of Langagne and the forest of Mercoire which has occasioned great commotion. It has already devoured twenty persons, chiefly children, and particularly young girls, and scarcely a day pa.s.ses without some accident. The terror he occasions prevents the woodcutters from working in the forests; so that wood has become dear. Those who have seen him say he is much higher than a wolf, low before, and his feet are armed with talons. His hair is reddish, his head large, and the muzzle of it is shaped like that of a greyhound; his ears are small and straight; his breast is wide, and of a grey colour; his back streaked with black; and his mouth, which is large, is provided with a set of teeth so very sharp that they have taken off several heads as clean as a razor could have done. He is of amazing swiftness; but, when he aims at his prey, he crouches so close to the ground, that he hardly appears to be bigger than a large fox; and at the distance of some one or two toises, he rises upon his hind legs and springs upon his prey, seizing it by the neck or throat. He is afraid of oxen, which he runs away from. The consternation is dreadful throughout the district where he commits his ravages, and public prayers are offered up on the occasion. The Marquis de Marangis has sent out four hundred peasants to destroy this fierce beast; but they have not been able to do it.'

In spite of the efforts made to capture or destroy it the wild beast of the Gevaudan continued its ravages. In a letter from Meude, dated December 21, 1764, it is stated, 'The wild beast, which hath ravaged several provinces, has been for some time in ours. He was seen a few days ago near St. Flour, ten leagues from hence, and he is now in our neighbourhood. The day before yesterday he devoured a little girl who looked after cattle. A detachment of dragoons has been out six weeks after him. The province has offered a thousand crowns to any person who will kill him.' On the 8th of February, 1765, the following statement was sent from Montpellier:--'On the 12th ultimo the wild beast attacked seven children, five boys and two girls, none of whom exceeded eleven years of age. The beast flew at one of the boys; but the three eldest of them by beating him with stakes, the ends of which were iron, obliged him to retire, after having bitten off a part of the boy's cheek, which he ate before them. He then seized another of the children; but they pursued him into a marsh which was close by, where he sunk in up to his belly. By continually beating him, they rescued their companion; who, though he was under his paw for some time, received only a wound in his arm, and a scratch in the face. A man at last coming up, the creature was put to flight. He afterwards devoured a boy at Mazel, and, on the 21st, flew on a girl, who, however, escaped with some dangerous wounds.

The next day he attacked a woman, and bit off her head. Captain Duhamel, of the dragoons, is in pursuit of him, and has caused several of his men to dress themselves in women's apparel, and to accompany the children that keep cattle.'

The eyes of all France being fixed upon the doings of this wild beast, the attention of Louis the Fifteenth himself was called to the bravery of the boys in the preceding account. 'The King having been informed of the bravery with which the young Portefaix attacked the beast on the 12th of January last, at the head of his companions, and being willing to reward such gallant behaviour, has given him a recompense of four hundred livres, and has ordered three hundred to be distributed among his companions.'