‘The Grand Triumphal Entry of the Chief Consul into London’ is by an unknown artist (October 1, 1803). He is escorted by volunteer cavalry, and is seated, bareheaded and handcuffed, with his face towards the tail of a white horse,86 his legs being tied under its belly. The horse is led by two volunteers, one of whom carries a flagstaff with the tricolour under the Union Jack, and on the summit is perched Boney’s huge hat, labelled ‘For Saint Pauls.’ One of the mob is calling out: ‘We may thank our Volunteers for this glorious sight.’

Of ‘The Corsican Pest, or Belzebub going to supper,’ by Gillray (October 6, 1803), only a portion is given in the illustration, but nothing of moment is omitted. The following are the lines under this broadsheet:—

An unknown artist (October 11, 1803) gives us ‘The Ballance of Power or the Issue of the Contest.’ The hand of Providence is holding the balance, and John Bull, whose good qualities are named ‘Valour, Justice, Honor, Integrity, Commerce, Firmness, Trade, Heroism, Virtue,’ is rapidly ascending; and, according to his own account, ‘There’s a sweet little Cherub that sits up aloft, will take care of the fate of John Bull. But poor Boney, with a heavy burden on his back of ‘Shame, Disgrace, Obloquy, Cruelty, Murder, Plunder, Rapine, Villainy, and Hypocrisy,’ is sinking into the earth, which emits flames to consume him.

‘Thoughts on Invasion, both sides the water,’ by Charles (October 11, 1803), shows us the English coast defended by volunteers. John Bull, laughing, is seated in a chair, under which is a cornucopia, running over with corn, wine, beef, and all kinds of provisions. The old boy is chuckling: ‘I can’t help laughing at the thought of Invasion, but there is no knowing what a mad man may attempt, so I’ll take care to have my coast well lined, and I think 80,000 such men as me, able to eat all the Boney rascals in France, and if they mean Invasion, I have sent a Specimen of Bombs into Calais!’ The ships are shown in the act of bombarding that place, while Boney sits very miserable, with a tricolour foolscap on his head, moaning: ‘I wish I had never promis’d to Invade this terrible John Bull, but how shall I avoid it, with Credit to myself and honour to the French Nation? and this bombarding Calais gives me the Bl—— Blu—— Blue Devils.’ A blue devil behind him is saying: ‘You must go now, Boney, as sure as I shall have you in the end.’

‘The little Princess and Gulliver’ is by Ansell (October 21, 1803), and, of course, the Gulliver is Napoleon, whom a Brobdingnagian princess (Charlotte of Wales) has plunged into a basin of water, and, with her fist, keeps beating him as he rises to the top, saying: ‘There you impertinent, boasting, swaggering pigmy—take that. You attempt to take my Grandpapa’s Crown indeed, and plunder all his subjects; I’ll let you know that the Spirit and Indignation of every Girl in the Kingdom is roused at your Insolence.’

‘The Centinel at his Post, or Boney’s peep into Walmer Castle!!’ (Ansell, October 22, 1803) shows Boney, with a boat-load of troops, arrived on the English Coast, but they are at once disconcerted by the appearance of the sentinel, Pitt, who challenges, ‘Who goes there?’ With abject fear depicted on the countenance of Bonaparte and his followers, the former exclaims: ‘Ah! Begar—dat man alive still. Turn about, Citoyens—for there will be no good to be done—I know his tricks of old!!’

There are two caricatures on the same subject, one attributed to Gillray, but signed C.L.S. (October 25, 1803), the other by I. Cruikshank, to which the same date is attributed. One is evidently copied from the other, for the motif is the same in both. I prefer the former, and therefore describe it. It is called ‘French Volunteers marching to the Conquest of Great Britain, dedicated (by an Eye Witness) to the Volunteers of Great Britain.’ A mounted officer leads a gang of chained, handcuffed, and pinioned, scarecrow-looking conscripts, some of them so weak that they have to be carried in paniers on donkey-back, or drawn on a trolley; whilst a poor, dilapidated, ragged wretch, also chained by the neck, and with his hands tied behind him, brings up the rear of the procession.

‘John Bull guarding the Toy Shop’ (J. B., October 29, 1803) shows a shop-window containing such toys as the India House, St. James’s, the Bank, Custom House, Tower, and the Treasury. Little Boney, with his handkerchief to his eyes, is weeping, and crying: ‘Pray, Mr. Bull, let me have some of the Toys, if ’tis only that little one in the Corner’ (the Bank). But John Bull, who is in full regimentals, and armed with his gun, replies, in his rough, insular way: ‘I tell you, you shan’t touch one of them—so blubber away and be d—d.’

The volunteer force was a great factor in face of the Invasion, and it was computed to number 350,000 men.87 We know, in our own times, that, at a mere whisper of invasion, men enrolled themselves as volunteers by thousands, and we have never heard that whisper repeated. The enthusiasm of the citizen army was very great, and twice in October 1803 (on the 26th 14,500 men, and on the 28th about 17,000), the King reviewed these volunteers in Hyde Park. It will be curious briefly to note some particulars respecting the pay and clothing of volunteers. They are taken from the circular papers of regulations which were sent from Lord Hobart’s office to the Lords Lieutenant of the different counties.

8. When not called out on actual service, constant pay to be allowed for 1 Sergeant and 1 Drummer per Company, at the same rates as in the disembodied Militia; the pay of the Drummer to be distributed at the discretion of the Commandant; pay (as disembodied Militia) for the rest of the Sergeants and Drummers, and for the Corporals and private men, to be allowed for two days in the week, from the 25th of February to the 24th of October, and for one day in the week from the 25th day of October to the 24th of February, both inclusive, being 85 days pay per annum, but for effectives only, present under arms, on each respective day. Pay may, however, be charged for persons absent by sickness, for a period not exceeding three months, on the Commanding Officer’s Certificate to that effect. Sergeants 1/6, Corporals ½, Drummers and Privates 1/.

9. If a Corps, or any part thereof, shall be called upon, in case of any riot or disturbance, the charge of constant pay to be made for such services must be at the rates before specified, and must be supported by a Certificate from his Majesty’s Lieutenant, or the Sheriff of the County; but, if called out in case of actual Invasion, the Corps is to be paid and disciplined in all respects as the Regular Infantry, the Artillery Companies excepted, which are then to be paid as the Royal Artillery.

10. The whole to be clothed in Red, with the exception of the Corps of Artillery, which may have Blue clothing, and Rifle Corps, which may have Green, with black belts.

Allowance for Clothing.

£3	3	9	for each Sergeant,
2	12	0	for each Corporal,
2	3	6	for each Drummer,
1	10	0	for each Private Man,

and to be repeated at the end of three years; the Sergeant Major, and 1 Sergeant, and 1 Drummer per Company, to have clothing annually.

11. An annual allowance to be made for each Company in lieu of every contingent expense heretofore defrayed by Government, viz. £25 for companies of 50 Private men, with an additional allowance of £5 for every 10 Private Men beyond that number.

There is an amusing caricature (October 18, 1803) illustrating Talleyrand’s disinclination to the projected invasion of England.

In his ‘Voyage to Brobdingnag,’ Lemuel Gulliver, speaking of his enemy the King’s Dwarf, says: ‘He had before served me a scurvy trick, which set the queen a-laughing, although at the same time she was heartily vexed, and would have immediately cashiered him, if I had pot been so generous as to intercede. Her majesty had taken a marrow-bone upon her plate, and, after knocking out the marrow, placed the bone again in the dish erect, as it stood before; the dwarf, watching his opportunity when Glumdalclitch was gone to the sideboard, mounted the stool that she stood on to take care of me at meals, took me up in both hands, and squeezing my legs together, wedged them into the marrow bone above my waist, where I stuck for some time, and made a very ridiculous figure. I believe it was near a minute before any one knew what was become of me; for I thought it below me to cry out. But, as princes seldom get their meat hot, my legs were not scalded, only my stockings and breeches in a sad condition. The dwarf, at my entreaty, had no other punishment than a sound whipping.’

There was also a squib about the same master and man:—

BUONAPARTE
AND
TALLEYRAND.

It is well known that Monsieur Talleyrand always objected to the Invasion of England, as a mad Attempt, that must end in the destruction of the Invaders. Having been favoured with a Note of a Conversation between him and the Chief Consul on this Subject, I have attempted, for the Entertainment of my Countrymen, to put it into Rhyme.

A. S.

J. B. (November 5, 1803) produced ‘Boney in time for Lord Mayors Feast.’ At this banquet a sailor produces Napoleon chained, and with a collar round his neck. He thus introduces him: ‘Here he is, please your Honors. We caught him alive, on the Suffolk Coast. He was a little queerish at first, but a few Stripes at the Gangway soon brought him about. I told him he was just in time for the Lord Mayor’s Show. What does your honor think of him for the Man in Armour?’ The Lord Mayor, glass in hand, says: ‘Ay, you see how we live at this end of the town, but you get no Roast beef here, Master Boney—Let him have plenty of Soup Maigre—and in the evening take him up to the Ball Room for the amusement of the Ladies—Come, heres the glorious Ninth of November.’

‘Destruction of the French Gun Boats—or Little Boney and his friend Talley in high Glee’ is presumably by Gillray, though not signed by him (November 22, 1803). It represents the total destruction of the French flotilla by the English fleet—which Napoleon, mounted on Talleyrand’s shoulder, is watching with great glee through a rolled-up paper (Talleyrand’s plan for invading Great Britain), which is being used in lieu of a telescope. He shouts out, in great delight, ‘Oh my dear Talley, what a glorious sight! We’ve worked up Johnny Bull into a fine passion! My good fortune never leaves me! I shall now get rid of a Hundred Thousand French Cut Throats whom I was so afraid of! Oh, my dear Talley, this beats the Egyptian Poisoning hollow! Bravo Johnny! pepper ’em Johnny!’

Ansell is answerable for ‘Boney’s Journey to London, or the reason why he is so long in coming, i.e. because he travels like a Snail with his house at his back’ (November 23, 1803). He is portrayed as being in a wooden house, drawn by his soldiers, who are being unmercifully whipped with a knout-like weapon. Napoleon, calling out to the officer who is administering the punishment, ‘You Vagabones, make haste, Vite, Vite, or I shall not get to London by Christmass. Give them more of the Fraternal Whip, the dam Rascals do not know the value of Liberty.’

END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.

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