English Caricature and Satire on Napoleon I. John Ashton
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This victory of the Nile is very graphically depicted (Gillray, October 6, 1798) in the ‘Extirpation of the Plagues of Egypt;—Destruction of Revolutionary Crocodiles;—or—The British Hero cleansing ye Mouth of ye Nile.’ Here Nelson has half-a-dozen crocodiles (typical of captured French ships) hooked and in his power, whilst, with a stout cudgel of ‘British Oak,’ he is spreading deadly blows and consternation into a quantity of tricoloured crocodiles. The blowing up of the ‘Orient’ is shown by one crocodile which is thus being destroyed.
Another caricature (October 7, 1798) of the victory of the Nile is ‘The Gallant Nellson bringing home two uncommon fierce French Crocodiles from the Nile as a present to the King.’ The one-armed hero is leading by a chain Fox and Sheridan, who have their jaws muzzled by rings, and Fox’s mouth is also secured by a padlock, ‘a mouthpiece for hypocrites.’ They are both weeping copiously, after the fabled manner of crocodiles. Nelson is saying, ‘Come along you Hypocritical dogs, I dare say your Dam’d sorry now for what you’ve done. No, no, I shall bring you to my Master;’ whilst John Bull, habited as a countryman, exclaims, ‘Aye, aye, what! Horatio has got ’em at last. Why, these be the Old Cock Deviles. I thought as how he would not go so far for nothing.’ This goes well with that of October 3.
A very curious caricature is (Ansell, October 24, 1798) Bonaparte in Egypt, ‘A terrible Turk preparing a Mummy for a present to the Grand Nation.’ A Turk, terrible indeed, has Napoleon by the throat, and, with sword in hand, is going to despatch him, saying, ‘As for you, you Dog of no Religion, I’ll sacrifice you at the tomb of the Prophet, whose name you have prophaned for the purposes of Murder, Rapine, and Plunder.’
Napoleon, whose defenceless state is typified by his swordless scabbard being broken, is endeavouring to mollify the wrath of the Turk. ‘Now, mild and gentle Sir, don’t be so rough: do you think I would cut your throat, ravish your wives, or plunder your house? No, by Mahomet I would not. Sacrè Dieu, I would not. Ah, Diable, you’ll choak me.’
Fox, Erskine, Sheridan, and the Duke of Norfolk are kneeling down, begging for Napoleon’s life, whilst a Turk, who exclaims, ‘You agree together so well, I think I’ll fix you together for life,’ has a bowstring ready to strangle all four. Pleads Fox, ‘Pray don’t hurt our dear friend, he would not hurt Man, Woman, or Child. He can’t bear the sight of blood; as for plunder or deception, he is the determined enemy to both, by—— he is, and we are ready to swear it.’ Sheridan and Erskine say—the one, ‘d—n me if he ayn’t, and we are ready to swear it;’ the other, ‘I’ll swear it, I, I, I, swear it.’
‘John Bull taking a luncheon’ (Gillray, October 24, 1798) is an extremely graphic caricature, and introduces us to the popular idea of John Bull, who, certainly, is never represented in this period with any of the refinement that Leech, Doyle, Tenniel, or any of our modern caricaturists depict him; tastes and habits were coarser then than now, and John Bull was always shown in the rough. The second portion of the title of the picture helps us to realise the popular fancy, ‘or—British Cooks cramming old Grumble Gizzard with Bonne Chére.’ All his admirals and captains are bringing him food. Nelson presents him with a Fricasee à la Nelson, a huge dish of French ships; others are bearing dishes, such as Desert à la Warren, Fricando à la Howe, à la Gardner, à la Bridport, à la Vincent, Dutch Cheese à la Duncan.
John Bull is seated, devouring these viands, which are to be washed down with mighty draughts of True British Stout, exclaiming, ‘What! more Frigasees? why you sons o’ b——s, you, where do you think I shall find room to stow all you bring in?’ Fox and Sheridan are seen through an open window, running away, calling out, ‘Oh curse his Guts, he’ll take a chop at us next.’
There is another one with similar motif by Ansell, November 1, 1798.
The ‘destruction of the French Collossus’ (Gillray, November 1, 1798) is a painful picture. The huge creation strides from Egypt to France; its head being a skull, with vipers crawling in and out—its hands and feet being imbrued in blood; it clutches the guillotine, and tramples the Bible, Crucifix, and scales of Justice under foot. Round its neck is the bleeding head of Louis XVI. Britannia (typified by a shield of the national flag) hurls a thunderbolt, and shatters the huge statue into pieces.
CHAPTER XII.
REVOLT AND MASSACRE AT CAIRO—CARICATURES OF THE CAPTURE OF FRENCH SHIPS—FIGHTING FOR THE DUNGHILL, ETC.—PRICE OF BREAD AND CONSOLS IN 1798.
I have omitted an episode which, to be chronologically correct, should have been introduced earlier; and here, as usual, we find a French authority for what might seem an English slander: Émile de la Bédoliére, in his ‘Tableau Chronologique de l’Histoire de Napoléon,’ gives the story of the revolt at Cairo very tersely:—
October 21.—‘During two months the Mussulmans patiently supported the yoke of the conquerors; but the establishment of a registration of landed property became the cause of a violent insurrection.
‘On the 30th Vendemaire, year VII. (October 21, 1798), a multitude ran through the streets, and massacred all the French they met. Bonaparte repaired to the scene, and took measures to cut the communications between the different quarters of the city, which were in the hands of the insurgents. Fifteen thousand of them took refuge in the great mosque, and refused to surrender. A hail of bombs, shells, and bullets, threatened to engulph them under the débris of their last asylum. Soon they uttered lamentable cries, implored the mercy of the general-in-chief, and surrendered at discretion.’
Combe thus versifies this event:—
Mock liberty caus’d disaffection,
And soon commenc’d an insurrection.
According to our hero’s plan
Of course a massacre began:
The streets were clear’d, and all the men
Ran to the mosques for refuge then.
The troops, tho’, having forc’d the doors,
Strew’d with combustibles the floors,
And such indeed the conflagration,
It was a grand illumination;
With screams and groans the air was fill’d,
For some were burn’d and some were kill’d—
All indiscriminately slain,
Who had for quarter begg’d in vain.
At length our hero was inclin’d
Tho’ somewhat slowly, to be kind;
He granted quarter, and he trusted
All would be quietly adjusted.
He knew, which certainly was verified,
They had sufficiently been terrified.
Cruikshank, of course, grossly exaggerates the fact, and represents the French soldiery savagely attacking, even with pickaxes, the Egyptians who are endeavouring to escape from the mosque.
In November (12th) of this year, Rowlandson produced a plate called ‘High fun for John Bull, or the Republicans put to their last shift.’ This represents him as being in great glee at having captured so many ships, whilst the French are hard at work making fresh ones, which they are baking by batches in a Dutch Oven (an allusion to their being built in Holland). A Frenchman, with a large trayful of ships, calls out, ‘Sacre dieu, Citoyens, make a