While on a swelling sack of cheese The frugal _Dutchman_ sits at ease, And smokes his pipe, and sees with joy The flames, that all the world destroy, Keep at a distance from his bales, And sure thereby to raise the sales; Good Mr. _Reynard_, wiser still, Displays you his superior skill: Behind the selfish miser's back, He cuts a hole into the sack, His paunch well cramm'd, he snugly lies, And with himself the place supplies; And now and then his head pops out, To see how things go round about; Prepar'd to run, or stand the fire, Just as occasion may require, But willing in the sack to stay, And cram his belly while he may, Regardless of the babbling town, And every interest but his own. On yonder plain behold a riddle, That mighty warrior with his fiddle, With sneering nose, and brow so arch, A-scraping out the _German_ march; _Bellona_ leading up the dance, With flaming torch, and pointed lance, And all the _Furies_ in her train, Exulting at the martial strain; Pale _Famine_ bringing up the rear, To crown with woe the wasteful year. There's nought but scenes of wretchedness. Horror and death, and dire distress, To mark their footsteps o'er the plains, And teach the world what mighty gains From _German_ victories accrue To th' vanquish'd and the victors too. The fidler, at his ease reclin'd, Enjoys the woes of human kind; Pursues his trade, destroys by rules, And reaps the spoils of Knaves and Fools. * * * * _Multa desunt._ The first impressions of this print may be known by the following distinction. The smoke just over the Dove is left white; and the whole of the composition has a brilliancy and clearness not to be found in the copies worked off after the plate was retouched. I am told that _Hogarth_ did not undertake this political print merely _ex officio_, but through a hope the salary of his appointment as Serjeant Painter would be increased by such a show of zeal for the reigning Ministry. He left behind him a second part, on the same subject; but hitherto it has been withheld from the public. The finished Plate is in the possession of Mrs. _Hogarth_. There seems, however, no reason why this design should be suppressed. The widow of our artist is happily independent of a court; nor can aught relative to the politics of the year 1762 be of consequence to any party now existing. Our Monarch also, as the patron of arts, would rather encourage than prevent the publication of a work by _Hogarth_, even though it should recall the disagreeable ideas of faction triumphant, and a favourite in disgrace.