English Caricature and Satire on Napoleon I. Volume 2 (of 2)Ashton, John
History
English Caricature and Satire on Napoleon I. Volume 2 (of 2)
Ashton, John
Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769-1821 -- Caricatures and cartoons
_Underneath a_ GIBBET _over a_ DUNGHILL _at_ ELBA.
Underneath this Dunghill
Is all that remains of a mighty Conqueror
NAPOLEON BUONAPARTE,[42].
Who, with inflexible Cruelty of Heart,
And unexampled Depravity of Mind,
Was permitted to scourge the Earth, for a Time,
With all the Horrors of War.
Too ignorant and incapable to do good to Mankind
The whole force of his mind was employed
In oppressing the weak, and plundering the industrious.
He was equally detested by all:
His enemies he butchered in cold blood:
And, fearing to leave incomplete the Catalogue of his Crimes,
His friends he rewarded with a poisoned Chalice.
He was an Epitome
Of all that was vicious in the worst of Tyrants;
He possess’d their Cruelty, without their Talents;
Their Madness without their Genius;
The Baseness of one, and the Imbecility of another.
Providence at last,
Wearied out with his Crimes,
Returned him to the Dunghill from which he sprung,
BRITON!
Ere you pass by,
Kneel and thank thy God,
For all the Blessings of thy glorious Constitution;
Then return into the peaceful Bosom of thy Family, and continue
In the practice of those Virtues
By which thy Ancestors
Have obtained the Favor of the Almighty.
[Illustration: BROKEN GINGERBREAD.]
_Tiddy doll_, the gingerbread manufacturer, is once more introduced
into caricature (April 21, 1814): ‘Broken Gingerbread (_G. H. inv^t--G.
Cruikshank fec^t_). Napoleon is at Elba, in an extremely dilapidated
condition; a wretched thatched hut has on it a board painted, ‘Tiddy
Doll, Gingerbread baker. N.B.--Removed from Paris.’ On his head he
carries a tray of broken gingerbread, and calls out, ‘Buy my Images!
Here’s my nice little gingerbread Emperors and Kings, retail and for
exportation.’ In the background can be seen the coast of France, on
which the people are rejoicing and dancing round a flag, ‘Vivent les
Bourbons!’
‘The Hellbaronian/Elbaronian Emperor going to take possession of his
new Territory’ (April 23, 1814), by G. H., engraved by G. Cruikshank.
Here Napoleon, ragged and heavily fettered, is in an iron cage, which
is drawn by a mounted Cossack. Others surround and guard him, and we
can well understand the captive’s ejaculatory ‘Oh--d--n these Cossacks.’
[Illustration]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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