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
This _Double Dealer_, who has excited dismay _Abroad and at
Home_, and gained _Notoriety_ by the magnitude of the mischiefs
he has achieved, still presumes, by _the Wheel of Fortune_,
like another _Pizarro_, to satiate his _Revenge_, and to learn
_How to grow Rich_, by renewing the distressing scenes of
_the Siege of Damascus_; until amongst the desolated ruins of
our City, he should establish himself like _a London Hermit_.
That _he Would if he Could_, is past all doubt; but if he will
take _a Word to the Wise_, from _a Man of the World_, he will
believe _He’s much to blame_, and _All in the Wrong_; for _the
Doctor and the Apothecary_ are in _the Committee_; and by good
_Management_, are forward in _the Rehearsal_ of the lively
Comedy of _the Way to keep Him_ under _Lock and Key_. They may
not be able to produce for him _a Cure for the Heartache_, or
for _the Vapourish Man_, but they will shew him at least _Cheap
Living_, and prove that he has sown his _Wild Oats_, in a
_Comedy of Errors_.
_The Poor Soldier_, whose generous heart expands to render
_Love for Love_, is like the gallant and gay Lothario, armed
for either field, and prepared to give _Measure for Measure_;
and to convert the _Agreeable Surprize_, which the Acre
_Runaway_ anticipates in _the Camp_, from _the Beaux Stratagem_
into _a Tale of Mystery_. _Appearances are against him_, as
well as _the Chances_; but he is a desperate _Gamester_; and
although his schemes of Conquest will end in _Much ado about
Nothing_, like a _Midsummer’s night’s Dream_, or _a Winter’s
Tale_, yet he is _Heir at Law_ to our hate; and _Every one has
his Fault_, if he does not unite to revive the splendid scenes
of _Edward the Black Prince_, and _Henry the Fifth_, when
France trembled beneath our arms at Cressy and Agincourt; and
give to this unprincipled _Bajazet_ an exit corresponding with
his crimes.
A NEW SONG OF OLD SAYINGS.
Bonaparte the Bully resolved to come over,
With flat-bottomed Wherries, from Calais to Dover;
No perils to him in the billows are found,
‘_For if born to be hang’d, he can never be drown’d_.’
From a Corsican dunghill this fungus did spring,
He was soon made a Captain and would be a King;
But the higher he rises the more he does evil,
‘_For a Beggar, on horseback, will ride to the Devil_.’
To seize all that we have and then clap us in jail,
To devour our victuals, and drink all our ale,
And to grind us to dust is the Corsican’s will--
‘_For we know all is grist that e’er comes to his mill_.’
To stay quiet, at home, the First Consul can’t bear
Or, mayhap, ‘_he would have other fish to fry there_’;
So, as fish of that sort does not suit his desire,
‘_He leaps out of the frying pan, into the fire_.’
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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