Rowlandson’s idea of the royal infant is given in a caricature (published April 14, 1811) called, ‘Nursing the Spawn of a Tyrant, or Frenchmen Sick of the Brood.’[23] Maria Louisa is aghast at her offspring, who, screaming, threatens her with a dagger. She thus pours out her woes: ‘There’s no condition sure, so curst as mine! Day and night to dandle such a dragon--the little angry cur snarls while it feeds; see how the blood is settled in its scarecrow face; what brutal mischief sits upon his brow. Rage and vengeance sparkle in his cheeks; the very spawn and spit of its tyrant father. Nay, now I look again, he is the very picture of his grandfather, _the Devil_!’ This must have been pleasant for Napoleon to hear, which he evidently does, as he is but partially concealed behind a curtain. Some one (name unknown, August 20, 1811) has given us, ‘The Deputeys apointed by the Legislative Body, doing Homage to the King of Rome in the Nursery at St. Cloud.’ His _gouvernante_, Madame de Montesquiou, presents him to the Deputies, who kneel and kiss him, saying: ‘Madam Governess--not one of us can behold without a most lively interest, that August Infant--on whom rest so many Destinies, and whose Age and Charming Qualities inspire the most tender sentiments in the French and surrounding Nations.’ The lady replies: ‘Monsieurs--I thank you for the polite and flattering encomiums you are pleased to bestow on me--I thank you in the name of the young prince, whose Charms are inexpressible, and regret that he cannot add his personal sentiments to those which I entertain, to the Legislative Body.’ In another portion of the picture the foul linen of the precious child is being washed and hung to dry. [Illustration: NURSING THE SPAWN OF A TYRANT, OR FRENCHMEN SICK OF THE BROOD.] CHAPTER XLIX. A NAVAL ENGAGEMENT--NAPOLEON’S TOUR IN GERMANY--DECLARATION OF WAR WITH RUSSIA--ENTRY INTO WILNA--SMOLENSKO--BORODINO--ENTRY INTO MOSCOW--BURNING OF THE CITY--NAPOLEON’S RETREAT. The next caricature requires some little explanation. We find in the ‘Courier’ of September 20, 1811, the following paragraph:--‘Dover, September 19. Early this morning we heard a heavy firing on the opposite shore; it continued at times all the morning, and was very hot about one o’clock; the wind is to the southward, and eastward, which makes us hear very plain; no news has arrived as to the cause; by some it is conjectured that Buonaparte is at Boulogne, and by others, that the flotilla is out, and some of our cruisers firing at them. It still continues, though not so heavy as in the early part of the day.’