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
Ansell (June 2, 1804) gives us ‘The Cold Blooded Murderer, or the
Assassination of the Duc d’Enghien,’ in which the duke is represented
as being bound to a tree, a soldier on either side holding a torch,
whilst Napoleon is running his sword into his heart. D’Enghien bravely
cries out, ‘Assassin! your Banditti need not cover my Eyes, I fear
not Death, tho’ perhaps a guiltless countenance may appall your
bloodthirsty soul.’ Napoleon, whilst stabbing his victim, says: ‘Now
de whole World shall know de courage of de first grand Consul, dat I
can kill my enemies in de Dark, as well as de light, by Night as well
as by Day,--dare--and dare I had him--hark, vat noise was dat? ah!
’tis only de Wind--dare again, and dare--Now I shall certainly be made
Emperor of de Gulls.’[1] Devils are rejoicing over the deed, and are
bearing a crown. They say: ‘This glorious deed does well deserve a
Crown, thus let us feed his wild ambition, untill some bold avenging
hand shall make him all our own.’
A Captain Wright figures in this plot; and, as he was an Englishman,
and his name is frequent both in the caricature and satire of the day,
some notice of him must be given. He was a lieutenant in the Royal
Navy, and somehow got mixed up with this conspiracy. He took Georges
Cadoudal and others on board either at Deal or Hastings, and crossed
over to Beville, where there was a smuggler’s rope let down from an
otherwise inaccessible cliff. By means of this they were drawn up, and
went secretly to Paris. The plot failed, and they were thrown into
prison, Wright being afterwards captured at sea. Cadoudal went to the
scaffold, Pichegru was found strangled in his cell; and Wright, the
English said, after being tortured in prison, to compel him to give
evidence against his companions, was assassinated by order of Napoleon.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account