Rowlandson the Caricaturist; a Selection from His Works. Vol. 2Grego, Joseph
History
Rowlandson the Caricaturist; a Selection from His Works. Vol. 2
Grego, Joseph
English wit and humor, Pictorial; Rowlandson, Thomas, 1756-1827
_December 12, 1813._ _Friends and Foes--up he Goes--Sending the
Corsican Munchausen to St. Cloud._ Published by R. Ackermann.--The
Emperor is left, unsupported, in the hands of his enemies, now turned
into tormentors: he is thrown into a blanket and tossed up into the
air, and is suffering worse discomforts than did Sancho Panza under
a similar infliction; crown, sceptre, and sword are shaken off. '_O
misericorde!_' cries the flying Munchausen as he is sent up to the
clouds. John Bull (whose wig and hat have been thrown aside), the
Dutch Mynheer, and Spanish Don are performing wonders with their side
of the blanket; then come the Cossack, the Pope, the Pole, the Prince
Imperial of Austria, the Emperors of Russia and Austria, and the Kings
of Prussia, Hanover, and Würtemburg, who are all lending a hand to
torment the Corsican.
_December 14, 1813._ _Political Chemists and German Retorts, or
Dissolving the Rhenish Confederacy._ Published by R. Ackermann.--A
delicate operation, which has engaged the attention of all the leading
Powers of Europe, is supposed to be proceeding. The colossal power
of the Corsican is undergoing transmutation, and the conqueror is
gradually being resolved into his original elements. A _German Stove_
supplies the furnace, and the fuel is recruited from John Bull's _Coal
Tub_; that patriotic person is assisting the process as one of the
leading experimental chemists; _Dutch bellows_ are furnishing various
powerful blasts; the _Spanish Don_ is pounding some effectually
irresistible chemicals in his famous mortar, _Saragossa_. The Corsican
has been forced into a receiver; Bernadotte is pouring in a portion of
_sulphate of Swedish iron_ before the cover is fixed on; the Emperor,
who has been reduced to mere pigmy proportions, is praying for time:
'Oh, spare me till the King of Rome is ripe for mischief yet to come!'
In various retorts are seen the several elements which entered into
the Imperial analysis, now resolved apart--_Intrigue and Villany_,
_Ambition and Folly_, _Gasconade and Lies_, _Arrogance and Atrocity_,
_Fire and Sword_, _Murder and Plunder_. All the leading States of
Europe are engaged in the operation; the King of Würtemburg is giving
his instructions; Prussia, Austria, Hesse, &c., are all interested
in the success of the operation. The Pope has contributed two potent
agents, _Fulminating powder_, and _Drops from the vial of wrath_.
Russia, Poland, the Emperor of Austria, &c., are seated, as chemists,
at a table dividing out the agents selected to dissolve the structure
raised by Napoleon. From certain tracts at the Cossack's feet we learn
that the 'liberty of Germany' and the 'downfall of Boney' are settled
projects; while the name of Napoleon, as protector of the Rhenish
confederacy, is crossed out, and that of 'Francis, Emperor of Austria,
restored 1813,' is substituted in its old ascendency.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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