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
General Prince Blucher is leading off the two convicts; a halter is
round 'Boney's' neck; he has donkey's ears, and is made to wear a
fool's cap, inscribed, 'Transported for life;' his face bears a look
of terror and degradation as he is dragged forward by his merciless
conductor, handcuffed to his brother Joe, 'ex-King of the Beggars,'
who is branded 'Coward and Thief.' A scorpion, 'Execration,' is
fastening on to 'Boney's' person; and another reptile, 'Detestation,'
is spitting venom at his less conspicuous relative. The exiled
convicts are being conducted past a file of Prussian Guards, and the
drums are beating the 'Rogue's March.' Their leader, Blucher, bears
a long quarter-master's staff, with a proclamation setting forth:
'Napoleon, late Emperor of the French, King of Italy, Protector of the
Confederation of the Rhine; Grand Arbiter of the Fate of Nations, &c.,
&c., &c., but now, by the permission of the Allied Sovereigns, exile in
the Isle of Elba, an outcast from society, a fugitive, a vagabond. Yet
this is the conceited mortal who said, "I have never been seduced by
prosperity; adversity will not be able to overcome me!"'
A contrast to the crestfallen Bonapartes is offered in the restored
Bourbons. A flagpole is set up, and the old royal standards are
unfurled: 'Rejoice, O ye Kings! _Vive le Roi!_' The sovereigns of
Europe once more enjoy the opportunity of wearing their crowns in
peace; and the allied monarchs are shown, in their royal robes, with
all their splendours restored, dancing hand-in-hand in a ring round
their combined escutcheons: 'Now we are met, a jolly set, in spite of
wind or weather!'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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