File:A Skit on Britain (BM 1868,0808.3631).jpg

English: Satire on Robert Walpole and his perceived corruption during the early stages of the War of Jenkins Ear, re-using the plate printed as BM Satires 2335. comprising versions of four earlier satires showing "Heats" in the "European Race" (BM Satires 2333 The scenes dated respectively 1737, 1738, 1739 and 1740, their compositions only slightly altered, are enclosed withing four rococo frames entwined with ribbons on which are lettered the title and keys to each scene; at top is a wolf, in the centre a grotesque horned head, and below a mask lying on a dagger; on the left hand side of the scene at lower left is the emblem from the lower margin of BM Satires 2431, and on the right is that from BM Satires 2455. A race-course on the sea-shore with a variety of animals and riders representing different countries: first comes a fox ridden by Cardinal Fleury (France) leading a wolf ridden by a Spaniard in 16th-century costume and a bear (Russia) ridden by a man with a scimitar and a flag bearing crescent moons (trophies won in recent wars with Turkey). Fleury has attempted to noose an elephant ridden by a Turk, but the animal has dropped the noose and stands immobile looking through a pair of spectacles (said to be English, i.e., his view is enhanced by warnings given by Sir Everard Fawkener, the British Ambassador to Constantinople) which allows him a clear view of the French fleur-de-lis grafted on to his trunk. Next comes a Dutchman, smoking a pipe, mounted on a boar which looks back towards the King and Queen of the Two Sicilies riding in a chariot. Beside the chariot horse is a distance post to which clings a monkey holding a flag and the fleur-de-lis. The chariot wheel is obstructed by an English herald who releases a lion ("Whelp'd in ye Tower of London") which an English soldier is trying awkwardly to mount, impeded by his lack of experience of warfare. The race approaches a grandstand from which hangs the prize, a crown, and in which are seated the umpires: Europe (seated beside a large flag holding a lance), Asia, Africa and America, the last three paying little attention to proceedings; at the foot of the stand a bulldog of "True English Breed" is tied up. Nearer the foreground, to left, are two riders said to be the Young Pretender (already seen as potentially a greater threat than his father) and the Marquis de la Quadra (Stephens considers that the latter is intended for Robert Walpole) who offers a paper lettered, "Gibraltar, Portmahon, Georgia" while the other man declares, "4 to 1 upon Fox" (i.e, France). Towards the right, a horse has stumbled against the coat- of-arms of France and thrown its rider, Theodore of Corsica, whose sword, crown and standard have fallen to the ground; a jockey rides up on an eagle (the Austrian Empire), proceeding off-course hampered by having clipped wings and by the weight of a heavy orb it carries (its unsuccessful armies). In the foreground, a Savoyard showman has placed his box on a stone lettered, "Here ends St. James's Parish" and opened the doors to reveal the image of "Mermot" (a woman said to have been sent by Fleury to seduce George II, possibly identifiable as Amalie von Wallmoden); the Savoyard carries a baby (the Young Pretender) in a box slung over his shoulder; beside him an English dog and a Spanish dog fight while a French dog steals their bone. In the background, on the left, is the English fleet above which a devil dangles a huge gold coin; in the centre, the dome and a tower of St Paul's emerge from clouds, birds of ill omen perched on their tops; Neptune rises from the sea below; on the right, is the Spanish fleet with two suns (the sons of the Old Pretender) shining above, the rock of Gibraltar from which a mouse emerges in allusion to Aesop's fable warning not to make much ado about nothing; at its foot is a tropical shore (Campeche, Mexico) on which are piles of logwood, 2415,A race-course on the sea-shore with a variety of animals and riders representing different countries: first comes France in the form of a fox ridden by Cardinal Fleury with a serpent for a belt indicating wisdom; he is pursued by Theodore of Corsica in full armour having remounted since the first Heat and now threatening Fleury with a sword and pistol; next comes Don Geraldino (Sir Thomas Fitzgerald, Spanish envoy to London) riding a bucking wolf, no longer led by France. The Turkish elephant has dropped its spectacles and overtaken the Russian bear; the pasha stands on the its back holding a flag with three tails; four Russian flags are stuck into the animal's hindquarters and it has a wooden leg replacing one lost in the war (allusions to the terrible losses sustained by Turkey in the course of victorious battles against Russia); the Russian bear's forepaw is carried in a sling. These wolf, elephant and bear are all branded with the fleur-de-lis. Austria follows in the form of a jockey riding an eagle, its clipped wings repaired with a fleur-de-lis and its heavy orb lying on the ground. A monkey is perched on the distance post as before, but no longer holds the fleur-de-lis. Next comes a Dutchman mounted on a boar its progress hampered by a fleur-de-lis chained to its leg. The race approaches the grandstand from which hangs the prize, now a laurel wreath; the flag is now the Union flag, lettered "Made in France of true English Wool"; a raven, bird of ill-omen perches on the cross-bar. The umpires are now in dispute, Europe having dropped her lance is aiming blows at Asia, Africa appears to intervene, but America still sits to one side. At the foot of each post are bales of English wool consigned to merchants in France, on one of which sits "Trade" in mourning looking at an open chest lettered, "French Lace & Brocade for Birthday Suites"; a pile of fuller's earth destined for "Mounsieur a Paris" lies in front of the stand. Hanging from the stand is a pair of scales in which the fleur-de-lis outweighs a bag of gold.In the foreground, on the left, a monkey leads a dragon caparisoned with the papal keys and with two pistols in holsters on its back; a Spaniard offers "A New Treaty of Comerce" to a Swede and a Frenchman; an unidentified man stands looking disconsolately at the ground; a rider, the Young Pretender, calls out, "Fox agt. ye Field"; the chariot of the King and Queen of the Two Sicilies, an Italian boot tucked behind, is drawn by two Spanish wolves but its wheel is about to break. On the right is an English cannon, lettered, "O Lord open thou my Lips & my Mouth shall shew forth thy praise"; a man in a carriage at the back of the gun holds reins securing the stopper in its mouth from which hangs a greyhound (badge of the King's messengers, i.e., ambassadors attempting to keep peace); two lions ("... in ye Tower of London") attempt to pull the gun carriage but one is held back by an English herald. In the foreground, a butcher holds a bulldog of "True English Breed", eager to release it; an old man stands beside him, his crutch resting in the eye of the mask of Envy, and holding "... Or the Craftsman Sep 30 1738". In the background, to the left, are ships of the British merchant fleet with brooms at their mastheads to show that they lack employment and are for sale; above, the devil flies a kite from which hangs a lantern apparently illuminating the crown that had been the prize in the first Heat which now floats in the air; two doves fly overhead, one, marked "Fleury" being caught in a spider's-web. In the centre is the Imperial eagle carrying two baskets, in one of which is a sword and in the other a baby (the Young Pretender) carrying a banner lettered, "Build a Hospital for [Foundlings]"; Neptune rises from the sea below holding his trident and a glass through which he looks at the British fleet. The Spanish fleet lies to the right, beneath a partially eclipsed sun; a rainbow joins the two fleets (barely visible in this worn impression). On the right is a hillside lettered "Bay of Campechey" with stumps of trees, in front of which two men are building a stack of logwood; behind a Spanish soldier drives three English sailors into captivity while their captain, hidden behind a bush, takes aim with a gun.The dome of St Paul's rises emerge from clouds at top right. 2431 The conclusion of a race on the sea-shore with a variety of animals and riders representing different countries: in the centre is the grandstand with Europe presenting the victor's laurel wreath to Cardinal Fleury (France, lettered "Universal Monarchy") while Asia presents a scimitar, Africa ivory and America gold coins poured from a cornucopia. To the right is the distance post on which stands an English sailor shouting "No search" (a reference to the continued assertion by the Spanish of a right of search of British vessels) and waving his hat and a flag lettered "Pro Patria"; at the foot of the post the Russian bear and the Turkish elephant, whose wooden leg has fallen off, are fighting while a Frenchman stabs the bear in the back with a spear topped by a fleur-de-lis; the Austrian eagle, its wings tipped with fleur-de-lis, hovers above, ready to strike; on the other side of the post, a British royal courier lettered "Liberty", gives his horse a glass of wine. In the foreground, to right, a fox mounts lion ("Whelp'd in the Tower") which is held by an ape who is distracted by being kicked by a wolf which is being rubbed down with straw by a Spaniard who has laid his cloak and sword on the ground. A riderless pig (the Netherlands) stands near the grandstand with saddle and holsters and a yoke to preventing it from moving through hedges. To the left of this group, an ambassador is fired from a mortar, his legs waving in the air and his coat falling forward to reveal the lettering, "Promise ... to pay Sir Rob[ert Walpole]"; the supports of the mortar are lettered, "Negotiandi Bluderdandi". Two further ambassadors, labelled "Burbon" and "Austria", shake hands; cards and dice lie on the ground beside them. A dragon laden with paniers filled with "Gazetters" and "Convention" walks towards a British bulldog lying on a carpet lettered "Ah poor Caesar", the "[Con}vention signed at Pardo" (see BM Satires 2352) beside him.. Behind the dog, Sebastian de la Quadra, the Spanish minister, stuffs the Convention into the mouth of Benjamin Keene, the British representative in Madrid, who is on his knees before him. The weeping figure of Trade leaves the scene to left, dropping his mourner's hat. To the left of the grandstand, a disconsolate Britannia sits on a pile of military arms her pockets picked by Spain and France; in front of her lies a log, alluding to the disputed trade in logwood, lettered with a quotation from Horace ("Olim truncus eram", Satire 1.8); a group of City of London Aldermen, labelled "Sturdy B[eggars]", approach from the left bearing, "Merchant Petition". On the shore, to left, is a tower bearing the portrait of Elizabeth I and a flag lettered, "In Hoc Signo Vinces"; sunken and burning ships of the Spanish Aramda are at sea beyond with a warning, "to be paid for" and the devil flies laughing overhead carrying a carpenter's square. On the right, is the citadel of Port Mahon on which flies the Union Flag; rats run down the hillside and board a fleet of English ships. In the sky is a brilliant sun with a crescent moon beside it, a comet and two birds bearing ribbons lettered, "No Treaty" and "Convention". In centre of the lower margin is a garter, lettered "Pro Rege Sepe Pro Republica Semper" (For the King often, for the Republic always"), surrounding a chart of the shore Spanish possessions in the Caribbean and a pair of compasses measuring two leagues, referring to the distance within which no English ship was allowed to approach. and 2455, Walpole having reacted finally to political pressure. A variety of animals and riders representing different countries advance in front of a line of pedestals lettered with the names of the continents, Europe, reclining at the foot of her pedestal holding up a ship representing maritime supremacy, Asia seated on a camel holding a bow and arrow, Africa, with elephant's ears and trunk as a headdress, seated on a lion, America seated on an alligator.In the lead is Lord Chancellor Hardwicke riding on a lion led by his mace-bearer suggesting that he supported the war, followed by a Russian on a bear leading a Danish soldier on horseback who carries a flag lettered, "12000 for G. Britain" alluding to troops promised by the Kings of Denmark and Sweden following the marriage of Princess Louisa to Frederick V of Denmark; a Frenchman replaces the feathers in the wings of the Austrian eagle and a Dutchman stands smoking beside his pig which like its master wears a snail on its head indicating their slowness. A Swedish soldier sits on a drum behind the procession pulling on his boots; the ghost of Baron Sinclair (assassinated by the Russians in 1739) appears behind him, a paper lettered, "all's blown" protruding from his pocket alluding to the proposed treaty between Sweden and Turkey. Behind them, a British sailor sits on a distance post formed from the barrels of two cannon, holding a tankard in one hand and with the other lighting the fuse; a flag attached to the cannon is lettered "Pro patria mori". In the foreground to left, a Turkish elephant with an open music-book on its trunk stands in front of the French tent with the sign of a fox and the notice "nul Place pour les Anglois" above its entrance. A group of musicians play in front of the tent (France at this stage remaining outside of hostilities): Cardinal Fleury on the violin, Spain on the cello, the Queen of Spain, who hopes to give birth to Gibraltar, singing. To the right, her son Philip, Duke of Parma whispers in the ear of his bride, the French Princess Louise Élisabeth, offering her a crown; a wolf and a fox dance before the musicians, the fox holding the mask of a lion. In the left- hand corner, Robert Walpole angrily reads the "Declaration of War" stamping on Lord Gage's speech; a cat (Admiral Haddock) crouches at his feet observing a mouse (the Spanish fleet) peeping out of a hole labelled "Cadiz"; to the right is a cradle, holding a map of Great Britain, that is rocked by a string attached to Fleury's foot, and an Englishman carrying a heavy barrel of gold coins, labelled "Spanh Gun Powder". In the foreground, centre, a monkey fires the British cannon blowing out the stopper and releasing the greyhound of the King's Messenger (see "Heat" II) . In the foreground to right, Britannia, fully armed, gestures with her sword towards a distant fountain signifying the rise of British military might; at her feet a Spaniard kneels offering a paper lettered "Chart Blanch"; a Frenchman stands beside her holding a paper lettered, "Ie vous pri [..] pardone" pointing towards a Gallic cock pecking at its own image in a looking-glass; beside the cock lies an anchor and the letters, "[V]ernon". In the background stands the newly opened Foundling Hospital in front of which boys are drilling. In the sky, to right, three hands, King, Lords and Commons, clasp a ribbon lettered, "Agreed", and a French devil, with a fleur-de-lis on his hip. Title and three lines of engraved text below on either side of a emblem, placed so as to obscure a fleur-de-lis, consisting of a garter lettered "Hinc Absunto Tenebrae" surrounding an irradiated head. 1740
Etching and engraving