John Ashton

“ Fox! I have heard with pleasure of your arrival—I have desired much to see you—I have long admired in you the orator, and friend of his country, who in constantly raising his voice for peace, consulted that country’s best interests—those of Europe—and of the human race. The two great nations of Europe require peace;—they have nothing to fear; they ought to understand and value one another. In you, Mr. Fox, I see, with much satisfaction, that great statesman who recommended Peace, because there was no just object of war; who saw Europe desolated to no purpose, and who struggled for its relief. ”

“ Ye shall not covet any thing of your neighbour, but everything of your enemies; his jewels, his gold, his silver, his horse or ass, his maid, his daughter, his wife, or anything in which your hearts find delight; and ye may take it, but still with cunning; for the Lord, your Commander, loveth mildness, more than strength, to please the people when he plunders.—Use the sword in battle, cunning after it, look for plunder, but subject the people to me;—herein lie all my commandments, and those who keep them shall be protected by my power and prosper in all my undertakings. ”

“ With the Blessing of God, and a good Cause, we can do Wonders; but if we depend upon our Naval Prowess only, we have much to fear. NO, Sir: England will never be perfectly safe, until she can defend herself as well by Land, as by Sea; until she can defy the haughty Foe: if there was even a Bridge between Calais and Dover, and that Bridge in Possession of the Enemy, still can she say, in the Language of a good English Boxing Match, ‘A fair Field and no Favour.’
‘Our good, tried, and brave Old King, in the Hour of Danger,’ had made all snug, at least as far as human foresight could act. ”

“ In defence of their honour, their women will fight,
And their navy, triumphant, still sails in our sight.
BUONAPARTE.
Hush, hush, say no more lest some listeners should hear,
And our troops should be taught these fierce Britons to fear.
They are brave; and my soldiers have felt it—what then?
Our numbers are more—to their five, we are ten.
Say their sailors are skilful, oak hearted, and true,
One army may fail, yet another may do. ”

“ Such are the Gangs of ferocious Banditti, whom the Murderer of Jaffa let loose on the civilized World! Such, and ten thousand times worse, is the Fate prepared for England, if the valour of her people do not avert it; for England will assuredly be more oppressed, in proportion as she is more dreaded, envied, and hated. To shew any symptom of Neutrality in such a Cause, not to support it with all our might, is the foulest Treason against the People of England ”

“ Exit Buonaparte, Talleyrand looking after him. TALLEYRAND.
Your fortune, I fear, Sir, will play you a trick:—
Notwithstanding his vaunts, he is touch’d to the quick.
What folly! what madness, this project inspires,
To conquer a nation, whom liberty fires.
Even now from their shores, loudly echoed, I hear
The song of defiance appalling mine ear.
Their spirit once rous’d, what destruction awakes!
What vengeance, the wretched invaders o’ertakes. ”

“ Your cry is vengeance for the insult—and Vengeance is in your own hands. It must be signal and terrible! Like the bolt from Heaven, let it strike the devoted Army of Invaders! Every Frenchman will find his Grave where he first steps on British ground, and not a Soldier of Buonaparte’s boasted Legions shall escape the fate his ambitious Tyrant has prepared for him! ”

“ The year opens in a kindly spirit with ‘The first kiss these ten Years! or the meeting of Britannia and Citizen François’ (Gillray, January 1, 1803) , which is a remarkably good caricature. Britannia, owing to the peace, has grown prosperous, and stout; her trident and shield are put away in a corner, and the portraits of Napoleon and George the Third repose, in loving juxtaposition, on the wall, intertwined with palm-branches. Says Citizen François (his sword and cocked hat being laid aside) , ‘Madame, permettez me to pay my profound esteem to your engaging person! ”

“ So now Master Boney, here ends all your fun.
Boney down, &c.
The Soldiers will stick him—the Sailor he cries,
He’ll never come hither, the Rascal’s too wise;
He knows that the Tars of Old England ne’er shrink,
But him, and his flat-bottom’d boats they will sink.
Boney down, &c.
’Twou’d weary your patience to hear folks repeat,
How Boney the Pigmy they’re anxious to treat;
So let him come hither, we’ll soon make a ring,
Then fight till we die, for our Country and King. ”

“ If there be one Person so lost to all Love for his Country, and the British Constitution, as to suppose that his Person or his Property, his Rights and his Freedom, would be respected under a Foreign Yoke, let him contemplate the following Picture—not Overcharged, but drawn from Scenes afforded by every Country: Italy, Holland, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Hanover, which has been exposed to the Miseries of a French Invasion. ”

“ A Butcher, Harlequin appears,
The rapid scene to Egypt flying,
O’er captive Turks his steel up rears,
The stage is strew’d with dead and dying.
20.
Next by the crafty genius taught,
Sportive he tries Sangrado’s trick,
Presents a bowl, with poison fraught,
And kills his own unconscious sick.
21.
Hey pass! he’s back to Europe flown,
His hostile foll’wers disappointed:
Kicks five old women from the throne,
And dubs himself the Lord’s Anointed. ”

“ The physician, alarmed at the proposal, bold in the confidence of virtue, and the cause of humanity, remonstrated vehemently, respecting the cruelty, as well as the atrocity, of such a murder; but, finding that Buonaparte persevered and menaced, he indignantly left the tent, with this memorable observation; “Neither my principles, nor the character of my profession, will allow me to become a murderer; and, General, if such qualities as you insinuate are necessary to form a great man, I thank my God that I do not possess them.” ”

“ We must not trust to the caricaturist’s portrait of Josephine. She was good looking and graceful then, but, afterwards, she did become very stout. We must never forget in looking over the folios of caricatures of this period, that the idea of caricaturing then was to exaggerate everything, and make it grotesque; it is only of modern years that the refinement of a Leech, Tenniel, or Proctor, gives us caricature without vulgarity.
After seeing Josephine as she really was, it will be worth while to compare the satirist’s idea of her, and her marriage with Napoleon. ”

“ A huge green necktie is round his neck, and he wears a tricoloured scarf, in which are stuck a pistol and dagger; boots, with huge spurs, add to the dignity of the costume. He is waving his bloody sword, and stamps upon a paper, ‘Nelson’s Victory over the Fleet of the Republic,’ while he shouts out: ‘What? our Fleet captured and destroyed by the slaves of Britain? by my sword and by holy Mahomet I swear eternal Vengeance! yes, when I have subjected Egypt, subdued the Arabs, the Druses, and the Maronites; become master of Syria ”

“ John Bull says, ‘Here’s to you, Master Boney Party; come, take another whiff, my hearty!’ To this hospitable invitation Napoleon replies, ‘Je vous remercie, John Bull, I think I’ll take another pull.’ Mrs. Bull is hard at work mending John’s breeches, which are wofully dilapidated: says she, soliloquising, ‘Now we are at Peace, if my Husband does take a drop extraordinary I don’t much mind, but when he was at war, he was always grumbling. ”

“ Give him a lesson, my brave Countrymen, that he will not easily forget, and that France may have by heart, for a Century to come! Neither the vaunting Hero (who deserted his own Comrades and Soldiers in Egypt) , nor the French Army, have ever been able to cope with British valour when fairly opposed to it. Our Ancestors declared that One Englishman was ever a match for Three Frenchmen—and that man to man was too great odds in our favour. ”

“ Revenge! Revenge! come Fire! Sword! Famine! Invasion! Invasion! Four Hundred and Eighty Frenchmen! British Slavery and everlasting Chains! everlasting Chains! O Diable! the Riches! Freedom! and Happiness of the British Nation! Ah! Diable, Diable, Diable! Malta! Malta! Malta! Oh, cursed Liberty of the British Press! Insolence of British Parliament! Treaty of Amiens! Damnation! British trade and commerce! Oh! Oh! Oh! English calumniating Newspapers! Oh, Sebastiani! Sebastiani! Oh, Georges! Arras! de Rolle! Dutheil!179 O Assassins! Treason! Treason! Treason! Hated and Betray’d by the French! ”

“ The Briton fights for his Liberty and Rights, the Frenchman fights for Buonaparte, who has robbed him of both! Which, then, in the nature of events, will be most zealous, most active, and most terrible in the Field of Battle? the independent supporter of his country’s cause, or the Slave who trembles lest the arms of his comrades should be turned against himself ”

“ There was one part of his dress which had a very droll appearance—that was his boots. They were so high and wide, that his little thin legs seemed buried in their amplitude. Young people are always ready to observe anything ridiculous; and, as soon as my sister and I saw Napoleon enter the drawing-room, we burst into a loud fit of laughter. At that early age, as well as in after life, Bonaparte could not relish a joke ”

“ They view it, like so many famished Wolves, Cruel as Death, and Hungry as the Grave, panting for an Opportunity, at any Risk, to come into our Sheep Fold;—but, and if they should, is it not our Business, our first Duty, to have such a Guard of old, faithful English Mastiffs, of the old Breed, as shall make them quickly repent their temerity. ”

“ Napoleon is a Harlequin, and points with his wooden sword ‘Invincible’ to Great Britain, which is surrounded by goodly ships of war. Pantaloon, as the Pope, typifying Italy, lies dead, and Holland, dressed as a Pierrot, does not relish the command of his master, who tells him, ‘As Pantaloon is no more, I insist on your joining me to invade that little island.’ Poor Holland replies, ‘D—m me—if I do, Master—for I don’t like the look of their little ships—can’t you let me be at quiet—whisking me here, and there, and everywhere.’
1. ”

“ But not one of these vessels dared shew her nose out of harbour, for every French port in the Channel was blockaded by English men-of-war, of which there were some five hundred, of different sizes, afloat. Sometimes this blockading business got tiresome, and it was relieved by an occasional landing, on which occasions mischief to the French, in some shape or other, was always included in the programme; or a vessel would be cut out, or a few shells would be thrown into a town such as Dieppe or Havre—anything to vary the monotony. At home they were bragging and blustering of what they would do ”

“ A very curious caricature is (Ansell, October 24, 1798) Bonaparte in Egypt, ‘A terrible Turk preparing a Mummy for a present to the Grand Nation.’ A Turk, terrible indeed, has Napoleon by the throat, and, with sword in hand, is going to despatch him, saying, ‘As for you, you Dog of no Religion, I’ll sacrifice you at the tomb of the Prophet, whose name you have prophaned for the purposes of Murder, Rapine, and Plunder.’
Napoleon, whose defenceless state is typified by his swordless scabbard being broken, is endeavouring to mollify the wrath of the Turk. ”

“ A brief rest to tranquillise the place and restore confidence to its returning inhabitants, and then, leaving Desaix in charge of the city, Napoleon went in pursuit of Ibrahim Bey, and drove him into Syria.
But what news was to welcome the conqueror back to Cairo? Sad indeed was the tale he heard—nought less than the destruction and capture of his whole fleet, save two ships, which effected their escape. Nelson had made up for lost time, and on August 1 he fought the ‘Battle of the Nile,’ when ‘L’Orient’ was blown up, and young Casabianca, the son of the captain of the ship, with it. ”

“ On August 18, he wrote to the Divan of Cairo as follows: ‘I set out to-morrow for Menouf, from whence I intend to make various excursions to the Delta, in order that I may, myself, witness the acts of oppression which are committed there, and to acquire some knowledge of the people.’
He told the army but half the truth: ‘The news from Europe,’ said he, ‘has determined me to proceed to France. I leave the command of the army to General Kleber. The army shall hear from me forthwith. At present I can say no more. It costs me much pain to quit troops to whom I am so strongly attached. ”

“ PROCLAMATION
To the French Soldiers.
Soldiers! Bonaparte has led you to the Shores, and the Capital of this proud island. He promised to reward his brave companions in arms. He promised to give up the Capital of the British Empire to pillage. Brave Comrades take your reward. London, the second Carthage, is given up to pillage for three days.
(signed) Bonaparte.
The Minister of War, par interim Angereau.
The acclamations of the French soldiery—Vive Bonaparte—le Heros—le Pacificateur—le Magnanime—resound through every street. ”

“ Bands of drunken soldiers dragging wives, and daughters, from the arms of husbands, and fathers. Many husbands, who had the temerity to resist, butchered in the presence of their Children—Flames seen in a hundred different places, bursting from houses which had been set fire to, by the vivacity of the troops. Churches broken open, and the Church plate plundered—The pews and altars converted into stabling—Four Bishops murdered, who had taken refuge in Westminster Abbey—The screams of women, and of children, mix with the cries of the soldiers—Vive la Republique! Vive Bonaparte! ”