‘The Fable of the Bundle of Faggots exemplified, or Bonaparte baffled,’ by an unknown artist (September 20, 1803), shows Napoleon unable to break the bundle of Britons. His foot rests on a heap of broken faggots, all conquered nations, but this is too hard a job for him, as he confesses: ‘Au diable! all I can do, they’ll neither bend or break.’
An unknown artist (September 1803) gave us, ‘A Peep at the Corsican Fairy.’ Here little Boney is chained to a table and padlocked by The British Navy. An Italian, Swiss, Dutchman, and Spaniard are looking curiously at him, thus making their remarks: ‘Monsieur John Bull, I think I have seen this little Gentleman before—he was with us in Italy.’ ‘We shall never forget him in Switzerland.’ ‘My frow once persuaded me to show our house, and he took possession of the whole premises.’ ‘By St. Diego, he is a curious little fellow.’ John Bull is showing him, and has a sweetmeat labelled ‘Malta’ in his hand: ‘Oh yes, sir, he is a great Traveller—but don’t come too near him; he is very cholerick; he put himself into a great passion with me about the sugar plumb I hold in my hand—indeed, if it was not for my little chain and padlock, I could not keep him in any sort of order.’
It is well known that Talleyrand was averse to the intended invasion of England, and some time in September 1803, Gillray produced ‘The Corsican Carcase Butcher’s Reckoning Day, New Style, No Quarter Day!’ a portion of which is here given. Talleyrand (his ecclesiastical status expressed by the cross on his partially military cocked hat) restrains Napoleon from invading England, although the Conqueror has on his seven-league boots. In the distance are the white cliffs of Albion, surrounded by ships of war, and a huge bull bellows defiance. At the open door the Russian bear looks in, enraging Napoleon almost to frenzy. On the ground is a coop full of foxes labelled ‘From Rome, not worth killing.’ ‘The Germanic Body’ lies in a sadly mutilated condition, having lost its head, feet, and hands; one of the latter—the right hand—lies close by, labelled ‘Hanover.’ A poor, lean, gaunt dog, ‘Prussia,’ is in a kennel ‘put up to fatten.’ The food provided for it is blood, or ‘Consular Whipt Syllabub.’ In a trough lie the bodies of six Mamelukes, ‘Jaffa Cross breeds,’ whose blood drains into a receptacle ‘Glory.’ On the walls are hung a sheep, ‘True Spanish Fleec’d’; a dead Monkey, ‘Native Breed’; an ass ‘from Switzerland,’ and a pig ‘from Holland.’
BONEY AND TALLEY.
The Corsican Carcase Butcher’s Reckoning Day.
New Style. No Quarter Day!
1.
Says Boney the Butcher to Talley his man,
One settling day as they reckon’d,
‘Times are hard—’twere a sin,
Not to keep our hand in’—
Talley guessed at his thoughts in a second.
2.
Then he reach’d the account book—turn’d over awhile;
‘I have it—see here are the Dutch, Sir.’
Boney cries ‘It appears
That they’re much in arrears.’
Quoth Talley ‘They don’t owe us much, Sir!’