Gillray caricatured this letter of Napoleon’s (February 24, 1800) in ‘The Apples and the Horse dung, or Buonaparte among the Golden Pippins; from an old Fable. Explanation.—Some horse dung being washed by the current from a neighbouring dunghill, espied a number of fair apples swimming up the stream, when, wishing to be thought of consequence, the horse dung would every moment be bawling out, “Lack-a-day, how we apples swim!” See Buonaparte’s “Letter to his Majesty,” and Mr. Whitbread’s “Remarks upon the Correspondence between Crowned Heads.”’ Although Gillray did not choose a very savoury subject to illustrate his caricature, yet there is much humour in it.
CHAPTER XX.
BATTLE OF MARENGO—DEATH OF DESAIX—SAID TO HAVE BEEN ASSASSINATED—NAPOLEON’S LOVE FOR HIM—SOUP KITCHENS AT PARIS—LAVISH EXPENDITURE OF NAPOLEON’S GENERALS.
There was very little caricature of Napoleon in the year 1800, for the best of reasons, that we had very little to do with him, as he was occupied till May in settling his Government, and then he left for his Italian campaign. But in this year (May 12) Gillray issued a series of eight plates, ‘Democracy, or a Sketch of the life of Buonaparte,’ of which I have already given three—‘Democratic Innocence,’ ‘Democratic Humility,’ and ‘Democratic Religion.’ As four are not very interesting, I have not given them, only the last of the series, which, evidently, was meant to be extended.
DEMOCRATIC CONSOLATIONS.
Buonaparte on his Couch surrounded by the Ghosts of the Murder’d—the dangers which threaten his Usurpation, and all the Horrors of Final Retribution.
Combe, even, had very little to say of this time, lightly touching the passage of the Alps, the occupation of Milan and Pavia, the defeat of the Austrians at Montebello, and the battle of Marengo, where he makes an assertion I cannot find elsewhere, nor trace to any French source, except De Bourrienne.