William IV. is, of course, the Gilpin of the situation; the bottles slung to his side are ginger-beer ones—“Rotunda Pop” and “Birmingham Froth;” the “Grey” horse is running away with the king at a dashing pace, and the crown is dislodged in the scuffle. John Bull, the pike-keeper, has thrown open his gate, and is highly excited at the sport: “Go it, my lads, never mind the turnpike!” Burdett is enjoying the fun, but opines, “The Grey is evidently running away with him.” Hume, Hunt, O’Connell, Cobbett, and others are following on horseback in the king’s wake. One cries, “Make way, make way; we’ve a great stake depending on it.” The Irish Repealer is urging on the pace, “Go along, never mind the geese and old women.” The “geese” wear coronets, to symbolize the scared peers scattered by the onslaught; and the “old apple woman” capsized in the rush is old Eldon, the Tory ex-chancellor; Croker is a “croaking” raven. The sign of the inn is changed to a new version of the Crown up in the oak tree, and the balcony is filled with the late ministers, travestied as the ladies of the Gilpin party. Wellington is distressed beyond measure at this alarming spectacle, and is appealing to John Bull: “Good Mr. Gatekeeper, stop him; he doesn’t know where he is going!” Sir Robert Peel exclaims, “Oh, John Gilpin! John Gilpin! where are you going? Don’t you know your old friends?” Goulburn is declaring, “He must have lost his senses to ride at such a rate!”
| Wellington. | Sir. R. Peel. | Goulburn. | J. Hume. | Dan O’Connell. |
| Peers as Geese. | The King on the “Grey.” | Lord Eldon. | Sir Francis Burdett. |
JOHN GILPIN. MAY 13, 1831. BY J. DOYLE (HB).
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“THE HANDWRITING ON THE WALL.” MAY 26, 1831.
[Page 367.
King (William IV.). Loq. “‘Reform Bill!’ Can that mean me?”