| King William IV. | Lord Brougham. | Lord Grey. |
VARNISHING—A SIGN (OF “THE TIMES”). JUNE 1, 1831. BY J. DOYLE (HB).
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THE RIVAL MOUNT-O’-Bankes; OR, THE DORSETSHIRE JUGGLER. MAY 25, 1831. BY J. DOYLE (HB).
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“Valk up, gemmen, valk up! Here you may see the most wonderful Juggler, who eats his own words! not at all in the usual way practised by pretenders to the ‘Craft, and which is now become almost as common a trick as swallowing the sword, but in a manner the most extraordinary and unparalleled! He likewise plays off many strange antics, quite peculiar to himself and most curious and amusing to behold. I aver, gemmen, I challenge the universal world to produce such a show as this here Juggler makes of himself!”
The crowds are flowing in,—says one, “I am tired of Bankes’s Booth, besides, this promises more amusement;” and another, “I like novelty, so here goes.”[70]
Doyle has given a clever embodiment of a current political situation, borrowed from the illustrious humourist, his predecessor: “LINEal Descent of the Crown.” See Hogarth’s works, “Four Prints of an Election” (June 23, 1832). A modernized version of the sign of the “Crown” is dependent from a beam; Lord Grey, with his face to the building, is seated upon that portion of the support which he is hacking lustily with a sickle, marked “Bill.” Cobbett, Hume, and O’Connell are tugging away at the rope which is to accomplish the downfall. The former exclaims, “If we act in union, we’ll soon bring it to our own level.” Hunt remarks, “I fear his exalted seat will turn his head.” O’Connell is encouraging the dangerous exertions of the Reform chief: “Ply the Bill well there, Grey, and it will soon be all down.”
A reference to the possible effects of changed politics upon the suffrages of constituencies is slyly conveyed by HB’s sketch of “The Cast-off Cloak.” Sir John Hobhouse is standing at the entrance of the War Office; he has removed the red-lined cloak of “Radicalism,” which he is thrusting on his old colleague, Sir Francis Burdett: “Pray relieve me of this, Burdett. I shall find it a great incumbrance in a warm place like this.” The reply of the veteran Sir Francis is more politic: “Ay, but don’t forget that you have an engagement in Covent Garden.[71] You may find the atmosphere rather cool in that quarter.” Burdett’s own political convictions were to undergo as sudden a transmutation, as HB has illustrated a few years later.