"The night mayor flitting through the evening fogs,
Traverses alleys, streets, courts, lanes, and bogs,
Seeking some love-bewilder'd maid by gin oppress'd,
Alights and sits upon her downy breast."
The only other caricature of George I have to notice under date of 1816 is entitled, State Physicians Bleeding John Bull to Death.(*)
In our third chapter we referred to the distress which prevailed amongst the industrial classes during the two years which followed the fail of Bonaparte.[1] We meet with an exceedingly rare pictorial satire by George Cruikshank, which relates to this state of things; it bears the title of, John Bull Brought up for a Discharge, but Remanded on Account of Extravagance and False Schedule, and was published by Fores on the 29th of March, 1817. John Bull, a bankrupt, is being publicly examined as to the causes of his failure: "Being desired by the court to give some explanation [on the subject of the prodigious difference between his debts and his assets], he said that he had been persuaded originally to join with some of the parishioners in indicting his neighbour, Mr. Frog, for keeping a disorderly house; that they had engaged to bear their part of the expenses, but had all sneaked off one by one, and left him to pay the whole, and carry on the proceedings. It had at last, after being moved from one court to another, become a suit in Chancery; and he had been advised by the gentleman whom he had always consulted on these matters, and who was now dead, to go on and persevere, for that he would be sure to get a final decree in his favour, and all the costs. He had at last, in fact, got a decree in his favour, about two years since, before Lord Chancellor Wellington, and for the costs; but not a farthing had ever been paid, nor was it likely to be; on the contrary, Mr. Frog had surrendered himself, and gone to prison, where he was now living at this moment, at his [Mr. Bull's] expense. Besides, the house in question was now opened again under a new license, granted by the magistrates of the district … or rather, a renewal of the old one, in favour of the brother of the person who had kept it formerly,
- ↑ See Chapter III. (1817).
