CHAPTER XXVII.

PATRIOTIC HANDBILLS.

On June 10, 1803, Gillray published an extra-sized picture of ‘French Invasion--or Buonaparte Landing in Great Britain.’ The French fleet is nearing land, and boats, full of armed men, are putting off. Bonaparte, and a large body of troops, including cavalry, have landed; but, before they can scale the cliffs, and are yet on the shore, a few artillerymen, with two guns, have utterly routed them. It is _Sauve qui peut_. Napoleon, joining in the flight, throws away his sword; the army is utterly demoralised, the ground being strewn with dead.

I. Cruikshank drew a not very interesting caricature, (June 10, 1803) of ‘The Scarecrow’s arrival, or Honest PAT giving them an Irish Welcome.’ Napoleon, as a skeleton, is leading an army of skeletons, who are wading through the sea. He is just putting his foot on the shore, and, to encourage his troops, calls out, ‘Now, my boys, halloo away--vil frighten Mr. Bull out of his wits, we vil make them quake like the Dutch, the Italian, the Swiss, and the rest of our Friends.’ But a sturdy Irishman receives them with a shovelfull of mud in their faces. ‘Och it is your own pratty figure it is, Master Bonny, d’ye think that Pat was to be blarney’d by such Scare Crows. No, no, Bother, the time is gone by: Pat’s Eyes are wide open, and, look ye, if you don’t immediately jump into the Sea to save your lives, I will shovel you all there to save mine.’

Here is a stirring appeal to the army:--

BRAVE SOLDIERS.

_Defenders of your_ COUNTRY.

The road to glory is open before you.--Pursue the great career of your forefathers, and rival them in the field of honour. _A proud and usurping_ TYRANT (a name ever execrated by Englishmen) dares to _threaten our shores with_ INVASION, _and to reduce the free born Sons of Britain to_ SLAVERY _and_ SERVITUDE. Forgetting what English Soldiers are capable of, and ranking them with the hirelings of the powers who have fallen his prey on the Continent, he supposes his threat easily executed. _Give him a lesson, my brave Countrymen, that he will not easily forget, and that France may have by heart, for a Century to come!_ Neither the vaunting Hero (who deserted his own Comrades and Soldiers in Egypt), nor the French Army, have ever been able to cope with British valour when fairly opposed to it. Our Ancestors declared that ONE ENGLISHMAN _was ever a match for_ THREE FRENCHMEN--and that man to man was too great odds in our favour. We have but to feel their sentiments, to confirm them--you will find that their declaration was founded on experience; and that even in our day, within these three years, an army of your brave Comrades has convinced its admiring Country, that the balance is still as great as ever, against the enemy. Our EDWARD, _the illustrious Black Prince, laid waste the country of France, to the Gates of Paris, and, on the Plains of Cressy, left 11 Princes and 30,000 men dead upon the Field of Battle--a greater number than the whole English Army boasted at the beginning of the action_. The same heroic Prince, having annihilated the Fleet of France, _entirely routed her Army at Poictiers, took her King prisoner, and brought him Captive to London, with thousands of his Nobles and People, and all this against an Army_ SIX TIMES AS NUMEROUS AS THAT OF THE ENGLISH! Did not our Harry the Fifth invade France, and at Agincourt _oppose an Army of 9,000 men, sickly, fatigued, and half starved, to that of the French, amounting to 50,000_; and did he not leave 10,000 of the enemy dead upon the field, and take 14,000 prisoners, with the loss of only 400 men?

Have we not, within this century, to boast a MARLBOROUGH, who, (besides his other victories) at Blenheim slew 12,000 of the French, and made 14,000 Prisoners, _and in less than a month conquered 300 miles of Territory from the Enemy_? Did not the gallant WOLFE, in the year 1759, gain the Heights of Abraham with a handful of British Troops, and, afterwards, _defeat the whole French Army, and gain possession of all Canada, &c._?

And are not the glories of our ABERCROMBY _and the Gallant_ ARMY _of_ EGYPT fresh in your minds? _An Army of 14,000 Britons, who landed in the face of upwards of 20,000 troops of France_, and drove from a country, with whose strongholds they were acquainted, and whose resources they knew how to apply, a host of Frenchmen, enured to the Climate, and Veterans in arms? _Did they not cut in pieces that vaunted Corps of Buonaparte’s, whose successes against other Powers had obtained for it the appellation of_ INVINCIBLE--And is not their Standard (all that is left of it) a trophy, at this moment, in our Capital?

_The Briton fights for his Liberty and Rights_, the Frenchman fights for _Buonaparte_, who has robbed him of both! Which, then, in the nature of events, will be most zealous, most active, and most terrible in the Field of Battle? the independent supporter of his country’s cause, or the Slave who trembles lest the arms of his comrades should be turned against himself; who knows that his Leader, his General, his _Tyrant_, _did not hesitate, after having_ MURDERED _4,000 disarmed Turks, in cool blood, to_ POISON _300 of his own sick Soldiers, of men who had been fighting his battles of ambition, and been wounded in his defence_--English Soldiers will scarcely credit this, but it is on record, not to be doubted, never to be expunged. But more; read and blush for the depravity even of an enemy. It is not that these bloody deeds have been perpetrated from necessity, from circumstances however imperious at the moment; they were the acts of cool and deliberate determination, and his purpose, no less sanguinary, is again declared in the event of success in his enterprise against this Country. Feeling that even the slavish followers of his fortune were not to be forced to embark in this ruinous and destructive expedition, he declares to them, in a public proclamation, or decoy, that _when they have landed in this Country, in order to make the booty the richer_, NO QUARTER _shall be given to the_ BASE ENGLISH _who fight for their perfidious Government--that they shall be_ PUT TO THE SWORD, _and their Property distributed among the Soldiers of the Victorious Army_!!! Say, is this the conduct of a Hero? is this the man who is destined to break the spirit of Englishmen? _shall we suffer an_ ASSASSIN _to enter our blessed Country, and despoil our fields of their produce--to massacre our brave Soldiers in cool blood, and hang up every man who has carried arms?_ Your cry is vengeance for the insult--and Vengeance is in your own hands. It must be signal and terrible! Like the bolt from Heaven, let it strike the devoted Army of Invaders! _Every Frenchman will find his Grave where he first steps on British ground, and not a Soldier of Buonaparte’s boasted Legions shall escape the fate his ambitious Tyrant has prepared for him!_

BRITONS STRIKE HOME!

Or your Fame is for ever blasted,--Your Liberties for ever lost!!!

This is very bombastic and ‘high-falutin,’ but Englishmen were in a very grievous fright, nevertheless.

Still harping on the prospect of a French landing, we have a caricature by T. West (June 13, 1803) of ‘Britannia correcting an Unruly Boy.’ Britannia has got Boney across her knee, and, having taken down his breeches, is administering such a sound castigation with a birch rod, called the _United Kingdom_, as to bring forth copious streams of blood. Needless to say, our hero is repentant, and prays ‘Oh forgive me this time and I never will do so again. Oh dear! Oh dear! you’ll entirely destroy the _Honors of the Sitting_.’ But the stern matron still keeps on, with ‘There take that, and that, and that, and be more careful not to provoke my anger more.’

We have an illustration of the homely proverb of ‘Set a beggar on horseback &c.,’ in ‘The Corsican Beggar Riding to the Devil,’ by Ansell (June 15, 1803). Here we have Hell treated in the mediæval manner, a huge, grotesque, dragon-like head, with outstretched jaws, vomiting flames. Napoleon, on a white charger, hugging himself with the idea that ‘Sure they will make me Emperor,’ is riding straight to it; whilst two devils are in a high state of jubilation.’ One opines that ‘He is sure to come; we will finish your ambition,’ the other politely calls out, ‘Shew him in.’ Ireland asks John Bull, ‘Hey Johnny, who’s that?’ and gets as a reply, ’Tis Boney going Post, brother Pat.’ The Gallic Cock, crowing on its dunghill, screams, ‘This is nothing new.’

Here is a passionate appeal, supposed to come from one of the softer sex:--

MEN OF ENGLAND.

It is said that some of you are so discontented, that you would join the Enemies against your Country--Is it possible that you are so misled as to believe that the Enemies to England would, whatever they pretend, be friends _to you_. Be assured, if you are so persuaded, that you are grossly imposed upon. What should make them your friends--What ties should bind them? Think a little--and a very little proper reflection will be sufficient to make you see, that the Invaders of your Country, in their hearts, hate the inhabitants of it; and will, in the end, themselves betray the Traitors to it.

The Invaders would nearly desolate your Country--and if Provisions are dear now, what would they be when numberless stacks of hay and corn were burnt--the cattle destroyed, and a horrid legion of desperate, faithless, lawless Invaders, to be maintained? who would trample upon every tie, break all promises, make _tools_ of you first, but soon sacrifice your wives, your daughters, your families, and yourselves, when you have served their purpose. If any few among you were guilty of plunder, you would, yourselves, soon be plundered and destroyed.

It has been the necessity of defending our country against its enemies that has made provisions dear; but your wages have been increased in proportion--and though you may sometimes, in the course of events, suffer some hardships, as _everybody_, in their turn, must do, you may, unless it be your own faults, enjoy the greatest comforts--a peaceable home--a happy family--a quiet country, whose trade and consequence is envied by all the world--plentiful harvests--a government which respects you, and that your forefathers would have defended with the last drop of their blood--you have an excellent and lawful King, who will protect you; and above all, you may have a blessing from God, who will reward you hereafter if you do your duty _here_. But from an Usurper, and Invader, you can have nothing to expect, but the being slaves to his lawless schemes for power. Let who will tell you the contrary, he comes only for plunder, and revenge, upon the only nation he fears. Will you be his instruments, his tools? Can you, as Englishmen, lower yourselves in such a manner--to such a mean Usurper? Heaven, from the beginning, intended you should have Kings and superiors--Equality was never intended--it never can be, on this earth--Heaven and reason forbid it--and Bonaparte, himself, has shewn you how little he intended to establish it. Your forefathers call to you from their graves--their warning voice tells you, that you would soon find the perfidy of his heart. The wretched condition you would bring yourselves and your families into, you would repent too late--deprived of every friend, but sure of ample punishment here, and hereafter.

People of England! Sons of my beloved glorious Country! You are now called upon by the women of your Country to protect them--Can you refuse to hear us? Can you bear the thought of not only seeing _us_ used with insult and barbarity,--of seeing your country bleed at every pore, but of being the occasion of these dreadful evils, in consequence of your mistaken opinions, and by suffering yourselves to be deceived, and cajoled, by foreign, ill designing wretches, who have only our, and your, ruin at heart.

Attend, Men of England,--you who may give conquest to your Country, safety to us, and everlasting glory to yourselves--Attend, Men of England, to the _solemn_ truths told you by an honest

ENGLISHWOMAN.

It is a weak spot in these lucubrations that very few of them are dated, so that it is impossible to arrange them, like the illustrations, in chronological sequence. But this is of little matter; the situation was the same, whatever might be the month.

J. Smith (June 25, 1803) etched King George ‘Playing at Bubbles.’ The monarch is seated before a large tub of soap-suds, amusing himself by blowing bubbles, which are _Napoleon, flat-bottomed boats, invasion, and little ships_--and, judging by the king’s placid countenance, caring very little for his creations.

A very excellent example of caricature is Gillray’s ‘King of Brobdingnag and Gulliver’ (June 26, 1803). The burly king has the diminutive Bonaparte in the palm of his hand and is critically examining him through his glass. Says he, ‘My little friend Grildrig you have made a most admirable panegyric upon yourself and country, but from what I can gather from your own relation, and the answers I have with much pains wring’d and extorted from you, I cannot but conclude you to be one of the most pernicious little odious reptiles that nature ever suffered to crawl upon the surface of the Earth.’

And, indeed, he well deserved this character, if he were anything like the demon the English sought to make him out. In one of the handbills, however, is a quotation from ‘Denon’s Travels in Egypt,’ which is wrested to serve its purpose in fomenting the Invasion furor.

To the infamous WRETCH, if there be such an one in England, who dares to talk of, or even hopes to find _Mercy_ in the Breast of the _Corsican Bonaparte_, the _eternal sworn Foe of England_, the Conqueror and Grand Subjugator of France.

If there be any Englishmen so base, or so foolish, as to wish to trust to the _Mercy_ of a French _Invading Army_, let him read that which follows:--The accuracy and veracity of the account cannot be doubted, it being an Extract from a Book, not only written under the inspection of the French Government, but, moreover, dedicated to the _Grand Consul_.

I shall make no comment on this most scandalous public avowal, or rather, boast, of so inhuman and atrocious a proceeding, as the simple Fact sufficiently speaks for itself.

‘We, who boasted that we were more just than the Mamelukes, committed daily, and _almost necessarily_, a number of iniquities: the difficulty of distinguishing our Enemies by their Form and Colour, made us, every day, _kill innocent Peasants_; the Soldiers took Caravans of _poor Merchants_ for enemies, and, before justice could be done them, (_when there was time to do it_) _two or three of them were shot_, a part of their cargo was _pillaged or destroyed_, and their camels exchanged for those of ours, which had been wounded. The Fate of the People, _for whose happiness we no doubt came to Egypt_, was no better. If, at our approach, terror made them leave their houses, they found on their return, nothing but _the Mud of which the Walls were composed_; utensils, ploughs, gates, roofs, everything served as fuel to boil our Soup; their pots were broken, their grain was eaten, their fowls and pigeons roasted, and nothing was left but the carcases of their dogs, _when they defended the Property of their Masters_. If we remained in their Villages, the wretches were _summoned to return_, under pain of being treated as _Rebels_, and, in consequence, _double Taxed_; and when they yielded to these Menaces, came _to pay their Tax_, it sometimes happened, that, from their great number, they were taken for a body of Revolters, their sticks for arms, and they received _some discharges of Musketry before there was time for explaining the Mistake_; the Dead were interred, and we remained friends, till a safe opportunity for revenge occurred. It is true, that when they staid at home, _paid the Tax, and supplied all the Wants of the Army_, they were saved the trouble of a Journey to a Residence in the Desert, _saw their Provisions consumed with regularity_, and _were allowed_ a Part of them, preserved some of their gates, sold their eggs to the Soldiers, AND HAD BUT FEW OF THEIR WIVES AND DAUGHTERS VIOLATED!’

Such was the Treatment which Egypt experienced; a Country which the French were desirous to possess, and to conciliate; very Different is their Design upon Great Britain, which it is their avowed Intention to Ravage, Plunder and Destroy.