CARICATURES ABOUT THE FRENCH INVASION--FOX’S FRENCH
PROCLIVITIES--PATRIOTISM IN THE COUNTRY--EXPEDITION TO
EGYPT--NELSON’S BLUNDERS--LANDING IN EGYPT--NAPOLEON AS A
MAHOMETAN--HIS PROCLAMATIONS.
In 1798 the caricatures with regard to the relations between France
and England became more numerous, and in this year the personal entity
of Napoleon is confessed, and his likeness, a somewhat rough one, but
still recognisable, is established. An early one in this year is,
the ‘Storm Rising, or the Republican Flotilla in danger,’ Feb. 1798,
by Gillray. Fox, Sheridan, the Duke of Bedford, and Mr. Tierney are
represented as working a windlass, which is used to pull over the
Flotilla. This is represented by a huge raft bristling with cannon;
a large fort is in the centre, and minor ones all around which bear
flags inscribed ‘Liberty, Atheism, Blasphemy, Invasion, Requisitions,
Plunder, Beggary, Murder, Destruction, Anarchy, and Slavery. It is
represented as coming from Brest, where the devil is seen dancing on
a guillotine, fiddling, and singing, “Over de Vater! over de Vater to
Charley!”’ Fox’s coat lies on the ground, together with a paper, a
‘List of the New Republican Ministry. Citizen Volpone (Fox) Premier.’
Their designs, however, are being defeated by Pitt, who as Eolus, is
raising a storm, and blowing against the Flotilla, the Admirals Duncan,
Curtis, Howe, Gardiner, Trollope, Colpoys, St. Vincent, Seymour,
Parker, and Onslow. A somewhat similar idea was worked out in a
caricature by Isaac[36] Cruikshank, January 28, 1789.
In March Sir John Dalrymple drew, and Gillray etched, a series of four
caricatures. The first was called the ‘Consequences of a successful
French Invasion,’ and it shows the French clearing out the House of
Commons, and the members in fetters. The second engraving is, ‘We
explain de Rights of Man to de Noblesse.’ Paine’s doctrines are being
carried out in far more than their entirety. A guillotine takes the
place of the throne, and the French commander orders, à la Cromwell,
one of his men, ‘Here, take away this bauble! but if there be any gold
on it take it to my lodging.’
[Illustration]
The next one is a slap in the face for Ireland, and is called, ‘We fly
on the wings of the wind to save the Irish Catholics from persecution,’
and French sympathy is shown by a priest being stabbed, and the holy
vessels trampled on.
The fourth is ‘Me teach de English Republicans to work,’ and the French
are represented as cruel taskmasters. Men and women are put to work in
the fields, and Republicans, with fearful whips, keep them up to the
mark of efficiency. Others are harnessed to a plough, and are kept well
to their work by a most cruel lash.
Napoleon gave up all idea of invading England, and in May the
expedition to Egypt was formed.
Fox’s French proclivities are shown in a caricature (the Shrine of
St. Anne’s Hill,[37] May 26, 1798, Gillray) where he is seen on his
knees before an altar, on which are a cap of liberty, and two busts of
Robespierre and Buonaparte. The reredos is composed of a guillotine,
and the tables of the ten commandments are labelled ‘Droit de l’homme.
1. Right to worship whom we please. 2. Right to create and bow down to
anything we chuse to set up. 3. Right to use in vain any name we like.
4. Right to work 9 days in the Week and do what we please on the tenth.
5. Right to honor both Father and Mother when we find it necessary.
6. Right to Kill. 7. Right to commit Adultery. 8. Right to Plunder.
9. Right to bear what Witness we please. 10. Right to covet our
Neighbour’s house and all that is his.’ Nichols, Tierney, Lauderdale,
Bedford, Lansdowne, and Norfolk, appear in the upper background as
Cherubin.
When the invasion panic was abroad, patriotism was rampant, and
everybody was very brave--on paper. This was the sort of stuff the
people were fed on, of which I will give but two or three verses out of
the eight.[38]
While deeds of Hell deface the World,
And GALLIA’S throne in ruin lies,
While round the Earth revolt is hurl’d,
And Discord’s baneful Banner flies--
Loud shall the loyal BRITON sing
To arms! to arms! your bucklers bring,
To shield our Country, guard our King,
And GEORGE and ENGLAND save.
Ne’er shall the desolating Woe
That shades with horror Europe o’er,
To us her hideous image shew,
Or steep in blood this happy shore;
Firm as our rock-bound Isle we’ll stand,
With watchful eye and iron hand,
To wield the might of BRITAIN’S land,
And GEORGE and ENGLAND save.
Oh, happy Isle! wise order’d State!
Well temper’d work of Freedom’s hand!
No Shock of Realms can touch thy fate,
If Union bind thy sea-girt Land!
Vainly the storms shall round thee ring,
While BRITAIN’S sons in concord sing,
We’ll shield our Country, guard our King
And GEORGE and ENGLAND save.
To give some idea of the commotion caused by the threat of invasion,
and yet not to be wearisome on the subject, I will only give the
warlike items in the number of the _True Briton_, from which the above
verses are taken, and which may be accepted as a fair sample. ‘We
understand that the Duke of Bedford has received an answer from his
Royal Highness the Commander in Chief to his offer of service, that
it would be highly acceptable to the Government if he would exert his
influence in Devonshire for the defence of the Coast.’ ‘His Grace
the Duke of Grafton has not only offered to furnish his waggons and
horses to Government, in case of emergency, but has also expressed
his desire to encourage all his neighbours and tenants to assist with
their persons and teams as far as may be in their power.’ ‘Last week
there was a respectable Meeting of the Inhabitants of Stowmarket, at
which it was unanimously agreed to form a Volunteer Corps of Infantry
for the defence of that Town and Hundred.’ ‘In the county of Bedford,
Lord Ongley, Mr. Trevor, and Mr. Whitbread, raise, each of them, a
troop of Yeomanry. The town of Bedford raises a troop of Volunteer
Cavalry.’ ‘A Meeting was held at Newmarket on Sunday last, after
Divine Service, for aiding Government in case of Invasion, pursuant
to the Regulations of Mr. Dundas’s Defence Bill; when the Inhabitants
all came forward in a very laudable manner for that purpose, and most
of the labourers offered their services as pioneers, or in any other
capacity that may be deemed necessary.’ ‘The farmers of the Parish
of Tarvin, in Cheshire, have set a noble example to their brethren
throughout the Kingdom, in having entered into an agreement that they
will, at a moment’s notice, in case of actual invasion, or imminent
danger thereof, furnish their respective teams, with able horses and
drivers, for the service of Government, free from any payment or
gratuity whatever; and the number of each which they bind themselves to
furnish, are 39 waggons, 68 carts, 347 horses, and an adequate number
of drivers.’
This is the voluntary, patriotic side of the question; take next
day’s paper, and we see, ‘There was a sharp press from the ships in
Yarmouth Roads on Tuesday evening, by which means some good Seamen were
procured.’
There is a vast amount of humour in ‘Anticipation, Ways and Means,
or Buonaparte really taken’ (I. Cruikshank, August 13, 1798). This
represents a booth at a country fair, where a Pierrot in tricolour
costume (Fox), is showing to a lot of yokels a highly imaginative
show canvas of Napoleon, with huge mouth and teeth, goggle eyes, two
daggers, and immense boots and spurs. ‘To be seen here alive, the noted
Bony Parte, from Egypt. ☞ An undoubted likeness.’ With tears streaming
down his cheeks, he assures his audience that ‘he is certainly taken. I
never was so pleased at any event in the whole course of my life.’
Pitt, who, suffering from gout, sits down and acts as trumpeter to the
show, addresses the people thus: ‘Believe me, I do not mean to deceive
you this time: he is really _taken_, and in this Booth at this present
moment. Out with your pence good people--don’t be so shy--Tumble up Mr.
Bull--the only booth in the fair! don’t be alarm’d--he is perfectly
tame I assure you.’
The expedition to Egypt may be said to be the starting-point from
which came the numerous caricatures of Napoleon. Before this, he had
been known only by his victorious career in Italy, and had never come
into active hostility with England; but now that we were to measure
our strength with the Chief of the ‘Army of England,’ he became an
important person, and, consequently, the caricaturists, ever feeling
the public pulse, took him up, and found it to their benefit.
The occupation of Egypt by the French, if successful, would have led to
their attacking our empire in India, and this was Napoleon’s design.
Why the flotilla was ever allowed to go on its way unmolested, is
hard to conceive; but it was so, and on May, 19, 1798, sailed out of
Toulon 13 sail of the line, 7 frigates, 62 gunboats, and 400 transport
vessels, having 20,000 troops and large quantities of military stores
on board. There were also 121 men learned in different branches of
science, who accompanied the expedition, and the whole was under the
supreme command of Napoleon.
On June 11 they reached Malta, which surrendered without resistance,
and then went on their way. Nelson followed them, and got to Malta,
where he arrived on the 22nd, only to find that the French had left
some days before, on which he sailed for Alexandria, getting there on
June 28, but found no news of the French fleet; so, instead of waiting
for them, he steered northward for Caramania, and then went to Sicily;
whence, after refitting, he sailed again for Alexandria.
In the meantime the French, of course, took advantage of his (to them)
lucky absence; and, on July 2, they disembarked the army, and took
possession of Alexandria, but not without some loss on the side of the
French; and the bodies of the soldiers thus slain were by Napoleon’s
orders buried at the foot of Pompey’s Pillar, and their names were to
be engraved on the Column.
And now, as it will be a frequent article of impeachment against
Napoleon in this book, let us examine into the truth of his turning
Mahometan, and see, first, what foundation it had in fact from the
mouths of his own countrymen. De Bourrienne gives a proclamation made
by Napoleon to his soldiers before their arrival in Egypt, from which I
extract only those sentences bearing on this subject:--
Head Quarters, on board the ‘Orient.’
The 4th Messidor, Year VI. (June 22, 1798.)
Soldiers,--The people amongst whom you are going to live, are
Mahometans. The first article of their faith is this: ‘There is
no God but God, and Mahomet is his Prophet.’ Do not contradict
this. Behave to them as you have behaved to the Jews--to the
Italians. Pay respect to their muftis, and their imams, as you
did to the rabbis and the bishops. Extend to the ceremonies
prescribed by the Alcoran, and to the Mosques, the same
toleration which you showed to the synagogues, to the religion
of Moses, and of Jesus Christ. The Roman legions protected all
religions.
And again, the same author says: ‘On arriving at Alexandria, the
General in Chief issued a proclamation to the people of Egypt, which,
besides adverting to the insults and extortions experienced by French
merchants from the Beys, contained the following passages:--
‘“People of Egypt,--You will be told that I am come to destroy your
religion--do not believe it. Be assured that I come to restore your
rights, to punish the usurpers, and that I respect more than the
Mamelukes, God, his prophet, and the Alcoran. Tell them that all men
are equal in the eye of God; wisdom, talents, and virtue make the only
difference.
‘“Cadis, Sheiks, Imans, Scorbajis, tell the people that we are the
friends of the true Mussulmans. Have we not destroyed the Pope, who
says that war ought to be made upon Mussulmans? Have we not destroyed
the Knights of Malta, because those bigots believed that God required
them to raise their swords against the Mussulmans?”’
And again (still quoting from the same authority), in a proclamation
to the people of Cairo, dated from Ghizeh, 4th Thermidor, year VI.
(July 22, 1798): ‘Fear nothing for your families, your houses, or your
property; and least of all, for the religion of the prophet, which I
respect (_j’aime_).’
In another proclamation to the inhabitants of Cairo, according to
‘Buonapartiana,’ he is made to say: ‘Make known to the people that
since the world has been a world, it was written, that having destroyed
the _enemies of Islamism_, _the Cross_ should be thrown down; I have
come from the extreme confines of the West, to fulfil the task which
has been imposed upon me. Shew your people that in the book of the
Koran, in more than twenty passages, that what has happened has been
predicted, and that what will happen is equally explained.’
In a French History[39] he is described as conversing with the Muftis
and Imams in the Pyramid of Cheops. At p. 171 he says, ‘Honour to
Allah!’ at p. 172, ‘Glory to Allah! There is no other God but God,
Mahomet is his prophet, and I am one of his friends;’ and at p. 173,
‘Mufti, I thank you, the divine Koran is the joy of my soul, and the
occupation of my eyes. I love the prophet; and I am reckoning, before
long, to see and honour his tomb in the Holy City.’
[Illustration: DEMOCRATIC RELIGION.
Bonaparte turning Turk at Cairo for Interest, after swearing on the
Sacrement to support y^e Catholic Faith.]
It is not worth while to multiply instances. His policy led him to
conciliate the people, and, probably, his utterances were rather
more in accordance with their religious ideas than would have been
conformable in the mouth of a zealous Christian. But to the English
caricaturist and satirist they were _bonnes bouches_, and they twisted
and distorted them to suit their purposes. It became almost an article
of belief with the average Englishman, that Napoleon had embraced the
Mahometan religion. Were there not his own proclamations to prove it?
Gillray even depicted him as undergoing a ceremony of reception into
the Mahometan religion, surrounded as he is by Muftis, one of whom puts
a turban on his head, another sonorously reads from the Koran, whilst a
third brandishes a fearful knife for circumcision.