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.