The Watchman of the State, 20 July 1797
Scope and Contents
By Isaac Cruikshank. Fox, dressed as a watchman, his lantern in his right hand, walks away (right) looking slyly towards a barrel of 'Gunpowder from Bedford Square' on the extreme left. He says, his right forefinger against his nose, "Matters is now in a proper Train Egad its high time for me to Shirra" ['Sherry off' is to run away. Grose, 'Dict. Vulgar Tongue', 1796.], off. On the barrel sits Bedford, wearing a spencer; he claps his hands at Horne Tooke, who is laying a train of powder from a powder-horn. Behind Bedford, his right hand resting on his shoulder, Lauderdale stands on the cask, wearing a bonnet-rouge and saying, "Now we are safe go on with it". A paper, 'Lauderdale agt Errol', protrudes from his pocket. Against the barrel lies a firebrand. Sheridan, behind Fox, kneels down, applying a lighted match to a second train of powder. Thelwall ('Norwich Lectures' protruding from his pocket) and Stanhope, who holds a dark lantern, have laid a third train on the right. Thelwall lights a match at Stanhope's lantern. These three trains of powder lead respectively to three doors in a gothic building which forms a background. Above the door on the left is the word 'Constitution', surmounted by a crown. The centre door is that of the 'House of Commons', the third (right) that of the 'House of Lords'. Description from the British Museum.
Dates
- Creation: 20 July 1797
Conditions Governing Access
Available by appointment in our Reading Room
Extent
1 Item(s)
Language of Materials
English
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections and Archives Repository
Western Bank Library
University of Sheffield
Western Bank
Sheffield South Yorkshire S10 2TN United Kingdom
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