Raising the Royal George, 1782

Four men stand in an open boat, each tugging at a rope attached to the king, whose hands and crowned head appear above the water. A "diving bell" with the head of a judge floats behind the king, attached to the boat by a slack rope. On the shore (right) stand two men looking at the boat; one is fox with a fox's head, the other burke. The stern of the boat (left) is inscribed "victory's boat. Holding the tiller and looking over his left shoulder with a frown is keppel, saying, "yeo oh"; [on the print in an old hand is written 'lord sandwich'. But he resembles keppel, not sandwich, who moreover could scarcely be associated with the other three in the boat, all members of shelburne's ministry] next him, one foot on the gunwale of the boat, and pulling his rope with both hands, is shelburne, saying, "i oh". Next him is dunning (ashburton) in legal gown and bands; he turns his head to shelburne saying, "hum oh" (cf. Bmsat 6091, 6173). On the right of the boat, and leaning over to the right, one foot on the gunwale, is the duke of richmond. He looks down at the judge in the diving-bell (probably thurlow) saying, "never fear to dive my lord, that's born to be hang'd will never be drown'd". The judge says "i'll go down because i am a judge". Fox, who stands with his hands in his pockets, says, "as maligrida [shelburne] now does reign, all their labour is in vain. " burke, pointing at the boat, says, "if boreas was here he woul'd much swell and prevent the efects of the diving bell. " 5 december 1782 etching. Date: 1782. Dimensions: Height: 263 mm; Width: 366 mm. Medium: paper. Depicted People: Edmund Burke. Collection: British Museum.