The ministry (left) and the opposition (right), in the guise of cats and dogs, fight for the loaves and fishes, the ministry being in possession and on the defensive. Fox and pitt as two cats with human faces spit at each other in the foreground, pitt's right fore-paw is on two fish, but he is a smaller animal than fox, who glares threateningly. Behind him are pepper arden (a cat) and archibald macdonald (a dog), attorney- and solicitor-general, both with legal wigs. Beside them is a solid rectangular pile of loaves surmounted by a basket of fish. A dog with a collar inscribed 'keny[ori]' prowls on the summit of the pile. Two cats, probably intended for rose and steele, the treasury secretaries, furtively snatch fish from the basket. On the extreme left behind fox appears the head of the duke of norfolk, as a sleeping dog, his collar inscribed 'nor. ' (reversed). Behind them a line of hungry dogs yaps at the loaves and fishes. Three have dogs' heads and cannot be identified; on the collar of one is 'anon'. The others are sherry (sheridan), burke, wearing spectacles, his mouth dripping saliva, and on the extreme left 'sir gy co[oper]'. Beneath the title is etched:
'like cats and dogs they swear and growl,
and spit their venom just as foul;
till some old tabby interposes,
and order their scolding closes. ' march 1787
etching. Date: 1787. Dimensions: Height: 227 mm; Width: 355 mm. Medium: paper. Depicted People: Richard Pepper Arden, 1st Baron of Alvanley. Collection: British Museum. Parliamentary Personalities (BM 1868,0808.5634)
Loading...
