Satire on the undue influence of lord bute in the negotiations to end of the seven years war. A scene on a busy wharf with masts of many ships, in the foreground, lord bute and princess augusta pull a child's chariot painted with a thistle in which sits a young lion (the king) on whose head is an upturned boot covering his eyes; a soldier, a sailor and a lawyer endeavour to halt the chariot by pulling on a rope attached to the axle; the duke of cumberland, dressed as a theatrical roman general, tries to stop bute by pushing at his shoulder. Behind this group is "the old british coffee house" on the balcony of which stand charles pratt, lord chief justice, william beckford, lord mayor of london, two army officers (one of whom is probably edward, duke of york) and william pitt who leans forward trying to remove the boot from the lion's head. On the left is "hospital for scotch pensioners"; william hogarth is standing on a ladder painting a thistle on the signboard; his paint pot, hanging from his shoulder, is lettered, "500/250" alluding to his payment as sergeant painter to the king. On the right, "the old british ware house" is stacked with bales of goods from newly acquired territories which might be returned under the terms of a peace treaty, "louisbourg", "quebec", "pondicherry", "martinico" and "guadeloup"; french and spanish merchants negotiate with their british counterparts. An unhappy crowd mills around behind the chief protagonists. 1762
etching and engraving. Date: 1762. Dimensions: Height: 174 mm (image); Width: 290 mm (image). Medium: paper. Depicted People: John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute. Collection: British Museum. A Wonderful Sight (BM 1868,0808.4184)
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