Satire on methodism, especially on george whitefield, showing him preaching in the open air outside a town. He is shown with large ears, his arms outstretched, standing on a three-legged stool; a female devil on his left blows a trumpet, a male devil on his right syringes his ear with a clyster, and beneath the stool another devil reaches out to grasp coins lying on the ground. Nearerst to the preacher are a man with a disproportionately large head and another with the head of a wolf who hold prayer books; an old woman looks towards man with the head of a dog who clasps his hands and looks up admiringly at whitefield; a butcher holding marrow bone and cleaver stands behind. The remainder of the crowd consists of followers of whitefield who, hypocritically, prevent people from going about their business on sunday: two men, one a barber carrying a large pole, remonstrate with an elaborately dressed young prostitute who lets coins fall from her hand; the scene is watched by a young carpenter into whose ear an old woman is muttering; behind this group a middle-aged woman accosts a distracted artist holding a porte-crayon; a bewigged old man holds a boy under the chin turning his head towards the preacher. On the right, a constable and two other man interfere with a family of fruitsellers: a young girl on her knees pleads with them as they fill a sack with fruit from her basket; the constable pushes the woman's shoulder so that she lets drop her baby and her table of fruit collapses; her husband remonstrates in vain. Further off, to right, two men quarrel violently, one brandishing a large joint of meat, while another shrinks away, and to left, a devil sits on a clifftop blowing a fire with bellows. 2 may 1763
etching with engraved lettering. Date: 1763. Dimensions: Height: 243 mm; Width: 313 mm. Medium: paper. Depicted People: George Whitefield. Collection: British Museum.
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