Howe (right), astride a dolphin, holds the end of a large union flag which serves as a sail. He drives before blasts issuing from two pairs of bellows (the nearer inscribed 'marats lungs') worked by frenchmen standing in the stern of french men-of-war, belonging to a fleet in full sail outside brest, a fortress on the extreme left. His coat-tails blow about his head. He and his fleet (sailing off to the right) are enveloped in a dark cloud of smoke issuing from a cauldron inscribed 'republican oil', which two demons are stirring and which rests on the back of a sea-monster with webbed wings or fins. This cloud is inscribed (left): 'citizen pluto's plan for raising a fog, wind, or hurricane at pleasure, to annoy the ennemy. Decreed. ' and (right): 'when our admiral wants to show fight he is always lost in a fog. ' howe says: "oh lord, when i get to torbay how folks will gape and stare, are you come back? the lord knows how. And been? the lord knows where!!!" in the water beside him is a paper: '300£ reward lost in a fog. ' in the foreground (right) is a rock inscribed 'torbay'. 10 december 1793. Hand-coloured etching. Date: 1793. Dimensions: Height: 241 mm; Width: 391 mm. Medium: paper. Depicted People: Adm Richard Howe, Earl Howe. Collection: British Museum. How a great admiral, with a great fleet, went a great way, was lost a great while, saw a great sight-& then came home for a little water (BM 1868,0808.6317)
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