A Rake's Progress, Plate 4, William Hogarth, 1735

A scene in st james's street (after the painting at sir john soane's museum) with tom emerging from a sedan-chair to be arrested for debt; figures in the foreground include a welshman, probably the creditor, honouring st david's day (march 1st) with a leek in his hat, sarah young dropping her seamstress's box as she offers a purse of money to reprieve her former lover, a lamp-lighter carelessly spilling oil on tom's head, and a shoe-black apparently taking advantage of the situation to take hold of tom's elegant walking stick; in the distance is the gate of st james's palace with a crowd of sedan-chairs approaching to celebrate the birthday of queen caroline. 1735 etching and engraving. Date: 1735. Dimensions: Height: 357 mm; Width: 408 mm. Medium: paper. Collection: British Museum. A Rake's Progress, Plate 4 (BM S,2.42)