John bull (left), a stout countryman wearing jack-boots, rides (right to left) through a wood on a wretched hack, ready to fall under his weight. Pitt kneels on the ground (right) in profile to the left, aiming a blunderbuss (which is supported on crossed sticks) point-blank at john; it is inscribed 'standing army'. He masquerades as a beggar: his dress is tattered, on the ground is his hat, containing coins; he says: "good sir, for charity's sake \ "have pity upon a poor ruin'd man; - \ "drop if you please, a few bits of \ "money into the hat, & you shall \ "be rewarded hereafter -" from his coat-pocket project a cocked pistol and a paper: 'forced loan in reserve'. He points to a document on the ground beside him: 'humble petition, for voluntary - contribution subscriptions & new taxes, to save the distres'd from taking worse courses. '
john bull has dropped his righteins and holds his hat, full of guineas; he looks with melancholy distrust at pitt, but drops guineas into his hat. His horse, disfigured with sores, is evidently the white horse of hanover, its head-band is red and blue, the windsor uniform (cf. Bmsat 8691, &c). From the bushes behind pitt emerge the heads and shoulders of (right to left) dundas, grenville, and burke, each with a pistol levelled at john bull. Dundas wears highland dress, grenville peer's robes and a grenadier's cap with the letters 'wm r' (cf. Bmsats 7479, 7494, &c. ): he looks down reflectively at pitt instead of at his victim, implying that he is his cousin's henchman; burke has a pen in his hat. On the left is a signpost pointing (right) 'from constitution hill' (cf. Bmsat 8287) and (left) 'to slavery slough by beggary corner. ' 10 december 1796
hand-coloured etching. Date: 1796. Dimensions: Height: 259 mm; Width: 355 mm. Medium: paper. Depicted People: Edmund Burke. Collection: British Museum. Begging no Robbery;-i.e.- Voluntary Contribution;-or-John Bull escaping a Forced Loan (BM 1868,0808.6575)
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