A design in two compartments. On the left a lean and ragged sansculotte, seated on a stool before a few sticks which burn on an open hearth (right), is ravenously eating raw onions, while he warms his bare toes at the fire. His finger- and toe-nails are long talons. He wears a bonnet rouge with a tricolour cockade, a long queue of unkempt hair is tied with a ribbon. From his pocket issue strips of paper inscribed '4 sous', '3 sous', and 'assignats'. He says: "o sacre dieu! - vat blessing be de liberte vive le assemblè nationale! - no more tax! no more slavery! - all free citizen! ha hah! by gar, how ve live! - ve svim in de milk & honey!" beside him on the ground (left) a sword lies across a fiddle. Over the fireplace is a confused map inscribed 'map of the french conquests'. Behind him (left) on a rough table is a chamber-pot filled with snails. The room is poverty-stricken with a broken casement window and a wall whose dilapidated plaster shows bricks. On the right an immensely fat englishman, whose gross appearance denotes the 'cit', is seated in an armchair at a circular table, carving a large joint of beef, which is flanked by a foaming tankard and a decanter of hock. The table-cloth is tied round his thick neck. His bloated face is blotched with drink, and he wears shoes slashed to relieve his gouty feet. He is plainly dressed and his wig hangs on the arm of his chair. He says: "ah! this cursed ministry! they'll ruin us, with their damn'd taxes! why, zounds! - they're making slaves of us all, & starving us to death!" on a bracket on the wall is a statuette of 'britannia', holding a spear and (in place of her shield) a large sack of 'sterling'. The luxury of the room is indicated by the armchair and a carpet. At this date, despite the ironical map of 'french conquests', the french had occupied brussels (14 nov. ) and incorporated savoy (27 nov. ), see bmsat 8143. For the progressive depreciation of assignats see 'camb. Mod. Hist. ' viii. 709, and cf. Bmsat 8150. The starving frenchman contrasted with the well-fed englishman was a familiar subject with gillray, cf. Bmsat 5612, &c. The fat englishman, interrupted in carving his beef, is copied in a french print, 'le neuf thermidor ou la surprise angloise', etched by j. B. Louvion, dated 'fructidor l'an 3e. ' blum, no. 606; challamel, ii. 49 (small copy). See vol. Vii. 21 december 1792
hand-coloured etching. Date: 1792. Dimensions: Height: 250 mm; Width: 350 mm. Medium: paper. Collection: British Museum. French Liberty. British Slavery (BM 1868,0808.6253 3)
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