Lord barrymore and his two brothers are represented as figurines on the shelf of a chimney-piece, along which the title is etched. Each stands on a circular pedestal inscribed: (left to right) 'a hell-gate blackguard', 'a newgate scrub', and 'a cripplegate monster', the three brothers being known as newgate, hellgate, and cripplegate. In the centre barrymore, as scrub, is seated as in act iii of farquhar's play, when in conference with archer: dressed in livery and wearing an apron, his hands on his knees (cf. Bmsat 6221). On the left augustus barry, stripped to the waist and wearing boxing-gloves with a high hat, stands in the attitude of a pugilist, which his extreme thinness makes ridiculous. On the right henry barry grins and capers, holding a toy whirligig. He wears the fashionable dress of the bloods of the moment: high hat, long tight breeches reaching almost to the ankle, short wrinkled top-boots with enormous spurs. His coat is slipping off his shoulders and fastened by one button (a caricature of the fashion); all have cropped hair, cf. Bmsat 8040, &c. Over barrymore's head is the lower part of a bust-portrait of the prince of wales in an oval frame. Beneath the title eighteen lines of verse are etched:
'to whip a top, to knuckle down at taw
"to swing upon a gate, to ride a straw
"to play at push-pin with dull brother peers. . . . "to coin newfangled wagers, and to lay 'em,
"laying to lose, and losing not to pay 'em,
"the magots, on that stock which nature gives
"without a rival stand:' 1 november 1791
hand-coloured etching. Date: 1791. Dimensions: Height: 353 mm; Width: 352 mm. Medium: paper. Depicted People: Reverend Hon. Augustus Barry ['Newgate']. Collection: British Museum. Les trois magots. (BM 1868,0808.10337 1)
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