A sequel to bmsat 5966. A fox (c. Fox) hangs from a gibbet, the conway family, as rats, dance triumphantly round him holding hands, the leader, general conway, blindfolded and led by the nose by shelburne. Shelburne (right) has two faces, his own looks smiling towards conway (not a rat), saying,
"huzza! my friends – huzza - the monster's dead, and we
full-merrily will dance, around his fatal tree
honours thick falling, shall our steps attend,
come where i lead - to glory we'll ascend. "
he waves his hat over his head. His other face, looking to the right is that of a devil; it says,
"unthinking fools! - who will as tenderly be led by the nose, as asses are - but if he (at whose overthrow they rejoice) scourged them with whips! they shall find i will chastise them with scorpions!"
general conway, blindfolded, looks towards shelburne. His sheathed sword is in his right hand, with his left he points up to the fox on the gallows, saying, "what i'm - political innocence - to be sure - ha! ha! ha! i'm the last to see what's obvious to all the world - am i? he! he! he!"
behind conway and holding to his coat-tail with his right hand is his brother, lord hertford (not a rat), in profile to the right, saying,
"all my prayr's are not in vain
for i shall have my place again. "
hertford had been forced to resign his post as lord chamberlain on the appointment of the new ministry, and the newspapers accused lady hertford of trying to curry favour with fox. See bmsat 5966. Hertford is in profile to the right. His left hand holds that of lady hertford, a stout lady with a rat's head, saying, "he! he! he! - well - i always said that dismal would come to be hang'd - ha! ha! ha!" with her left hand she holds that of her youngest son, here depicted as a young boy, who holds the hand of his young sister, cf. Bmsat 5966. The two children are on the extreme left of the circle of dancers; the little girl holds the hand of a grown-up sister wearing a hat, who says, "la mama! he stinks like poverty. " next comes a brother in regimentals, saying, "zounds! i'm almost afraid of this gunpowder – guy – fox - "though he be dead -" he holds by the hand a brother dressed as a clergyman, evidently the hon. Edward conway, canon of christchurch, who is saying,
"the year of jubillee is come
he's gone to his eternal home. "
the next brother, looking up at the fox with upturned eyes, says, "quite chop-fallen by heav'ns! - ha! ha! ha!" the last brother, in cockaded hat, says, pointing up at the fox with his right hand, "a nick by jupiter! - he! he! he!" on the gallows is inscribed, "sic transit gloria mundi". Below the design is engraved, "let me die the death of the righteous - and let my latter end be like his. " a cloud beside the cross-bar of the gibbet is drawn as a profile to the right, looking with an anxious expression towards fox and the words "sic transit". 2 august 1782
hand-coloured etching. Date: 1782. Dimensions: Height: 249 mm; Width: 335 mm. Medium: paper. Depicted People: Francis Seymour Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford. Collection: British Museum. The jubilee. (BM 1851,0901.91)
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