The watchman of the state., Isaac Cruikshank, 1797

Fox, dressed as a watchman, his lantern in his right hand, walks away (right) looking slyly towards a barrel of 'gunpowder from bedford square' on the extreme left. He says, his right forefinger against his nose, "matters is now in a proper train egad its high time for me to shirra" ['sherry off' is to run away. Grose, 'dict. Vulgar tongue', 1796. ], off. On the barrel sits bedford, wearing a spencer (see bmsat 8192); he claps his hands at horne tooke, who is laying a train of powder from a powder-horn. Behind bedford, his right hand resting on his shoulder, lauderdale stands on the cask, wearing a bonnet-rouge and saying, "now we are safe go on with it". A paper, 'lauderdale agt errol', protrudes from his pocket. Against the barrel lies a firebrand. Sheridan, behind fox, kneels down, applying a lighted match to a second train of powder. Thelwall ('norwich lectures' protruding from his pocket) and stanhope, who holds a dark lantern, have laid a third train on the right. Thelwall lights a match at stanhope's lantern. These three trains of powder lead respectively to three doors in a gothic building which forms a background. Above the door on the left is the word 'constitution', surmounted by a crown. The centre door is that of the 'house of commons', the third (right) that of the 'house of lords'. 20 june 1797 hand-coloured etching. Date: 1797. Dimensions: Height: 253 mm; Width: 356 mm. Medium: paper. Depicted People: Francis Russell, 5th Duke of Bedford. Collection: British Museum. The watchman of the state. (BM 1868,0808.6644 1)