an ass's ears added, is suspended on a gallows.
_May 1, 1814._ _Irish Jaunting Car._--Hull, Esq., del. Etched by T.
Rowlandson. Published by T. Rowlandson, 1 James Street, Adelphi.
_May 8, 1814._ _Peace and Plenty._ Published by T. Tegg (324).--The
artist's view of the situation, with the smiling prospect of peace
as set forth in 1814, was somewhat premature, as the more desperate
events of the year following amply confirmed; but, with a general
concord prevailing amongst the Allies, with the restless 'disturber of
the peace of Europe' safely dismissed to the Island of Elba, there
to amuse his giant ambition by administering affairs in his miniature
kingdom, the old monarchy being comfortably restored to France for an
interval, it was generally concluded that the world would once more be
suffered to move along pacifically, and that a new era of plenty and
commercial prosperity was reopening.
[Illustration: PEACE AND PLENTY.]
_Peace and Plenty_ are represented much as such things look on the
eve of a congress of military powers, _Peace_ meaning the forces held
in readiness, and _Plenty_, in this case, referring principally to
the war-chest, a plentiful supply of artillery, powder, shell and
shot, and other offensive materials. The scene is fixed on one of the
fortifications which had been set up to protect the security of our
coasts; the cliffs of 'old England' bristle with Martello towers and
island defences. A drummer is sleeping tranquilly, with his arm and
head resting on his instrument, and a pile of cannon balls by his side;
there are great guns of brass and iron, with a mortar and shells, ready
for use, while sentries are on the look-out, and the soldiers are fully
equipped. The British standard is flying, and an air of gallantry is
introduced by the presence of certain buxom females, who are exciting
the admiration of the soldiers of the garrison gathered around the
Dulcineas and ogling and flirting with the skittish fair, whose ample
proportions are such as to win the hearts and turn the heads of these
'sons of Mars,' released for a while from 'war's alarms,' of which the
warriors were becoming reasonably tired after so many years of hard and
comparatively profitless campaigning.
_May 15, 1814._ _Macassar Oil: an oily puff for soft heads._--It is
rather a question whether subjects similar to the present, in which
some popular nostrum was held up to ridicule, were wholly playful or in
part executed to order--a skilful method of indirect puffing much and
ingeniously practised in the magazines and other channels of the day.
The wondrous fluid Macassar is seen in application. A stout old party
has laid off his fool's cap and is seated in an armchair, undergoing
a trial of the efficacy of the oil: the perfectly bald head of the
subject is a good field for its employment, and the operator--who, by
some inconsistency characteristic of vendors of hair restoratives, is
quite bereft of hair himself--is sleepily pouring oil from a flask
over the broad surface beneath him. A lady has apparently been making
a trial of the process, and on consulting the looking-glass she seems
amazed to find a bushy head of hair pushing itself straight upwards
with amazing vigour. Round the apartment are files of bottles, 'wig
oil, one guinea per bottle,' and notices, 'Wonderful discovery: carroty
or grey whiskers changed to black, brown, or blue, &c.'
_June 14, 1814._ _Miseries of London, or a Surly Hackney Coachman._
_June 20, 1814._ _Rural Sports, or a Pleasant Way of Making Hay._
Published by T. Tegg (16).--In the rear are lasses raking the hay
together, and lads are tossing the loads on to the well-filled wains.
In the front of the picture is a group of boisterous haymakers of both
sexes, who, throwing aside their rakes and forks, are tumbling the hay
about by armfuls, rolling one over another in the grass, and sprawling
about in picturesque confusion.
_July 14, 1814._ _The Rivals._ Published by T. Rowlandson, James
Street. (See 1812.)
[Illustration: PORTSMOUTH POINT.]