print;
satirical print
- Museum number
- 1868,0808.7320
- Title
- Object: The glorious pursuit of ten against seventeen.
- Description
-
Nelson leads a party of nine sailors against Frenchmen and Spaniards who flee towards the sea (l.). He points with his sabre to the distant fugitives, looking over his left. shoulder at his men to say: "The Enemy are flying before you My brave fellows, Seventeen against Ten of us, crowd all the Sail you can, and then for George - Old England Death or Victory!!!" There are approximately eighteen fugitives in the background; one or two wear cloaks to show that they are Spaniards. They say: "By Gar dare be dat tam Nelson dat Salamander dat do love to live in de fire, by Gar we make haste out of his Way or he blow us all up." The English sailors run forward in a bunch, waving sabres and hats, one taking tobacco from his box. Four say respectively: "Why! you sculking lubberly Dons & French Monkeys what are you running away for, we only want to give you an Eternal-Hug as you call it [for the 'fraternal hug' cf. BMSat 8119 (1792)]"; "My Noble Commander We'll follow y[ou] the World over, & Shiver my Timbers but we shall soon bring up our lee way and then as sure as my Name is Tom Grog we'll give them another touch of the Battle of the Nile"; "May I never hope to see Poll again, if I would not give a whole Months Flip ['Pay' has been erased and replaced by 'Flip', presumably nautical slang.] if these lubberly Parly vous would but just stop one half Watch"; "and Nelson gallant Nelson applauded shall be - Huzza. Others echo Huzza! Huzza!" In the background (r.) two sailors stand together; one says: "its d------d hard tho he won't let us help to brush their Jacket en't it Jack." After the title:
'"God like his Courage seem'd whom nor Delight
"Could soften, nor the Face of Death affright.
Waller' July 1805?
Hand-coloured etching
- Production date
- 1805
- Dimensions
-
Height: 247 millimetres
-
Width: 348 millimetres
- $Inscriptions
-
- Curator's comments
- (Description and comment from M.Dorothy George, 'Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires in the British Museum', VIII, 1947)
This must relate to Nelson's chase of Villeneuve,with ten ships of the line, from the Mediterranean to the West Indies. With ships foul after long cruising, he chased the combined squadrons of eighteen ships of the line, freshly equipped, and having 31 days' start (on 11 May). 'Ann. Reg.', 1805, pp. 225 ff.; Mahan, 'Influence of Sea Power 1793-1812', ii. 160 ff. See also BMSat 10423.
Broadley, i. 227.
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1868
- Department
- Prints and Drawings
- Registration number
- 1868,0808.7320