English Caricature and Satire on Napoleon I. Volume I (of 2)

There is another one with similar motif by Ansell, November 1, 1798.

The ‘destruction of the French Collossus’ (Gillray, November 1, 1798) is a painful picture. The huge creation strides from Egypt to France; its head being a skull, with vipers crawling in and out – its hands and feet being imbrued in blood; it clutches the guillotine, and tramples the Bible, Crucifix, and scales of Justice under foot. Round its neck is the bleeding head of Louis XVI. Britannia (typified by a shield of the national flag) hurls a thunderbolt, and shatters the huge statue into pieces.

CHAPTER XII

REVOLT AND MASSACRE AT CAIRO – CARICATURES OF THE CAPTURE OF FRENCH SHIPS – FIGHTING FOR THE DUNGHILL, ETC. – PRICE OF BREAD AND CONSOLS IN 1798

I have omitted an episode which, to be chronologically correct, should have been introduced earlier; and here, as usual, we find a French authority for what might seem an English slander: Émile de la Bédoliére, in his ‘Tableau Chronologique de l’Histoire de Napoléon,’ gives the story of the revolt at Cairo very tersely: —

October 21. – ‘During two months the Mussulmans patiently supported the yoke of the conquerors; but the establishment of a registration of landed property became the cause of a violent insurrection.

‘On the 30th Vendemaire, year VII. (October 21, 1798), a multitude ran through the streets, and massacred all the French they met. Bonaparte repaired to the scene, and took measures to cut the communications between the different quarters of the city, which were in the hands of the insurgents. Fifteen thousand of them took refuge in the great mosque, and refused to surrender. A hail of bombs, shells, and bullets, threatened to engulph them under the débris of their last asylum. Soon they uttered lamentable cries, implored the mercy of the general-in-chief, and surrendered at discretion.’

Combe thus versifies this event: —

Mock liberty caus’d disaffection,And soon commenc’d an insurrection.According to our hero’s planOf course a massacre began:The streets were clear’d, and all the menRan to the mosques for refuge then.The troops, tho’, having forc’d the doors,Strew’d with combustibles the floors,And such indeed the conflagration,It was a grand illumination;With screams and groans the air was fill’d,For some were burn’d and some were kill’d —All indiscriminately slain,Who had for quarter begg’d in vain.At length our hero was inclin’dTho’ somewhat slowly, to be kind;He granted quarter, and he trustedAll would be quietly adjusted.He knew, which certainly was verified,They had sufficiently been terrified.

Cruikshank, of course, grossly exaggerates the fact, and represents the French soldiery savagely attacking, even with pickaxes, the Egyptians who are endeavouring to escape from the mosque.

In November (12th) of this year, Rowlandson produced a plate called ‘High fun for John Bull, or the Republicans put to their last shift.’ This represents him as being in great glee at having captured so many ships, whilst the French are hard at work making fresh ones, which they are baking by batches in a Dutch Oven (an allusion to their being built in Holland). A Frenchman, with a large trayful of ships, calls out, ‘Sacre dieu, Citoyens, make a Haste wit one autre Fleet, den we will shew you how to make one grande Invasion.’ Another, a Spaniard, with a tray of cannon on his head, says, ‘How! That Nelson, wit one Arm and Eye can take our Ships by Dozens, then vat shall we do against the autres, wid two Arms and Eyes, dey will have two dozen at a time.’ A stolid Dutchman is baking a batch, grumbling the while, ‘Donder and Blaxam to dis Fraternization; instead of smoaking mine Pipes and sacking De Gold, dis French Broders make me build ships dat Mynheer Jan Bull may have de Fun to take dem.’ Another Frenchman adds, ‘Well you may talk, make haste, when dat English Nelson take our ships by the Douzaine.’

John Bull, who holds a whip in his hand, says, ‘What! you could not find that out before, you stupid Dupes; but since you began the fun, you shall keep on. So work away, Damn ye, else Jack Tar will soon be idle.’ A sailor carrying a trayful of ships on his head, calls out, ‘Push on, keep moving, I’ll soon come for another cargo. Old England for ever. Huzza!’

‘Fighting for the Dunghill – or – Jack Tar settling Buonaparte,’ is by Gillray, November 20, 1798. Napoleon is terribly punished, his body being a mass of bruises and wounds, the worst being a large one in the breast, and labelled Nelson. Blood is streaming from his nose, and Jack is driving him out of the world altogether, having his foot upon Malta, whilst Napoleon is insecure in Turkey. This engraving is an extremely typical one of the burly, beef-fed Englishman, and the ‘skinny Frenchman,’ the ‘Johnny Crapaud’ of the time, any number of whom an Englishman was supposed to be a match for —

One skinny Frenchman, two Portugee,One jolly Englishman beat ’em all three.

Napoleon is depicted by Gillray (December 8, 1798) as being in a fearful rage – and an extremely diverting sketch it is. It is called ‘Buonaparte hearing of Nelson’s Victory, swears by his sword to extirpate the English from off the Earth. See Buonaparte’s Speech to the French Army at Cairo, published by authority of the Directory in Volney’s Letters.’ His melodramatic pose, and costume, are superb. A huge cocked hat and feathers, the hat adorned with a crescent (to show his supposed Mahometan proclivities), as well as a tricoloured cockade, surmounts his head, which bears a most ferocious expression, somewhat heightened by the formidable pigtail which he wears. A huge green necktie is round his neck, and he wears a tricoloured scarf, in which are stuck a pistol and dagger; boots, with huge spurs, add to the dignity of the costume. He is waving his bloody sword, and stamps upon a paper, ‘Nelson’s Victory over the Fleet of the Republic,’ while he shouts out: ‘What? our Fleet captured and destroyed by the slaves of Britain? by my sword and by holy Mahomet I swear eternal Vengeance! yes, when I have subjected Egypt, subdued the Arabs, the Druses, and the Maronites; become master of Syria; turn’d the great river Euphrates, and sailed upon it through the sandy deserts; compelled to my assistance the Bedouins, Turcomans, Kurds, Armenians, and Persians; formed a million of cavalry, and pass’d them upon rafts, six or seven hundred miles over the Bosphorus, I shall enter Constantinople. Now I enter the Theatre of Europe, I establish the republic of Greece, I raise Poland from its ruins, I make Prussia bend ye knee to France, I chain up ye Russian bear, I cut the head from ye Imperial Eagle, I drive the ferocious English from the Archipelago, I hunt them from the Mediterranean, and blot them out from the catalogue of Nations. Then shall the conquer’d Earth sue for Peace, and an Obelisk be erected at Constantinople, inscribed “To Buonaparte, conqueror of the World, and extirpator of the English Nation.”’

This brings the year 1798 to a close of the prosperity, or otherwise, of which we may judge by the price of the quartern loaf, which averaged 8½d. for the year, and by the three per cent. Consols., which were 49-5/8 in January, and 52-5/8 in December; but in this, as in other stocks, there was much fluctuation: for instance, in September Consols. were 49-7/8; then came the news of the victory of the Nile, and up they went to 56½, only, however, to fall to 50½. But they rose again in November to 57-5/8, fell again to 52-1/8, and rose in December to 56.

CHAPTER XIII

REPORTED ATTEMPT TO ASSASSINATE NAPOLEON – HIS AMOUR WITH MADAME FOURÉS – THE EGYPTIAN CAMPAIGN – THE ‘SAVANTS’ – CARICATURES ON THEM

The new year opens with a somewhat curious print by I. Cruikshank, January 1, 1799, of the ‘Ghost of Buonaparte appearing to the Directory.’ The latter are in fearful dismay at the apparition, which, attired in the airiest of costume, shakes his notched sword at them, saying, ‘Regicides, Parricides, Matricides, and Patricides, this is the effect of your insatiable thirst for Conquest; this is your reward for my glorious Achievements in Italy, Germany, &c. – to die by the hand of an Assassin, a d – d Mussulman: and all my Brave Legions Destroyed by Water melons and the Arabs. Go, Murderers in cold blood, may your conscious guilt ever prey upon your vitals, and may the name of Nelson ever haunt you, sleeping and waking’! What is meant by his dying ‘by the hand of an Assassin,’ I do not know; but probably some rumour was afloat to that effect, as Barre observes: ‘Whilst Buonaparte and his army were thus cut off from Europe, the most absurd reports were spread (no doubt by the partisans of the artful Corsican) representing him as a victim of the Directory, who had thought proper to remove so great, famous, and fortunate a general.

‘They pretended that the Directory, unable to repay the signal services of Buonaparte, and, fearing, at the same time, his popularity, had contrived, with Talleyrand, to flatter the ambitious vanity of that young conqueror with an expedition, which would raise his fame above the glory acquired by Alexander, or Cæsar. They added, that, as Buonaparte was sure of being director at the next election, the Directory had resolved to put him out of the way, by sacrificing him and his army; having even directed that the fleet should be exposed to certain destruction, in order that no possibility could exist of his return.’

The ‘Times’ of January 2, 1799, has the subjoined: —

The following Epigram has been handed about in Paris. The French points are all that can be remembered by the Gentleman who has put it in an English dress.

‘France, to get rid of Turbulence,Sends her best Soldiers far from hence,With promises, and wishes, hearty;Pleas’d and content that what so e’erMay happen either here or there,To hazard all in Bonâ-parte.‘And still, though rous’d by home alarms,Nay, threatened by the world in arms,France holds her head up bold and hearty —Since now each Directorial Elf,By losing Bonaparte’s selfEnjoys the loss in Bonâ-parte.’

Meanwhile Napoleon was taking things pretty easily in Egypt, enjoying himself after his manner. It is a marvel that none of the English caricaturists ever depicted this portion of his life. True, Gillray, as we have seen, drew him in Turkish costume; but he never wore it but once, and then but for a very short time. But why did they spare him in his amour with Madame Fourés (Pauline, or Queen of the East, as the army christened her)? De Bourrienne makes no secret of it. He says: ‘About the middle of September in this year (1798), Buonaparte ordered to be brought to the house of Elfy Bey, half a dozen Asiatic women, whose beauty he had heard highly extolled. However, their ungraceful obesity displeased him, and they were immediately dismissed. A few days after, he fell violently in love with Madame Fourés,44 the wife of a lieutenant of Infantry. She was very pretty, and her charms were enhanced by the rarity of seeing a woman, in Egypt, who was calculated to please the eye of a European. Bonaparte engaged, for her, a house adjoining the palace of Elfy Bey, which he occupied. He frequently ordered dinner to be prepared there, and I used to go there with him at seven o’clock, and leave him at nine.

‘This connection soon became the general subject of gossip at head-quarters. Through a feeling of delicacy to M. Fourés, the General in Chief gave him a mission to the Directory. He embarked at Alexandria, and the ship was captured by the English, who, being informed of the Cause of his mission, were malicious enough to send him back to Egypt, instead of keeping him prisoner.’

But he was not one to waste much time in dalliance. Turkey was not at all satisfied with the occupation of Egypt, and two armies were assembled, one in Syria, and one at Rhodes; the former of which had already pushed forward into Egyptian territory as far as El-Arisch, and also a train of artillery had been placed at Jaffa (the ancient Joppa). The commander of this corps d’armée (Achmet Pacha) had earned the unenviable title of Djezzar, or the Butcher. Napoleon, very early in the year 1799, marched against him, his busy brain having schemed the plan of crushing these Turkish troops, a demonstration against Constantinople itself, a forced peace with the Porte, and then hey! for India. To pave the way for this latter he actually wrote to Tippoo Sahib, saying he was coming to deliver him from the English yoke, and requesting his answer, which he might possibly have received, had not Tippoo been killed on May 4 of that year.

Napoleon, by way of conciliating the Egyptians, assisted at the celebration of ‘Ramadan,’ with great pomp, which, naturally, would afford his detractors another opportunity for outcry at his Mahometan proclivities. As soon as it was over, he set out against Achmet Pacha, and, on February 17, El-Arisch capitulated, and the army marched to Gaza. How the vanguard lost their way, and their terrible sufferings in the desert, it boots not to tell. Gaza was taken, its stores were confiscated, and then Jaffa was their bourne, which was reached, and invested, on March 4.

Before reading the sad page of history which Jaffa gives us, let us glance at one or two caricatures which appeared in England about this time. Napoleon had taken with him, in his expedition to Egypt, Denon and divers other learned men to investigate the archæology of the country, &c., and most valuable were the services of ‘the Institute,’ as this body of savants was called. They furnished some fun to the army, and the cry, when any danger threatened, of ‘the Asses and the Savants to the centre,’ was naturally productive of mirth; the army also christening the asses ‘Demi-savants.’

Gillray makes great fun of the expedition to Egypt, and satirises the French soldiers unmercifully; nor do the poor savants who accompanied the army fare any better. A good example is the ‘Siege de la Colonne de Pompée, or Science in the Pillory,’ published March 6, 1799. At the foot of the picture is: ‘It appears by an intercepted letter from General Kleber, dated Alexandria, 5 brumaire, 7th year of the Republic, that when the garrison was obliged to retire into the New Town, at the approach of the Turkish Army, under the Pacha of Rhodes, a party of the sçavans, who had ascended Pompey’s Pillar for scientific purposes, was cut off by a Band of Bedouin Arabs, who, having made a large Pile of Straw, and dry Reeds, at the foot of the Pillar, set fire to it, and rendered unavailing the gallant defence of the learned Garrison, of whose Catastrophe the above design is intended to convey an idea.

‘To study Alexandria’s storeOf Science, Amru deem’d a boreAnd briefly set it burning.The Man was ignorant, ’tis true,So sought one comprehensive viewOf the light shed by learning.Your modern Arabs grown more wise,French vagrant Science duly prize;They’ve fairly bit the biters.They’ve learnt the style of Hebert’s Jokes,Amru to books confined his Hoax;These Bedouins roast the writers.’

The savants are, indeed, in a parlous state, on the broad summit of the pillar, exposed to fire from below, and the guns and pistols of the Arabs; they defend themselves as well as possible by hurling their globes, and scientific instruments, at their assailants, who are exceedingly astonished at them. A balloon, La Diligence d’Abyssinie, is fired at, and struck, the aeronauts, one of whom has a parachute, being precipitated to the ground.

‘The Institute,’ which was modelled on that of Paris, also gave scope to Gillray’s facile pencil, and he published a series of half a dozen plates, in the first one of which it was most amusingly caricatured. It was published on March 12, 1799, and called, ‘L’Insurrection de l’Institut Amphibie – The pursuit of Knowledge.’ A savant is depicted as studying a work ‘Sur l’Education du Crocodile,’ some plates from which have dropped out. They show how useful the crocodile may become, by training, to tow vessels, and to ride and drive on land. He evidently is intending to put his theories into practice, for he has brought with him, to the river’s side, a saddle, a fearfully cruel bridle, and a huge whip, when he is seized by an enormous saurian, and devoured. Another learned man, who has been reading ‘Les Droits du Crocodile,’ drops it, when he finds one of these creatures asserting its rights by seizing his coat-tails.

CHAPTER XIV

TAKING OF JAFFA, AND MASSACRE OF SOLDIERS – DE BOURRIENNE’S ACCOUNT – NAPOLEON’S OWN VERSION

It is sad to turn from this rollicking fun to the episode of Jaffa; but it cannot be dismissed, as it has afforded so much employment to the detractors of Napoleon, and to the English satirists of the time. First of all, let us give the version of an eye-witness (De Bourrienne), friend of, and secretary to, Napoleon. It is rather long, but no word of it can be omitted, as it gives every argument that can be brought forward to palliate the sickening massacre.

‘On the 4th of March we commenced the siege of Jaffa. That paltry place, which, to round a sentence, was pompously styled the ancient Joppa, held out only to the 6th of March, when it was taken by storm, and given up to pillage. The massacre was horrible. General Bonaparte sent his aides de camp, Beauharnais and Croisier, to appease the fury of the soldiers as much as possible, to observe what was passing, and to report to him. They learnt that a considerable part of the garrison had retired into some vast buildings, a sort of caravanserais, which formed a large enclosed court. Beauharnais and Croisier, who were distinguished by wearing the aide de camp scarf on the arm, proceeded to that place.

‘The Arnauts and Albanians, of whom these refugees were almost entirely composed, cried, from the windows, that they were willing to surrender, upon an assurance that they would be exempted from the massacre to which the town was doomed; if not, they threatened to fire on the aides de camp, and to defend themselves to the last extremity. The two officers thought that they ought to accede to the proposition, notwithstanding the decree of death which had been pronounced against the whole garrison, in consequence of the town being taken by storm. They brought them to our camp in two divisions, one consisting of about two thousand five hundred men, the other of about fifteen hundred.

‘I was walking with General Bonaparte, in front of his tent, when he saw this multitude of men approaching, and, before he even saw his aides de camp, he said to me in a tone of profound sorrow, “What do they wish me to do with these men? Have I food for them? ships to convey them to Egypt or France? Why, in the Devil’s name, have they served me thus?” After their arrival, and the explanations which the General in Chief demanded, and listened to with anger, Eugene and Croisier received the most severe reprimand for their conduct.

‘But the deed was done. Four thousand men were there. It was necessary to decide upon their fate. The two aides de camp observed, that they had found themselves alone in the midst of numerous enemies, and that he had directed them to restrain the carnage. “Yes, doubtless,” replied the General in Chief, with great warmth, “as to women, children, and old men – all the peaceable inhabitants; but not with respect to armed soldiers. It was your duty to die, rather than bring these unfortunate creatures to me. What do you want me to do with them?” These words were pronounced in the most angry tone.

‘The prisoners were then ordered to sit down, and were placed, without any order, in front of the tents, their hands tied behind their backs. A sombre fury was depicted in their countenances. We gave them a little biscuit and bread, squeezed out of the already scanty supply for the army.

‘On the first day of their arrival, a council of war was held in the tent of the General in Chief, to determine what course should be pursued with respect to them. The Council deliberated a long time without coming to any decision.

‘On the evening of the following day, the daily reports of the generals of division came in. They spoke of nothing but the insufficiency of the rations, the complaints of the soldiers – of their murmurs and discontent at seeing their bread given to enemies, who had been withdrawn from their vengeance, inasmuch as a decree of death, in conformity with the laws of war, had been passed on Jaffa. All these reports were alarming, and especially that of General Bon, in which no reserve was made. He spoke of nothing less than the fear of revolt, which would be justified by the serious nature of the case.

‘The Council assembled again. All the generals of division were summoned to attend, and, for several hours together, they discussed, under separate questions, what measures might be adopted, with the most sincere desire to discover and execute one which would save the lives of these unfortunate prisoners.

‘Should they be sent to Egypt? could it be done?

‘To do so, it would be necessary to send with them a numerous escort, which would too much weaken our little army in the enemy’s country. How, besides, could they and the escort be supported till they reached Cairo, having no provisions to give them on setting out, and, their route being through a hostile territory, which we had exhausted, which presented no fresh resources, and through which we, perhaps, might have to return?

‘Should they be embarked?

‘Where were the ships? where could they be found? All our optical instruments, directed over the sea, could not descry a single friendly sail. Bonaparte, I affirm, would have regarded such an event as a real favour of fortune. It was, and I am glad to have to say it, this sole idea, this sole hope, which made him brave, for three days, the murmurs of his army. But in vain was help looked for, seawards – It did not come.

‘Should the prisoners be set at liberty?

‘They would then proceed to St. Jean d’Acre to reinforce the Pacha, or else, throwing themselves into the mountains of Naplouse, would greatly annoy our rear and right flank, and deal out death to us, as a recompense for the life we had given them. There could be no doubt of this. What is a Christian dog to a Turk? It would even have been a religious and meritorious act in the eyes of the Prophet.

‘Could they be incorporated, disarmed, with our soldiers in the ranks?

‘Here again the question of food presented itself in all its force. Next came to be considered the danger of having such comrades, while marching through an enemy’s country. What might happen in the event of a battle before St. Jean d’Acre? Could we even tell what might occur during the march? and – finally – what must be done with them when under the ramparts of that town, if we should be able to take them there? The same embarrassments with respect to the questions of provisions, and security, would then recur with increased force.

‘The third day arrived without its being possible, anxiously as it was desired, to come to any conclusion favourable to the preservation of these unfortunate men. The murmurs in the camp grew louder – the evil went on increasing – remedy appeared impossible – danger was real and imminent.

‘The order for shooting the prisoners was given and executed on the 10th of March. We did not, as has been stated, separate the Egyptians from the other prisoners. There were no Egyptians.

‘Many of the unfortunate creatures composing the smaller division, which was fired on close to the sea-coast, at some distance from the other column, succeeded in swimming to some reefs of rocks out of the reach of musket shot. The soldiers rested their muskets on the sand, and, to induce the prisoners to return, employed the Egyptian signs of reconciliation, in use in that country. They came back; but, as they advanced, they were killed, and disappeared among the waves.’

Thus far De Bourrienne. Now let us hear what Napoleon himself says of the matter.45 ‘He spoke about the measures which he had caused to be taken at Jaffa. “After the assault,” said he, “it was impossible to restore any kind of discipline until night. The infuriated soldiers rushed into the streets in search of women. You know what kind of people the Turks are. A few of them kept up a fire in the streets. The soldiers, who desired nothing more, whenever a shot was discharged, cried out that they were fired upon from certain houses, which they immediately broke open, and violated all the women they found.”

‘I replied46 that Miot … positively asserted that he (Napoleon) had caused between three and four thousand Turks to be shot, some days after the capture of Jaffa. Napoleon answered: “It is not true that there were so many. I ordered about a thousand or twelve hundred to be shot, which was done. The reason was, that amongst the garrison of Jaffa, a number of Turkish troops were discovered, whom I had taken a short time before at El-Arish, and sent to Bagdat upon their parole not to serve again, or to be found in arms against me for a year. I had caused them to be escorted twelve leagues on their way to Bagdat, by a division of my army. But those Turks, instead of proceeding to Bagdat, threw themselves into Jaffa, defended it to the last, and cost me a number of brave men to take it, whose lives would have been spared, if the others had not reinforced the garrison of Jaffa. Moreover, before I attacked the town, I sent them a flag of truce. Immediately afterwards we saw the head of the bearer elevated on a pole over the wall. Now, if I had spared them again, and sent them away upon their parole, they would directly have gone to St. Jean d’Acre, where they would have played over again the same scene that they had done at Jaffa. In justice to the lives of my soldiers, as every general ought to consider himself as their father, and them as his children, I could not allow this.