T
478
zizylory
and
of Caricature
Grotefgue
the other feizing upon the prince's coronet, from which he is plucking
the feathers. Among other good caricatures on this occafion, perhaps
the finefl is a parody on Fufeli's picture of " The Weird Sifters," in which
Dundas, Pitt, and Thurlow, as the filters, are contemplating the moon,
the bright tide of whofe difc reprefents the face of the queen, and the
other that of the king, overcalt with mental darknefs. Gillray took a
ftrongly holtile view of the French revolution, and produced an immenie
number of caricatures againlt the French and their rulers, and their
friends, or fuppofed friends, in this country, during the period extending
from I790 to the earlier years of the prefent century. Through all the
changes of miniitry or policy, he feems to have fixed himfelf [irongly ou
individuals, and he ieldorn ceafed to caricature the perfon who had once
provoked his attacks. So it was with the lord chancellor Thurlow, who
became the butt of favage fatire in fome of his prints which appeared in
I792, at the time when Pitt forced him to refign the chancellorihip.
Among thefe is one of the boldeit caricatures which he ever executed.
It is a parody, fine almoli to fublirnity, on a well-known fcene in Milton,
and is entitled, " Sin, Death, and the Devil." The queen, as Sin, rufhes
to feparate the two combatants, Death (in the femblance of Pitt) and
Satan (in that of Thurlow). During the latter part of the century Gillray
caricatured all parties in turn, whether minifterial or oppofition, with
indifcriminate vigour; but his holtility towards the party of Fox, whom
he perfilted in regarding, or at leaft in reprefenting, as unpatriotic revo-
lutionitls, was certainly greateft. In 1803 he worked energetically againlt
the Addington minillry; and in 1806 he caricatured that which was
known by the title of " All the Talents," but during this later period of
his life his labours were more efpecially airnedat keeping up the fpirit of
his countrymen againit the threats and deiigns of our foreign enemies.
It was, in ea, the caricature which at that time met with the greateft
encouragement.
In his own perfon, Gillray had lived a life of great irregularity, and as
he grew older, his habits of diflipation and intemperance increafed, and
gradually broke down his intellect. Towards the year 181: he cealed
producing any original works ; the lalt plate he executed was a drawing