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Scotch Amusements.

Scotch Amusements.

[Oxford Magazine] [n.d. c.1768]
Engraving, plate 110 x 180mm (4˝ x 7"), with large margins. Time stained.
Satire on the Scots and their purported pleasures, focusing on John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute (1713-1792), his supposed relationship with Augusta, Princess of Wales (1719-1772), and his suggested influence on behalf of his compatriots. At the top, a Scotsman playing "Through the Wood Laddy through the Wood Laddy" on his bagpipes is heard as Bute and the Princess share an embrace on a bench in a park in Kew Gardens, which can be recognized by the pagoda in the distance. His foot is resting on the neck of a prone Britannia. A large man sitting in an armchair in the foreground, wearing a tartan waistcoat and a Scots bonnet, is reading a large book that is open to "History of ye Wars of 1715 & 1745" (i.e., the Jacobite risings). He quotes Thucydides as saying, "History is Philosophy teaching by Example." Standing next to him on a pedestal with the words "Pride" and "Ingratitude" written on it, a Scotsman rubs his back and scratches his hand against a post topped with a satyr's head that has the words "This is one of the many Posts erected for the benefit of the Thanes friends" hanging from it. Standing on the pedestal's step, a second Scot—possibly meant to be William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield (1705-1793)-says, "awa to the deel with this feulish bauble of Liberty I'll stick my Dirk in his Wem," while stabbing a picture of the liberty staff and cap. Beside him, a woman dressed in tartan blows on the fire beneath a large cauldron bearing the letters "Scots Haggis Kettle," which is filled with simmering sheep heads. A Scot is seen spooning broth from a bowl behind the cauldron and remarks, "These are brae Sheepsheads & make Muckle gued broth." "And they were all English Mens heads I woud no grudge a louse," remarks a second Scot who is seated next to the cauldron and scratches his head. An allusion to the shooting of William Allen (c.1750-1768) by Scottish guards during the St. George's Fields riots on May 10, 1768, can be seen in the background on the right, where two soldiers fire at a man who is falling back.
BM Satires 4237.
[Ref: 62328]  £160.00


 

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