Changing Places, alias Fox Stinking the Badger out of his Nest

Having more in common with traditional emblematic satire than satiric caricature, this crude and thoroughly odd-looking image is intended to represent the political state of affairs in March 1782. At that time the Tory administration under Frederick Lord North was leaving office and the Whig administration, nominally under the Marquess of Rockingham (but in reality led by Charles James Fox), was taking its place.

The very real-looking fox in the print represents, of course, Charles James Fox,the leader of the Whigs in the House of Commons. As if the name were not enough to identify him, the fox in the print is shown standing over a bag of coins labeled "Faro Bank" along with a handful of cards. Faro was among the most popular card games of the 18th century, and Fox was notorious for his addiction to it. Here he seems to be jealously guarding the money pouring from the bag. But in fact Fox lost far more than he ever won at Faro. Whether at Almack's, Brooks', or the table of his friend, Lady Buckinghamshire (one of the so-called Faro's daughters), Fox was known for gambling away thousands of pounds in a single night.

In his biography of Fox, John Derry quotes from a contemporary rhyme on Fox's famously bad luck.

At Almack's of pigeons I am told there are flocks;
But it's thought the completest is one Mr. Fox.
If he touches a card, if he rattles a box,
Away fly the guineas of this Mr. Fox.
He has met, I'm afraid, with so many bad knocks,
The cash is not plenty with this Mr. Fox;
In gaming 'tis said he's the stoutest of cocks
No man can play deeper than this Mr. Fox,
Ane he always must lose, for the strongest of locks
Cannot keep any money for this Mr. Fox. (p. 50)

In the background over Fox is a statue labeled Janus. Janus was (appropriately for this moment) the Roman god of transitions (with one face looking backward to the past; the other looking forward to the future. In this case the forward image is represented by a fox. And atop the head of the statue is a dice box and dice, once again suggesting Fox's compulsive gambling.

The bulky-looking badger with a compass-like head and a snout labeled "North" represents the pudgy Frederick Lord North who just days before (March 20) had been forced to resign his position as First Lord of the Treasury and Prime Minister. He had been, in effect, driven out by the misfortunes of the American war and by Fox's relentless criticism of North's handling of it. Here that attack is represented by a stream of excrement labeled "Eloquence" "stinking the Badger out of his Nest." Below North is an odd-looking bundle representing two of the unpopular taxes that were part of North's budget: one on "Small Beer," the other on "Soap."

The two signs above North are intended to represent the very different directions the two politicians are moving in at this moment in time—North "To Tower Hill" Fox "To The Treasury." Both are exaggerations. North and members of his cabinet were frequently threatened by Fox and the Opposition with impeachment and execution without any substantive action. In fact, as North left office, the King rewarded him with an annuity of £4,100. Fox did NOT become First Lord of the Treasury (i.e. Prime Minister) but Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs while Rockingham assumed at least the nominal role of Prime Minister. The King's distress with the whole of his episode is suggested by his fall from his horse as he attempts to clear a fence in the background of the print. This outcome was not part of his plan.

Sources and Reading

• Commentary from the British Museum on Changing Places, alias Fox Stinking the Badger out of his Nest.
• "Charles James Fox," Wikipedia
• John W. Derry, Charles James Fox, New York: 1972
• "Frederick North, Lord North," Wikipedia
• "Frederick North, Lord North," History of Parliament
• "Faro (banking game)," Wikipedia
• "Janus," Wikipedia