The Life of William Cobbett, Written by Himself Pl. 7.

This is the seventh plate in Gillray's eight plate series, The Life of William Cobbett, Written by Himself which pretends to be a kind of graphic autobiography, but is, in fact a not so veiled attack upon Cobbett himself. For the general context of the series in Gillray's work, some background about Cobbett, and the more immediate impetus for the set of plates, see my Introduction.

The Life of William Cobbett, Written by Himself Pl. 7.

The Life of William Cobbett, Written by Himself Pl. 7. [September 29, 1809]
© Lewis Walpole Library Yale University

We have now fast-forwarded in Cobbett's life to 1809 when his weekly Political Register had become a force to be reckoned with. Buoyed by the support of a "loyal band of reformers," Cobbett now feels free to repeat his supposedly "favourite Toast" from the last days of his military service in 1791: "'Damnation to the House of Brunswick'" (See Plate 5).

Toasts in Gillray tend to be dangerous things. The (fictional) "Birmingham Toast" portrayed in Gillray's 1791 print by that name is suppposed to have set off riots. The all too real toast portrayed in The Loyal Toast (1798) had disastrous consequences for the Duke of Norfolk and (later) for Charles James Fox. In his article in the Political Register Cobbett admits to having been outspoken in his criticism of governmental policies while drinking with his military cohorts in Nova Scotia (not hard to believe), but denies having made any such toast. (Register: 906-907

The Loyal Toast

The Loyal Toast [Feb. 3, 1798]
© Trustees of the British Museum

Whether grounded in fact or fantasy, the toast contributes to the narrative Gillray is creating about Cobbett, where Cobbett's reformist/revolutionary tendencies have appeared early and often. So just as the picture of the convicted traitor Lord Edward Fitzgerald appears in the background of Plate 5, images of the executed Irish revolutionary Edward Despard and the infamous leader of the French Terror Maximilien Robespierre appear behind Cobbett in this plate creating guilt by association.

And if that were not incriminating enough, the semi-circle of glasses, though raised in support of "Damnation to the House of Brunswick" points unmistakably to the image of England's arch-enemy Napoleon. And as the leader of the pack, Cobbett himself appears to be drinking Mandarine "Napoleone Spirits, " said to have been a favorite of the French Emperor.

As suggested by the caption, the other drinkers joining in the toast were all well known as supporters of radical reform. They include Francis Burdett (with a bonnet rouge) and Horne Tooke (with a crutch) who appeared as long ago as 1798 in Gillray's French Habits. But now they are accompanied by more recent supporters of Cobbett and reform candidates like the tailor James Paull, including the wealthy eccentric William Bosville, the barrister and legal writer Henry Clifford, the naval hero Thomas Cochrane, and Gwyllym Wardle (on the floor) notorious for his role in exposing the Duke of York's involvement in selling of military commissions, and then for his own sordid relationship with the Duke's former mistress Mrs. Mary Anne Clarke.

There are two different states or versions of the plate. The first version contains a longer and more detailed caption below the image. The second version cuts back on the detail to make it more consistent with the length of captions on other plates in the series. Here are the two versions.

First Version

I did not look behind me, till I got to St Omer's; but this being still too near the scene of my detection, I fled to America. Here I offer'd to become a Spy for my most gracious Sovereign, this being scornfully rejected, I contented myself with Plundering & Libelling the Yankees, for which I was fined 5000 dollars & kicked out of the Country!_ Seven years had elapsed since I absonded (sic) from England, so I thought that my exploits there might be forgotten, and ventured to return. _I set up (sic) the Crown & Mitre under cover of which I abused ye Church and State, very comfortably._my Loyalty thus established, I accepted from the Doctor (so I always the Right Honble Henry Ld Vict Sidmouth) £4000, which was to be expended in printing & dispersing a pamphlet against "the Hell fire Yell of Reform!" _with this money I paid my debts, I purchased a pretty bit of land at Botley, and sat quietly down to enjoy the fruits of my honest industry__A thousand applications have been made to me to refund or account for some part of this enormous Sum, but blast my Eyes! I will see the Doctor damned, and all such Fools as the Doctor, before I open my mouth on the Subject!__ At Botley my natural bent returned, but on a larger scale; for being now Lord of the Manor of Botley, & in receipt of Five Thousand pounds a year from the sale of my Weekly Register therefore not caring a single God damn for public opinion, reacted the pecadilloes of my youth, & with mature mischief began I began sowing dissensions thro the whole County. I kicked the sick & Infirm Labourer into the Street__ I oppress'd the Poor; sent the Aged to Hell, _ damned the Eyes of my Parish Apprentices before they were opened in a morning and being nobly supported by a loyal band of Reformers, I renewed in our orgies my old favourite Toast of "Damnation to the House of Brunswick" __thus exalted in glory and popularity by the sale of 10,000 Political-Registers every week, I found myself on the point of becoming the greatest Man in the World!__except that Idol of my thoughts that object ofl my Adorations, his Royal & Imperial Majesty, NAPOLEONE.__ Vide: my own Memoires in the Political Register _1809 -'

Second Version

I did not look behind me, till I got to St Omer's_& thence fled to America:_here I offer'd to become a Spy for the English-Government, which was scornfully rejected:_I then turned to Plunder & Libel the Yankees, for which I was Fined 5000 Dollars & kicked out of the Country!_I came back to England (after absconding for Seven years)_& set up the Crown & Mitre to establish my Loyalty! _accepted from the Doctor £4000 to print & disperse a pamplet against "the Hell fire yell of Reform"_but applied the Money to purchase an estate at Botley, & left ye Doctor to pay the Paper & Printing!_being now Lord of the Manor, I began by sowing the seeds of discontent through Hampshire: I oppressed the Poor, sent the Aged to Hell, & damned the Eyes of my Parish Apprentices before they were open'd in the morning._& being now supported by a band of Reformers, I renewed my old favourite Toast of Damnation to the House of Brunswick!_& exalted by the sale of 10,000 Political-Registers every week, I find myself the greatest Man in the World!_except that Idol of all my Adorations, his Royal & Imperial Majesty, NAPOLEONe!__see my own Memoires in ye Political Register 1809_'

As C. Rexford Davis points out, one indicator that the shorter version was created later is the inconsistency in the final line of the caption. Every other plate, including the long version of Plate 7 concludes with "Vide: my own Memoires in the Political Register _1809 -." The short version ends with "__see my own Memoires in ye Political Register 1809_"

Like the captions on previous plates, both versions here mix fact and fiction. But the details are all in the service of a satiric porrtrait of Cobbett that has been emerging from the first Plate. His plundering of the Yankees and oppression of the poor in Plate 7 recalls his "taste for Plunder and oppression" in Plate 1. His hasty departures from the both England and America mentioned in this plate recall his earlier escape from the Church-Wardens and Sukey Stubbs in Plate 2. His vainglorious assertion here of finding himself "the greatest Man in the World" is a logical extension of that sense of self importance in his regiment we saw in Plates 3 and 4. As Wordsworth wrote in 1802, "The Child is father of the Man."

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