But Heaven, to punish this half-ruin'd nation, Permitted again each to take his old station, The people to gall with the deepest vexation. Oh, what a grief to Old England! And, oh, to Old England what grief!
1785. _Comfort in the Gout._ (See July 1, 1802.) Republished 1802.
_June 28, 1785._ _Vauxhall Gardens._ Engraved by R. Pollard, aquatinted by F. Jukes. Published by John Raphael Smith.--It will be remembered by the reader that, in the earlier part of this sketch of _Rowlandson's Life, Works, and Times_, special reference is made by the artist's friend and the frequent companion of his adventures, Henry Angelo, to their expeditions to Vauxhall Gardens to study character. The varied humours discovered at this popular resort employed Rowlandson's pencil frequently, as we are told in the _Memoirs_. It seems, on the authority of those who were most intimate with the caricaturist, and who were also thoroughly well acquainted with the leading examples of his skill, that _Vauxhall Gardens_ may be accepted as his _chef d'oeuvre_ in the general estimation. We can compare it to his drawing of the _Tuileries Gardens_, which is even fuller of diversified groups.
In the famous picture of _Vauxhall_ we have the Rotunda, a marvellous construction, built from the designs of an inventive carpenter, a modest genius, who obtained a certain celebrity for his ingenuity.[27] 'The gilded scallop-shell,' described by Thackeray in the Vauxhall episode which is introduced in the opening of _Vanity Fair_, was as it appeared within the writer's recollection, a melancholy, tawdry substitute for the vanished splendours as noted in Rowlandson's drawing. A portly lady, standing in front of the orchestra, is warbling ballads to the highly genteel company, the patrons of the entertainment; of the performers we are able to offer but scanty particulars.
The figure of the fair vocalist is evidently intended for that of Mrs. Weichsel, a Vauxhall favourite, already mentioned as the mother of the great Mrs. Billington, the pride of English operatic celebrities. It was at Mrs. Weichsel's benefit, which Rowlandson attended at 'the little theatre in the Haymarket,' that our artist produced a sketch of this musical family. To return to Vauxhall, Angelo and other informants supply us with a hint or two of the company. Daniel Arrowsmith was engaged as one of the principal singers, 'where Mrs. Kennedy and that capital bass, Sedgwick, entertained the public for several seasons.' Joe Vernon, of Drury Lane Theatre, is mentioned among the performers. Barthelemon was leader of the band; Fisher played the hautboy; and Mr. Hook was conductor and composer.