The magical note, Which nobody dictated, nobody wrote

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Charles Williams
1796-1866
The magical note, Which nobody dictated, nobody wrote
Peel 1940
Provenance: 
Formerly owned by Sir Robert Peel.
Notes: 

Ten designs arranged in two rows, with verses parodying 'the House that Jack built', with an explanation that the print concerns the Duke of York scandal.
Lettered "Pubd Jany 1810 by S W Fores, 50 Piccadilly."

Summary: 

In the upper 1. hand corner of the design, above the first verse, is drawn a crumpled note with the words: 'Tonyn's Business must remain as it is'. [1] A young officer stands outside his tent, one of a row, holding a note. In the tent is camp furniture, with two trunks and a paper: 'Dear Sam I have sent you a few trifles to equip you for the camp'. On the ground is a scroll: 'you'l ... the little Plow Boy that wh ... o'er the Lea'. A signpost with two arms points 'from York' and 'to Gloucester'. He is Sam Carter, Mrs. Clarke's servant. [2] Mrs. Clarke as an angel with wings stands holding in one hand a bag inscribed 'Cole Bag', in the other a mask and the corner of draperies in which are heaped a mitre and rolled documents inscribed 'Majority' and 'Commission'. Clouds of smoke rise from two huge bundles of 'Love Letters', partly obscuring a house inscribed 'Gloucester'. The Duke of York wrote to Mrs. Clarke as 'My Angel', &c. Cole, money. [3] The Duke of York sits at a table writing 'my dear Ang ...' On the table is a 'Commission for Sam Carter'; an open drawer crammed with papers is inscribed 'Love Letters'. Under the table are piled a mitre and crozier and documents: 'Petition of Cap ...' and 'List of Old Officers'. On the wall above the Duke's head is a large frame enclosing a blank, inscribed 'View of the Horse Guards in a fog', and a half length portrait of Mrs. Clarke, inscribed 'My Clarke &c.' His (damaged) sword hangs on the wall. [4] An officer stands on a quay, a book under his arm, his right hand resting on a large chest of 'Military Stores For Buenos Ayres'. On the left is the corner of '... s Hotel Falmouth'. Behind are masts, with furled sails. He is William Dowler, Mrs. Clarke's lover, who went with the expedition to Buenos Ayres. [5] Captain Huxley Sandon sits disconsolately in a prison cell, beside a table on which are a jug, a loaf, and an open book: 'Honesty the best policy or the Value of Truth'. On the ground is an open book: 'New Invented Bureaus and writing Tables with private drawers'; two open bureaux are depicted. On the wall is a plan of 'Sandown Fort'. His lies related to 'the Magical Note'. [6] A military officer holds out a letter with a despairing gesture. A serpent inscribed 'Corruption' coils up his leg, its mouth open to catch coins falling from his pocket. His cocked hat and sword are on a rock beside him. He stands on a road leading to a distant gibbet. He is Tonyn: the 'Magical Note' alleged to be written by the Duke of York was to induce him not to withdraw 500 guineas given to Mrs. Clarke to obtain his majority. [7] A sleek debonair officer stands under a tree leaning on his sword and holding out a large paper headed 'Muster Roll', the text ending 'Grand Total 70'. In the background an officer drills a body of infantry. He is Colonel French who applied for leave to recruit a levy of 5,000 men, and obtained a Letter of Service after bribing Mrs. Clarke. The levy was eventually discontinued on account of gross abuses. [8] Clavering sits in a prison cell, on a low three-legged stool of 'Repentance', at a table where he holds open a large book: 'Treatise on Lying to Perfection by Peter Plyant Esqr Primo - a Lyar should have a good memory Secondo a Lyar shou ...' Another book is 'on Retirement'. Under the table is a padlocked trunk inscribed 'Dead Letters'. [9] Dr. O'Meara &c, a parson in gown and bands, kneels beside the door of Mrs. Clarke's house in 'Gloucester Place', He gleefully makes a gesture to disclose a bag inscribed '5,000' in a fold of his gown; beside him is an open sack inscribed 'Potatoes'. Mrs. Clarke, as an angel, stands on the balcony over the door holding out a mitre and pointing down at the inscription over the door: 'Preferment Off[ice]'. [10] A scene in the House of Commons showing half the Speaker in the Chair, a corner of the Opposition benches, and of the gallery above. In the foreground stands Wardle, making a declamatory speech, holding out a paper of 'Charges agains his ...'

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