The magical note, Which nobody dictated, nobody wrote

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 ...'