Pacific Overtures - or - a Flight from St Cloud's - over the Water to Charley - a new Dramatic Peace now Rehearsing (caricature)

Set in a theatre, this hand-coloured print depicts a detailed scene on and off the stage. On the left is a grand box, decorated with royal regalia, a coat of arms and red drapes with gold tassels. A British ship at sea forms the backdrop to the on-stage action, which is watched by figures in boxes on the right. The orchestra pit is filled with politicians busily playing.
On stage, the late Prime Minister, William Pitt, stands tall atop a plinth inscribed, ‘Non sibi sed Patriæ vixit’ (He lived not for himself, but for his country), a quote used on the badges of the Pitt Clubs founded in his memory. He leans on a bollard inscribed ‘integrity’. King George III stands in front of him, inspecting the ‘Terms of Peace’ presented by Napoleon Buonaparte through a single opera glass. The King has abandoned his box, which is labelled ‘Ge IIId / whom God long preserve’, leaving an open book that reads, ‘Shakespeare / I know you all…’. This is the beginning of a soliloquy by Prince Hal in Henry IV, where he states he will soon have to leave behind his friends and antics in the local tavern to reform himself into a worthy King. A rope and anchor sit on the floor behind him.
Napoleon is centre stage, stood proudly on a huge cloud, dressed in a bicorn hat with large tricolour feathers. He announces, ‘There’s my terms’ gesturing towards a huge list beside him that reads, ‘Acknowledge me as Emperor / Dismantle your fleet / Reduce your Army / Abandon Malta & Gibraltar / Renounce all Continental Connection / Your Colonies I will take at a Valuation / Engage to pay to the Great Nation for 7 Years annually £1,000,000 and place in my Hands as Hostages the Princess Charlotte of Wales, with Ten of ye late Administration whom I shall name.’ The King rebuts, ‘Very amusing Terms indeed! – and might do vastly well with some of the new made little Gingerbread Kings – but WE are not in the habits of giving up either “Hips, or Commerce, or Colonies” merely because little Boney is in a pet to have them!!!”’.
The list is presented by his Minister for Foreign Affairs of France, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord. He is perched on a cornucopia that spills money bags labelled, 'Maynooth cerceau', 'Horne Tooke', 'Thelwall’, 'Morning Chronicle' and 'Weekly Register', and papers reading, ‘Address to the Papists’; ‘Loan to the…’; 'To the United Irishmen'; 'To the London Corresponding Society'; 'The Press'; 'The Argus'; 'For the Whig Club'; 'To the Army’; 'To the Navy', 'To volunteers'. Behind it crouches Arthur O’Connor, an Irish rebel who, after seeking exile in France, was made General of Division by Napoleon. He appears to call to Charles Fox in the pit, ‘Remember my Friend your Oath – “Our Politicks are the same”’. He holds a document that reads ‘at Maidstone Not Guilty. N.B. my confederate Quigley only was hanged there’, in reference to the execution of John Coigly.
Behind the onstage display, three skeletal officers hold military standard flags inscribed ‘Army of Scotland’, ‘Army of Ireland’ and ‘Army of England’, each topped with the French Imperial Eagle. On the left, HMS ‘Royal Sovereign’ flies the Union flag. The ship was Vice-Admiral Collingwood’s flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805.
On the right, notable figures watch the performance from small boxes. In the top left box, labelled ‘Jobson and Nell’, Prince William Henry, Duke of Clarence and St Andrews, sits with his mistress, actress Dorothea Jordan. Below them, watching in glee, is Henry Grattan, an Irish Member of Parliament. A leaflet from his box reads, ‘Irish Jig – report of the secret committer – Neilson told me he had sworn Mr Grattan’. In the adjacent box, John Horne Tooke, a former MP, gives applause; his playbill labelled, ‘Duet on a pair of portraits’. Beside him is his sponsor and a former pupil, Sir Francis Burdett, another former MP. His accompanying pamphlet reads, ‘The Brentford Bully a new song / Liberty and Equality down with all the Prisons.’ He doffs his cap and joins Tooke in appreciation shouting ‘Bravo!’ and ‘Bravissimo!’. Below them sits the Prince of Wales with his mistress Maria Anne Fitzherbert; she holds a fan and her playbill reads, ‘Shortly will be performed the Farce of Dolly made a Duchess’.
The orchestra pit is a chaotic scene, populated by Members of Parliament, each playing from different pieces of music. Thomas Erskine, the Lord Chancellor, hits a drum with a ceremonial mace on the far left. Behind him, Lord Chief Justice, Edward Law, raises his hands and a roll of paper labelled ‘Bill of Indemnity’. Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, John Russell, plays the ‘Harp of St Patrick’ and keeps papers inscribed ‘a serious ballad Burke to Duke’ in his pocket. First Lord of the Admiralty, Charles Grey, plays ‘Rule Britannia’ on the cello beside him. Playing first violin is Prime Minister William Grenville. He calls ‘Attention’ as he plays from sheet music titled ‘Britons Strike Home’; in his pocket are papers labelled ‘Broad Bottom Concert’. On violin is Foreign Secretary, Charles James Fox; supposedly playing ‘God save the King’, he is distracted by Arthur O’Connor. The next violin is Home Secretary, George John Spencer, who plays diligently next to William Windham, the Secretary of State for War. Windham’s music is titled ‘Cheese Pairings’. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice plays ‘the little Jesuits Jig’ on the triangle opposite them; Lord Privy Seal Henry Addington plays a bagpipe while member of the Privy Council James Maitland plays the French Horn. Between them their sheet music reads, ‘Water Gruel’ and ‘Brissots Delight’. George Tierney, President of the Board of Control, plays two horns, one labelled ‘Grenville’, the other ‘Fox’. His music reads, ‘How Happy could I be with either’ and ‘Borough Hulls’. Above him, Treasurer of the Navy Richard Brinsley Sheridan sits with his arms folded, cradling a bassoon, assessing his music, ‘The Midwatch’. Sat upright at the end of the table, playing the trumpet to those at the back of the room, is Francis Rawdon-Hastings, Master-General of the Ordnance. His music reads, ‘See the conquering Hero comes. Sound your…’, a patriotic song by Handel.