The departure from the Vistula, or the end of the farce of going to St. Petersburgh

Riding a ragged mule, Napoleon makes a slow getaway from the coast. He sits hunched over the beast whose hefty burden is compounded by the sacks slung onto its back. The bundles stacked behind Napoleon are inscribed "Boulogne Encampment," and the "Army of England;" the sack slung over the mule's neck is inscribed "Excuses for Non Performance & Proposals for Peace." Napoleon and his ignoble mount are head in the direction of two monkeys who wear bonnets rouges and hail their "Mighty Emperor." Behind Napoleon, a large bear standing on a cliff on the opposite bank lifts its hind legs in order to direct a stream of urine toward Napoleon's head. Unaware of the composition of this torrent of liquid, Napoleon mistakes it for rain and declares "Bless me what a shower! I shall be wet through before I reach the Rhine." An "Iron Crown" falls forward from Napoleon's head and will certainly rust. This sheet is a reissue of print published by Ackermann in 1803 that was titled, "The Departure from the Coast, or the End of the Farce of Invasion." The "British Lion" in the original has been replaced by a Bear, symbolizing Russia. Additionally, British ships have been removed from the harbor. In changing these small iconographic indicators on the plate, Ackermann has restyled the caricature to address Napoleon's retreat from Russia, thereby increasing his profits from Rowlandson's original design. Sheet is in good condition. There are remains of blue paper to which it was glued, and glue stains are visible on the front edges of the sheet. Riding a ragged mule, Napoleon makes a slow getaway from the coast. He sits hunched over the beast whose hefty burden is compounded by the sacks slung onto its back. The bundles stacked behind Napoleon are inscribed "Boulogne Encampment," and the "Army of England;" the sack slung over the mule's neck is inscribed "Excuses for Non Performance & Proposals for Peace." Napoleon and his ignoble mount are head in the direction of two monkeys who wear bonnets rouges and hail their "Mighty Emperor." Behind Napoleon, a large bear standing on a cliff on the opposite bank lifts its hind legs in order to direct a stream of urine toward Napoleon's head. Unaware of the composition of this torrent of liquid, Napoleon mistakes it for rain and declares "Bless me what a shower! I shall be wet through before I reach the Rhine." An "Iron Crown" falls forward from Napoleon's head and will certainly rust. This sheet is a reissue of print published by Ackermann in 1803 that was titled, "The Departure from the Coast, or the End of the Farce of Invasion." The "British Lion" in the original has been replaced by a Bear, symbolizing Russia. Additionally, British ships have been removed from the harbor. In changing these small iconographic indicators on the plate, Ackermann has restyled the caricature to address Napoleon's retreat from Russia, thereby increasing his profits from Rowlandson's original design. Sheet is in good condition. There are remains of blue paper to which it was glued, and glue stains are visible on the front edges of the sheet. Published by R. Ackermann. For a description of the original 1803 plate, see BM 10432. 1807-04-01 Caption: Publishd April 1 by R. Ackermann No 101 Strand 1807 Dialogue: Napoleon: "Bless me what a shower! I shall be wet through before I reach the Rhine." Dialogue: French Monkeys: "Oh Mighty Emperor" Stamp(s): RA A