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WIFE & No WIFE

__ or __ A trip to the Continent

Wright & Evans Description | British Museum Description

Engraving from the 1851 Bohn edition
Originally Published March 27, 1786
17 3/4"w x 13 3/4"h

Wright and Evans Description (More ...)

32 WIFE OR NO WIFE; OR, A TRIP TO THE CONTINENT.
March 27th, 1788. [Reissue Date]

LORD NORTH. BURKE. PRINCE OF WALES. MRS. FITZHERBERT. COLONEL HANGER. FOX.

On the secret marriage said to have taken place between the Prince of Wales and Mrs. Fitzherbert. Fox is giving away the bride; while Burke, in the disguise of a Jesuit, is performing the ceremony. There are several allusions to the Romanism of the lady. Lord North, who appears to have acted as the driver in their "trip," has fallen asleep. They are said to have been married by the Rev. Samuel Johnes, younger brother of Colonel Johnes, of Hafod, translator of Froissart, &c. He was descended on the maternal side from the Knights of Herefordshire, whose name he assumed some years after. He is now Vicar of All Hallows, Barking, and Rector of Welwyn, Herts.

British Museum Description by M. Dorothy George (More ...)

6932 WIFE & NO WIFE — OR — A TRIP TO THE CONTINENT
Design'd by Carlo Khan.
Publish^d by Will^m Holland N^o 66 Drury Lane London. March 27 1786

Engraving (coloured and uncoloured impressions). The interior of a large church or cathedral. Burke, dressed as a Jesuit ... standing within a low, semicircular wall at the foot of a crucifix, marries the Prince of Wales and Mrs. Fitzherbert. The Prince is about to put the ring on her finger. Fox gives her away, holding her l. wrist. Beside him (r.) stands Weltje in back view but looking to the l. at the ceremony. A napkin is under his l. arm, bottles project from his coat-pockets, and the tags on his shoulder denote the liveried manservant. To the l. of Fox appears the profile of George Hanger. On the l. North sits, leaning against the altar wall, sound asleep, his legs outstretched. He wears his ribbon but is dressed as a coachman, his hat and whip beside him. All the men wear top-boots to suggest a runaway match. Behind the Prince in a choir seat is a row of kneeling monks who are chanting the marriage service. The crucifix is partly covered by a curtain, but the legs and feet are painfully distorted ... On the wall and pillars of the church are four framed pictures: David watching Bathsheba bathing, St. Anthony tempted by monsters, Eve tempting Adam with the apple, and Judas kissing Christ, the last being over the head of Fox.