Miseries of London

In the early nineteenth century, London overtook Beijing to become the largest city in the world. The resulting congestion made London streets not only slow but terribly noisy. Rowlandson drew a farcical scene of city traffic, with chaotic sidewalks and streets mobbed with people, construction mishaps, and a stream of colliding carriages. The horses rear, the drivers turn their wips on one another, and the passengers are in an uproar. The inscription points out that such ordeals allow you at least an hour or more than you require to sharpen your wits for table talk.