1-150-579 - The Cartoon Collector/Heritage-Images

'A Perilous Passage', 1869. Napoleon III of France was struggling against a wave of unpopularity at the time. He had introduced a number of measures to try and calm the situation. He was, by now, a very ill man and so his primary concern was to preserve his office for his young son. Here, Napoleon cycles on a tightrope across the Niagara Falls. This refers to JF Professor Jenkins crossing of the Niagara Gorge on 5th August 1869 on a tightrope located at the Whirlpool Rapids just north of the Railway Suspension Bridge. Professor Jenkins rode across on a combination bicycle - velocipede. Below Napoleon are the rocks of revolution. His wheels show Personal Government versus Representational Government and he struggles to balance Repression against Concession. From Punch, or the London Charivari, October 30, 1869.