Tom and a wealthy old woman are being married in the dilapidated church of St. Marylebone. The bride has only one eye and growths on her forehead; the IHS on the wall behind her serve as a mock halo. In contrast the old woman is attended by a beautiful young woman who has already caught Tom's eye. In the background on the left, the elderly pew opener pushes Sarah Young, carrying Tom's child in her arms, and Sarah's mother; she shakes her keys in their faces to prevent them from entering the church to stop the marriage. Two dogs in the lower left of the image mirror the courtship of Tom and his bride; the courted dog has only one eye. The clergyman is assisted at the altar by a clerk, and a charity-boy kneels at the bride's feet offering a hassock. The Poor Box on the left is covered with a cobweb; there is a crack down the center of the slab with the Commandments on the wall behind the clergyman
Alternative Title:
New to [the] school of hard mishap, driven from [the] ease of Fortune's lap ..., New to the school of hard mishap, driven from the ease of Fortune's lap, and New to ye school of hard mishap, driven from ye ease of Fortune's lap
Description:
Title, state and imprint from Paulson., Added title from first line of verses below image., Brevigraphs in title sometimes incorrectly rendered "ye" expanded as [the]., Added title and state from Paulson., "Plate 5"--Lower right corner., After the painting at Sir John Soane's Museum., 1 print : etching and engraving on laid paper ; plate mark 35.8 x 41 cm, on sheet 45 x 56 cm., and Leaf 12 in: Album of William Hogarth prints.
Publisher:
Wm. Hogarth
Subject (Name):
St. Marylebone Church (Marylebone, London, England)
