A deputation of six surgeons, their leader holding out an enormous scroll, deprecatingly approaches Thurlow (right).   He thrusts his hands deep in the pockets of his old-fashioned waistcoat, and turns his head to scowl at the petitioners, saying, "You may be D------d all together!" The scroll is inscribed: 'We the Honorable Ancient and truly respectable Society of Surgeons - humbly Petition your Morose Lordship to take into Consideration our deplorable Case, stated as follows. Wheras, some of our thick headed Ancestors thought proper to couple themselves with a society of pitiful, paltry, shaving, soaping, Beggarly Barbers, under the general denomination of Barber Surgeons. Now we your Lordships Petitioners being in affluent circumstances many of us keeping our Chariots and living on the fat of the Land, are truly ashamed of our dishonorable connection from which we humbly request to be removed and to have the sole right to Bleed, cut, draw, lance, probe, saw, hack, mangle tear, blister, burn, embrocate fumigate, mend a pate, potion, lotion palm, pocket, charge and Kill in future independant of the scury [sic] disgraceful Company to which we have hitherto been united, and your petitioners further pray that all past transactions, pecuniary as well as Bartering may be completely Amputated from the Retrospection of the aforsaid Beggarly, Barbers and we your truly respectable Petitioners shall ever Pray 
<p><br>Signed
<br>Peter Probe. F.S.A.
<br>Simon Slash. F.R.S.
<br>Cornelius Caustic Eques' [&amp;c, &amp;c, the succeeding names all have the title Eques.]
<br><br>The surgeons are caricatured and plebeian in appearance. On the extreme right, behind Thurlow, is a barber, more gentlemanly than the petitioners, at whom he looks apprehensively. He holds a judge's wig and barber's bowl, and is saying: "thats right my Lord blow em up". The scene is a street corner, the lower part of a building and of a high wall being indicated as a background.  7 August 1797
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<br>Hand-coloured etching
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<p>After: George Moutard Woodward
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<dl><dd>Published by: S W Fores</dd></dl></div>
1797<div style="display: none;">date QS:P571,+1797-00-00T00:00:00Z/9</div>
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