Tom Ellar is seen here as Harlequin in the pantomime Harlequin and the Swans, or, The Bath of Beauty, wielding his magic bat that had the power to transform objects from one state to another. Harlequin was an important character in Regency pantomime whose antics as Columbine's lover were a firm favourite with audiences. Written by Charles Farley in 1813, the story of Harlequin and the Swans concerned Prince Rinaldo, played by Bologna Junior, in love with Princess Zoe played by Mrs. Parker, who renewed her youth by bathing in the Bath of Beauty, but who was forced by her father to wear a veil that transformed her into a swan on the pool of beauty to escape ardent suitors. Other characters included King Maximo Rotundo, played by Covent Garden's Pantaloon Richard Norman; the court physician Dr. Tomble Tuzzy played by Joseph Grimaldi, and a rival suitor to Zoe, Prince Proteus, played by Tom Ellar. In the Harlequinade Winifreda, the Fairy of the Swan's Pool, played by Miss Worgman, transformed Zoe and Rinaldo into Columbine and Harlequin, while the Fairy's rival, Goblin Glow Glimmer, played by the nine-year old Master Charles Parsloe, changed the King and the physician into Pantaloon and Clown, and Prince Proteus into Harlequin Buff, a second Harlequin. The Harlequinade contained thirteen scenes of the usual knockabout action and clever transformations, and a comic song by Grimaldi based on an incident from the Napoleonic wars.

This etching also depicts Joe and the Jugglers in the background, scene 3 of the pantomime. A character is shown balancing a sword, a trick performed by the troupe of Indian jugglers including Ramo Samee that made a sensation in London from abut 1813 onwards when this pantomime was written. Although the structure of pantomime has changed since the early 19th century, it always included topical references.