The scene depicts a side of beef being transported from the harbour to an English tavern in the port, while a group of undernourished, ragged French soldiers and a fat friar look on hungrily.

He travelled with some artist friends, including Thomas Hudson, Joseph and Alexander Van Aken, Francis Hayman, and Henry Cheere.

George Vertue reports that the group split up on the return journey, with Hogarth and Hayman making their way to Calais to catch the boat to England and the others continuing their tour to Flanders and the Netherlands.

Most accounts relate that Hogarth showed his other sketches to his captors; it becoming clear that he was merely an artist, he was discharged into the parole of his landlord to await the changing of the wind and the boat to England.

[1] Horace Walpole elaborates the account, reporting that Hogarth was forced to demonstrate his abilities by producing sketches and caricatures as demanded by the French, "particularly a scene of the shore, with an immense piece of beef landing for the Lion d'Argent, the English inn at Calais, and several hungry friars following it."

The scene within centres around a sirloin of beef destined for the English tavern, the Lion d'Argent, carried by a chef who stands out in his bright white apron and cap.

[2] In the foreground, a Highlander, an exile from the Jacobite rising of 1745,[1] sits slumped against the wall, his strength sapped by the poor French fare – a raw onion and a crust of bread.

The gate itself was levelled in 1895, the landing at the port followed by crossing over an ancient drawbridge and entering through the old gateway into a "dark narrow" street, then emerging into a spacious Place with its town hall now lost.