And reading softly to himself, in the little back-parlour, and stopping now and then to wipe his eyes, the captain, in a true and simple spirit, committed Walter's body to the deep." — Fred Barnard's thirty-fifth illustration for "Dombey and Son" (1877)

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And reading softly to himself, in the little back-parlour, . . . the captain, in a true and simple spirit, committed Walter's body to the deep.

Fred Barnard

1877

13.7 cm high x 10.6 cm wide, full-page, framed.

composite wood-block engraving

Dombey and Son, 241

Illustration for Chapter 32, "The Wooden Midshipman goes to Pieces," in Dickens's Dombey and Son, in the Household Edition, XV.

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Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham

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Passage Illustrated

Captain Cuttle’s spirits were so low, in truth, that he half determined, that day, to take no further precautions against surprise from Mrs MacStinger, but to abandon himself recklessly to chance, and be indifferent to what might happen. As evening came on, he fell into a better frame of mind, however; and spoke much of Walter to Rob the Grinder, whose attention and fidelity he likewise incidentally commended. Rob did not blush to hear the Captain earnest in his praises, but sat staring at him, and affecting to snivel with sympathy, and making a feint of being virtuous, and treasuring up every word he said (like a young spy as he was) with very promising deceit.

When Rob had turned in, and was fast asleep, the Captain trimmed the candle, put on his spectacles — he had felt it appropriate to take to spectacles on entering into the Instrument Trade, though his eyes were like a hawk’s — and opened the prayer-book at the Burial Service. And reading softly to himself, in the little back parlour, and stopping now and then to wipe his eyes, the Captain, in a true and simple spirit, committed Walter’s body to the deep. [Chapter 32. "The Wooden Midshipman goes to Pieces," 482]

Other Illustrators' Studies of Captain Cuttle (1848, 1867, and 1910)

Left: Phiz's initial depiction of the Captain in his parlour in the 1848 volume edition's title-page vignette: Rob the Grinder Reading with Captain Cuttle (April 1848). Centre: Harry Furniss's dramatic realisation of the happy conclusion of the Walter Gay subplot: Captain Cuttle and Walter's Return (1910). Right: Sol Eytinge, Jr.'s character study of the old sailor: Captain Cuttle (1867).

Related Material including Other Illustrated Editions of Dombey and Son

Dombey and Son (homepage)
Phiz's 39 illustrations for Dombey and Son, Wholesale Retail & for Exportation (Oct. 1846 — April 1848)
Sol Eytinge, Junior's 16 illustrations (1867)
The Illustrators of the Household Edition of the Works of Charles Dickens (22 vols., 1871-79)
Kyd's five Player's Cigarette Cards for Dombey and Son (1910)
Harry Furniss's illustrations for the Charles Dickens Library Edition (1910)

Bibliography

Dickens, Charles. Dombey and Son. Illustrated by Phiz. (Hablot K. Browne). London: Chapman and Hall, 1848.

_______. Dombey and Son. Illustrated by Hablot Knight Browne (Phiz). 8 coloured plates. London and Edinburgh: Caxton and Ballantyne, Hanson, 1910.

_______. Dombey and Son.16 Illustrations by Sol Eytinge, Jr., and A. V. S. Anthony (engraver). The Diamond Edition. Boston: Ticknor & Fields, 1867. III.

_______. Dombey and Son. Illustrated by Fred Barnard [62 composite wood-block engravings]. The Works of Charles Dickens. The Household Edition. 22 vols. London: Chapman and Hall, 1877. XV.

"Dombey and Son — Sixty-two Illustrations by Fred Barnard." Scenes and Characters from the Works of Charles Dickens, Being Eight Hundred and Sixty-six Drawings by Fred Barnard, Gordon Thomson, Hablot Knight Browne (Phiz), J. McL. Ralston, J. Mahoney, H. French, Charles Green, E. G. Dalziel, A. B. Frost, F. A. Fraser, and Sir Luke Fildes. London: Chapman and Hall, 1907.

Created 6 January 2021