Will Marks arrives at the Church by George Cattermole. 3 ½ x 4 ½ inches (8.7 cm by 11.7 cm). Vignetted, wood-engraved. Master Humphrey's Clock, No. 4 (25 April 1840), sixteenth plate in the series. Part 4, Second Chapter of "Mr. Pickwick's Tale," p. 66. [Click on the images to enlarge them. Mouse over links]
Passage Illustrated: The Clandestine Burial in St. Dunstan's, Fleet Street
W. H. Groome's second full-page illustration for this story in the Collins Pocket Edition: They placed the coffin in the vault (1907).
He followed the body into the church, and it was well he lost no time in doing so, for the door was immediately closed. There was no light in the building save that which came from a couple of torches borne by two men in cloaks, who stood upon the brink of a vault. Each supported a female figure, and all observed a profound silence.
By this dim and solemn glare, which made Will feel as though light itself were dead, and its tomb the dreary arches that frowned above, they placed the coffin in the vault, with uncovered heads, and closed it up. One of the torch-bearers then turned to Will, and stretched forth his hand, in which was a purse of gold. Something told him directly that those were the same eyes which he had seen beneath the mask.
‘Take it,’ said the cavalier in a low voice, ‘and be happy. Though these have been hasty obsequies, and no priest has blessed the work, there will not be the less peace with thee thereafter, for having laid his bones beside those of his little children. Keep thy own counsel, for thy sake no less than ours, and God be with thee!’ ["Mr. Pickwick's Story," Chapter 2, pp. 56-57]
Commentary: The stalwart Will Marks executes his mission, and earns his reward
Something of an antiquarian, Cattermole made the most of any opportunity his authors gave him to execute 'fine arts' plates of Gothic interiors, notably in the novel that subsequently ran in Master Humphrey's Clock, The Old Curiosity Shop (25 April 1841 through 6 February 1841). The setting of this final scene in the sequence for "Mr. Pickwick's Tale" is the interior of St. Dunstan's Church on Fleet Street in Jacobean London. Will has, as commissioned by the relatives of the man hanged at Kingston-on-Thames as a criminal (but probably a traitor, or the ring-leader of some plot against the government) come come from the obscure house near Putney across London Bridge and through the darkened streets of the metropolis, braving all sorts of dangers at dusk.
In the elegant illustration, Cattermole's second for "Mr. Pickwick's Story," Will looks about him as the four agents hastily inter the coffin beneath the floor of the church. However, in the text the narrator describes the interior as fitfully lit by two torches carried by men wearing cloaks. In contrast to the "dim and solemn glare," Cattermole has illuminated the nave, making plain the monumental tombs and Gothic tracery. The plate itself has been strategically positioned in the very middle of the textual passage it illustrates, so that the reader processes the letterpress and its visual complement simultaneously.
Other Illustrated Editions of Master Humphrey's Clock
- Harry Furniss's Six Charles Dickens Library Edition Illustrations for Master Humphrey's Clock (1910)
- W. H. C. Groome's Illustrations for Master Humphrey's Clock (1907)
- Fred Barnard's Four Household Edition Illustrations for Master Humphrey's Clock (Vol. XX, 1872)
Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham. [You may use the image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned it and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
Bibliography
Cohen, Jane Rabb. "George Cattermole." Charles Dickens and His Original Illustrators. Columbus, Ohio: Ohio U. P., 1980. Pp. 125-134.
Davis, Paul. "Master Humphrey's Clock." Charles Dickens A to Z: The Essential Reference to his Life and Work. New York: Facts On File, 1998. P. 238.
Dickens, Charles. Master Humphrey's Clock. Illustrated by George Cattermole and Hablot Knight Browne ('Phiz'). London: Chapman and Hall, 4 April 1840 — 4 December 1841.
_______. Master Humphrey's Clock. The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Reprinted Pieces, and Other Stories. With thirty illustrations by L. Fildes, E. G. Dalziel, and F. Barnard. The Household Edition. London: Chapman and Hall, 1872. Vol. XX. Pp. 253-306.
_______. Master Humphrey's Clock and Pictures from Italy. With eight illustrations by W. H. C. Groome. Collins Pocket Editions. London and Glasgow: Collins Clear-type Press, 1907. Vol. XLIX. Pp. 1-168.
_______. Barnaby Rudge and Master Humphrey's Clock. Illustrated by Harry Furniss. Charles Dickens Library Edition. Volume VI. London: Educational Book, 1910.
Hammerton, J. A. The Dickens Picture Book: A Record of the Dickens Illustrators. Ch. XIV. "Master Humphrey's Clock." The Charles Dickens Library. London: Educational Book Co., 1910. Pp. 259-265.
Patten, Robert L. "Cattermole, George." In Schlicke, Paul, ed. The Oxford Reader's Companion to Dickens. Oxford: Oxford U. P., 1999. Pp. 68-69.
Vann, J. Don. "The Old Curiosity Shop in Master Humphrey's Clock, 25 April 1840 — 6 February 1841." Victorian Novels in Serial. New York: Modern Language Association, 1985. Pp. 64-65.
Created 31 August 2022