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"I'll let 'em see what I think of 'em!"
George Cruikshank
1836
Etching on copper
10 x 8 cm vignetted
Tenth illustration for Rookwood: A Romance.
Fourth Edition, complete in one volume, with illustrations by George Cruikshank. London: William Macrone and Richard Bentley, New Burlington Street, 1836.
Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.
The Peons are capital horsemen, and several times we saw them, at a gallop, throw the rein on the horse's neck, take from one pocket a bag of loose tobacco, and, with a piece of paper, or a leaf of Indian corn, make a cigar, and then take out a flint and steel and light it. Head's Rough Notes.
Pæans have been sung in honour of the Peons of the Pampas by the Headlong Sir Francis; but what the gallant major extols so loudly in the South American horsemen, viz., the lighting of a cigar when in mid career, was accomplished with equal ease by our English highwayman a hundred years ago, nor was it esteemed by him any extravagant feat either. Flint, steel, and tinder were bestowed within Dick's ample pouch, the short pipe was at hand, and within a few seconds there was a stream of vapour exhaling from his lips, like the smoke from a steamboat shooting down the river, and tracking his still rapid course through the air.
"I'll let 'em see what I think of 'em!" said Dick, coolly, as he turned his head.
It was now gray twilight. The mists of coming night were weaving a thin curtain over the rich surrounding landscape. All the sounds and hum of that delicious hour were heard, broken only by the regular clatter of the horses' hoofs. Tired of shouting, the chasers now kept on their way in deep silence; each man held his breath, and plunged his spurs, rowel deep, into his horse; but the animals were already at the top of their speed, and incapable of greater exertion. Paterson, who was a hard rider, and perhaps a thought better mounted, kept the lead. The rest followed as they might. — Book IV, "The Hue and Cry," Chapter 5, "The Short Pipe," p. 269-270.
As the chase narrative — constituting almost a novella within the novel — continues, Turpin continues to outpace his pursuers, who are shortly to be joined by Major Mowbray after he takes a shot at Dick Turpin from the southbound York coach. The lone horseman, comfortably sitting his streamlined Arabian in Cruikshank's plate, deliberately stays just a little ahead of Coates, Tyrconnel, and Paterson, enjoying tantalizing them with the prospect of apprehending him before they arrive in York, still about a hundred and thirty miles away. Dick actually gets so far ahead of the trio that he has sufficient time to take refreshment and rub the mare down at the hostelry near Burleigh House. The remainder of the ride, which started at about 7:00 P. M. in Kilburn will now be in the dark, and Dick's adversaries have the advantage of fresh mounts, so that both pursuers and pursued are managing between fifty and twenty miles per hour. In Cruikshank's illustration, the highwayman, thoroughly enjoying "the fun of the chase," and reluctant "to put a period to his own excitement" (269), glances back to make sure that those chasing him are not closing the gap. While they are apparently shouting, urging their mounts on, Turpin puffs on his pipe and coolly regards them in the grey twilight as he begins to realise that, should he succeed, his fame will long outlive him.
Left: George Cruikshank's The Hornsey Gate 1836). Centre: George Cruikshank's The Last Chance (Part 22 of Oliver Twist, February 1839). Right: George Cruikshank's Jack Sheppard and Edgeworth Bess escaping from Clerkenwell Prison (July 1839). [Click on the images to enlarge them.]
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Last modified 25 February 2017