"George, George, do not give way thus!"
Mary Ellen Edwards
1868
Wood engraving by Swain
12.8 cm high by 10.3 cm wide (4 ⅞ by 4 inches)
Main illustration for the tenth (March 1868) number of Lever’s The Bramleighs of Bishop’s Folly in the Cornhill Magazine, Vol. 17, facing p. 257, vignetted.
[Click on image to enlarge it.]
Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.
[You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned the image and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
Passage Illustrated: Julia has to be both strong and comforting
While she was yet standing before her glass, and trying to efface the traces of sorrow on her features, George tapped softly at her door. “May I come in?” cried he. “Oh, Julia,” said he, as he drew nigh, “it is worse than I had even suspected. Cutbill tells me that —”
He could not go on, but bending his head on her shoulder, sobbed hysterically.
“George, George, do not give way thus,” said she calmly. “What is it has happened? What has he told you?”
“The mine — the Lisconnor scheme — is bankrupt.”
“Is that all?”
“All! Why, it is ruin — utter ruin! Every shilling that you had in the world is gone, and I have done it all.” And once more his feelings overcame him, and he sobbed convulsively. [Vol. XVII, Chapter XXXIX, "At Albano," 258 in volume; 277 in serial]
Commentary: The L'Estranges Now Face Financial Ruin, Too
Again the young man of the family who ought to act the part of the Victorian pater familias gives way to despair as he faces a reversal of fortune. We have already seen Augustus Bramleigh fail to maintain stoic resilience in A Small Lodging at Louvain (in the February instalment); now George L'Estrange plays the woman as his sister Julia consoles him after he has heard from their business agent, Cutbill, who also serves as the Bramleighs' financial consultant. In order to appreciate the juxtaposition of the this month's illustrations, Edwards compels readers to assess how well the siblings cope with financial adversity in Chapters XXXV-XXXIX ("Mr. Cutbill's Visit" to "At Albano").
In the last chapter of the previous instalment, Chapter XXXIV, Augustus Bramleigh had already met with rejections of his artistic and musical compositions by which he hoped to raise ready cash. Recognizing how hard up they may be, Nelly writes on her brother's behalf to Sir Francis Deighton, an old family friend, for a colonial government position. Again, Augustus is somewhat defeatist after his rejections, but Nelly remains active and positive in soliciting a respectable position for pessimistic "Gusty."
We now encounter how the L'Estranges cope with financial complications announced by Tom Cutbill, whose news about the coal-mine investment is far from good. There will be no fortuitous dividend to supplement their "narrow fortune," and to serve as their shield in what they regard as their "hand-to-hand fight with Poverty." Edwards seems drawn to realize scenes in which women are emotionally strong, and men weak.
Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham. [You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned the image and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
Bibliography
Lever, Charles. The Bramleighs of Bishop’s Folly. The Cornhill Magazine 15 (June, 1867): pp. 640-664; 16 (July-December 1867): 1-666; 17 (January-June 1868): 70-663; 18 (July-October 1868): 1-403. Rpt. London: Chapman & Hall, 1872. Illustrated by M. E. Edwards; engraved by Joseph Swain.
Stevenson, Lionel. "Chapter XVI: Exile on the Adriatic, 1867-1872." Dr. Quicksilver: The Life of Charles Lever. London: Chapman and Hall, 1939. Pp. 277-296.
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Created 7 September 2023