Initial letter A: "That’s the first shot!" muttered Kearney to himself by Sir Luke Fildes; engraver, Swain. Seventeenth initial-letter vignette for Charles Lever's Lord Kilgobbin, from the February 1872 number of the Cornhill Magazine, p. 228 in Vol. XXV. 7.5 cm by 5.1 cm (3 by 2 inches), framed. Part 17, Chapter LXXII, "The Saunter in Town." The wood-engraver responsible for this thumbnail illustration was Joseph Swain (1820-1909), noted for his engravings of Sir John Tenniel's cartoons in Punch. [Click on the image to enlarge it; mouse over links.]
Right: The title-page for Volume XXV of the Cornhill Magazine (January-June, 1872).
This initial vignette is based on the opening passage in Ch. 78, "A Miserable Morning"
As Kearney groped his way through the darkened room, shocked at his own creaking shoes, and painfully convinced that he was somehow deficient in delicacy, a low, faint cough guided him to the sofa where Miss O’Shea lay. "Is that Mathew Kearney?" said she feebly. "I think I know his foot."
"Yes indeed, bad luck to them for shoes. Wherever Davy Morris gets the leather I don’t know, but it’s as loud as a barrel-organ.
"Maybe they're cheap, Mathew. One puts up with many a thing for a little cheapness."
"That’s the first shot!" muttered Kearney to himself, while he gave a little cough to avoid reply. [Cornhill, Vol. XXV, 250]
Commentary: Aunt Betty O'Shea's Comic Relief about Gorman's marrying Nina
Having convinced the parish priest, Father Luke, that she is on her deathbed at Kilgobbin Castle, Betty O'Shea is determined to forgive her old neighbour, Matthew Kearney, for his transgressions against her. Apparently, she has heard the servants' gossip about Gorman's asking Nina to marry him, a proposal which the maid, Mary, mistook, for Gorman was somewhat delirious and mistook Nina in the darkened room for cousin, Kate. Betty is convinced that Matt will short-change his own children to ensure that "The Greek hussy" (423) has a suitable dowry, and, of course, Betty wants her nephew to marry Kate. She need not worry, for Nina has already accepted Cecil Walpole's proposal. However, Kate is not necessarily going to be available, as Major Lockwood sounds Kate's father out about the possibility of marrying her. And all of this mismatched talk of marriage partners temporarily lightens the mood as the attorney for Gorman, Mr. Holmes, seems sure that public opinion is going to result in his client's being found guilty of the attempt on Gill's life, and will be sentenced to two years in prison. The lawyer urges Kearney to bribe Gill to "lighten" his testimony or contradict himself on the stand, or not even turn up at the trial on the 19th in Kilbeggan.
Scanned images and text by Philip V. Allingham. [You may use these images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned them and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
Bibliography
Lever, Charles. Lord Kilgobbin. The Cornhill Magazine. With 18 full-page illustrations and 18 initial-letter vignettes by S. Luke Fildes. Volumes XXII-XXV. October 1870-March 1872.
Lever, Charles. Lord Kilgobbin: A Tale of Ireland in Our Own Time. With 18 Illustrations by Sir Luke Fildes, R. A. London: Smith, Elder, 1872, 3 vols; rpt., Chapman and Hall, 1873.
Lever, Charles. Lord Kilgobbin. Illustrated by Sir Luke Fildes. Novels and Romances of Charles Lever. Vols. I-III. London: Smith, Elder, 1872, Rpt. London: Chapman & Hall, 1873, in a single volume. Project Gutenberg. Last Updated: 19 August 2010.
Stevenson, Lionel. Chapter XVI, "Exile on the Adriatic, 1867-1872." Dr. Quicksilver: The Life of Charles Lever. New York: Russell and Russell, 1939; rpt. 1969. Pp. 277-296.
Sutherland, John A. "Lord Kilgobbin." The Stanford Companion to Victorian Fiction. Stanford, Cal.: Stanford U. P., 1989, rpt. 1990, 382.
Created 10 June 2023 Updated 10 June 2023