He knelt down on one knee before her by Sir Luke Fildes; engraver, Swain. Eleventh illustration for Charles Lever's Lord Kilgobbin, 10.4 cm high by 15.6 cm wide (4 by 6 ¼ inches), framed, full-page wood-engraving for Chapter XLII, "An Evening in the Drawing-room," facing p. 244. Reprinted from the Cornhill Magazine, Part 10 (July 1871), facing p. 1. [Click on the illustration to enlarge it.]
Passage Illustrated: A Romantic Gesture on Herr Oberst Lieutenant's Part
Right: The initial page for the tenth instalment in Volume XXIII of the Cornhill Magazine (July, 1871), p. 1.
"I’ll be the Herr Oberst Lieutenant," said she, laughing; "so come forward now and clap your heels together, and let us hear how you utter your few syllables in true abject fashion. I’ll sit here, and receive you." As she spoke, she threw herself into an arm-chair, and assuming a look of intense hauteur and defiance, affected to stroke an imaginary moustache with one hand, while with the other she waved a haughty gesture of welcome.
"I have outstayed my leave," muttered Gorman, in a tremulous tone. "I hope my colonel, with that bland mercy which characterises him, will forgive my fault, and let me ask his pardon." And with this, he knelt down on one knee before her, and kissed her hand.
"What liberties are these, sir?" cried she, so angrily, that it was not easy to say whether the anger was not real.
"It is the latest rule introduced into our service," said he, with mock humility. [Chapter XLII, "An Evening in the Drawing-room," 244 in volume]
Commentary: Introducing Lieutenant on Leave, Gorman O'Shea of the Austrian Lancers
The private secretary of the Viceroy, Cecil Walpole, lolling on the easy chair (right), we recognize by his facial hair and monocle. Coordinating with his tenth vignette, Kearney, delighted, as the rider removed his hat and turned round to salute him, here Fildes introduces Gorman O'Shea as the newcomer among the Kearneys in the full-page engraving for this July 1871 instalment (facing p. 1 in Vol. XXIV of The Cornhill Magazine). The others in the picture include Matthew Kearney (left), his son, Dick (leaning on the mantlepiece), his daughter Kate (Kitty), and his imperious niece, Nina Kostalergi (foreground). Fildes does not assist the viewer in determining whether Nina is acting or sincere in her hauteur. The question of Italian-Austrian relations complicates her attitude towards the Austrian officer:
"But we were not the 'Barbari' in your recollection, mademoiselle," said he. "We were out of Italy before you could have any feeling for either party."
"The tradition of all your cruelties has survived you, and I am sure, if you were wearing your white coat still, I'd hate you." [244]
As a young woman with pro-Italian sympathies in the 1860s, Nina, although a Greek, naturally feels some hostility towards a member of the armed forces of the Austrian Empire, the chief power in Italy prior to Risorgimento. In fact, as Lever began writing the novel, Italian unification was completed in 1871 with the capture of Rome, and its becoming the capital of a unified Italy. Nina undoubtedly regards Austria as opposed to Italian unity, and remembers the Second Italian Independence War of 1859, in which Austria was the chief antagonist. Italy's conflict with Austria continued through 1866.
Scanned images and commentary 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 9 May 2005 Last modified 30 June 2023