"Little Nell in the Old Church" — Furniss's twenty-third illustration for Dickens's "The Old Curiosity Shop" (1910)

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Little Nell in the Old Church

The child sat down in this old, silent place, among the stark figures on the tombs, and gazing round with a feeling of awe, tempered with a calm delight, felt that now she was happy, and at rest.

Harry Furniss

1910

14.1 x 9.2 cm, framed

Dickens's The Old Curiosity Shop, The Charles Dickens Library Edition, facing V, Chapter L, facing 385.

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Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.

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Passage Illustrated

The child sat down, in this old, silent place, among the stark figures on the tombs — they made it more quiet there, than elsewhere, to her fancy — and gazing round with a feeling of awe, tempered with a calm delight, felt that now she was happy, and at rest. She took a Bible from the shelf, and read; then, laying it down, thought of the summer days and the bright springtime that would come — of the rays of sun that would fall in aslant, upon the sleeping forms — of the leaves that would flutter at the window, and play in glistening shadows on the pavement — of the songs of birds, and growth of buds and blossoms out of doors — of the sweet air, that would steal in, and gently wave the tattered banners overhead. What if the spot awakened thoughts of death! Die who would, it would still remain the same; these sights and sounds would still go on, as happily as ever. It would be no pain to sleep amidst them. [Chapter LIII, 394]

Related Material about The Old Curiosity Shop

Bibliography

Dickens, Charles. The Old Curiosity Shop. Illustrated by Harry Furniss. The Charles Dickens Library Edition. 18 vols. London: Educational Book Company, 1910. V.

Created 8 May 2020

Last modified 27 November 2020