The old man stood helplessly among them for a little time — for Chap. XLII by Charles Green. 1876. 3 ½ x 4 3/8 inches (9.6 cm high by x 13.7 cm wide. Dickens's The Old Curiosity Shop, in the 1876 British Household Edition, XII: 156. Running head: "Flight from a Horrible Dream" (157). [Click on the image to enlarge it.]
Context of the Illustration: Grandfather Trent and the Gamblers
"You keep me poor, and plunder me, and make a sport and jest of me besides," said the old man, turning from one to the other. "Ye’ll drive me mad among ye."
The utter irresolution and feebleness of the grey-haired child, contrasted with the keen and cunning looks of those in whose hands he was, smote upon the little listener’s heart. But she constrained herself to attend to all that passed, and to note each look and word.
"Confound you, what do you mean?" said the stout man rising a little, and supporting himself on his elbow. "Keep you poor! You’d keep us poor if you could, wouldn’t you? That’s the way with you whining, puny, pitiful players. When you lose, you’re martyrs; but I don’t find that when you win, you look upon the other losers in that light. As to plunder!" cried the fellow, raising his voice — "Damme, what do you mean by such ungentlemanly language as plunder, eh?"
The speaker laid himself down again at full length, and gave one or two short, angry kicks, as if in further expression of his unbounded indignation. It was quite plain that he acted the bully, and his friend the peacemaker, for some particular purpose; or rather, it would have been to any one but the weak old man; for they exchanged glances quite openly, both with each other and with the gipsy, who grinned his approval of the jest until his white teeth shone again.
The old man stood helplessly among them for a little time, and then said, turning to his assailant:
"You yourself were speaking of plunder just now, you know. Don’t be so violent with me. You were, were you not?" [Chapter XLII, 154].
Related Material about The Old Curiosity Shop
- Dickens's The Old Curiosity Shop (homepage)
- The Old Curiosity Shop Illustrated: A Team Effort by "The Clock Works"
- Illustrated Editions of The Old Curiosity Shop
- Kyd's Characters from Dickens (1889)
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
Dickens, Charles. The Old Curiosity Shop. Illustrated by Charles Green. The Household Edition. 22 vols. London: Chapman and Hall, 1876. XII.
Created 8 May 2020
22 November 2020