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She paused, and the infinite tenderness in her voice seemed to hover round us like a memory
Maurice Greiffenhagen
1888
Lithograph
12.4 cm high by 8.3 cm wide (5 by 3 ⅜ inches), facing p. 288 in Chapter XXV, “The Spirit of Life,” framed
Fifteenth regular illustration for H. Rider Haggard's SHE: A History of Adventure, facing page 288 in the Longman's British edition (1888).
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Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham
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Thy love, Kallikrates, shall be the gate of my redemption, even as aforetime my passion was the path down which I ran to evil. For deep love unsatisfied is the hell of noble hearts and a portion of the accursed, but love that is mirrored back more perfect from the soul of our desired doth fashion wings to lift us above ourselves, and make us what we might be. Therefore, Kallikrates, take me by the hand, and lift my veil with no more fear than though I were some peasant girl, and not the wisest and most beauteous woman in this wide world, and look me in the eyes, and tell me that thou dost forgive me with all thine heart, and that will all thine heart thou dost worship me.”
She paused, and the strange tenderness in her voice seemed to hover round us like a memory. I know that the sound of it moved me more even than her words, it was so very human — so very womanly. Leo, too, was strangely touched. Hitherto he had been fascinated against his better judgment, something as a bird is fascinated by a snake, but now I think that all this passed away, and he realised that he really loved this strange and glorious creature, as, alas! I loved her also. At any rate, I saw his eyes fill with tears, and he stepped swiftly to her and undid the gauzy veil, and then took her by the hand, and, gazing into her deep eyes, said aloud —
“Ayesha, I love thee with all my heart, and so far as forgiveness is possible I forgive thee the death of Ustane. For the rest, it is between thee and thy Maker; I know naught of it. I only know that I love thee as I never loved before, and that I will cleave to thee to the end.” [Chapter XXV, “The Spirit of Life,” 286]
Beyond the city of Kôr, miraculously, despite losing their plank, the adventurers and Ayesha find themselves in the hollowed out cavern of Noot, the hermit who discovered the Flame of Life, but refused to avail himself of its effects. Two thousand years earlier, he had died in this terrible spot, and Ayesha had returned to find him dead. At this point she confesses that she slew Kallikrates with a javelin when he refused to step into the eternal flame and, reborn, make her his bride. Now, declaring his love for her, Leo absolves Ayesha of Ustane's death, again an act of jealousy like the murder of the original Kallikrates. He is now prepared to step into the Flame of life himself, in order to join Ayesha for eternity; however, things do not work out as either they or Holly (in the background) expect. The picture emphasizes the love of the two physically perfect young adults, but fails to prepare us for the sudden reversal. The comic figure of the puzzled Job, seated left, foils the sentimentality of the atmospheric lithograph. According to the rules of Victorian serial fiction, Haggard makes us laugh, makes us cry — and makes us wait.
Brantlinger, Patrick. Introduction. She: A History of Adventure. By H. Rider Haggard. London: Penguin, 2004. vii-xxviii.
Haggard, H. Rider. "SHE:" A History of Adventure. Illustrated by E. K. Johnson. The Graphic Magazine, Vols. XXXIV and XXXV. 2 October 1886 to 8 January 1887.
Haggard. H. Rider. SHE: A History of Adventure. Illustrated by E. K. Johnson. New York: Harper & Bros., 1887.
Haggard, H. Rider. SHE: A History of Adventure. Illustrated by Maurice Greiffenhagen and Charles H. M. Kerr. London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1888, rpt. 1927.
Haggard, H. Rider. She. Project Gutenberg EBook #3155 produced by John Bickers; Dagny; William Kyngesburye; David Kyngesburye; David Widger. 2016. Web. Accessed 9 May 2025.
Created 19 May 2025