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"And when does the ship sail, Mr. Micawber?"
W. H. C. Groome
1907
11.6 x 7.6 cm (4 ½ by 3 inches), framed
Lithograph
Dickens's David Copperfield, referencing page 750; facing page 737.
[Click on image to enlarge it.]
Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.
The Micawber family were lodged in a little, dirty, tumble-down public-house, which in those days was close to the stairs, and whose protruding wooden rooms overhung the river. The family, as emigrants, being objects of some interest in and about Hungerford, attracted so many beholders, that we were glad to take refuge in their room. It was one of the wooden chambers upstairs, with the tide flowing underneath. My aunt and Agnes were there, busily making some little extra comforts, in the way of dress, for the children. Peggotty was quietly assisting, with the old insensible work-box, yard-measure, and bit of wax-candle before her, that had now outlived so much.
It was not easy to answer her inquiries; still less to whisper Mr. Peggotty, when Mr. Micawber brought him in, that I had given the letter, and all was well. But I did both, and made them happy. If I showed any trace of what I felt, my own sorrows were sufficient to account for it.
"And when does the ship sail, Mr. Micawber?" asked my aunt.
Mr. Micawber considered it necessary to prepare either my aunt or his wife, by degrees, and said, sooner than he had expected yesterday. [Chapter LVII, "The Emigrants," pp. 803-804]
Groome, using a small-scale lithograph of the Micawbers and Peggottys about to depart for Port Middlebay, Australia, probably could not have equalled Phiz's brilliant handling of the scene about the emigrant vessel. The small-scale lithograph is not a suitable medium for depicting a large group and a detailed setting, but Groome's treatment falls short even its depiction of the principals, Wilkins Micawber, kitted out as a colonist prepared to meet the wilds of the southern continent, and the stalwart Dan'l Peggotty, recently bereft of his beloved Ham and determined to make a new life for his extended family. In his expansive depiction of the farewell scene, Phiz had avoided including the two "fallen women," Em'ly and Martha Endell; in his scaled-down and less dynamic version, Groome has crowded together twelve pensive figures, almost all of the principals in the novel, except Ham, Steerforth, Dick, and Heep. Furniss's strategy in his 1910 lithograph is more satisfactory: limiting the number of figures in the frame, and distinguishing them by costume and pose, with a focus on the ebullient Micawber. Groome simply tries to do too much in too brief a space in attempting to include the following characters waiting to be taken to the emigrant ship.
The two most obvious figures among the five women, five men, and two children are those whom Groome mentions in his caption: Miss Trotwood (gesturing, left foreground) and Mr. Micawber (left of centre, fully lit by the window). It appears that this group scene occurs not in the hold of ship itself, but in the common room at the inn near Hungerford Stairs on the Thames. The second most obvious woman should be Agnes Wickfield, probably beside Aunt Betsey. Dan'l Peggotty is the middle-aged man with the Micawber twins (right) on his knees. The next woman who commands the viewer's notice, standing looking out of the window, upper left, is likely Emma Micawber. Tommy Traddles and David Copperfield must be upper right. Master Micawber logically is the adolescent behind his father (up centre). Mrs. Gummidge and Em'ly on either side of Mr. Peggotty complete the dozen.
Left: Harry Furniss's Charles Dickens Library Edition version of the
departure of the Micawbers omits the Peggottys and focuses on Micawber's transforming
himself for the voyage:
Dickens, Charles. David Copperfield, with 61 illustrations by Phiz (Hablot Knight Browne). London: Chapman and Hall, 1850.
_______. David Copperfield. Illustrated by W. H. C. Groome. London and Glasgow: Collins Clear-type Press, 1907. No. 1.
_______. The Personal History and Experiences of David Copperfield. Illustrated by Harry Furniss. The Charles Dickens Library Edition. London: Educational Book Company, 1910. Vol. X.
Created 8 July 2022