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They placed the coffin in the vault
W. H. C. Groome
1907
12.1 x 7.9 cm, (4 ¾ by 3 ⅛ inches), framed
Lithograph
Dickens's Master Humphrey's Clock, facing page 105.
[Click on the image to enlarge it and mouse over the text for links.]
Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.
By this dim and solemn glare, which made Will feel as though light itself were dead, and its tomb the dreary arches that frowned above, they placed the coffin in the vault, with uncovered heads, and closed it up. One of the torch-bearers then turned to Will, and stretched forth his hand, in which was a purse of gold. Something told him directly that those were the same eyes which he had seen beneath the mask. [Chapter Two of "Mr. Pickwick's Tale," pp. 99-100]
Will has already encountered the grieving widow of the hanged criminal (more likely, an aristocratic anti-government conspirator) and her sister-in-law at the gibbet outside Kingston. Both women feature in the clandestine interment scene at St. Dunstan's, where for a promised reward Will has brought the cart from Putney to London Bridge, and has threaded his way through the city's streets at dusk. In this second illustration, Will has completed the commission given him by the relatives and a mysterious, masked cavalier to transport the body to the Church of St. Dunstan's on Fleet Street for nocturnal burial. Groome does not telegraph the comic ending afforded by Will's preposterous narration of a witches' frolic; the resourceful Will must manufacture such a far-fetched tale to hide his own part in the illicit activity, including his absence in London. In return for the young man's cooperation, services, and promising to keep the church scene a secret, the masked cavalier rewards Will with "one hundred golden unities," a gratuity that sets him up for life.
Left: George Cattermole and Hablot Knight Browne offer three significant illustrations for "Mr. Pickwick's Tale" in Master Humphrey's Clock (1840). Right: Fred Barnard in the Household Edition realizes a key moment in satire on popular beliefs about witchcraft in the reign of James I: At last they made a halt at the opening of a lonely, desolate space, and, pointing to a black object at some distance, asked Will if he saw that, yonder (1872).
Left: Harry Furniss's focus is on the teller of the tale rather than on the story itself in Mr. Pickwick Examining the Clock (1910). Centre: Phiz's Will Marks takes up his position for the night (Tailpiece for Ch. 1). Right: Cattermole's Will Marks arrives at the Church (Chapter 2).
Bentley, Nicolas, Michael Slater, and Nina Burgis. The Dickens Index. New York and Oxford: Oxford U. P., 1990.
Davis, Paul. "Master Humphrey's Clock." Charles Dickens A to Z: The Essential Reference to his Life and Work. New York: Facts On File, 1998, 238.
Dickens, Charles. Master Humphrey's Clock. Illustrated by George Cattermole and Hablot Knight Browne ('Phiz'). London: Chapman and Hall, 4 April 1840 - 6 February 41.
_______. Master Humphrey's Clock. The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Reprinted Pieces, and Other Stories. With thirty illustrations by L. Fildes, E. G. Dalziel, and F. Barnard. The Household Edition. London: Chapman and Hall, 1872. Vol. XX. Pp. 253-306.
_______. Master Humphrey's Clock and Pictures from Italy. With eight illustrations by W. H. C. Groome. London and Glasgow, 1907. Vol. XLIX. Pp. 1-168.
_______. Barnaby Rudge and Master Humphrey's Clock. Illustrated by Harry Furniss. Charles Dickens Library Edition. Volume VI. London: Educational Book, 1910.
Hammerton, J. A. The Dickens Picture Book: A Record of the Dickens Illustrators. Ch. XIV. "Master Humphrey's Clock." The Charles Dickens Library. London: Educational Book Co., 1910. Pp. 259-265.
Created 31 August 2022