“Even now, mayhap, <em>She</em> hears us.” from H. Rider Haggard's "'SHE:' A History of Adventure" by Edward Killingworth Johnson, A. W. S., for "The Graphic" (4 December 1886). Title in volume: “Oh, my lord,” I heard her whisper, “so I have found thee.” (1887)

[Victorian Web Home —> Visual Arts —> Illustration —> Edward Killingworth Johnson, A. W. S. —> She —> Next]

“Even now, mayhap, She hears us.”

Title in volume: “Oh, my lord,” I heard her whisper, “so I have found thee.”

Edward Killingworth Johnson, A. W. S.

composite woodblock engraving

4 December 1886

Framed, 9 by 6 ⅞ inches; 22.8 cm high by 17.4 cm wide; p. 605.

Tenth illustration for H. Rider Haggard's "SHE:" A History of Adventure in The Graphic, No. 889, Vol. XXXIV.

[Click on image to enlarge it.]

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.]

Passage Illustrated: Ustane, disguised for the animal pantomime, is reunited with Leo

“Oh, my lord,” I heard her whisper, “so I have found thee! Listen. I am in peril of my life from ‘She-who-must-be-obeyed.’ Surely the Baboon has told thee how she drove me from thee? I love thee, my lord, and thou art mine according to the custom of the country. I saved thy life! My Lion, wilt thou cast me off now?”

“Of course not,” ejaculated Leo; “I have been wondering whither thou hadst gone. Let us go and explain matters to the Queen.”

“Nay, nay, she would slay us. Thou knowest not her power — the Baboon there, he knoweth, for he saw. Nay, there is but one way: if thou wilt cleave to me, thou must flee with me across the marshes even now, and then perchance we may escape.”

“For Heaven’s sake, Leo,” I began, but she broke in —

“Nay, listen not to him. Swift — be swift — death is in the air we breathe. Even now, mayhap, She heareth us,” and without more ado she proceeded to back her arguments by throwing herself into his arms. As she did so the leopard’s head slipped from her hair, and I saw the three white finger-marks upon it, gleaming faintly in the starlight. [Chapter XIX, “'Give Me A Black Goat!',” 607]

Commentary: Chilling Suspense at The Curtain

As a sort of anti-masque to the main ballet involving make and female choruses of one hundred male and one hundred female Amahagger, Ayesha has arranged what Holly describes as an animal "pantomime." Among the dancers wearing various animal skins is "a particularly attractive leopard." When the dancer gestures to Leo and Holly and says, "Come," they instantly recognise the voice as Ustane. But the moment of joyful reunion at the curtain of the December 4th instalment is transformed to one of terror as, turning, they hear a silvery laugh and discover that they are being observed by She, accompanied two of her male mutes and Billali.

Related Material: Illustration for Chapter XIX in the Longman's Edition (1888)

Lanterns in Kôr (Chapter XIX, “'Give Me A Black Goat!'”)

Bibliography

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.

"Johnson, Edward Killingworth." Haynes Fine Art. Web. Accessed 8 April 2025. https://www.haynesfineart.com/artists/edward-killingworth-johnson-uk

Created 15 May 2025