“'It is safe,' she called.” and in volume: “A beam from the setting sun pierced the Stygian gloom, and smote upon the rock whereon we lay.”from H. Rider Haggard's "'SHE:' A History of Adventure" by Edward Killingworth Johnson, A. W. S., for "The Graphic" (18 December 1886)

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

Serial: “It is safe,” she called.

Volume: “A beam from the setting sun pierced the Stygian gloom, and smote upon the rock whereon we lay.”

Edward Killingworth Johnson, A. W. S.

composite woodblock engraving

18 December 1886

Framed, 9 inches high by 7 inches wide; 22.9 cm high by 17.3 cm wide; top, page 661; in volume, 5 ⅜ by 3 ½ inches (13.5 cm high by 8.7 cm wide)

Twelfth illustration for H. Rider Haggard's "SHE:" A History of Adventure in The Graphic, No. 890, Vol. XXXV; in the 1887 volume, facing page 272.

[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.]

A Literal Cliff-hanger the Narrator-Protagonist

I pushed the board on to Ayesha, who deftly ran it across the gulf so that one end of it rested on the rocking-stone, the other remaining on the extremity of the trembling spur. Then placing her foot upon it to prevent it from being blown away, she turned to me.

“Since I was last here, oh Holly,” she called, “the support of the moving stone hath lessened somewhat, so that I am not certain if it will bear our weight or no. Therefore will I cross the first, because no harm will come unto me,” and, without further ado, she trod lightly but firmly across the frail bridge, and in another second was standing safe upon the heaving stone.

“It is safe,” she called. “See, hold thou the plank! I will stand on the farther side of the stone so that it may not overbalance with your greater weights. Now, come, oh Holly, for presently the light will fail us.”

I struggled to my knees, and if ever I felt terrified in my life it was then, and I am not ashamed to say that I hesitated and hung back.

“Surely thou art not afraid,” this strange creature called in a lull of the gale, from where she stood poised like a bird on the highest point of the rocking-stone. “Make way then for Kallikrates.”

This settled me; it is better to fall down a precipice and die than be laughed at by such a woman. . . . [Chapter XXIV, "Walking th Plank," 663; p. 272 in volume]

Commentary: Arriving at the Cave of the hermit Noot, They await the Flame of Life

Beyond the city of Kôr, the adventurers and Ayesha enter an enormous cavern and climb out on a precipice. Now it becomes apparent why she has had them bring a twelve-foot plank. This they require to get across the gulf while there is still enough light. In Johnson’s illustration, Ayesha has crossed to the other side, and is encouraging Holly to come across. Behind him are Leo, apparently game for anything Ayesha proposes, and the comically terrified Job, staring into the stygian gloom as light disappears from the volcanic cavern. 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. In an editorial note Holly comments upon the discrepancy between Ayesha’s account and the version given in the sherd at the beginning of the story. Nor does Ayesha indicate how she and Amenartas were able to transport his body across the gulf and back to the tomb in Kôr. However, Johnson’s dramatic illustration reinforces the credibility of Ayesha’s vivid flashback.

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, rpt. 1927.

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

Created 30 April 2025