Mr. Fledgeby Departs on His Errand of Mercy — Marcus Stone's first June 1865 illustration for "Our Mutual Friend"

Mr. Fledgeby Departs on His Errand of Mercy

Marcus Stone

Wood engraving by W. T. Green

14 cm high x 9.5 cm wide

Stone's illustration for Book 3, "A Long Lane," Chapter 12, "Meaning Mischief," appeared in the June, 1865, instalment. The scene is the Lammles' breakfast parlour where the couple have recently considered their prospects and have mutually agreed to use their knowledge of Rokesmith's proposal to Bella to manipulate Boffin to discharge the secretary and replace him with Alfred Lammle in order to advance their larger scheme of defrauding Boffin. Seeing Fascination Fledgeby arriving at their door, Lammle retreats, leaving his wife to deal with their inconvenient acquaintance. [continued below]

Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.

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When Sophronia Lammle reveals their temporary difficulty with a money-lender who is a mutual acquaintance, Fledgeby promises to be of assistance to the Lammles in intervening on their behalf with Riah of Pubsey & Co. In fact, in his true guise as the firm's owner, Fledgeby subsequently enjoins his employee to act on Lammle's note and move to confiscate the Lammles' furniture at their Sackville Street residence. Although the illustration does not in the least suggest Fledgeby's duplicity, Stone captures well Mrs. Lammle's feeling of discomfort at Fledgeby's kissing her hand to seal his promise of assistance. The passage which terminates in Fledgeby's chivalric gesture is this:

'Alfred, dear Mr. Fledgeby, discussed with me this very morning before he went out, some prospects he has, which might entirely change the aspect of his present troubles.'

'Really?' said Fledgeby.

'O yes!' Here Mrs. Lammle brought her handkerchief into play. 'And you know, dear Mr. Fledgeby — you who study the human heart, and study the world — what an affliction it would be to lose position and to lose credit, when ability to tide over a very short time might save all appearances.'

'Oh!' said Fledgeby. 'Then you think, Mrs. Lammle, that if Lammle got time, he wouldn't burst up? — To use an expression,' Mr. Fledgeby apologetically explained, 'which is adopted in the Money Market.'

'Indeed yes. Truly, truly, yes!'

'That makes all the difference,' said Fledgeby. 'I'll make a point of seeing Riah at once.'

'Blessings on you, dearest Mr. Fledgeby!'

'Not at all,' said Fledgeby. She gave him her hand. 'The hand,' said Mr Fledgeby, 'of a lovely and superior-minded female is ever the repayment of a —

'Noble action!' said Mrs. Lammle, extremely anxious to get rid of him.

'It wasn't what I was going to say,' returned Fledgeby, who never would, under any circumstances, accept a suggested expression, 'but you're very complimentary. May I imprint a — a one — upon it? Good morning!'[488-489]

References

Dickens, Charles. Our Mutual Friend. Il. Marcus Stone. Volume 14 of the Authentic Edition. London: Chapman and Hall; New York: Charles Scribners' Sons, 1901.

Davis, Paul. Charles Dickens A to Z: The Essential Reference to His Life and Work. New York: Checkmark and Facts On File, 1998.

Last modified 5 July 2011