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Mark exits from the Ball
Phiz (Hablot K. Browne)
steel engraving
13.9 cm by 11.5 cm (5 ½ by 4 ⅝ inches), vignetted
September 1845
Charles Lever's The O'Donoghue; A Tale of Ireland Fifty Years Ago, Chapter XXXIII, "The St. Patrick's Ball," facing p. 270.
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Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.
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A low whisper ran around after these words, and at the instant every eye was directed to Mark O'Donoghue. The young man sustained their looks with a frown of resolute daring, turning from one to the other to see if, perchance, by any gesture or expression, he could single out one to pay the penalty for the rest — his blood boiled at the insulting glances that fell upon him, and he was in the very act of giving his temper vent, when an arm was slipped within his, and Frederick Travers whispered in his ear —
“I hope your friend has got safely away. There are some fellows here to-night of notoriously bad character, and Mr. Talbot may get into trouble on that account.”
“He has just left this. I hope before now he has reached the street.”
“Let me be your convoy, then,” said Travers, good-naturedly. “These talking fools will cease their scandal when they see us together;” and, affecting an air of easy intimacy, he led Mark through the crowd, which even already bestowed very altered glances as they passed.
“Good night, sir,” said Mark, abruptly, as they arrived at the room by which he remembered to have entered, “I see my friend yonder, awaiting me.” Travers returned the greeting, and half extended his hand, but Mark coolly bowed and turned away. The moment after he was at Talbot's side. [Chapter XXXIII, "The St. Patrick's Ball," 270]
The Viceroy's St. Patrick's Day Ball does not seem a likely event for the rough-and-ready Mark O'Donoghue to attend. However, his friend and fellow Irish nationalist Henry Talbot is going to use the social event as cover for meeting with one of his confederates to discuss his "mission," namely the French revolutionary government's instigating a rebellion against the British crown. But a visit from Lanty Lawler shortly before the ball nearly convinces him not to go as Hemsworth is on his trail for the robbery of a Mr. Moore of Moore-croft. As added protection against detection, Talbot intends to go disguised as an English militia officer.
The present scene is the reception-room in Dublin Castle. Behind Mark is the pillar that is to be his rallying point with Talbot once he has concluded his clandestine meeting. The assemblage, as Lever describes it, is indeed gorgeous "in all the glare of dress and jewels" (265), but Mark looks angrily at the thin man on his extreme left, presumably Hemsworth.The nobleman who has just discovered that his jewelled snuffbox missing, Lord Clangoff, may be the plump peer to the left.
Lester, Valerie Browne. Phiz: The Man Who Drew Dickens. London: Chatto and Windus, 2004.
Lever, Charles. The O'Donoghue; A Tale of Ireland Fifty Years Ago. With 26 engravings by Phiz [Hablột Knight Browne]. Dublin: William Curry, Jun., 1845.
Lever, Charles. The O'Donoghue; A Tale of Ireland Fifty Years Ago. Illustrated by Phiz [Hablột Knight Browne]. Novels and Romances of Charles Lever. In One Vol. Project Gutenberg. Last Updated: May 11, 2010.
Stevenson, Lionel. Chapter VIII, "Heretic Among Tories, 1844-1845." Dr. Quicksilver: The Life of Charles Lever. London: Chapman and Hall, 1939. Pp. 128-145.
Sutherland, John A. "Lever, Charles." The Stanford Companion to Victorian Fiction. Stanford, Cal.: Stanford U. P., 1989, rpt. 1990, 372-374.
Created 4 January 2024