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The Shealing
Phiz (Hablot K. Browne)
steel engraving
10.8 cm by 11.3 cm (4 ¼ by 4 ⅜ inches), vignetted
November 1845
Charles Lever's The O'Donoghue; A Tale of Ireland Fifty Years Ago, Chapter XLII, "The Shealing," facing p. 345.
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Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.
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Through the roof of the shealing, from which, in many places, the dry sods had fallen, he discovered his brother, stretched upon the earthen floor of the hut, intently gazing on a large map, which lay widespread before him. The figure was indeed Mark's. The massive head, on either side of which, in flowing waves, the long and locky hair descended, there was no mistaking. But the costume was one Herbert saw for the first time. It was a simple uniform of blue and white, with a single silver epaulette, and a sword, hilted with the same metal. The shako was of dark fur, and ornamented with a large bouquet of tri-colored ribbons, whose gay and flaunting colours streamed with a strange contrast along the dark earthen floor. Amid all his terror for what these emblems might portend, his heart bounded with pride at the martial and handsome figure, as, leaning on one elbow, he traced with the other hand the lines upon the map. Unable to control his impatience longer, he cried out —
“Mark, my brother!” and the next moment they were in each other's arms.
“You passed Terry on the mountain? He was at his post, I trust?” said Mark, anxiously. [Chapter XLII, "The Shealing," pp. 345-346]
The shealing at the foot of Mount Hungry is where Kate had told Hemsworth that he might find Mark. Fate had intervened when, rushing to effect the arrest, the envious estate agent had suffered an incapacitating fall from his horse, and has been in and out of mental incapacity for nearly three weeks. In the previous illustration, Sir Archy hears something to his advantage, Phiz had depicted the moment when Sir Archy overheard the raving Hemsworth's delighting in imagining taking his vengeance against the O'Donoghue. This second November 1845 illustration presents Herbert as the dutiful younger brother, but shows Mark in an entirely new light, accoutered as a French officer, as suggested by his epaulette. The illustration reassured serial readers that Hemsworth had been unable to execute his plan to have Mark apprehended and tried for treason.
Without revealing Hemsworth's true character or intentions, Sir Archy has despatched Herbert to warn Mark of his imminent arrest now that Hemsworth has regained his faculties. Mark in his French uniform has surprised Herbert with the news that he has joined the French Grenadiers as a Lieutenant in Hoche's regiment and is about to board a schooner bound for Cherbourg. And Herbert has equally surprising news: he has turned Protestant while a student at Trinity College.
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 8 January 2024