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Terry, Sir Marmaduke, and Sybella
Phiz (Hablot K. Browne)
steel engraving
12.1 cm by 10.5 cm (4 ¾ by 4 ⅛ inches), vignetted
March 1845
Charles Lever's The O'Donoghue; A Tale of Ireland Fifty Years Ago, Chapter XI, "Mistakes on All Sides," facing p. 89.
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Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.
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“I wish I did not suspect him.”
“Send for him at least,” said his daughter, as with an effort she restrained the emotion that agitated her; “speak to him yourself.”
“To what end, my child, if he really is innocent?”
“Oh! yes, indeed — indeed he is,” she exclaimed, as the tears at length fell fast upon her cheek.
“Well then, be it so,” said Sir Marmaduke, as he rung the bell, and ordered Terry to be sent for.
While Miss Travers sat with her head buried in her hands, her father paced slowly up and down the room; and so absorbed was he in his thoughts, that he had not noticed Terry, who had meanwhile entered the room, and now stood respectfully beside, the door. When the old man's eyes did fall on him, he started back, with horror and astonishment. The poor fellow's clothes were actually reduced to a mass of burned rags — one sleeve was completely gone, and, there, could be seen his bare arm scorched and blackened by the fire — a bandage of coarse linen wrapping the hand and fingers — a deep cut marked his brow — and his hair was still matted and clotted with the blood—awhile his face was of the colour of death itself.
“Can you doubt him now, father,” whispered the young girl, as she gazed on the poor fellow, whose wandering eyes roamed over the ornaments of the chamber, in total unconsciousness of himself and his sufferings.
“Well, Terry,” said Sir Marmaduke after a pause, “what account do you give of last night's business?” [Chapter XI, "Mistakes on All Sides," 89]
The initial mistake involves the leader of the smugglers and his triggering an alarm in Sir Marmaduke Travers' servants. This, in turn, leads to what the tenants of the lodge regard as a nocturnal attack by an armed force, possibly Irish nationalists. This turn of events leads to a second misapprehension, depicted here.
Sir Marmaduke Travers, the aloof London banker (left), and his more emotional and sympathetic daughter Syblla (right) make no progress whatsoever in interrogating the wild Irish boy, Terry, about his possible involvement in the attack on the manor house. That he has severely burned his hand in spreading the wetted sailcloth on the burning rick has convinced Sybella that the mentally and emotionally challenged youth was not a member of the raiding party, despite the servants' accusations. The reader correctly interprets Terry's reticence as stemming from his infatuation with the master's daughter. Only after he has run off do Sir Marmaduke's interrogations of the staff bring Terry's romantic motivations to light.
In the illustration of the interrogation scene, Terry holds his burnt arm, but looks downward, reluctant to answer Sybella's questioning him about his involvement in the supposed raid by Nationalists — in fact, a group of French smugglers led by Captain Jack (Jacques Flahault) who inadvertently caused the disturbance by trying to open the window of the parlour of the lodge where Miss Travers ("the prettiest face in Europe") was copying a drawing. The misadventure which Captain Jack occasioned failed to do any damage to the lodge or the outbuildings because, in his own words, "a wild-looking devil mount[ed] one of the ricks, with a great canvas sail all wetted, and drag[ged] it over the burning stack" (79) ignited by the smugglers to cover their escape.
When Sybella's father questions him, Terry merely alludes to the pictures on the wall. The girl points to his having sustained wounds in defence of the house, her father remains unconvinced. Terry is hiding something about the affair, and of course he has no clue as to the identities of the perpetrators. He refuses to explain why he was hanging about the lodge at so late an hour, embarrassed by his feelings for Sybella.
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 22 December 2023