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Mr. Weller Attacks the Executive of Ipswich
Phiz (Hablot K. Browne)
December 1836
Steel Engraving
12.9 cm high by 11.9 cm wide (5 ⅛ by 4 ⅛ inches), vignetted
Dickens's Pickwick Papers, Chapter XXIV, facing p. 254.
[Click on the image to enlarge it.]
Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.
Whether Mr. Winkle was seized with a temporary attack of that species of insanity which originates in a sense of injury, or animated by this display of Mr. Weller's valour, is uncertain; but certain it is, that he no sooner saw Mr. Grummer fall than he made a terrific onslaught on a small boy who stood next him; whereupon Mr. Snodgrass, in a truly Christian spirit, and in order that he might take no one unawares, announced in a very loud tone that he was going to begin, and proceeded to take off his coat with the utmost deliberation. He was immediately surrounded and secured; and it is but common justice both to him and Mr. Winkle to say, that they did not make the slightest attempt to rescue either themselves or Mr. Weller; who, after a most vigorous resistance, was overpowered by numbers and taken prisoner. The procession then reformed; the chairmen resumed their stations; and the march was re-commenced.
Mr. Pickwick's indignation during the whole of this proceeding was beyond all bounds. He could just see Sam upsetting the specials, and flying about in every direction; and that was all he could see, for the sedan doors wouldn’t open, and the blinds wouldn’t pull up. At length, with the assistance of Mr. Tupman, he managed to push open the roof; and mounting on the seat, and steadying himself as well as he could, by placing his hand on that gentleman’s shoulder, Mr. Pickwick proceeded to address the multitude; to dwell upon the unjustifiable manner in which he had been treated; and to call upon them to take notice that his servant had been first assaulted. In this order they reached the magistrate’s house; the chairmen trotting, the prisoners following, Mr. Pickwick oratorising, and the crowd shouting. [Chapter XXIV, “Wherein Mr. Peter Magnus Grows Jealous, and the Middle-aged Lady Apprehensive, Which Brings the Pickwickians within the Grasp of the Law,” p. 254]
The presence of a sedan chair suggests a Regency setting for both the passage and its accompanying illustration which captures well the sense of uproarious discord of a brawling crowd scene like something out of Hogarth. However, the context is once again Sam Weller's trying to come to his master's rescue as Pickwick is arrested under the misapprehension that he is about to participate in a duel.
In the following chapter, as a result of his apprehension and Sam's insurrection,
Pickwick must confront the haughty local magistrate, Mr. Nupkins. However, when Pickwick
requests an in-camera session with the magistrate, he reveals that the houseguest of Mrs.
Nupkins, a "Captain Fitz-Marshall," is a rank impostor, for he is none other than the
strolling player Alfred Jingle. In exchange for keeping this matter private Pickwick
secures his release and that of his companions. The scene with Nupkins in Chapter XXV is
the subject of Onwhyn's extra illustration “What prevents me,” said Mr. Nupkins, with magisterial dignity, as
Job was brought in, — “what prevents me from detaining these men as rogues and
impostors? It is a foolish mercy. What prevents me?’”
“‘Pride, old fellow, pride,”
replied Jingle, quite at his ease. “Wouldn’t do — no go — caught a captain, eh? — ha! ha!
very good — husband for daughter — biter bit — make it public — not for worlds — look
stupid — very!’” (issued July 31, 1837).
Left: Thomas Nast's American Household Edition's engraving for this chapter, "What is the meaning of this, Sir?" (1873). Right: Phiz's composite woodblock engraving for these chapters, Mr. Pickwick no sooner put on his spectacles, than he at once recognised in the future Mrs. Magnus the lady into whose room he had so unwarrantably intruded on the previous night (1874), focuses on the relationship between Miss Witherfield and Peter Magnus. [Click on the images to enlarge them.]
Cohen, Jane Rabb. Charles Dickens and His Original Illustrators. Columbus: Ohio State U. P., 1980.
Dickens, Charles. The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. Illustrated by Robert Seymour, Robert Buss, and Phiz. London: Chapman and Hall, November 1837. With 32 additional illustrations by Thomas Onwhyn (London: E. Grattan, April-November 1837).
Dickens, Charles. Pickwick Papers. Illustrated by Hablot Knight Browne. The Household Edition. 22 vols. London: Chapman and Hall, 1874. Vol. 6.
Dickens, Charles. Pickwick Papers Illustrated by Thomas Nast. The Household Edition. New York: Harper and Bros., 1873.
Hammerton, J. A. The Dickens Picture-Book. London: Educational Book Co., 1910.
Steig, Michael. Dickens and Phiz. Bloomington & London: Indiana U. P., 1978. Pp. 51-85.
Created 4 November 2019
Last updated 25 February 2024