"I don't remember that I was ever better." — nineteenth illustration by W. L. Sheppard for Dickens's "Dombey and Son" (American Household Edition, 1873)

"I don't remember that I was ever better." by W. L. Sheppard. Twentieth illustration for Dickens's Dombey and Son in the American Household Edition (1873), Chapter XVIII, "Father and Daughter," p. 108. 9.3 x 13.5 cm (3 ⅝ by 5 ¼ inches) framed. [Click on the image to enlarge it.]

Passage Illustrated: Mr. Toots comes courting Florence

Phiz's original serial drawing of Florence with the dog that Toots gives her in recognition of his close relationship with Paul at Dr. Blimber's, Poor Paul's Friend (March 1847).

Susan Nipper involuntarily proceeded to do the like again on the spot. In the meantime Mr. Toots, who had come upstairs after her, all unconscious of the effect he produced, announced himself with his knuckles on the door, and walked in very briskly.

“How d’ye do, Miss Dombey?” said Mr. Toots. “I’m very well, I thank you; how are you?”

Mr. Toots — than whom there were few better fellows in the world, though there may have been one or two brighter spirits —had laboriously invented this long burst of discourse with the view of relieving the feelings both of Florence and himself. But finding that he had run through his property, as it were, in an injudicious manner, by squandering the whole before taking a chair, or before Florence had uttered a word, or before he had well got in at the door, he deemed it advisable to begin again.

“How d’ye do, Miss Dombey?” said Mr. Toots. “I’m very well, I thank you; how are you?”

Florence gave him her hand, and said she was very well.

“I’m very well indeed,” said Mr Toots, taking a chair. “Very well indeed, I am. I don’t remember,” said Mr Toots, after reflecting a little, “that I was ever better, thank you.”

“It’s very kind of you to come,” said Florence, taking up her work, “I am very glad to see you.” [Chapter XVIII, "Father and Daughter," 107]

Commentary: Sentimental Comedy

Kyd's (Clayton J. Clarke's) watercolour study of Paul's comedic foil: Mr. P. Toots (c. 1910).

Since Florence is still in mourning, as signified not only by her dark clothing but her more mature face, the visit by the fatuous clotheshorse creates a scene straight out of domestic sentimental comedy. That Toots has come calling because he is infatuated with Florence is obvious, but Florence's receiving him with some degree of sympathy suggests her gratitude for Toots's befriending her brother at Dr. Blimber's Academy. Sheppard depicts Toots with a thin body clad in a suit fashionable in the 1840s and an elongated head. He sits rigidly, holding his hat awkwardly as Florence attempts to converse with him in the library.

The comic scene with Toots occurs after the melancholy opening of the chapter with the sable carriages departing for little Paul's funeral. For a week Florence has been gloomy and distraught, for she misses her brother and receives no consolation from his father. But now her maid, Susan Nipper, announces an improbable gentleman caller, whose arrival readers welcome as comic relief. The grieving sister invites Toots to talk about his memories of her brother. Quite characteristically, he recalls making Paul an ironic recommendation to his tailors, Burgess and Company, who have made Toots the suit of mourning that he is presently wearing. Blubbering, Toots then brings up the subject of the Blimbers' dog, Diogenes, a great favourite of Paul's whom Toots has just acquired. Even though the hairy brute is hardly a lady's dog, Toots now offers him to Florence as a companion.

Illustrations of Mr. Toots in Other Editions (1847-1910)

Left: Phiz's May 1847 illustration Mr. Toots becomes particular — Diogenes also. Centre: HarryFurniss's dynamic later illustration of Paul's schoolmate: Mr. Toots makes a Speech (1910). Right:Fred Barnard's Household Edition illustration of Paul and Toots as a study in contrasts: "Your father's regularly rich, ain't he?" inquired Mr. Toots. (1877).

Related Material, including Other Illustrated Editions of Dombey and Son (1846-1910)

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Bibliography

Dickens, Charles. Dombey and Son. Illustrated by W. L. Sheppard. The Household Edition. 18 vols. New York: Harper & Co., 1873.

__________. Dombey and Son. Illustrated by F. O. C. Darley and John Gilbert. The Works of Charles Dickens. The Household Edition. 55 vols. New York: Sheldon and Company, 1862. Vols. 1-4.

__________. Dombey and Son. Illustrated by Sol Eytinge, Jr., and engraved by A. V. S. Anthony. 14 vols. Boston: Ticknor & Fields, 1867. III.

__________. Dombey and Son. Illustrated by Fred Barnard [62 composite wood-block engravings]. The Works of Charles Dickens. The Household Edition. 22 vols. London: Chapman and Hall, 1877. XV.

__________. Dombey and Son. With illustrations by H. K. Browne. The illustrated library Edition. 2 vols. London: Chapman and Hall, c. 1880. II.

__________. Dombey and Son. Illustrated by Fred Barnard. 61 wood-engravings. The Household Edition. 22 vols. London: Chapman and Hall, 1877. XV.

__________. Dombey and Son. Illustrated by W. H. C. Groome. London and Glasgow, 1900, rpt. 1934. 2 vols. in one.

__________. Dombey and Son. Illustrated by Harry Furniss. The Charles Dickens Library Edition. 18 vols. London: Educational Book, 1910. Vol. IX.

__________. Dombey and Son. Illustrated by Hablot K. Browne ("Phiz"). 8 coloured plates. London and Edinburgh: Caxton and Ballantyne, Hanson, 1910.

__________. Dombey and Son. Illustrated by Hablot K. Browne ("Phiz"). The Clarendon Edition, ed. Alan Horsman. Oxford: Clarendon, 1974.

Created 2 February 2022