"What cheer now, my pretty, what cheer now?" — fortieth illustration by W. L. Sheppard for Dickens's "Dombey and Son" (American Household Edition, 1873)

“What cheer now, my pretty, what cheer now?” by W. L. Sheppard. Fortieth illustration for Dickens's Dombey and Son in the American Household Edition (1873), Chapter XLVIII, "The Flight of Florence," page 272. Page 271's Heading: "A Refuge in The Midshipman's Arms." 9.1 x 13.6 cm (3 ⅝ by 5 ⅜ inches) framed. [Click on the image to enlarge it.]

Passage Illustrated: Rejected, Florence seeks shelter at The Little Midshipman

But Florence did not stir.

“My Heart’s Delight!” said the trembling Captain. “For the sake of Wal”r drownded in the briny deep, turn to, and histe up something or another, if able!”

Finding her insensible to this impressive adjuration also, Captain Cuttle snatched from his breakfast-table a basin of cold water, and sprinkled some upon her face. Yielding to the urgency of the case, the Captain then, using his immense hand with extraordinary gentleness, relieved her of her bonnet, moistened her lips and forehead, put back her hair, covered her feet with his own coat which he pulled off for the purpose, patted her hand — so small in his, that he was struck with wonder when he touched it — and seeing that her eyelids quivered, and that her lips began to move, continued these restorative applications with a better heart.

“Cheerily,” said the Captain. “Cheerily! Stand by, my pretty one, stand by! There! You’re better now. Steady’s the word, and steady it is. Keep her so! Drink a little drop o’ this here,” said the Captain. “There you are! What cheer now, my pretty, what cheer now?”

At this stage of her recovery, Captain Cuttle, with an imperfect association of a Watch with a Physician’s treatment of a patient, took his own down from the mantel-shelf, and holding it out on his hook, and taking Florence’s hand in his, looked steadily from one to the other, as expecting the dial to do something. [Chapter XLVIII, "The Flight of Florence," 272]

Commentary: A Home more congenial to the Heart

Furious that Edith has defied and abandoned him, at the close of Chapter 47, Dombey is distraught. Florence attempts to console him, but he rejects her as an ally of his wife, and strikes her. She turns and runs out of the Dombey mansion into the street, followed by the ever-faithful Diogenes. She has but one recourse: Walter's Uncle Sol at the sign of The Little Midshipman. However, in his place she finds a tender welcome from the generous Captain Cuttle, who has been interrupted in the very act of preparing his chocolate for breakfast, and ironically misinterprets the rustle of feminine skirts as indicative of the arrival of the dreaded Mrs. MacStinger. Thus, Dickens admirably blends the pathos and comedy, tears and laughter characteristic of the sentimental domestic melodrama of the period. Florence's becoming Captain Cuttle's housekeeper and adopted daughter prepares us for the miraculous "return to life" of the long-absent young sailor and romantic hero of the novel, Walter Gay.

To make Captain Cuttle's ministrations to Florence the composition's focal point Sheppard has much diminished Diogenes, Florence's favourite, who now looks between the Captain's legs, as if looking for a way to see what is happening with his mistress. The old sailor appears to be using his pocket-watch to measure Florence's pulse, as if to reassure himself that she is coming around after fainting upon the floor. Continuing features of Sol Gills' parlour — the sword and picture to the right, the thermometer and nautical painting (left), and couch — all serve to reinforce the familiar setting that in fact is the foremost physical setting in the novel.

Pertinent Scenes from the Original and British Household Editions (1848 and 1877)

Left: Fred Barnard's scene in the Household Edition for this chapter focuses on Florence's relationship with Captain Cuttle: When he had filled his pipe in an absolute reverie of satisfaction, Florence lighted it for him (1877). Right: The original serial illustration by Phiz for Chapter 49, in which the illustrator hints at the return of Walter Gay: The Shadow in the Little Parlour (January 1848).

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 22 February 2022