"To Arms!" — Forty-fifth illustration by W. M. Thackeray for "The Rose and The Ring" (1855)

To Arms!

W. M. Thackeray

1855

Wood engraving, probably by William Linton

11.8 cm high by 9 cm wide (4 ⅝ by 3 ½ inches), vignetted

Descriptive headlines: "Now Good-bye to Book and Pen, / Follow Giglio, Gentlemen!" (pp. 384-389).

Forty-fifth illustration for The Rose and The Ring, p. 385.

Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.

[You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned the image and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]

Passage Illustrated: Giglio the student resumes a martial role

The Prince and his young friends hastened home to his apartment, highly excited by the intelligence, as no doubt by the royal narrator's admirable manner of recounting it, and they ran up to his room where he had worked so hard at his books.

On his writing-table was his bag, grown so long that the Prince could not help remarking it. He went to it, opened it, and what do you think he found in it?

A splendid long, gold-handled, red-velvet-scabbarded, cut-and-thrust sword, and on the sheath was embroidered "ROSALBA FOR EVER!"

He drew out the sword, which flashed and illuminated the whole room, and called out "Rosalba for ever!" Smith and Jones following him, but quite respectfully this time, and taking the time from His Royal Highness.

And now his trunk opened with a sudden pony, and out there came three ostrich feathers in a gold crown, surrounding a beautiful shining steel helmet, a cuirass, a pair of spurs, finally a complete suit of armour. [Chapter XIV, "What Became of Giglio," 384]

Commentary

For the past year, Giglio has been studying at the University of Bosforo, and has won eight prizes for academic excellence. The presence of the sword and the extravagantly plumed helmet in the trunk signals "Mr. Giles'" (Prince Giglio's) impending return to his function as a civil and military leader. His academic gown, mortor-board, and the pair of students in his rooms represent his sojourn in academe. But the shelves, once full of books, are bare, and Giglio eagerly takes up the weapon with which he will go into battle against the usurper, King Padella. Thus, the scene marks a significant transformation in "A Fireside Pantomime for Great and Small Children."

The Other Six Full-Page Illustrations, Each Individually Captioned

His R. H. The Prince of Crim Tartary (p. 333)
Angelica Arrives Just in Time (p. 359)
Prince Giglio’s Speech to the Army (p. 388)
Poor Bulbo is Ordered for Execution (p. 399)
The Terrible Combat between King Giglio and King Padella (p. 411)
Madam Gruffanuff Finds a Husband (p. 425)

Bibliography

Furniss, Harry. The Rose and The Ring; or, The History of Prince Giglio and the Prince Bulbo. William Makepeace Thackeray's Christmas Books. With illustrations by the author and Harry Furniss. The Harry Furniss Centenary Edition. London: Macmillan and Co., 1911. Pp. 287-428.

Titmarsh, M. A. [W. M. Thackeray].The Rose and The Ring. London: Smith, Elder, 1855.

Created 10 August 2022