"Little lion was my brudder," tenth illustration by W. M. Thackeray for "The Rose and The Ring" (1855)

"Little lion was my brudder."

W. M. Thackeray

1855

Wood engraving, probably by William Linton

10.6 cm high by 8.5 cm wide (4 ⅛ by 3 ¼ inches), vignetted

Tenth illustration for Thackeray’s The Rose and The Ring, p. 312.

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: The King and Queen are charmed by the ragamuffin with big hair

‘Who was your mother — who were your relations, little girl?’ said the Queen.

The little girl said, ‘Little lion was my brudder; great big lioness my mudder; neber heard of any udder.’ And she capered away on her one shoe, and everybody was exceedingly diverted.

So Angelica said to the Queen, ‘Mamma, my parrot flew away yesterday out of its cage, and I don’t care any more for any of my toys; and I think this funny little dirty child will amuse me. I will take her home, and give her some of my old frocks.’

‘Oh, the generous darling!’ says Mrs. Gruffanuff.

‘Which I have worn ever so many times, and am quite tired of,’ Angelica went on; ‘and she shall be my little maid. Will you come home with me, little dirty girl?’ ["V. How Princess Angelica Took a Little Maid," 312]

Commentary: The Peasant Child blathers on to the King and the Queen

Thackeray injects a bizarre note of social realism in the conventional fairy tale by introducing the royal family (King, Queen, and Prince Giglio, right) to the starving peasant child whom their daughter, Angelica (centre), has just encountered in the palace gardens when walking with her governess, Mrs. Gruffahuff (behind the King, right). Descriptive headlines: "How This Little Beggar-Baby Danced and Sang as Droll as May Be" (312-13).

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 18 July 2022