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Randulph Crew introduced to Beau Villiers on the Mall
George Cruikshank
January 1842
Steel-engraving
11.9 cm high by 10.3 cm wide, framed
Second illustration for the volume edition of William Harrison Ainsworth's The Miser's Daughter: A Tale, Chapter 3, facing page 25.
[Click on image to enlarge it.]
Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.
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Passing through the Gate House, they entered the Park by a small doorway at the end of Prince's-court. It was now noon, and a warm and genial day. The paths between the avenues of trees then extending between this point and Rosamond's Pond were crowded with persons of both sex, and of all ranks, summoned forth by the fineness of the weather.
Randulph was greatly amused by all he saw, and gazed with much curiosity at all presented to his view. Passing by the Decoy, the party skirted the great canal, and, leaving Rosamond's Pond on the left, proceeded towards Buckingham House.
Just at this juncture, uncle Trussell caught sight of a gay party approaching, and exclaimed, in a joyful tone, to his nephew, "As I live, we are most fortunate. There is the leader of fashion, Beau Villiers, coming towards us. You shall know him, nephew—you shall know him. The ladies he is walking with are Lady Brabazon and the Honourable Clementina Brabazon: a fine girl, Clementina —a remarkably fine girl; perfect in style and manners—quite a toast among the sparks. The old fellow at her side, Sir Singleton Spinke, was a great beau in his time, though never equal to Villiers, who far surpasses even his prototype, Beau Fielding, in style and taste. You shall know them all."
"And nice acquaintances you will make," remarked uncle Abel, sneeringly.
"Never mind him, Randulph," whispered uncle Trussell. "If you know this set, and they like you, you may know whom you please. Beau Villiers commands all society, from the highest down to — to —"
"Mr. Trussell Beechcroft," replied uncle Abel.
"Well, down to me if you please," rejoined uncle Trussell, "and that shews it does not extend too low. But, Randulph, I beg you to look at the beau. Did you ever see a finer man?"
"He is very handsome certainly," replied Randulph, "and remarkably well dressed."
"He is a great coxcomb, a great rake, and a great gamester, Randulph," said uncle Abel; "beware of him."
"Tush, never mind what he says," rejoined uncle Trussell, who really wished to have the eclat of introducing his handsome nephew to the great beau. "Come along!"
So saying, he took his nephew's arm, and hurried him forward. Pushing their way through the throng, when near the sentry box opposite Buckingham House, they encountered the party in question.Beau Villiers, who was, indeed, a remarkably handsome man, and dressed in the extremity of the mode, wore a light-blue embossed velvet coat, embroidered with silver, with broad cuffs similarly ornamented; a white waistcoat, of the richest silk, likewise laced with silver; tawny velvet breeches, partly covered with pearl-coloured silk hose, drawn above the knee, and secured with silver garters. His dress was completed by shoes of black Spanish leather, fastened by large diamond buckles, and a superb Ramillie perriwig of the lightest flaxen hair, which set off his brilliant complexion, and fine eyes, to admiration. He carried a three-cornered hat, fringed with feathers, and a clouded cane, mounted with a valuable pebble.
Near the beau walked Lady Brabazon, a gorgeous dame of about five-and-forty, and still possessed of great personal attractions, which she omitted no means of displaying. She wore a hoop, and a white and silver satin sack. Struck by Randulph's figure at a distance, she had pointed him out to the beau, who thereupon vouchsafed to look towards him. Behind Lady Brabazon came her daughter Clementina, a very pretty and very affected blonde of two-and-twenty, with an excessively delicate complexion, fair hair, summer blue eyes, and a very mincing gait. She was exquisitely dressed in the last new mode, with a small escaloped lace cap, her hair curled at her sides, a triple row of pearls round her neck, and a diamond cross attached to the chain; and though she pretended to be interested in the discourse of the old knight, it was evident her regards were attracted by the handsome young stranger.
As to the old beau, he was, indeed, supremely ridiculous. He was attired in a richly-embroidered cinnamon-coloured velvet coat, with fur cuffs of a preposterous size, each as large as a modern muff. His pantaloon legs were covered with pink silk hose; his wrinkled features were rouged and bepatched; and his wig was tied with a large bow, and had such an immense cue to it, that it looked as if a great dragon-fly had perched on the back of his neck. Lady Brabazon was attended by a little black page, in a turban and eastern dress, who had charge of her favourite lap-dog.
By this time, the two parties had met. Uncle Abel drew on one side to allow the introduction to take place, and to witness it. Uncle Trussell stepped forward, and bowing obsequiously to Beau Villiers, pointed to Randulph, who stood on his right, saying, "Permit me to introduce my nephew, Mr. Randulph Crew, to you, Mr. Villiers. He is fresh from the country. But even there your reputation has reached him."
"I am happy to make his acquaintance," replied the beau, courteously returning Randulph's bow, and eyeing him curiously at the same time. "On my faith, your ladyship," he added aloud to Lady Brabazon, "the young man is not amiss, but destroyed by his dress and rustic air."
"I really think something may be made of him," returned Lady Brabazon, in the same loud and confidential tone. "Mr. Trussell Beechcroft, make your nephew known to me."
"With the greatest pleasure, your ladyship," replied Trussell, obeying her behest. [Chapter III, "The Brothers Beechcroft — Mr. Jukes— The Arrival — The Walk in Saint James's Park — Randulph's Introduction to Beau Villiers and Lady Brabazon," pp. 23-25]
Having already illustrated the works of Smollett, Fielding, Goldsmith, and Sterne ten years earlier in Roscoe's Novelist's Library (London: James Cochrane, 1831-33), Cruikshank now had the opportunity to illustrate three novels by William Harrison Ainsworth set in the eighteenth century: Rookwood (1836), Jack Sheppard (1839), and The Miser's Daughter (1842). However, the level of society that Ainsworth describes here is far above that of those earlier novels set in the preceding century, and Cruikshank must have enjoyed the variety of characters and settings that Ainsworth was creating, even if the plot was not as well constructed.
Later in the serial run, with Ainsworth's attention divided between The Miser's Daughter in Ainsworth's Magazine and Windsor Castle from July 1842, Cruikshank would have an even freer hand to develop characters and situations. For the moment, however, in the second plate for the January 1842 instalment Cruikshank had to content himself with describing the fine brick buildings bordering St. James's Park and Beau Villiers' stunning white waistcoat and shapely legs. The protagonist's uncle, Trussell Beechcroft, stands between his nephew, fresh from Cheshire, and the arbiter of London fashion. The scene is the fashionable promenade begun in the late seventeenth century, The Mall, running today between Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace. Still bordered by trees, the fashionable walk appears today much as it did when Thomas Gainsborough painted The Mall in St. James's Park in 1783. The brick building which forms the background is St. James's Palace. Through the presence of an armed Grenadier (centre rear) and a sentry-box Cruikshank reinforces the status of the palace as the principal royal residence in London during the reigns of George I and II of Hanover, the novel being set in 1744, the seventeenth year of the reign of the second Hanoverian monarch, and just the year before the Jacobite rising in Scotland.
Ainsworth, William Harrison. The Miser's Daughter: A Tale. Illustrated by George Cruikshank. First published in 3 volumes by Cunningham and Mortimer, London, 1842. London, Glasgow, and New York: George Routledge, 1892.
Vann, J. Don. "The Miser's Daughter in Ainsworth's Magazine January-October 1842." Victorian Novels in Serial. New York: MLA, 1988. Pp. 22-23.
Last modified 19 June 2018