Initial-letter Vignette "Y" — Curate George L'Estrange and his sister, Julia, at breakfast (Vol. XVII, page 129), vertically-mounted, 7.5 cm high by 5 cm wide, signed "MEE." in the lower-left corner; also in the lower-left corner of the main illustration. Mary Ellen Edwards, initial thumbnail vignette illustration for the February 1868 number of Charles Lever's The Bramleighs of Bishop's Folly in the Cornhill Magazine, Chapters XXXI-XXXIV ("On the Road to Italy" to "At Louvain") in Vol. 17: pages 129 through 155 (26 pages including unpaged illustration in instalment). The wood-engraver responsible for this illustration was Joseph Swain (1820-1909), noted for his engravings of Sir John Tenniel's cartoons in Punch. [Click on the images to enlarge them.]
This initial-letter vignette introduces the passage at the opening of the chapter:
“You'd not guess who our neighbours of last night were, Julia,” said L'Estrange, as they sat at breakfast the next morning.
“I need not guess, for I know,” said she, laughing. “The fact is, George, my curiosity was so excited to see them that I got up as they were about to start, and though the gray morning was only breaking at the time, there was light enough for me to recognize Mr. Longworth and his French friend, Count Pracontal.”
“I know that; but I know more than that, Julia. What do you think of my discovery, when I tell you that this same Count Pracontal is the claimant of the Bramleigh estate?”
“Is it possible?”
“It is beyond a question or a doubt. I was awakened from my sleep last night by their loud talking, and unwittingly made a listener to all they said. I heard the Frenchman deplore how he had ever consented to a compromise of his claim, and then Longworth quizzed him a good deal, and attributed the regret to his not having made a harder bargain. My own conviction is that the man really felt it as a point of honour, and was ashamed at having stooped to accept less than his right.”
“So then they have made a compromise, and the Bramleighs are safe?” cried she, eagerly. [Vol. XVII, Chapter XXXI, "On the Road to Italy," 129]
Commentary: The Litigation Plot Thickens as the Young People Move to Rome
Edwards parallels the breakfast scenes between the less-than-confident brothers and their self-assured sisters in the main plate and the initial-letter vignette. George and Julia L'Estrange arrive at Albano, just aside Rome, to discover that the cottage they have hoped for is still available. Their fortunes appear to be looking up as George has just been appointed curate to the small, socially elite Anglican congregation.
On the road, overnight at an inn, George overheard a loud conversation between two travellers who turned out to be Count Pracontal and his legal advisor, Longworth. The claimant to the Bramleigh estate is having second thoughts about allowing himself to be bought out for twenty-thousand pounds. The brother and sister of modest means and expectations are now ensconced in their "most picturesque little cottage, enshrined in a copse of vines" (133). The relationship between their friends Augustus and Nelly Bramleigh is far rockier, and bankruptcy still seems to confront them.
Scanned images and text by Philip V. Allingham. [You may use these images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned them and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
Bibliography
Lever, Charles. The Bramleighs of Bishop’s Folly. The Cornhill Magazine 15 (June, 1867): pp. 640-664; 16 (July-December 1867): 1-666; 17 (January-June 1868): 70-663; 18 (July-October 1868): 1-403. Rpt. London: Chapman & Hall, 1872. Illustrated by M. E. Edwards; engraved by Joseph Swain.
Stevenson, Lionel. "Chapter XVI: Exile on the Adriatic, 1867-1872." Dr. Quicksilver: The Life of Charles Lever. London: Chapman and Hall, 1939. Pp. 277-296.
Created 7 September 2023