“The Fate of Chowles and Judith” by John Franklin (circa 1806

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The Fate of Chowles and Judith

Artist: John Franklin (circa 1806 – circa 1881/91)

Engraver: John Franklin

1841; 1847 edition

Steel-plate etching

6 ¾ x 3 ¾ inches; 13.9 cm high by 9.6 cm wide

Twentieth illustration by this artist for W. H. Ainsworth’s historical romance, Old St. Paul’s: A Tale of the Plague and the Fire, facing p. 422 in Book the Sixth, "September 1666," Chapter IX, "What Befell Chowles and J udith in the Vaults of Saint Faith's."

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Scanned image and caption 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: Nemesis

Scarcely able to credit the extent of the danger, Judith gazed down the passage, and there beheld a glowing silvery stream trickling slowly onwards. She saw too well, that if they could not effect their retreat instantly, their fate was sealed.

"The door of the vault!" she cried, pointing towards it, "where is the key? where is the key?"

"I have not got it," replied Chowles, distractedly, "I cannot tell where to find it."

"Then we are lost!" cried Judith, with a terrible execration.

"Not so," replied Chowles, snatching up a pickaxe, "if I cannot unlock the door, I can break it open."

With this, he commenced furiously striking against it, while Judith, who was completely horror-stricken, and filled with the conviction that her last moments were at hand, fell on her knees beside him, and gazing down the passage, along which she could see the stream of molten lead, now nearly a foot in depth, gradually advancing, and hissing as it came, shrieked to Chowles to increase his exertions. He needed no incitement to do so, but nerved by fear, continued to deal blow after blow against the door, until at last he effected a small breach just above the lock. But this only showed him how vain were his hopes, for a stream of fire and smoke poured through the aperture. Notwithstanding this, he continued his exertions, Judith shrieking all the time, until the lock at last yielded. He then threw open the door, but finding the whole passage involved in flame, was obliged to close it. Judith had now risen, and their looks at each other at this fearful moment were terrible in the extreme. Retreating to either side of the cell, they glared at each other like wild beasts. [Book the Sixth, "September 1666," Chapter IX, "What Befell Chowles and Judith in the Vaults of Saint Faith's," pp. 421-22]

Related Material: Phiz's Frontispiece and Title-page Vignette (1847)

Drink the Plague! Drink the Plague: frontispiece
The Dead Cart: title-page & vignette

References

Ainsworth, William Harrison. Old Saint Paul's: A Tale of the Plague and the Fire. London: Parry, Blenkharn & Co., 1847. This was a one-volume reprint of the three-decker published by Hugh Cunningham in 1841. Routledge re-issued the single volume with the Franklin illustrations prefaced by two additional engravings by Hablot Knight Brown.

Vann, J. Don. "William Harrison Ainsworth: Old Saint Paul's in the Sunday Times, 3 January-26 December 1841." Victorian Novels in Serial. New York: MLA, 1985. Pp. 21-22.

Last modified 4 November 2018