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"He wouldn't pass vun single blessed post."
W. H. C. Groome
1907
12.2 x 7.9 cm, (4 ¾ by 3 ⅛ inches), framed
Lithograph
Dickens's Master Humphrey's Clock, facing page 152.
[Click on image to enlarge it and mouse over the text for links.]
Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.
As little affected by this observation as by the former appeal to his feelings, Master Weller elevated in the air a small model of a coach whip which he carried in his hand, and addressing the housekeeper with a shrill ‘ya — hip!’ inquired if she was ‘going down the road;’ at which happy adaptation of a lesson he had been taught from infancy, Mr. Weller could restrain his feelings no longer, but gave him twopence on the spot.
‘It’s in wain to deny it, mum,’ said Mr. Weller, ‘this here is a boy arter his grandfather’s own heart, and beats out all the boys as ever wos or will be. Though at the same time, mum,’ added Mr. Weller, trying to look gravely down upon his favourite, ‘it was wery wrong on him to want to — over all the posts as we come along, and wery cruel on him to force poor grandfather to lift him cross-legged over every vun of ’em. He wouldn’t pass vun single blessed post, mum, and at the top o’ the lane there’s seven-and-forty on ’em all in a row, and wery close together.’ ["Master Humphrey, From His Clock-side in the Chimney-Corner," 141]
Sam Weller had been content to be a boot-black and general dog's-body at a London inn before becoming Mr. Pickwick's valet. But his son, young Tony, shows every indication that he will take up his grandfather's trade. The boy's proud grandparent fondly recalls for the amusement of Master Humphrey's housekeeper how young Tony likes to be lifted over hitching-posts, presumably because they are an essential part of the coachman's experience. Thus, the scene that Groome has depicted has already occurred when Tony Weller, Sr., narrates it at Master Humphrey's house, so that it is in essence a flashback.
Left: Phiz's A Chip Off the Old Block in "Master Humphrey, From His Clock-side in the Chimney-Corner" (13 June 1840). Right: Phiz's Tony Weller and His Grandson (25 April 1840).
Bentley, Nicolas, Michael Slater, and Nina Burgis. The Dickens Index. New York and Oxford: Oxford U. P., 1990.
Davis, Paul. "Master Humphrey's Clock." Charles Dickens A to Z: The Essential Reference to his Life and Work. New York: Facts On File, 1998, 238.
Dickens, Charles. Master Humphrey's Clock. Illustrated by George Cattermole and Hablot Knight Browne ('Phiz'). London: Chapman and Hall, 4 April 1840 - 6 February 41.
_______. Master Humphrey's Clock. The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Reprinted Pieces, and Other Stories. With thirty illustrations by L. Fildes, E. G. Dalziel, and F. Barnard. The Household Edition. London: Chapman and Hall, 1872. Vol. XX. Pp. 253-306.
_______. Master Humphrey's Clock and Pictures from Italy. With eight illustrations by W. H. C. Groome. London and Glasgow, 1907. Vol. XLIX. Pp. 1-168.
_______. Barnaby Rudge and Master Humphrey's Clock. Illustrated by Harry Furniss. Charles Dickens Library Edition. Volume VI. London: Educational Book, 1910.
Hammerton, J. A. The Dickens Picture Book: A Record of the Dickens Illustrators. Ch. XIV. "Master Humphrey's Clock." The Charles Dickens Library. London: Educational Book Co., 1910. Pp. 259-265.
Created 1 September 2022