The Barricade — thirty-third illustration engraved by the Dalziels for the 1852 Chapman and Hall edition of The Daltons, or, Three Roads in Life by Phiz (Hablot Knight Browne). Chapter LIII, "The Skirmish," facing 465. 10.7 cm by 12.5 cm (4 ¼ by 5 ¾ inches) vignetted. This is the thirteenth vertically oriented plate in the two-volume novel (1852). [Click on the image to enlarge it.]
Passage Illustrated: Frank as the Lieutenant leads the charge against the Italians
As Frank stood irresolute what course to take, the Corporal, who commanded the rear, galloped up to say that all retreat was cut off in that direction, two heavy wagons being thrown across the road, and crowds of people occupying every spot to fire from.
“Dismount, and storm the barricade!” cried Frank; and, setting the example, he sprang from his saddle, and rushed forwards.
There is no peril a Hungarian will not dare if his officer but lead the way; and now, in face of a tremendous fire at pistol-range, they clambered up the steep sides, while the balls were rattling like hail around them.
The Italians, evidently unprepared for this attack, poured in a volley and fled to the cliffs above the road. Advancing to the second barricade, Frank quickly gained the top, and sprang down into the road. Ravitzky, who was ever close behind him, had scarcely gained the height, when, struck in the shoulder by a ball, he dropped heavily down upon the ground. The attack had now begun from front, flanks, and rear together, and a deadly fire poured down upon the hussars without ceasing, while all attempt at defence was hopeless.
“Open a pass through the barricade,” shouted Frank, “and bring up the horses!” And while some hastened to obey the order, a few others grouped themselves around Ravitzky, and tried to shelter him as he lay.
“Don't leave me to these fellows, Dalton,” cried he, passionately; “heave me over into the lake rather.”
Frank now saw that the poor fellow's cheek was torn with a shot, and that his left hand was also shattered.
“The fire is too heavy, Herr Lieutenant; the men cannot open a way for the cattle,” whispered the old Corporal.
“What's to be done then?” asked Frank; but the poor Corporal fell dead at his side as he spoke. The brunt of the conflict was, however, at the barricades; for, despairing of any prospect of removing the obstacles, many of the hussars had ridden recklessly at them, and there, entangled or falling, were shot down remorselessly by the enemy. The brunt of the conflict was, however, at the barricades; for, despairing of any prospect of removing the obstacles, many of the hussars had ridden recklessly at them, and there, entangled or falling, were shot down remorselessly by the enemy. One alone forced his way, and with his uniform bloody and in rags dashed up to Frank. [Chapter XLIII, "The Skirmish," 465]
Commentary: Frank leads his men into an ambush north of Lake Como
Setting aside political considerations and his readers' feelings in favour of Italian unification, Lever now puts his protagonist in harm's way as he leads his Austro-Hungarian unit into battle against the Italians. In response to the revolt in Milan, Cinque giornate di Milano (18 through 25 March 1848) in which Marshal Radetzky's forces were driven out, Austria sent forces overland to quell the democratic rebellion which marked the opening of the First Italian War of Independence. Leading his detachment of Hungarian Hussars down through the Alps to the great plain of Lombardy above Lake Como, Frank is forced by Italian forces to fight a night skirmish, with his cavalrymen pinned down by hidden riflemen and trapped between two barricades blocking their advance towards Milan and their retreat. Frank's inexperience leads to considerable losses as he misjudges the situation.
With two heavy wagons blocking the road, and a host of Italians firing on his men, Frank gives a decisive order: “Dismount, and storm the barricade!” cried Frank; and, setting the example, he sprang from his saddle, and rushed forwards (II: 44). No sooner has he given the order to storm the barricade than Ravitzky, Frank's Hungarian Corporal, is shot beside him. In the illustration, Phiz depicts the Corporal's falling in the saddle as Frank is about to assail a large cart-wheel (centre). Other Hussars, storming the barricade, are shot by the Italians from hiding, unseen in the dramatic illustration of the carnage, chaos, and confusion of carts.
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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.]
Bibliography
Browne, John Buchanan. Phiz! Illustrator of Dickens' World. New York: Charles Scribner's, 1978.
Downey, Edmund. Charles Lever: His Life in Letters. 2 vols. London: William Blackwood, 1906.
Fitzpatrick, W. J. The Life of Charles Lever. London: Downey, 1901.
Lester, Valerie Browne. Phiz: The Man Who Drew Dickens. London: Chatto and Windus, 2004.
Lever, Charles. The Daltons, or, Three Roads in Life. Illustrated by "Phiz" (Hablot Knight Browne). London: Chapman and Hall, 1852, rpt. 1859, and 1872. [Two volumes as one, with separate page numbers in the 1859 volume, after I: 362.]
_______. The Daltons and A Day's Ride. Illustrated by Hablot Knight Browne ('Phiz'). Vol VI of Lever's Works. New York: P. F. Collier, 1882. [This large-format American edition reproduces only six of the original forthy-eight Phiz illustrations.]
Lever, Charles James. The Daltons, or, Three Roads in Life. Vol. 2. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/32062/32062-h/32062-h.htm
Skinner, Anne Maria. Charles Lever and Ireland. University of Liverpool. PhD dissertation. May 2019.
Stevenson, Lionel. Dr. Quicksilver: The Life of Charles Lever. New York: Russell & Russell, 1939, rpt. 1969.
_______. "The Domestic Scene." The English Novel: A Panorama. Cambridge, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin and Riverside, 1960.
Last modified 18 May 2022