[Major Anderson at his mother’s deathbed] — illustration for G. W. M. Reynolds’s “The Mysteries of London” by G. Stiff

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Major Anderson at his mother’s deathbed

G. Stiff

1846

Wood engraving

Source: The Project Gutenberg version of G. W. M. Reynolds’s The Mysteries of London

This plate, which like the others in the book has no caption, appears in Chapter 244, “The History of a Gamester.”

Click on image to enlarge it and see see passage illustrated below.

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Passage illustrated

"Kneeling by the side of the bed, I took the transparent hand that the dying woman tendered me, and pressed it to my lips. My brain seemed to whirl; and all became confusion and bewilderment around me. I remember a low and plaintive voice assuring me that heaven would yet forgive me the broken heart of the mother, if I would only be kind to the daughter:—I have a faint recollection of that dying voice imploring me to quit my evil ways, for the sake of her whom I had sworn to love and protect—for the sake of the children who were sobbing bitterly close by;—and methinks that I reiterated those solemn vows of repentance which I had before so often uttered—but to break! Then I was suddenly aroused from a sort of stupor into which I fell—kneeling as I still was,—aroused, too, by a piercing scream. Starting up, I caught the fainting form of Julia in my arms;—and a glance towards the bed showed me that her mother was no more! Her prophetic words were fulfilled: the widow, who gave me her only treasure, had died of a broken heart! [Chapter 244, “The History of a Gamester”]

Bibliography

Reynolds, George W. M. The Mysteries of London. vol 2. London: George Vickers, 1846. Project Gutenberg EBook #51294. Produced by Richard Tonsing, Chuck Greif, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. Web. 3 October 2016.

Last modified 5 October 2016