"I am to take you prisoner, and hand you over to — to the executioner," thirty-first illustration by W. M. Thackeray for "The Rose and The Ring" (1855)

"I am to take you prisoner, and hand you over to — to the executioner."

W. M. Thackeray

1855

Wood engraving, probably by William Linton

9.3 cm high by 7.1 cm wide (3 ⅝ by 2 ⅞ inches), vignetted

Thirtieth illustration for The Rose and The Ring, p. 351.

Descriptive headline: "Sport to Them, Is Death To Us" (351).

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.]

Passage Illustrated: Captain Hedzoff apprehends the Unsuspecting Bulbo

"Call my Chamberlain, he’ll be my second, and in ten minutes, I flatter myself, you’ll see Master Giglio’s head off his impertinent shoulders. I’m hungry for his blood. Hoo-oo, aw!" and he looked as savage as an ogre.

"I beg your pardon, sir, but by this warrant I am to take you prisoner, and hand you over to — to the executioner."

"Pooh, pooh, my good man! — Stop, I say, — ho! — hulloa!" was all that this luckless Prince was enabled to say, for Hedzoff’s guards seizing him, tied a handkerchief over his mouth and face, and carried him to the place of execution.

The King, who happened to be talking to Glumboso, saw him pass, and took a pinch of snuff and said, "So much for Giglio. Now let’s go to breakfast."

The Captain of the Guard handed over his prisoner to the Sheriff, with the fatal order,

‘AT SIGHT CUT OFF THE BEARER’S HEAD,

‘VALOROSO XXIV.’

"It’s a mistake," says Bulbo, who did not seem to understand the business in the least. [Chapter X, "How King Valoroso Was in a Dreadful Passion," pp. 350-351]

Bibliography

Furniss, Harry. The Rose and The Ring; or, The History of Prince Giglio and the Prince Bulbo. William Makepeace Thackeray's Christmas Books. With illustrations by the author and Harry Furniss. The Harry Furniss Centenary Edition. London: Macmillan and Co., 1911. Pp. 287-428.

Titmarsh, M. A. [W. M. Thackeray].The Rose and The Ring. London: Smith, Elder, 1855.

Created 30 July 2022