The Party of Fidelity — thirty-seventh illustration by M. A. Titmarsh [W. M. Thackeray], 1855. Uncaptioned wood-engraving, probably by William Linton. 7.3 cm high by 8.3 cm wide (2 ¾ by 3 ½ inches), vignetted, for The Rose and The Ring, Chapter XII, "How Betsinda Fled, and What Became of Her," p. 367. Descriptive headlines: "Champion Bold of Right and Beauty, To Rosalba pay your Duty!" (pp. 366-367). [Click on the image to enlarge it; mouse over links.]
Passage Illustrated: An Elderly but Martial Group Ready to Seize Power
[Betsinda] went about privately, from one nobleman’s castle to another; and they visited among themselves again, and had meetings, and composed proclamations and counter-proclamations, and distributed all the best places of the kingdom amongst one another, and selected who of the opposition party should be executed when the Queen came to her own. And so in about a year they were ready to move.
The party of Fidelity was in truth composed of very feeble old fogies for the most part; they went about the country waving their old swords and flags, and calling "God save the Queen!" and King Padella happening to be absent upon an invasion, they had their own way for a little, and to be sure the people were very enthusiastic whenever they saw the Queen; otherwise the vulgar took matters very quietly, for they said, as far as they could recollect, they were pretty well as much taxed in Cavolfiore’s time, as now in Padella’s. [Chapter XII, "How Betsinda Fled, and What Became of Her" pp. 367-368]
Image scan 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
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 3 August 2022