Giglio's Landlady, uncaptioned illustration by M. A. Titmarsh [W. M. Thackeray], 1855. Wood-engraving, probably by William Linton. 4.7 cm high by 6.7 cm wide (1 ⅞ by 2 ⅝ inches), vignetted, forty-third illustration for The Rose and The Ring, p. 378. Descriptive headline: "Of the Bag, and How She Gave It" (378). [Click on the image to enlarge it; mouse over links.]
Passage Illustrated: "You're not in the palace any more, Prince Giglio."
They gave him a very bad bedroom, and Giglio, when he woke in the morning, fancying himself in the Royal Palace at home, called, ‘John, Charles, Thomas! My chocolate — my dressing-gown — my slippers’; but nobody came. There was no bell, so he went and bawled out for water on the top of the stairs.
The landlady came up, looking — looking like this —
‘What are you a hollering and a bellaring for here, young man?’ says she.
‘There’s no warm water — no servants; my boots are not even cleaned.’
‘He, he! Clean ‘em yourself,’ says the landlady. ‘You young students give yourselves pretty airs. I never heard such impudence.’
‘I’ll quit the house this instant,’ says Giglio.
‘The sooner the better, young man. Pay your bill and be off. All my rooms is wanted for gentlefolks, and not for such as you.’
‘You may well keep the Bear Inn,’ said Giglio. ‘You should have yourself painted as the sign.’
The landlady of the Bear went awaygrowling. [Chapter XIV, "What Became of Giglio," pp. 378-379]
Commentary
The Fairy Blackstick has advised "Mr. Giles" (Prince Giglio in disguise) to put up at the first town where the diligence stops for the night. She offers no explanation, and flies out of the carriage window, leaving him her magic bag. "Stay there and study" seems to imply that Giglio should adopt as a disguise the appearance of a university student; certainly that is how the landlady of The Bear Inn responds to him when Mr. Giles demands warm water, his servants, and clean boots.
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.
Thackeray, W. M. The Christmas Books of M. A. Titmarsh. With illustrations by Richard Doyle and Thackeray. London: Smith. Elder, 1898.
Titmarsh, M. A. [W. M. Thackeray]. The Rose and The Ring London: Smith, Elder, 1855.
Created 9 August 2022