He . . . sightly cocked up his evil eye
Fred Barnard
1870s
Woodblock Engraving by the Dalziels
14 x 11 cm
Full caption: "He . . . sightly cocked up his evil eye at the goldfinch. Instantly a raging thirst beset that bird; and when it appeared he still drew several unnecessary buckets of water, leaping about his perch and sharpening his bill with irrepressible satisfaction."
Book 8, chap. v. Forster's Life of Charles Dickens in the Household Edition.
Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham