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Humphry's zeal for his Master
George Cruikshank
1 July 1831
steel-engraving
8.6 cm high x 8.3 cm wide, vignetted
Illustration by George Cruikshank for Tobias Smollett's The Expedition of Humphry Clinker (1771), Volume II, "To Dr. Lewis," facing page 208.
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Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.
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From the spa town of Scarborough on July 1st Jer Melford writes to his friend from Oxford, Sir Watkin Phillips regarding the sea-bathing, and the horse-drawn bathing-machines that form the necessary backdrop for the embarrassing incident with his uncle and Humphryinwhich the hapless servant mistakenly believes that his master is drowning and must be rescued:
From Harrigate, we came hither, by the way of York, and here we shall tarry some days, as my uncle and Tabitha are both resolved to make use of the waters. Scarborough, though a paltry town, is romantic from its situation along a cliff that over-hangs the sea. The harbour is formed by a small elbow of land that runs out as a natural mole, directly opposite to the town; and on that side is the castle, which stands very high, of considerable extent, and, before the invention of gun-powder, was counted impregnable. At the other end of Scarborough are two public rooms for the use of the company, who resort to this place in the summer to drink the waters and bathe in the sea; and the diversions are pretty much on the same footing here as at Bath. The Spa is a little way beyond the town, on this side, under a cliff, within a few paces of the sea, and thither the drinkers go every morning in dishabille; but the descent is by a great number of steps, which invalids find very inconvenient. Betwixt the well and the harbour, the bathing machines are ranged along the beach, with all their proper utensils and attendants. You have never seen one of these machines—Image to yourself a small, snug, wooden chamber, fixed upon a wheel-carriage, having a door at each end, and on each side a little window above, a bench below—The bather, ascending into this apartment by wooden steps, shuts himself in, and begins to undress, while the attendant yokes a horse to the end next the sea, and draws the carriage forwards, till the surface of the water is on a level with the floor of the dressing-room, then he moves and fixes the horse to the other end—The person within being stripped, opens the door to the sea-ward, where he finds the guide ready, and plunges headlong into the water—After having bathed, he re-ascends into the apartment, by the steps which had been shifted for that purpose, and puts on his clothes at his leisure, while the carriage is drawn back again upon the dry land; so that he has nothing further to do, but to open the door, and come down as he went up—Should he be so weak or ill as to require a servant to put off and on his clothes, there is room enough in the apartment for half a dozen people. The guides who attend the ladies in the water, are of their own sex, and they and the female bathers have a dress of flannel for the sea; nay, they are provided with other conveniences for the support of decorum. A certain number of the machines are fitted with tilts, that project from the sea-ward ends of them, so as to screen the bathers from the view of all persons whatsoever—The beach is admirably adapted for this practice, the descent being gently gradual, and the sand soft as velvet; but then the machines can be used only at a certain time of the tide, which varies every day; so that sometimes the bathers are obliged to rise very early in the morning. . . .
Your affectionate friend and servant, J. Melford. Scarborough, July 1.
In a similar letter written three days later, Matthew Bramble describes the actual incident from a less detached perspective for the amusement of his correspondent, Dr. Lewis:
But, to return from one humourist to another, you must know I have received benefit, both from the chalybeate and the sea, and would have used them longer, had not a most ridiculous adventure, by making me the town-talk, obliged me to leave the place; for I can’t bear the thoughts of affording a spectacle to the multitude Yesterday morning, at six o’clock, I went down to the bathing-place, attended by my servant Clinker, who waited on the beach as usual—The wind blowing from the north, and the weather being hazy, the water proved so chill, that when I rose from my first plunge, I could not help sobbing and bawling out, from the effects of the cold. Clinker, who heard me cry, and saw me indistinctly a good way without the guide, buffetting the waves, took it for granted I was drowning, and rushing into the sea, clothes and all, overturned the guide in his hurry to save his master. I had swam out a few strokes, when hearing a noise, I turned about and saw Clinker, already up to his neck, advancing towards me, with all the wildness of terror in his aspect—Afraid he would get out of his depth, I made haste to meet him, when, all of a sudden, he seized me by one ear, dragged me bellowing with pain upon the dry beach, to the astonishment of all the people, men, and women, and children there assembled.
I was so exasperated by the pain of my ear, and the disgrace of being exposed in such an attitude, that, in the first transport I struck him down; then, running back into the sea, took shelter in the machine where my clothes had been deposited. I soon recollected myself so far as to do justice to the poor fellow, who, in great simplicity of heart, had acted from motives of fidelity and affection—Opening the door of the machine, which was immediately drawn on shore, I saw him standing by the wheel, dropping like a water-work, and trembling from head to foot; partly from cold, and partly from the dread of having offended his master—I made my acknowledgments for the blow he had received, assured him I was not angry, and insisted upon his going home immediately, to shift his clothes; a command which he could hardly find in his heart to execute, so well disposed was he to furnish the mob with further entertainment at my expence. Clinker’s intention was laudable without all doubt, but, nevertheless, I am a sufferer by his simplicity—I have had a burning heat, and a strange buzzing noise in that ear, ever since it was so roughly treated; and I cannot walk the street without being pointed at; as the monster that was hauled naked a-shore upon the beach—Well, I affirm that folly is often more provoking than knavery, aye and more mischievous too; and whether a man had not better choose a sensible rogue, than an honest simpleton for his servant, is no matter of doubt with
Yours, Matt. Bramble, Scarborough, July 4.
As the text narrates, Mr. Bramble is at first infuriated with Humphrey [sic] but later decides that he acted from motives of fidelity and affection even though he did not use good judgment in deciding to grab his master by the ear instead of rescuing him in a more conventional and less painful way. [Vogler, p. 146]
Since Cruikshank had undoubtedly seen bathing-machines at Victorian seaside resorts, he had no difficulty presenting a convincing image of the house on wheels. He has positioned the horse on the beach side of the machine since Bramble will shortly finish his swim and will be ready after changing to his clothes inside to descend the steps on the sand. The driver of the vehicle, however, apprehensive that his client is in danger, has waded into the knee-deep water (centre rear), as various walkers on the shore look on. The faces of the two principals reflect very different emotions: the swimmer in the bathing cap is feeling pain, whereas Humphry fears that his new-found master is drowning. Indeed, one must read the letter-press to learn that well-intentioned,bumbling Humphry has entirely misread the situation — as well the viewer might. Compare this thoroughly convincing portrayal of the beach scene with Robert Seymour's rather wooden depiction of such a machine in the background of Captain and Mrs. Waters Greeting The Tuggses Family on Ramsgate Sands (1836).
Bathing machines were popular in Great Britain for ocean-bathing at seaside resorts during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but fell out of favour very quickly in the twentieth. Also in use France and Germany during the period, the device — a sentry box on wheels with doors front and rear — permitted bathers (particularly women) to change and swim without being subject to the scrutiny of males on the beach. Particular vans and bathing places were gender segregated. Some bathing machines had solid wooden walls, while others had canvas walls over a wooden frame. The windowless box might even be coloured with the picturesque fantasy of a canal-boat, and sometimes the outside was covered with advertisements. The contents of the bathing machine consisted of a bench, a damp flannel gown, and two towels. The only light was from an unglazed opening in the roof; there was no mirror, and no fresh-water. The bathing machine was wheeled or slid down into the water; some were pulled in and out of the surf by a horse or team of pair of horses with a driver, who might double as the attendant. In the Cruikshank illustration, the attendant has not tied a rope around Matthew Bramble's waist — standard operating procedure when the client was a novice-swimmer.
Smollett, Tobias. The Expedition of Humphry Clinker. Illustrated by George Cruikshank. Volume I of Roscoe's Novelist's Library. London: Printed by A. J. Valpy for James Cochrane & Company and J. Andrews, 1831.
Vogler, Richard. Graphic Works of George Cruikshank. New York: Dover, 1979.
Last modified 28 May 2018