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Randulph and Hilda dancing at Ranelagh
George Cruikshank
June 1842
Steel-engraving
12.5 cm high by 10.1 cm wide, framed
Twelfth illustration for the volume edition of William Harrison Ainsworth's The Miser's Daughter: A Tale, Book Two, Chapter 8, facing page 180 (second plate for the June 1842 number in Ainsworth's Magazine).
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Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.
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"Sir Norfolk, permit me to have the honour of presenting the friend I mentioned some hours ago to your fair charge? Miss Scarve," [Firebras] added, after a significant look at Hilda, "this gentleman wishes to have the honour of dancing a minuet with you. I am sorry there is not time for a more ceremonious introduction to yourself, Sir Norfolk, but the musicians are striking up the dance."
Upon this Hilda arose, and tendered her hand, with some trepidation, to Randulph, who, with a breast thrilling with joyful emotion, led her into the open space cleared for the dancers, and part of which was already occupied, as before related, by Mr. Cripps and the widow. No time was allowed Randulph to hazard a word to his partner. Scarcely were they placed, when the minuet commenced. The grace with which they executed this charming, though formal dance, excited the admiration of all the beholders, and contrasted strongly with the exaggerated style in which it was executed by Mr. Cripps and Mrs. Nettleship. Indeed, a better foil — had such been desired — could not have been found than the two latter personages presented. Sir Norfolk planted himself on one side to view the dance, and there was unwonted elation in his countenance as he witnessed the graceful movements of his fair cousin and her partner. Trussell in his Turkish dress was among the spectators; and not far from him stood Cordwell Firebras. There were two other personages, also, who watched the dance, but who regarded it with any other sentiments than those of satisfaction. These were Lady Brabazon and Beau Villiers.
"So you see, Villiers, notwithstanding all your scheming, he has contrived to dance with her," said the former.
"He has," replied the beau, partly removing his mask, and displaying a countenance inflamed with passion — "but he has not exchanged a word with her, and I will take care he shall not exchange one."
"You are desperately in love with this girl, Villiers," said Lady Brabazon, angrily. "I thought it was her fortune merely you aimed at."
"I have been foiled, and that has piqued me," replied Villiers. [Book II, Chapter VIII, "The Masquerade at Ranelagh, with the Various Incidents that Occurred at It," pp. 180-81]
Although the masquerade costumes had momentarily confounded the reader's identifying the specific Ainsworth characters involved in the complex action of the first illustration for July 1842, The Masquerade in Ranelagh gardens, no such problem occurs here. The story now veers away from the activities of the confidence man, Cripps, to follow the romantic plot involving the hero and heroine. In this second July 1842 illustration, Cruikshank increases the scale of the figures and places Hilda and Crew squarely in the middle, dancing and separated by considerable space from the other dancers in the background. The position of the orchestra, to the side rather than in the centre, suggests that, whatever Cruikshank's source, it was of a date later than the early 1740s: "At first, the orchestra was placed in the centre of the amphitheatre, but being found exceedingly inconvenient, as well as destructive of the symmetry of the building in that situation, it was removed to the side (Allen, "So What Was Wrong With Ranelagh?").
Again, Cruikshank had a readily available model for his interior view of the Rotunda, the most fashionable venue for concerts and dances in the period: Giovanni Antonio Canaletto's London: Interior of the Rotunda at Ranelagh (1754), an oil painting 46 cm by 75.5 cm, now in London's National Gallery. The Rotunda in Ranelagh Gardens, Chelsea, was opened as a public venue for various entertainments just two years ahead of the story's temporal setting, in April 1742, and closed in 1803. There in 1764 eight-year-old child prodigy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on 29 June performed music of his own composing on the harpsichord and organ — the entrance fee was five shillings. The wooden arena in which he performed, modelled on the church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople and the dome of Pantheon in Rome, was actually larger than the Coliseum in ancient Rome at 185 feet in external diameter; in addition to the concert space, it eventually acquired both private rooms and gaming tables. In Cruikshank's illustration, the architectural embellishments are evident: the exquisitely painted and enamelled ceiling, and a thousand golden lamps, making it in essence a gigantic lantern which illuminated the grounds at night. Whereas Canaletto shows numerous groups of elegantly dressed figures either gossiping or listening to the orchestra at the left, Cruikshank depicts groups of beautifully dressed observers, young dancers, and an orchestra playing in the rear, right. Perhaps to enable his illustrator to distinguish the protagonist from other figures in the Ranelagh illustrations, Ainsworth specifies that Crew is not garbed in masquerade costume, but merely has a mask:
Trussell [Beechcroft] was dressed like a Turk, and wore a large turban, ornamented with a crescent, and a fine, flowing, coal-black beard. Randulph did not appear in character, but was attired in a light blue velvet coat, laced with gold, the work of the French tailor, Desmartins, which displayed his elegant figure to the greatest advantage. [Chapter VIII, page 170]
Ainsworth, William Harrison. The Miser's Daughter: A Tale. With 20 illustrations by George Cruikshank. First published in 3 volumes by Cunningham and Mortimer, London, 1842. London, Glasgow, and New York: George Routledge, 1892.
Allen, Louise. "So What Was Wrong With Ranelagh?" Jane Austen's London. 8 May2016. https://janeaustenslondon.com/2016/05/08/so-what-was-wrong-with-ranelagh/
"The Interior of the Rotunda, Ranelagh." The Daily Telegraph. 12:01AM BST 30 May 2006. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1519775/The-Interior-of-the-Rotunda-Ranelagh.html
Vann, J. Don. "The Miser's Daughter in Ainsworth's Magazine January-October 1842." Victorian Novels in Serial. New York: MLA, 1988. Pp. 22-23.
Last modified 23 June 2018