"'The Counsellor' castigated" — Phiz's twenty-fifth engraving for Charles Lever's "The Knight of Gwynne" (December 1846)

"The Counsellor" castigated

Phiz

December 1846 (twelfth) instalment

Steel-engraving

13.5 cm by 12 cm (5 ¼ by 4 ¾ inches), vignetted.

Charles Lever's The Knight of Gwynne; A Tale of the Time of the Union (December 1846), originally for Part 12, facing p. 363.

[Click on image to enlarge it.]

Scanned image 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 photographer and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]

Passage Illustrated: Political Mayhem at the County Mayo Courthouse, 1801

As the priest stepped forward to make the communication to O'Halloran, that gentleman, leaning on Beecham O'Reilly's arm, had just reached the steps of the courthouse, where now a considerable police-force was stationed, — a measure possibly suggested by O'Reilly himself.

The crowd, on catching sight of the Counsellor, cheered vociferously; and, although they were not without fears that he intended to depart without speaking, many averred that he would address them from the carriage. Before Father John could make known his request, a young man, dressed in a riding-costume, burst through the line of police, and, springing up the steps, seized O'Halloran by the collar.

“I gave you a choice, sir,” said he, “and you made it;” and at the same instant, with a heavy horsewhip, struck him several times across the shoulders, and even the face. So sudden was the movement, and so violent the assault, that, although a man of great personal strength, O'Halloran had received several blows almost before he could defend himself, and when he had rallied, his adversary, though much lighter and less muscular, showed in skill, at least, he was his superior. The struggle, however, was not to end here; for the mob, now seeing their favourite champion attacked, with a savage howl of vengeance dashed forward, and the police, well aware that the youth would be torn limb from limb, formed a line in front of him with fixed bayonets. For a few moments the result was doubtful; nor was it until more than one retired into the crowd bleeding and wounded, that the mob desisted, or limited their rage to yells of vengeance. [Chapter XLI, "A Scene at the Assizes," pp. 362-363]

Commentary: The Courthouse Scene's Principals Caught in the Midst of Action

Phiz has absorbed every detail of the text, and effectively realised the central figures in this scene which transports us back to Lever's original inspiration in the novel: the machinations surrounding the passage of the 1801 Act of Union as these have impacted the Hickman plot to steal the Gwynne Abbey estate from the Darcys. Inside the courtroom, O'Halloran, a gifted nationalist orator and "counsellor" (a barrister), had needlessly calumniated the Darcys as intemperate spendthrifts who have brought their misfortune upon themselves. O'Halloran has depicted Hickman O'Reilly, the subject of the suit being heard, as the saviour of the Irish peasantry who will sweep away the decadence, corruption, and snobbery of the antiquated gentry. Inside, he had received an ominous note which warned him about the dangers of persisting in this rhetoric. Now he comes out to deliver a similar harangue to his ragtag supporters.

No wonder, then, that the the well-dressed youth (whom Lever leaves readers to assume is Lionel Darcy, just off the boat from Plymouth) is thrashing "Counsellor" O'Halloran for his presumption. Phiz uses the Doric columns of the Westport courthouse as a suitable backdrop for the public chastisement of the populist attorney (identified by his whig). Over the page, the assailant proves to be Lord Castlereagh's aide-de-camp, Captain Forester, who has probably acted out of his devotion to Helen Darcy. Phiz shows those who have just exited the court proceedings for the porch to the right, their top-hats denoting their respectable social class. To the left, the adoring and agitated mob of peasants tries to come to the rescue of their hero, but is prevented from doing so by uniformed police wielding bayonets (centre). What the viewer is not immediately aware of is the duplicity about to be practised by Heffernan:

“The people have dispersed already,” said Beecham, as he came back from the door of the court; “the square is quite empty.”

“Yes, I did that,” whispered Heffernan in O'Reilly's ear; “I made the servant put on the Counsellor's greatcoat, and drive rapidly off towards the abbey. The carriage is now, however, at the back entrance to the court-house; so, by all means, persuade him to return.” [363]

Thus, the carriage depicted by Phiz in the upper-left quadrant suggests how young Forester arrived unexpectedly to deliver poetic justice upon Hickman and Beecham O'Reilly's legal mouthpiece.

Bibliography

Buchanan-Brown, John. Phiz! Illustrator of Dickens' World. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1978.

Lester, Valerie Browne Lester. Chapter 11: "'Give Me Back the Freshness of the Morning!'" Phiz! The Man Who Drew Dickens. London: Chatto and Windus, 2004. Pp. 108-127.

Lever, Charles. The Knight of Gwynne; A Tale of the Time of the Union. London: Chapman and Hall, serialised January 1846 through July 1847.

Lever, Charles. The Knight of Gwynne. Illustrated by Phiz [Hablột Knight Browne]. Novels and Romances of Charles Lever. Vol. I and II. In two volumes. Project Gutenberg. Last Updated: 28 February 2018.

Steig, Michael. Chapter Four: "Dombey and Son: Iconography of Social and Sexual Satire." Dickens and Phiz. Bloomington: Indiana U. P., 1978. Pp. 86-112.

Stevenson, Lionel. Chapter IX, "Nomadic Patriarch, 1845-1847." Dr. Quicksilver: The Life of Charles Lever. London: Chapman and Hall, 1939. Pp. 146-164.

_______. "The Domestic Scene." The English Novel: A Panorama. Cambridge, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin and Riverside, 1960.

Created 9 August 2023