He stood and looked at the sea while Wenna chatted with her acquaintance — third regular illustration by George du Maurier for William Black's Three Feathers. 10.4 cm high by 15.8 cm wide (4 ¼ by 6 ¼ inches), Chapter IX, "The Ring of Evil Omen," facing page 385, framed, inThe Cornhill Magazine (October 1874). [Click on the image to enlarge it.]
Passage Illustrated: On the Beach in Cornwall
One of Wenna's many friends outside the village in which she lived was a strange mis-shapen creature who earned his living by carrying sand from one of the bays on the coast to the farmers on the uplands above. This he did by means of a troop of donkeys — small, rough, light-haired, and large-eyed animals — that struggled up the rude and steep path on the face of the cliff, bearing on their backs the bags that he had laboriously filled below. . . . .
Wenna Rosewarne had some pity for this solitary wretch, who toiled at his task with the melancholy Atlantic before him, and behind him a great and lonely wall of crumbling slate; and, whenever she had time, she used to walk with her sister across the Eglosilyan by the high-lying downs until they reached the indentation in the coast where a curve of yellow sand was visible far below. If this poor fellow and his donkeys were to be seen from the summit, the two girl;d had little fear of the fatigue of descending the path down the side of the steep cliff; and the object of their visit used to be highly pleased and flattered by their coming to chat with him for a few minutes. . . . .
Now, on one of these occasions, Mr. Roscorla went with Wenna and her sister; and although he did not at all see the use of going down this precipitous cliff for the mere purpose of toiling up again, he was not going to confess that he dreaded the fatigue of it. . . . . So, with a good grace, he went down the tortuous pathway to the desolate little bay where the sand-carrier was a work. He stood and looked at the sea while Wenna chatted with her acquaintance; he studied the rigging of the distant ships; he watched the choughs and daws flying about the face of the rocks; he drew figures on the sand with the point of his cane; and wondered whether he would be back in time for luncheon if this garrulous hunchback jabbered in his guttural way for another hour. [Chapter IX, "The Ring of Evil Omen," 385]
Scanned image, caption, and commentary 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
Allingham, Philip V. "The Illustrations for William Black's Three Feathers." (2001).
Black, William. Three Feathers. Illustrated by George du Maurier. The Cornhill Magazine, Vols. XXX & XXXI (August 1874 through June 1875).
Black, William. Three Feathers: A Novel. Illustrated by George du Maurier. London: Sampson Low, Marston, 1875. 3 vols. Rpt., 1892 in a single volume.
Created 18 December 2001
Last updated 10 January 2025