Mr. Lattimer tells his story. — Forty-fifth illustration for the 1872 Household Edition of David Copperfield (illustrating a moment in Chapter XLVI, "Intelligence," p. 321). Descriptive headline: "Evidence of a Respectable Witness," 333. 10.8 x 13.8 cm (4 ¼ by 5 ⅜ inches), vignetted. [Click on the image to enlarge it. Mouse over text for links.]
Passage Illustrated: Littimer's Narrative about Steerforth's Abducting Em'ly
Mr. Littimer, without being at all discomposed, signified by a slight obeisance, that anything that was most agreeable to us was most agreeable to him; and began again.
"Mr. James and myself have been abroad with the young woman, ever since she left Yarmouth under Mr. James’s protection. We have been in a variety of places, and seen a deal of foreign country. We have been in France, Switzerland, Italy, in fact, almost all parts."
He looked at the back of the seat, as if he were addressing himself to that; and softly played upon it with his hands, as if he were striking chords upon a dumb piano.
"Mr. James took quite uncommonly to the young woman; and was more settled, for a length of time, than I have known him to be since I have been in his service. The young woman was very improvable, and spoke the languages; and wouldn’t have been known for the same country-person. I noticed that she was much admired wherever we went."
Miss Dartle put her hand upon her side. I saw him steal a glance at her, and slightly smile to himself.
"Very much admired, indeed, the young woman was. What with her dress; what with the air and sun; what with being made so much of; what with this, that, and the other; her merits really attracted general notice."
He made a short pause. Her eyes wandered restlessly over the distant prospect, and she bit her nether lip to stop that busy mouth.
Taking his hands from the seat, and placing one of them within the other, as he settled himself on one leg, Mr. Littimer proceeded, with his eyes cast down, and his respectable head a little advanced, and a little on one side. . . . [Chapter XLVI, "Intelligence," 332]
Commentary: A Revealing Inset Narrative
We arrive at about a year after David's having married the orphaned Dora Spenlow. As the somber illustration suggests, the time is evening, and the place is a garden — the garden of Mrs. Steerforth's house, which David passes every day on his way home from work. On this particular evening, Mrs. Steerforth's maid asks David as he is passing to step into the house and talk to Rosa Dartle, the dark-haired, severely dressed young woman seated on the rough-hewn garden bench, beside David. The third figure is the valet and confidant of James Steerforth, Mr. Littimer, who played a crucial role in the planning of Emily Peggotty's abduction. Smug, deferential, but condescending to social inferiors, Littimer here seems genuine in his dispassionate narration of Steerforth's wanderings on the Continent. Rosa Dartle exults when she hears that Steerforth has abandoned Em'ly, in whose suffering the vicious, jealous companion seems to delight.
Related Material
- David Copperfield (homepage)
- Phiz's 40 serial illustrations for David Copperfield (May 1849 - November 1850)
- O. C. Darley's Frontispiece in the New York edition (Vol. 1, 1862)
- O. C. Darley's Frontispiece in the New York edition (Vol. 2, 1862)
- O. C. Darley's Frontispiece in the New York edition (Vol. 3, 1862)
- Sol Eytinge, Junior's 16 Diamond Edition Illustrations (1867)
- W. H. C. Groome's 7 illustrations for the Collins Clear-type Pocket Edition, Vol. I (1907)
- Kyd's five Player's Cigarette Cards, 1910
- Harry Furniss's 29 Illustrations for Dickens's The Personal Experience and History of David Copperfield in the Charles Dickens Library Edition (1910)
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 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.]
The copy of the Household Edition from which this picture was scanned was the gift of George Gorniak, Editor of The Dickens Magazine, whose subject for the fifth series, beginning in January 2010, is this novel.
Bibliography
Bentley, Nicolas, Michael Slater, and Nina Burgis. The Dickens Index. Oxford and New York: Oxford U. P., 1988.
Dickens, Charles. David Copperfield. Illustrated by Hablot Knight Browne ("Phiz"). The Centenary Edition. 2 vols. London and New York: Chapman & Hall, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1911.
_______. The Personal History of David Copperfield. Illustrated by Sol Eytinge, Jr. The Diamond Edition. 14 vols. Boston: Ticknor & Fields, 1867. Vol. V.
_______. David Copperfield, with 61 illustrations by Fred Barnard. Household Edition. London: Chapman and Hall, 1872. Vol. III.
_______. The Personal History and Experiences of David Copperfield. Illustrated by Harry Furniss. The Charles Dickens Library Edition. London: Educational Book Company, 1910. Vol. X.
Last modified 25 August 2016 Last updated 18 August 2022