Seeing that there was no one near, and that Mark was still intent upon the fog, he not only looked at her lips, but kissed them into the bargain. (1872). — Fred Barnard's nineteenth illustration for Dickens's Martin Chuzzlewit, (Chapter XIV), page 121. [In St. James's Park, London, between Bird Cage Walk and The Mall, Young Martin experiences a bitter-sweet parting from Mary Graham, hopeful of returning from America having made his fortune in architecture and ready to claim her as his bride.] 9.4 cm x 13.3 cm or 3 ¾ high by 5 ½ inches, framed. [Click on the image to enlarge it.]
Passage Illustrated: A Fond Farewell in St. James's Park, London
"There is a sort of jesting which is very much in earnest, and includes some pretty serious disgust," said Martin. "I jest in reference to Mr Pecksniff (at whose house I have been living as his assistant, and at whose hands I have received insult and injury), in that vein. Whatever betides, or however closely you may be brought into communication with this family, never forget that, Mary; and never for an instant, whatever appearances may seem to contradict me, lose sight of this assurance — Pecksniff is a scoundrel."
"Indeed!"
"In thought, and in deed, and in everything else. A scoundrel from the topmost hair of his head, to the nethermost atom of his heel. Of his daughters I will only say that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, they are dutiful young ladies, and take after their father closely. This is a digression from the main point, and yet it brings me to what I was going to say."
He stopped to look into her eyes again, and seeing, in a hasty glance over his shoulder, that there was no one near, and that Mark was still intent upon the fog, not only looked at her lips, too, but kissed them into the bargain.
"Now I am going to America, with great prospects of doing well, and of returning home myself very soon; it may be to take you there for a few years, but, at all events, to claim you for my wife; which, after such trials, I should do with no fear of your still thinking it a duty to cleave to him who will not suffer me to live (for this is true), if he can help it, in my own land. How long I may be absent is, of course, uncertain; but it shall not be very long. Trust me for that."
"In the meantime, dear Martin —"
"That’s the very thing I am coming to. In the meantime you shall hear, constantly, of all my goings-on. Thus." [Chapter XIV, "In Which Martin Bids Adieu to the Lady of His Love; and Honours an Obscure Individual Whose Fortune He Intends to Make, by Commending Her to His Protection," 123]
Commentary: The Lovers and Their Chaperone
Left and right: Details of the lovers in St. James's Park in the 1843 and 1872 illustrations.
It seems to have been Barnard's practice not to attempt scenes originally included in the monthly serials, but here is an exception, for Phiz's June 1843 engraving Mr. Tapley Acts Third Party With Great Discretion realizes precisely the same tender parting of the lovers in St. James's Park, not far from Westminister Abbey, whose twin spires occupy the upper-right register of Phiz's plate (see below). Barnard appears to have decided to change the orientation of the plate relative to Horse Guards’ Parade and Westminster Abbey. Phiz has put the twin towers of the Abbey into the upper left, even though Dickens specifies that the meeting between Mary Graham and Martin occurs closer to the Horse Guards. The twin towers are undoubtedly more recognizable, so that Phiz must have felt that readers would find his description of the park more convincing. However, Barnard has decided to correct Phiz by putting White Hall, which is much nearer, in the background instead. The most significant change is the moment realised, for Phiz has illustrated the mutual reading of the letter which follows their initial intimacy: "He paused to take from his pocket the letter he had written overnight" (page 123 in the Household Edition).
Whereas the earlier illustration leaves Mark Tapley, apparently half-asleep, leaning against tree mere feet from Mary, Barnard has provided a convenient seat for him at the base of a much larger tree, again, probably a oak. Martin and Mary are rather more intimate in the 1872 illustration, which is oriented on the domed edifice (upper right). Although an iron fence occurs in both illustrations, the location in Phiz's plate seems a different part of St. James's Park, even though Dickens has specified a location near the Horse Guards' Parade (the logical identification of the setting in the 1872 plate), close to Whitehall Palace, but still just a short walk from Westminister's Houses of Parliament and the Abbey.
Phiz’s looming Gothic towers imply not only the presence of the church nearby, but also the possibility of marriage. However, there is little need for the chaperone (Mark) at the moment as the lovers are thoroughly engaged in reading the page Martin holds up. What a difference then to the 1872 engraving, in which the lovers embrace as Mark looks off into the fog. Barnard has minimized Mary's bonnet to focus upon her blissful expression. Gone entirely is the letter as the lovers are now very much absorbed in each other. From a geographical point of view, Phiz's interpretation may seem preferable to Barnard's, as St. James's Park is located in the City of Westminster (which Phiz references in the looming towers of the Abbey). The park's remodelling in 1826–27, commissioned by the Prince Regent (later, King George IV), was directed by John Nash, but it had been popular as a public park since the mid-eighteenth century, and therefore it is a logical rendezvous point for the lovers on the eve of Martin's departure for "Columbia." But the metropolitan oak grove is also foreshadowing the gloomy and unhealthy primeval pine forests at the ironically-named Eden on the Illinois shore of the Mississippi River, where Martin nearly succumbs to malaria as the price of his ambitions.
Relevant Illustrations, 1843-1910
Left: Hablot Knight Browne's Mr. Tapley Acts Third Party With Great Discretion (June 1843). Centre: Harry Furniss's interpretation of the romantic farewell, with a touch of Tapley comedy injected, Mark Tapley's Sympathetic Sneeze (1910). Right: J. Clayton Clarke's (Kyd's) cigarette card image of the inveterate optimist, Mark Tapley (1910). [Click on the images to enlarge them.]
Left: F. O. C. Darley's frontispiece for volume two, "Jolly sort of lodgings" (1863), alluding to Mark's deciding to join young Martin on the voyage to America. Right: Furniss's own portrait of Mark as he bids farewell to Tom Pinch, Mark Tapley (1910), depicting Mark's cheerily waving good-bye to all he has known. [Click on the images to enlarge them.]
Scanned images and text by Philip V. Allingham. [You may use the images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned them and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
Bibliography
Bentley, Nicolas, Michael Slater, and Nina Burgis. The Dickens Index. New York and Oxford: Oxford U. P., 1990.
Dickens, Charles. The Dickens Souvenir Book. Household Edition. London: Chapman and Hall, 1871-1880. The copy of The Dickens Souvenir Book from which these pictures were scanned is in the collection of the Main Library of The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B. C.
Dickens, Charles. The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit. Illustrated by Hablot Knight Browne. London: Chapman and Hall, 1844.
_____. Martin Chuzzlewit. Works of Charles Dickens. Household Edition. 55 vols. Illustrated by F. O. C. Darley and John Gilbert. New York: Sheldon and Co., 1863. Vol. 2 of 4.
_____. Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit. Illustrated by Fred Barnard. Household Edition. 22 vols. London: Chapman and Hall, 1872. Vol. 2.
_____. Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit. Illustrated Sterling Edition. Illustrated by Hablot K. Browne and Frederick Barnard. Boston: Dana Estes, n. d. [1890s]
_____. Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit. Illustrated by Harry Furniss. The Charles Dickens Library Edition. 18 vols. London: Educational Book, 1910. Vol. 7.
Steig, Michael. "From Caricature to Progress: Master Humphrey's Clock and Martin Chuzzlewit." Ch. 3, Dickens and Phiz. Bloomington & London: Indiana U.P., 1978. Pp. 51-85. [See e-text in Victorian Web.]
Steig, Michael. "Martin Chuzzlewit's Progress by Dickens and Phiz. Dickens Studies Annual 2 (1972): 119-149.
Last modified 22 July 2016
Last updated 19 November 2024