"Now, gentlemen," said Jerry, looking at them attentively. "The dog who's name's called, eats." — Chap. XVIII by Charles Green. 1876. 10.5 cm high by x 13.7 cm wide. Dickens's The Old Curiosity Shop, in the 1876 British Household Edition, IV: 72. [Click on the image to enlarge it.]
Passage Illustrated: Jerry Instructs His Employees
At length the dish was lifted on the table, and mugs of ale having been previously set round, little Nell ventured to say grace, and supper began.
At this juncture the poor dogs were standing on their hind legs quite surprisingly; the child, having pity on them, was about to cast some morsels of food to them before she tasted it herself, hungry though she was, when their master interposed.
"No, my dear, no, not an atom from anybody’s hand but mine if you please. That dog," said Jerry, pointing out the old leader of the troop, and speaking in a terrible voice, "lost a halfpenny to-day. He goes without his supper."
The unfortunate creature dropped upon his fore-legs directly, wagged his tail, and looked imploringly at his master.
"You must be more careful, Sir," said Jerry, walking coolly to the chair where he had placed the organ, and setting the stop. "Come here. Now, Sir, you play away at that, while we have supper, and leave off if you dare."
The dog immediately began to grind most mournful music. His master having shown him the whip resumed his seat and called up the others, who, at his directions, formed in a row, standing upright as a file of soldiers. [Chapter XVIII, 69]
Related Material about The Old Curiosity Shop
- Dickens's The Old Curiosity Shop (homepage)
- The Old Curiosity Shop Illustrated: A Team Effort by "The Clock Works"
- Illustrated Editions of The Old Curiosity Shop
- Kyd's Characters from Dickens (1889)
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.]
Bibliography
Dickens, Charles. The Old Curiosity Shop. Illustrated by Charles Green. The Household Edition. 22 vols. London: Chapman and Hall, 1876. XII.
Created 8 May 2020
Last modified 21 November 2020