Tom immediately walked upon his hands to the window, and — if the expression be allowable — looked in with his shoes. — Chap. LXVII by Charles Green. 1876. 9.5 cm high by x 13.7 cm wide. Dickens's The Old Curiosity Shop, thirty-sixth illustration in the British Household Edition, IV: 249. Running head: "Warning from Miss Brass" (249). [Click on the image to enlarge it.]
Context of the Illustration: Tom Scott's Final Somersault
"Did she think I was dead?" said Quilp, wrinkling his face into a most extraordinary series of grimaces. "Did she think she was going to have all the money, and to marry somebody she liked? Ha ha ha! Did she?"
These taunts elicited no reply from the poor little woman, who remained on her knees, warming her hands, and sobbing, to Mr. Quilp’s great delight. But, just as he was contemplating her, and chuckling excessively, he happened to observe that Tom Scott was delighted too; wherefore, that he might have no presumptuous partner in his glee, the dwarf instantly collared him, dragged him to the door, and after a short scuffle, kicked him into the yard. In return for this mark of attention, Tom immediately walked upon his hands to the window, and—if the expression be allowable — looked in with his shoes: besides rattling his feet upon the glass like a Banshee upside down. As a matter of course, Mr. Quilp lost no time in resorting to the infallible poker, with which, after some dodging and lying in ambush, he paid his young friend one or two such unequivocal compliments that he vanished precipitately, and left him in quiet possession of the field.
"So! That little job being disposed of," said the dwarf, coolly, "I’ll read my letter. Humph!" he muttered, looking at the direction. "I ought to know this writing. Beautiful Sally!" [Chapter LXVII, 248-49]
Related Resources
- Dickens's The Old Curiosity Shop — Some Discussions
- The Old Curiosity Shop Illustrated: A Team Effort by "The Clock Works."
- 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 22 November 2020