Passage Illustrated: An Introduction to a Soldier's Life in the Garrison

Scarcely had I formed this resolve, when I reached the group of officers; but the moment I came near, one general roar of laughter saluted me,—the like of which I never before heard — I looked down at my costume, expecting to discover that, in my hurry to dress, I had put on some of the garments of Othello — No: all was perfectly correct. I waited for a moment, till the first burst of their merriment over, I should obtain a clue to the jest. But their mirth appeared to increase. Indeed poor G——, the senior major, one of the gravest men in Europe, laughed till the tears ran down his cheeks; and such was the effect upon me, that I was induced to laugh too — as men will sometimes, from the infectious nature of that strange emotion; but, no sooner did I do this, than their fun knew no bounds, and some almost screamed aloud, in the excess of their merriment; just at this instant the Colonel, who had been examining some of the men, approached our group, advancing with an air of evident displeasure, as the shouts of loud laughter continued. As he came up, I turned hastily round, and touching my cap, wished him good morning. Never shall I forget the look he gave me. If a glance could have annihilated any man, his would have finished me. For a moment his face became purple with rage, his eye was almost hid beneath his bent brow, and he absolutely shook with passion.

"Go, Sir," said he at length, as soon as he was able to find utterance for his words; "Go, sir, to your quarters; and before you leave them, a court-martial shall decide, if such continued insult to your commanding officer, warrants your name being in the Army List."

"What the devil can all this mean?" I said, in a half-whisper, turning to the others. But there they stood, their handkerchiefs to their mouths, and evidently choking with suppressed laughter.

"May I beg, Colonel C_____," said I ——

"To your quarters, sir," roared the little man, in the voice of a lion. And with a haughty wave of his hand, prevented all further attempt on my part to seek explanation. [Chapter I, "Arrival in Cork — Civic Festivities — Private Theatricals," 30]

Commentary: Lorrequer reports for Parade with his theatrical makeup still on

Wherever I went through the city —— and many were my peregrinations —— the great placard of the play stared me in the face; and every gate and shuttered window in Cork proclaimed "THE PART OF OTHELLO, BY Mr. LORREQUER." [29]

Lorrequer does not realize, as the Colonel orders him to his quarters and threatens him with a court-martial for insulting his senior officer, that he is still wearing his theatrical makeup from the night before. He is, of course, starring as Shakespeare's tragic Moor in the garrison's amateur production, and has been imbibing too freely the night before. He can barely find his own clothes as the drums require the regiment to fall in at the parade square for one of "our confounded colonel's morning drills" (30). And quite by chance he has had his toilet-table, mirror, and wash-basin removed to his dressing room at the theatre. Thus, Lever sets up his narrator-protagonist as the butt of a jest of fate. Phiz captures effectively the indignation of the portly Colonel, purple with rage, and Lorrequer's being utterly ignorant of the cause, as his fellow officers can barely suppress their mirth in the barrack-yard. In particular, poor G ——, the senior major (right), is unable to restrain himself.

Bibliography

Buchanan-Brown, John. Phiz! Illustrator of Dickens' World. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1978.

Lester, Valerie Browne Lester. Phiz! The Man Who Drew Dickens. London: Chatto and Windus, 2004.

Lever, Charles. The Confessions of Harry Lorrequer. Illustrated by Phiz [Hablot Knight Browne]. Dublin: William Curry, Jun. London: W. S. Orr, 1839.

Steig, Michael. Chapter Two: "The Beginnings of 'Phiz': Pickwick, Nickleby, and the Emergence from Caricature." Dickens and Phiz. Bloomington: Indiana U. P., 1978. Pp. 24-85.

Steig, Michael. Chapter Seven: "Phiz the Illustrator: An Overview and a Summing Up." Dickens and Phiz. Bloomington: Indiana U. P., 1978. Pp. 299-316.

Stevenson, Lionel. Chapter V, "Renegade from Physic, 1839-1841." Dr. Quicksilver: The Life of Charles Lever. London: Chapman and Hall, 1939. Pp. 73-93.

_______. "The Domestic Scene." The English Novel: A Panorama. Cambridge, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin and Riverside, 1960.

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28 March 2023