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Passage Illustrated

The good old monk was within six paces of us, as the idea of him crossed my mind; and was advancing towards us a little out of the line, as if uncertain whether he should break in upon us or no. — He stopp’d, however, as soon as he came up to us, with a world of frankness: and having a horn snuff box in his hand, he presented it open to me. — You shall taste mine — said I, pulling out my box (which was a small tortoise one) and putting it into his hand. — ’Tis most excellent, said the monk. Then do me the favour, I replied, to accept of the box and all, and when you take a pinch out of it, sometimes recollect it was the peace offering of a man who once used you unkindly, but not from his heart.

The poor monk blush’d as red as scarlet. Mon Dieu! said he, pressing his hands together — you never used me unkindly. — I should think, said the lady, he is not likely. I blush’d in my turn. . . . ["The Snuff-box. Calais," p. 26]

Commentary

Pre-Victorian illustrators such as Archer (1794) and Thomas Stothard (1792) clearly felt that the sentimental interaction between the Franciscan friar, Father Lorenzo, and Mr. Yorick, should be a subject for illustration, these standard scenes bearing such titles as The Snuff-box and Yorick and the Monk Exchanging Snuff Boxes. The scene involving the exchange of the English traveller's expensive tortoise-shell snuff-box for the Franciscan's humble horn container marks the turning point in Yorick's determining to become a better traveller — less callous, more sensitive, kinder, and more sentimental.

Stothard's handling of the scene is far less realistic than the Victorian equivalents; in particular, although Stothard conveys some sense of Yorick's character, his monk remains a stereotype, lacking the spirituality and the mental capacity of the figures by Johannot (1857) and Jacque and Fussell (1841). Moreover, the copper-plate engraving lacks the telling background detailing of the later illustrations, being merely a street, as Stothard indicates by the presence of the carriage. However, Stothard handles the three somewhat stilted figures with considerable sensitivity as the Lady gazes philosophically at the snuff-box, Yorick examines the Monk's response to his offer, and the friar, in simple robe and sandals, holds out his own simple snuff-box, accepting the exchange that the English traveller, in the clothing of a Church of England clergyman, has proposed.

Other Scenes involving the Franciscan and Yorick (1841 and 1857)

Left: The portrait of Sterne's Monk in the 1841 edition, illustrated by Jacque and Fussell, Father Lorenzo. Centre: The same illustrators' wood-engraving of the Franciscan hearing Yorick's complaint about the necessity of first relieving poverty at home, Yorick and the Monk (1841). Right: Johannot's study of the Monk at Calais in a misentitled plate, Sterne and the Monk — the Snuff-box (1857). [Click on images to enlarge them.]

Bibliography

Sterne, Laurence. A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy by Mr. Yorick. Illustrated by Thomas Stothard. London: J. Good, No. 159, New Bond Street; and E. and S. Harding, No. 102, Pall Mall, 1792; rpt., 1801].

Sterne, Laurence. A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy. Illustrated with one hundred engravings on wood, by Bastin and G. Nichols, from original designs by Jacque and Fussell. London: Joseph Thomas, 1841.

Sterne, Laurence. A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy. With 100 illustrations by Tony Johannot. London: Willoughby, 1857.

Stothard's Illustrations for Sterne's A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy by Mr. Yorick (1792). Accessed 26 September 2018. Available online at VTS: fulltable.com

Turner, Katherine. "Notes." Laurence Sterne's A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy (1768). Peterborough, ON: Broadview, 2010.

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Last modified 24 October 2018