The Arrival of a Great Man
Mary Ellen Edwards
1867
Wood engraving by Joseph Swain
15.6 cm high by 10.2 cm wide (6 ⅛ by 4 inches)
Illustration for Charles Lever’sThe Bramleighs of Bishop’s Folly. Main illustration for the second (July) 1867 serial number in the Cornhill Magazine, Vol. 16, facing p. 1.
[Click on image to enlarge it.]
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.]
Passage Anticipated: Lord Culduff arrives at The Castello from England
It was within a quarter of eight o'clock — forty-five minutes after the usual dinner-hour — when Lord Culduff's carriage drove up to the door.
“The roads are atrocious down here,” said Temple, apologizing in advance for an offence which his father rarely, if ever, forgave. “Don't you think you ought to go out to meet him, sir?” asked he, half timidly.
“It would only create more delay; he'll appear, I take it, when he is dressed,” was the curt rejoinder, but it was scarcely uttered when the door was thrown wide open, and Lord Culduff and Mr. Cutbill were announced.
Seen in the subdued light of a drawing-room before dinner, Lord Culduff did not appear more than half his real age, and the jaunty stride and the bland smile he wore — as he made his round of acquaintance — might have passed muster for five-and-thirty; nor was the round vulgar figure of the engineer, awkward and familiar alternately, a bad foil for the very graceful attractions of his Lordship's manner.
“We should have been here two hours ago,” said he, “but my friend here insisted on our coming coastwise to see a wonderful bay, — a natural harbor one might call it. What's the name, Cutbill?”
“Portness, my Lord.”
“Ah, to be sure, Portness. On your property, I believe?” [Chapter VIII, "The Arrival of the Great Man," 11]
Commentary: Another Ensemble at "The Castello," Bishop's Folly
The second major illustration, and the second of seven ensemble pieces for the serialisation of the Lever novella, focuses on the arrival of the travellers in the drawing-room of the Castello; the reader naturally wonders who these eight figures are, and what their relationship to one another may be. However, Edwards foregrounds and focuses upon the fashionably dressed young women in their off-the-shoulder evening dresses, establishing them rather than the "great man," Lord Culduff, as her real subject. We subsequently learn something about the characters assembled in the Great House for dinner in Chapter VIII, "The Arrival of the Great Man," besides Lord Culduff and his companion, the engineer Mr. Cutbill (both seen in the vignette). We meet Temple Bramleigh (gesturing, centre); his sisters Marion and Ellen (left); the eldest son, Augustus (right foreground); Jack Bramleigh, the great wit among the younger set; and Colonel Bramleigh (foreground). The two key figures in terms of the conversation are the owner of the estate, the Colonel, stepping forward to shake the visitor's hand, and Lord Culduff himself (centre), distinguished by his youthful figure and "fur pelisse" (12). In the second set of illustrations the artist is still introducing the chief characters and elaborating upon their social class and relationships. And, of course, she begs the question "What is Lord Culduff doing in Ireland?" which Chapters VI-IX answer.
Bibliography
Lever, Charles. The Bramleighs of Bishop’s Folly. The Cornhill Magazine 15 (June, 1867): pp. 640-664, and (July-December 1867): 1-666. Rpt. London: Chapman & Hall, 1872. Illustrated by M. E. Edwards; engraved by Joseph Swain.
Stevenson, Lionel. "Chapter XVI: Exile on the Adriatic, 1867-1872." Dr. Quicksilver: The Life of Charles Lever. London: Chapman and Hall, 1939. Pp. 277-296.
Victorian
Web
Visual
Arts
Illus-
tration
Mary E.
Edwards
Next
Created 25 August 2023