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Capture of 'Red-beard'
Phiz
September 1843 (eighth) instalment
Steel-engraving
14.2 cm by 10.8 cm (5 ½ by 4 ¼ inches), vignetted.
Charles Lever's Tom Burke of "Ours", Chapter XXXII, "The Chateau d'Ancre" (September 1843), facing p. 228 in the 1844 edition, and 234 in the 1865 edition.
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“Bring up the torches quickly here,” called out a voice like that of an officer; and as he spoke the red flare of lighted pine branches was seen moving through the misty atmosphere. The light fell upon a strong party of dismounted dragoons and gendarmerie, who, carbine in hand, stood waiting for the word to dash forward. The officer, whose figure I could distinguish as he moved along the front of his men, appeared to hesitate, and for a few seconds all stood motionless. At length, as if having resolved on his plan, he approached the doorway, a pine torch in his hand; another step, and the light must have disclosed the dense array of armed peasants that stood and knelt around the hall — when a deep, low voice within uttered the one word, “Now!” and quick, as if by his breath the powder had been ignited, a volley rang out, pattering like hail on the steel breastplates and through the branches of the trees. A mingled shout of rage and agony rose from those without, and without waiting for a command, they rushed onward. [Chapter XXXII, "The Château d'Ancre," pp. 223-224 in the 1844 edition; pp. 233-234 in the 1865 edition]
In attempting to rescue his friend — and Marie De Meudon's sweetheart — from the gendarmerie and dragoons whom the Prefect of Police, Colonel Savary, has despatched to arrest the Chouans at the Château d'Ancre in mid-January 1804, Tom falls into the hands of the police. Given the circumstances, they assume that he is in league with physically powerfully insurrectionist nicknamed Red Beard. Phiz is able to realize much of Lever's physical description; he posses a quantity of red hair than falls on his shoulders in great profusion, is powerfully built, and wears a peasant blouse. Already disarmed and on the ground, the Chouan leader no longer has his pistols or straight sword, and his poinard now lies on the wet grass, under his elbow. Phiz has described the action as occurring outside, whereas the violent action began inside the château. He shows Red Beard massively outnumbered, beset by five uniformed gendarmes and three heavily armed dragoons, who slash at the fallen giant; however, Phiz has included only one of Red Beard's peasant followers slain on the ground (left). In fact, Lever indicates that "A dozen swords flashed above him as he lay" (234), whereas Phiz shows only two cavalry swords. But each figure is individualized by costume, pose, and juxtaposition in a pyramid-like composition with Red Beard at the base. Although Phiz depicts no discharge of firearms such as Lever suggests by the rattling bullets, a luminescent cloud behind the figures envelopes the scene, dominated by the Michelangelo-esque torso of Red Beard in the foreground. De Beauvaise has escaped, and shortly Red Beard will do so, too, but the party of police will shortly deposit Tom as a political prisoner in the Temple, Paris. Only when Tom has been in the "soft prison" a few days does he learn the identity of the burly Breton Bourbonist leader: General George Cadoudal, "the dreaded chief of the Chouans" (248).
Buchanan-Brown, John. Phiz! Illustrator of Dickens' World. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1978.
Lester, Valerie Browne Lester. Chapter 11: "'Give Me Back the Freshness of the Morning!'" Phiz! The Man Who Drew Dickens. London: Chatto and Windus, 2004. Pp. 108-127.
Lever, Charles. Tom Burke of "Ours." Dublin: William Curry, Jun., 1844. Illustrated by H. K. Browne. London: Chapman and Hall, 1865. Serialised February 1843 through September 1844. 2 vols.
Lever, Charles. Tom Burke of "Ours." Illustrated by Phiz [Hablột Knight Browne]. Vol. I and II. In two volumes. Project Gutenberg. Last Updated: 24 February 2021.
Steig, Michael. Chapter Four: "Dombey and Son: Iconography of Social and Sexual Satire." Dickens and Phiz. Bloomington: Indiana U. P., 1978. Pp. 86-112.
Stevenson, Lionel. Dr. Quicksilver: The Life of Charles Lever. London: Chapman and Hall, 1939.
_______. "The Domestic Scene." The English Novel: A Panorama. Cambridge, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin and Riverside, 1960.
Created 2 November 2023