A Pleasant Dinner (Vol. XVII, facing page 513), horizontally-mounted, 9.8 cm high by 16 cm wide (3 ¾ by 6 ¼ inches), vignetted; signed "MEE." in the lower-left corner. Mary Ellen Edwards' wood-engraving for Charles Lever's The Bramleighs of Bishop's Folly in the Cornhill Magazine (May 1868), Chapters XLIII-XLVII ("A Special Mission" through "A Proposal in Form") in Vol. 17: pages 513 through 539 (26 pages including unpaged illustration in instalment). The wood-engraver responsible for this illustration was Joseph Swain (1820-1909), noted for his engravings of Sir John Tenniel's cartoons in Punch. [Click on the image to enlarge it.]
Passage Illustrated: Augustus and Nelly Bramleigh entertain George and his sister Julia
Prudent people will knit their brows and wise people shake their heads at the bare mention of it, but I cannot help saying that there is a wonderful fascination in those little gatherings which bring a few old friends around the same board, who, forgetting all the little pinchings and straits of narrow fortune, give themselves up for once to enjoyment without a thought for the cost or a care for the morrow. I do not want this to pass for sound morality, nor for a discreet line of conduct; I only say that in the spirit that can subdue every sentiment that would jar on the happiness of the hour there is a strength and vitality that shows this feeling is not born of mere conviviality, but of something deeper, and truer, and heartier. [Chapter XLV, "A Pleasant Dinner," pp. 524-525 in serial; 298 in volume]
Commentary: Uniting the Divergent Trajectories of the Bramleighs and L'Estranges
Mary Ellen Edwards finaly brings together the two pairs of siblings whom she has been following in the past few illustrations: Curate George L'Estrange (left), aristocrat Augustus Bramleigh (right) and their sisters, who are not easy to distinguish. Nelly Bramleigh is apparently seated right of centre, juxtaposed against her bearded brother, while Julia L'Estrange, with her hair fashionably up, is seated lower left. Encountering the illustration at the head of May 1868 Cornhill instalment, the serial reader would have recognized the elegantly attired diners, but would have been curious about the subject under discussion since the twelfth full-page illustration does not realize the monthly number's opening page — in particular, what further news do they exchange about the collapse of the coal-mining venture, "the Lisconnor scheme"? However, the topics at the Christmas dinner turn out to be George's problems with his fractious English congregation at Albano, and the activities of the "pretender" ("Count Pracontal de Bramleigh," as he now styles himself) and his keeping company very publicly with Lady Augusta, especially in their daily carriage rides throughout Campagna. Despite the pleasant demeanour of the four young people, George is going to face financial complications arising from the congregation's withdrawing their subscriptions. He feels compelled to resign, and must leave his post at the end of December.
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
Lever, Charles. The Bramleighs of Bishop’s Folly. The Cornhill Magazine 15 (June, 1867): pp. 640-664; 16 (July-December 1867): 1-666; 17 (January-June 1868): 1-663; 18 (July-October 1868): 1-403. 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.
Created 8 September 2023