Darby Feelingly Apologises for the Scarcity of Irish Lion
Phiz (Halbot K. Browne)
1863
Charles Lever's Barrington (Chapter IV), p. 37
Image scan and text by Philip V. Allingham.
Commentary
His old master's only remaining servant, Darby Cassan is cleverer than he appears, having amassed a retirement fund from making modest loans to young blades (although his having occasionally supplied old Peter funds seems initially less than shrewd, his doing so will be amply rewarded at the end of the story). Here, having listened to his young guest's tales of hunting in India, Darby acknowledges that the Irish chase has nothing so exciting to offer as a challenge for the invalid (presumably, once he recovers). Like Dickens's Martin Chuzzlewit, there is a callowness about the self-centred youth that sometimes verges on the objectionable.
Last modified August 2002