The Mausoleum at Chesney Wold
Phiz (Hablot K. Browne)
1853
Etching
5 3/16 x 3 7/16 inches on a page of 8 7/16 x 5 inches
Facing p. 619 (ch. 66, "Down in Lincolnshire") — the first page of the brief final chapter of Dickens's Bleak House
[For passage illustrated see below]
Scanned image and text by George P. Landow.
Passage Illustrated
There is a hush upon Chesney Wold in these altered days, as there is upon a portion of the family history. The story goes that Sir Leicester paid some who could have spoken out to hold their peace; but it is a lame story, feebly whispering and creeping about, and any brighter spark of life it shows soon dies away. It is known for certain that the handsome Lady Dedlock lies in the mausoleum in the park, where the trees arch darkly overhead, and the owl is heard at night making the woods ring; but whence she was brought home to be laid among the echoes of that solitary place, or how she died, is all mystery. Some of her old friends, principally to be found among the peachy-cheeked charmers with the skeleton throats, did once occasionally say, as they toyed in a ghastly manner with large fans — like charmers reduced to flirting with grim death, after losing all their other beaux — did once occasionally say, when the world assembled together, that they wondered the ashes of the Dedlocks, entombed in the mausoleum, never rose against the profanation of her company. But the dead-and-gone Dedlocks take it very calmly and have never been known to object.
Up from among the fern in the hollow, and winding by the bridle- road among the trees, comes sometimes to this lonely spot the sound of horses' hoofs. Then may be seen Sir Leicester — invalided, bent, and almost blind, but of worthy presence yet — riding with a stalwart man beside him, constant to his bridle-rein. When they come to a certain spot before the mausoleum-door, Sir Leicester's accustomed horse stops of his own accord, and Sir Leicester, pulling off his hat, is still for a few moments before they ride away.
References
Dickens, Charles. Bleak House. London: Bradbury & Evans. Bouverie Street, 1853.
Last modified 12 November 2007