A Chance Meeting in Westminster Hall by George Cattermole. 3 ½ x 4 ½ inches (9 cm by 11.5 cm). Vignetted, wood-engraved. Chapter XLIII, Barnaby Rudge. 17 July 1841 in serial publication (forty-first plate in the series). Part 23 in the novel, serialised in Master Humphrey's Clock, Vol. III (part 66), 183. [Click on the images to enlarge them.]
Passage Illustrated: Mr. Haredale confronts Sir John and the Servile Gashford
Mr. Haredale, glancing only at such of these groups as he passed nearest to, and then in a manner betokening that his thoughts were elsewhere, had nearly traversed the Hall, when two persons before him caught his attention. One of these, a gentleman in elegant attire, carried in his hand a cane, which he twirled in a jaunty manner as he loitered on; the other, an obsequious, crouching, fawning figure, listened to what he said — at times throwing in a humble word himself — and, with his shoulders shrugged up to his ears, rubbed his hands submissively, or answered at intervals by an inclination of the head, half-way between a nod of acquiescence, and a bow of most profound respect.
In the abstract there was nothing very remarkable in this pair, for servility waiting on a handsome suit of clothes and a cane — not to speak of gold and silver sticks, or wands of office — is common enough. But there was that about the well-dressed man, yes, and about the other likewise, which struck Mr. Haredale with no pleasant feeling. He hesitated, stopped, and would have stepped aside and turned out of his path, but at the moment, the other two faced about quickly, and stumbled upon him before he could avoid them.
The gentleman with the cane lifted his hat and had begun to tender an apology, which Mr. Haredale had begun as hastily to acknowledge and walk away, when he stopped short and cried, "Haredale! Gad bless me, this is strange indeed!" [Chapter the Forty-third, Vol. III, 183]
Relevant Scene from the 1874 Household Edition
Above: Fred Barnard's more vigorous realisation of the subsequent confrontation of Haredale, a staunch Catholic, and the ultra-Protestant Lord Gordon and his suite, "He retort!" cried Haredale. "Look you here, my lord. Do you know this man?" (Ch. XLIII).
Related Material including Other Illustrated Editions of Barnaby Rudge
- Dickens's Barnaby Rudge (homepage)
- George Cattermole, 1800-1868; A Brief Biography
- Phiz's Original Serial Illustrations (1841)
- Cattermole and Phiz: The First Illustrators — A Team Effort by "The Clock Works" (1841)
- Felix Octavius Carr Darley's six illustrations (1865 and 1888)
- Sol Eytinge, Jr.'s Diamond Edition illustrations (1867)
- Fred Barnard's 46 illustrations for the Household Edition (1874)
- A. H. Buckland's 6 illustrations for the Collins' Clear-type Pocket Edition (1900)
- Harry Furniss's 28 illustrations for The Charles Dickens Library Edition (1910)
Scanned image, colour correction, sizing, caption, and commentary 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
Dickens, Charles. Barnaby Rudge. Illustrated by Hablot K. Browne ('Phiz') and George Cattermole. London: Chapman and Hall, 1841; rpt., Bradbury & Evans, 1849.
________. Barnaby Rudge — A Tale of the Riots of 'Eighty. Illustrated by Fred Barnard. The Household Edition. 22 vols. London: Chapman and Hall, 1874. VII.
Hammerton, J. A. "Ch. XIV. Barnaby Rudge." The Dickens Picture-Book. The Charles Dickens Library Edition, illustrated by Harry Furniss. London: Educational Book Co., 1910. 213-55.
Vann, J. Don. "Barnaby Rudge in Master Humphrey's Clock, 13 February 1841-27 November 1841." Victorian Novels in Serial. New York: MLA, 1985. 65-6.
Created 4 January 2006
Last modified 15 December 2020