John Leech, His Life and Work. Vol. 1 [of 2]Frith, William Powell
General
John Leech, His Life and Work. Vol. 1 [of 2]
Frith, William Powell
Leech, John, 1817-1864
And something did indeed happen. The transformation was complete; the
hard heart had given place to illimitable money.
"'You will let me have the money?' repeated Mrs. Jericho.
"Jericho answered not a word, but withdrew his hand from his breast.
Between his finger and his thumb he held in silver purity a virgin Bank
of England note for a hundred pounds. Mrs. Jericho ran delightedly off
with the money.
"And Jericho sat with his heart beating faster. Again he placed his hand
to his breast, again drew forth another bank-note. He jumped to his
feet, tore away his dress, and, running to a mirror, saw therein
reflected, not human flesh, but over the region of the heart a loose
skin of bank-paper, veined with marks of ink. He touched it, and still
in his hand lay another note. His thoughtless wish had been wrought into
reality. Solomon Jericho was in very truth a Man made of Money."
The fête at Jogtrot Hall was a great success. The guests were many, and
some of them distinguished. The Honourable Mr. Candytuft, Colonel Bones,
Commissioner Thrush, and Dr. Mizzlemist, of Doctors' Commons, must be
noted, as they have to be dealt with pictorially by Leech hereafter.
After a variety of entertainments, some twenty or thirty hungry guests
graced a table under a long, wide tent, on which "there were the most
delicious proofs of the earth's goodness, with every kitchen mystery."
The host, Mr. Carraway, took the head of the table; Mr. Jericho,
"dignified and taciturn, graced the board." The orator on the occasion
was Dr. Mizzlemist, who had been seized with a passion to drink
everybody's health. For the third time he rose to give "the health of
Solomon Jericho, Esquire, an honour to his country."
"In the course of his speech the Doctor delivered himself with so much
energy that at the same time he stuck the fork, which had served him in
emphasizing the Jericho virtues, between the bones of Mr. Jericho's
right hand, pinning it where it lay.
"'It is nothing,' said the philosophic Jericho."
The change in Mr. Jericho's appearance, from the full-faced,
healthy-looking individual of Leech's first drawing, to the spare,
hollow-cheeked man at the banquet, is to be accounted for by the fact
that, after each application to the strange bank established in Mr.
Jericho's breast, his whole form shrinks; he becomes thinner and
thinner, to the alarm of his tailor, who "says, as he measures the
changed man:
"'Six inches less round the body, as I'm a sinner! Six inches less, Mr.
Jericho, and I last took your measure six weeks ago.'"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account