26
Jan

This guy says the horse can do

by HML

I didn’t expect to spend much time thinking about Jane Austen on our recent trip to Hawaii. Well, aside from checking Remotely Connected to grin like a loon over seeing my words in print, then worry about tomatoes being tossed at my review; and my Jane Austen action figure had places to go and things to do * (she’s much more portable than Uncle Q’s solid plaster garden gnome, who used to be quite the traveler in his day). But I read other books: intrepid Victorian traveler Isabella Bird’s Six Months in the Sandwich Islands and a collection of Mark Twain’s letters from Hawaii for the Sacramento Union.

Mark TwainAnd then, while reading Roughing It in the Sandwich Islands, I came upon this passage:

Captain Phillips takes a just pride in his driving and in the speed of his horse, and to his passion for displaying them I owe it that we were only sixteen minutes coming from the prison to the American Hotel—a distance which has been estimated to be over half a mile. But it took some fearful driving. The Captain’s whip came down fast, and the blows started so much dust out of the horse’s hide that during the last half of the journey we rode through an impenetrable fog …

When we came to anchor at last, and Captain Phillips looked at his watch and said, “Sixteen minutes—I told you it was in her! that’s over three miles an hour!” I could see he felt entitled to a compliment, and so I said I had never seen lightning go like that horse. And I never had. ( ch. 2)

Could Captain Phillips be John Thorpe’s nephew?
John Thorpe

“Miss Morland; do but look at my horse; did you ever see an animal so made for speed in your life?” … Such true blood! Three hours and and a half indeed coming only three-and-twenty miles! Look at that creature, and suppose it possible if you can.”

“He does look very hot, to be sure.”

“Hot! he had not turned a hair till we came to Walcot Church; but look at his forehand; look at his loins; only see how he moves; that horse cannot go less than ten miles an hour: tie his legs and he will get on.” (Northanger Abbey, ch. 7)

Mark Twain may be on record as detesting Jane Austen, but as this intriguing essay by Emily Auerbach suggests, perhaps he was a closeted Janeite? They certainly both recognized a slow horse (and a fast talker) when they met one.

* That’s the summit of Mauna Kea behind Jane; the altitude is making her feel woozy and a bit off-center.

Related posts:

Pahoehoe, 'a'a, and vog
Beware of invisible cows
From the Big Island to the Gathering Place

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This entry was posted on Saturday, January 26th, 2008 at 5:51 pm and is filed under jane austen, travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

4 Responses to “This guy says the horse can do”

  1. Cailean
    January 27th, 2008 00:55
    1

    I read your contribution to the PBS site a couple of weeks ago (soon after it was published I think) and was so proud! :) You obviously are well-known in your Austen community. I loved seeing the action-figure shots. I almost bought that same one from Archie McPhee’s for my sister-in-law who loves Jane Austen too!

  2. Jim Fossi
    January 30th, 2008 14:31
    2

    I am contacting you regarding your C.E.Brock watercolors. They are the most complete set I’ve found on the web. I recently found 8 of his original watercolors on the Lorna Doone novel by R.D. Blackmore. I have found no information regarding this work and was wondering if you knew of anyone who I could contact regarding them, any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

    Jim Fossi

    P.S. I use to deliever the Sacramento Union.

  3. HML
    January 31st, 2008 17:02
    3

    Aww, thanks, Cailean! :)

    When not having adventures, my Jane Austen action figure hangs out on the computer desk with Sparkzilla. I love Archie McPhee.

  4. HML
    January 31st, 2008 17:27
    4

    Hi Jim,

    As far as I know, the most complete set of C.E Brock watercolors for Jane Austen novels is the Series of English Idylls, published from 1907-1909 by J.M. Dent (London) and E.P. Dutton (New York). Editions published after these dates don’t include a complete set of illustrations.

    Lorna Doone was published as part of this series, but I don’t know for sure if C.E. Brock illustrated all of the books in the series. He did illustrate several of them, though, so that would be a good place to start.

    Also, I found a bookseller who is offering an edition of Lorna Doone with 15 watercolors by C.E. Brittan and C.E. Brock (link). There is an out-of-print booklet by Percy Bradshaw titled The Art of the Illustrator: C.E. Brock and His Work; I haven’t been able to find a copy of it, but perhaps that booklet would have information about the books the Brock brothers illustrated.

    Good luck and I hope this helps a little! They are beautiful illustrations.