The Pickwick Papers 10 страница

“The licence! ” said Rachael, blushing.

“The licence, ” repeated Mr. Jingle—

“In hurry, post-haste for a licence,

In hurry, ding dong I come back. ”

“How you run on, ” said Rachael.

“Run on—nothing to the hours, days, weeks, months, years, when we're united—run on—they'll fly on—bolt—mizzle—steam-engine—thousand-horse power—nothing to it. ”

“Can't—can't we be married before to-morrow morning? ” inquired Rachael. “Impossible—can't be—notice at the church—leave the licence to-day—ceremony come off to-morrow. ” “I am so terrified, lest my brother should discover us! ” said Rachael.

“Discover—nonsense—too much shaken by the break-down—besides—extreme caution—gave up the post-chaise—walked on—took a hackney-coach—came to the Borough—last place in the world that he'd look in—ha! ha! —capital notion that—very. ”

“Don't be long, ” said the spinster affectionately, as Mr. Jingle stuck the pinched-up hat on his head.

“Long away from you? —Cruel charmer; ” and Mr. Jingle skipped playfully up to the spinster aunt, imprinted a chaste kiss upon her lips, and danced out of the room.

“Dear man! ” said the spinster, as the door closed after him.

“Rum old girl, ” said Mr. Jingle, as he walked down the passage.

It is painful to reflect upon the perfidy of our species; and we will not, therefore, pursue the thread of Mr. Jingle's meditations, as he wended his way to Doctors” Commons. It will be sufficient for our purpose to relate, that escaping the snares of the dragons in white aprons, who guard the entrance to that enchanted region, he reached the vicar-general's office in safety and having procured a highly flattering address on parchment, from the Archbishop of Canterbury, to his “trusty and well-beloved Alfred Jingle and Rachael Wardle, greeting, ” he carefully deposited the mystic document in his pocket, and retraced his steps in triumph to the Borough.

He was yet on his way to the White Hart, when two plump gentleman and one thin one entered the yard, and looked round in search of some authorised person of whom they could make a few inquiries. Mr. Samuel Weller happened to be at that moment engaged in burnishing a pair of painted tops, the personal property of a farmer who was refreshing himself with a slight lunch of two or three pounds of cold beef and a pot or two of porter, after the fatigues of the Borough market; and to him the thin gentleman straightway advanced.

“My friend, ” said the thin gentleman.

“You're one o” the adwice gratis order, ” thought Sam, “or you wouldn't be so wery fond o” me all at once. ” But he only said—“Well, Sir. ”

“My friend, ” said the thin gentleman, with a conciliatory hem—“have you got many people stopping here now? Pretty busy. Eh? ”

Sam stole a look at the inquirer. He was a little high-dried man, with a dark squeezed-up face, and small, restless, black eyes, that kept winking and twinkling on each side of his little inquisitive nose, as if they were playing a perpetual game of peep-bo with that feature. He was dressed all in black, with boots as shiny as his eyes, a low white neckcloth, and a clean shirt with a frill to it. A gold watch-chain, and seals, depended from his fob. He carried his black kid gloves IN his hands, and not ON them; and as he spoke, thrust his wrists beneath his coat tails, with the air of a man who was in the habit of propounding some regular posers.

“Pretty busy, eh? ” said the little man.

“Oh, wery well, Sir, ” replied Sam, “we shan't be bankrupts, and we shan't make our fort'ns. We eats our biled mutton without capers, and don't care for horse-radish ven ve can get beef. ”

“Ah, ” said the little man, “you're a wag, ain't you? ”

“My eldest brother was troubled with that complaint, ” said Sam; “it may be catching—I used to sleep with him. ”

“This is a curious old house of yours, ” said the little man, looking round him.

“If you'd sent word you was a-coming, we'd ha” had it repaired; ” replied the imperturbable Sam.

The little man seemed rather baffled by these several repulses, and a short consultation took place between him and the two plump gentlemen. At its conclusion, the little man took a pinch of snuff from an oblong silver box, and was apparently on the point of renewing the conversation, when one of the plump gentlemen, who in addition to a benevolent countenance, possessed a pair of spectacles, and a pair of black gaiters, interfered—

“The fact of the matter is, ” said the benevolent gentleman, “that my friend here (pointing to the other plump gentleman) will give you half a guinea, if you'll answer one or two—”

“Now, my dear sir—my dear Sir, ” said the little man, “pray, allow me—my dear Sir, the very first principle to be observed in these cases, is this: if you place the matter in the hands of a professional man, you must in no way interfere in the progress of the business; you must repose implicit confidence in him. Really, Mr. —” He turned to the other plump gentleman, and said, “I forget your friend's name. ”

“Pickwick, ” said Mr. Wardle, for it was no other than that jolly personage.

“Ah, Pickwick—really Mr. Pickwick, my dear Sir, excuse me—I shall be happy to receive any private suggestions of yours, as AMICUS CURIAE, but you must see the impropriety of your interfering with my conduct in this case, with such an AD CAPTANDUM argument as the offer of half a guinea. Really, my dear Sir, really; ” and the little man took an argumentative pinch of snuff, and looked very profound.

“My only wish, Sir, ” said Mr. Pickwick, “was to bring this very unpleasant matter to as speedy a close as possible. ”

“Quite right—quite right, ” said the little man.

“With which view, ” continued Mr. Pickwick, “I made use of the argument which my experience of men has taught me is the most likely to succeed in any case. ”

“Ay, ay, ” said the little man, “very good, very good, indeed; but you should have suggested it to me. My dear sir, I'm quite certain you cannot be ignorant of the extent of confidence which must be placed in professional men. If any authority can be necessary on such a point, my dear sir, let me refer you to the well-known case in Barnwell and—”

“Never mind George Barnwell, ” interrupted Sam, who had remained a wondering listener during this short colloquy; “everybody knows what sort of a case his was, tho” it's always been my opinion, mind you, that the young “ooman deserved scragging a precious sight more than he did. Hows'ever, that's neither here nor there. You want me to accept of half a guinea. Wery well, I'm agreeable: I can't say no fairer than that, can I, sir? ” (Mr. Pickwick smiled. ) Then the next question is, what the devil do you want with me, as the man said, wen he see the ghost? ”

“We want to know—” said Mr. Wardle.

“Now, my dear sir—my dear sir, ” interposed the busy little man.

Mr. Wardle shrugged his shoulders, and was silent.

“We want to know, ” said the little man solemnly; “and we ask the question of you, in order that we may not awaken apprehensions inside—we want to know who you've got in this house at present? ”

“Who there is in the house! ” said Sam, in whose mind the inmates were always represented by that particular article of their costume, which came under his immediate superintendence. “There's a vooden leg in number six; there's a pair of Hessians in thirteen; there's two pair of halves in the commercial; there's these here painted tops in the snuggery inside the bar; and five more tops in the coffee-room. ”

“Nothing more? ” said the little man.

“Stop a bit, ” replied Sam, suddenly recollecting himself. “Yes; there's a pair of Vellingtons a good deal worn, and a pair o” lady's shoes, in number five. ”

“What sort of shoes? ” hastily inquired Wardle, who, together with Mr. Pickwick, had been lost in bewilderment at the singular catalogue of visitors.

“Country make, ” replied Sam.

“Any maker's name? ”

“Brown. ”

“Where of? ”

“Muggleton.

“It is them, ” exclaimed Wardle. “By heavens, we've found them. ”

“Hush! ” said Sam. “The Vellingtons has gone to Doctors” Commons. ”

“No, ” said the little man.

“Yes, for a licence. ”

“We're in time, ” exclaimed Wardle. “Show us the room; not a moment is to be lost. ”

“Pray, my dear sir—pray, ” said the little man; “caution, caution. ” He drew from his pocket a red silk purse, and looked very hard at Sam as he drew out a sovereign.

Sam grinned expressively.

“Show us into the room at once, without announcing us, ” said the little man, “and it's yours. ”

Sam threw the painted tops into a corner, and led the way through a dark passage, and up a wide staircase. He paused at the end of a second passage, and held out his hand.

“Here it is, ” whispered the attorney, as he deposited the money on the hand of their guide.

The man stepped forward for a few paces, followed by the two friends and their legal adviser. He stopped at a door.

“Is this the room? ” murmured the little gentleman.

Sam nodded assent.

Old Wardle opened the door; and the whole three walked into the room just as Mr. Jingle, who had that moment returned, had produced the licence to the spinster aunt.

The spinster uttered a loud shriek, and throwing herself into a chair, covered her face with her hands. Mr. Jingle crumpled up the licence, and thrust it into his coat pocket. The unwelcome visitors advanced into the middle of the room. “You—you are a nice rascal, arn't you? ” exclaimed Wardle, breathless with passion.

“My dear Sir, my dear sir, ” said the little man, laying his hat on the table, “pray, consider—pray. Defamation of character: action for damages. Calm yourself, my dear sir, pray—”

“How dare you drag my sister from my house? ” said the old man.

Ay—ay—very good, ” said the little gentleman, “you may ask that. How dare you, sir? —eh, sir? ”

“Who the devil are you? ” inquired Mr. Jingle, in so fierce a tone, that the little gentleman involuntarily fell back a step or two.

“Who is he, you scoundrel, ” interposed Wardle. “He's my lawyer, Mr. Perker, of Gray's Inn. Perker, I'll have this fellow prosecuted—indicted—I'll—I'll—I'll ruin him. And you, ” continued Mr. Wardle, turning abruptly round to his sister—“you, Rachael, at a time of life when you ought to know better, what do you mean by running away with a vagabond, disgracing your family, and making yourself miserable? Get on your bonnet and come back. Call a hackney-coach there, directly, and bring this lady's bill, d'ye hear—d'ye hear? ” “Cert'nly, Sir, ” replied Sam, who had answered Wardle's violent ringing of the bell with a degree of celerity which must have appeared marvellous to anybody who didn't know that his eye had been applied to the outside of the keyhole during the whole interview.

“Get on your bonnet, ” repeated Wardle.

“Do nothing of the kind, ” said Jingle. “Leave the room, Sir—no business here—lady's free to act as she pleases—more than one-and-twenty. ”

“More than one-and-twenty! ” ejaculated Wardle contemptuously. “More than one-and-forty! ”

“I ain't, ” said the spinster aunt, her indignation getting the better of her determination to faint.

“You are, ” replied Wardle; “you're fifty if you're an hour. ”

Here the spinster aunt uttered a loud shriek, and became senseless.

“A glass of water, ” said the humane Mr. Pickwick, summoning the landlady.

“A glass of water! ” said the passionate Wardle. “Bring a bucket, and throw it all over her; it'll do her good, and she richly deserves it. ”

“Ugh, you brute! ” ejaculated the kind-hearted landlady. “Poor dear. ” And with sundry ejaculations of “Come now, there's a dear—drink a little of this—it'll do you good—don't give way so—there's a love, ” etc. etc., the landlady, assisted by a chambermaid, proceeded to vinegar the forehead, beat the hands, titillate the nose, and unlace the stays of the spinster aunt, and to administer such other restoratives as are usually applied by compassionate females to ladies who are endeavouring to ferment themselves into hysterics.

“Coach is ready, Sir, ” said Sam, appearing at the door.

“Come along, ” cried Wardle. “I'll carry her downstairs. ”

At this proposition, the hysterics came on with redoubled violence. The landlady was about to enter a very violent protest against this proceeding, and had already given vent to an indignant inquiry whether Mr. Wardle considered himself a lord of the creation, when Mr. Jingle interposed—

“Boots, ” said he, “get me an officer. ”

“Stay, stay, ” said little Mr. Perker. “Consider, Sir, consider. ”

“I'll not consider, ” replied Jingle. “She's her own mistress—see who dares to take her away—unless she wishes it. ”

“I WON'T be taken away, ” murmured the spinster aunt. “I DON'T wish it. ” (Here there was a frightful relapse. )

“My dear Sir, ” said the little man, in a low tone, taking Mr. Wardle and Mr. Pickwick apart—“my dear Sir, we're in a very awkward situation. It's a distressing case—very; I never knew one more so; but really, my dear sir, really we have no power to control this lady's actions. I warned you before we came, my dear sir, that there was nothing to look to but a compromise. ”

There was a short pause.

“What kind of compromise would you recommend? ” inquired Mr. Pickwick.

“Why, my dear Sir, our friend's in an unpleasant position—very much so. We must be content to suffer some pecuniary loss. ”

“I'll suffer any, rather than submit to this disgrace, and let her, fool as she is, be made miserable for life, ” said Wardle.

“I rather think it can be done, ” said the bustling little man. “Mr. Jingle, will you step with us into the next room for a moment? ”

Mr. Jingle assented, and the quartette walked into an empty apartment.

“Now, sir, ” said the little man, as he carefully closed the door, “is there no way of accommodating this matter—step this way, sir, for a moment—into this window, Sir, where we can be alone—there, sir, there, pray sit down, sir. Now, my dear Sir, between you and I, we know very well, my dear Sir, that you have run off with this lady for the sake of her money. Don't frown, Sir, don't frown; I say, between you and I, WE know it. We are both men of the world, and WE know very well that our friends here, are not—eh? ”

Mr. Jingle's face gradually relaxed; and something distantly resembling a wink quivered for an instant in his left eye.

“Very good, very good, ” said the little man, observing the impression he had made. “Now, the fact is, that beyond a few hundreds, the lady has little or nothing till the death of her mother—fine old lady, my dear Sir. ”

“OLD, ” said Mr. Jingle briefly but emphatically.

“Why, yes, ” said the attorney, with a slight cough. “You are right, my dear Sir, she is rather old. She comes of an old family though, my dear Sir; old in every sense of the word. The founder of that family came into Kent when Julius Caesar invaded Britain; —only one member of it, since, who hasn't lived to eighty-five, and he was beheaded by one of the Henrys. The old lady is not seventy-three now, my dear Sir. ” The little man paused, and took a pinch of snuff.

“Well, ” cried Mr. Jingle.

“Well, my dear sir—you don't take snuff! —ah! so much the better—expensive habit—well, my dear Sir, you're a fine young man, man of the world—able to push your fortune, if you had capital, eh? ”

“Well, ” said Mr. Jingle again.

“Do you comprehend me? ”

“Not quite. ”

“Don't you think—now, my dear Sir, I put it to you don't you think—that fifty pounds and liberty would be better than Miss Wardle and expectation? ”

“Won't do—not half enough! ” said Mr. Jingle, rising.

“Nay, nay, my dear Sir, ” remonstrated the little attorney, seizing him by the button. “Good round sum—a man like you could treble it in no time—great deal to be done with fifty pounds, my dear Sir. ”

“More to be done with a hundred and fifty, ” replied Mr. Jingle coolly.

“Well, my dear Sir, we won't waste time in splitting straws, ” resumed the little man, “say—say—seventy. ” “Won't do, ” said Mr. Jingle.

“Don't go away, my dear sir—pray don't hurry, ” said the little man. “Eighty; come: I'll write you a cheque at once. ”

“Won't do, ” said Mr. Jingle.

“Well, my dear Sir, well, ” said the little man, still detaining him; “just tell me what WILL do. ”

“Expensive affair, ” said Mr. Jingle. “Money out of pocket—posting, nine pounds; licence, three—that's twelve—compensation, a hundred—hundred and twelve—breach of honour—and loss of the lady—”

“Yes, my dear Sir, yes, ” said the little man, with a knowing look, “never mind the last two items. That's a hundred and twelve—say a hundred—come. ”

“And twenty, ” said Mr. Jingle.

“Come, come, I'll write you a cheque, ” said the little man; and down he sat at the table for that purpose.

“I'll make it payable the day after to-morrow, ” said the little man, with a look towards Mr. Wardle; “and we can get the lady away, meanwhile. ” Mr. Wardle sullenly nodded assent.

“A hundred, ” said the little man.

“And twenty, ” said Mr. Jingle.

“My dear Sir, ” remonstrated the little man.

“Give it him, ” interposed Mr. Wardle, “and let him go. ”

The cheque was written by the little gentleman, and pocketed by Mr. Jingle.

“Now, leave this house instantly! ” said Wardle, starting up.

“My dear Sir, ” urged the little man.

“And mind, ” said Mr. Wardle, “that nothing should have induced me to make this compromise—not even a regard for my family—if I had not known that the moment you got any money in that pocket of yours, you'd go to the devil faster, if possible, than you would without it—”

“My dear sir, ” urged the little man again.

“Be quiet, Perker, ” resumed Wardle. “Leave the room, Sir. ”

“Off directly, ” said the unabashed Jingle. “Bye bye, Pickwick. ” If any dispassionate spectator could have beheld the countenance of the illustrious man, whose name forms the leading feature of the title of this work, during the latter part of this conversation, he would have been almost induced to wonder that the indignant fire which flashed from his eyes did not melt the glasses of his spectacles—so majestic was his wrath. His nostrils dilated, and his fists clenched involuntarily, as he heard himself addressed by the villain. But he restrained himself again—he did not pulverise him.

“Here, ” continued the hardened traitor, tossing the licence at Mr. Pickwick's feet; “get the name altered—take home the lady—do for Tuppy. ”

Mr. Pickwick was a philosopher, but philosophers are only men in armour, after all. The shaft had reached him, penetrated through his philosophical harness, to his very heart. In the frenzy of his rage, he hurled the inkstand madly forward, and followed it up himself. But Mr. Jingle had disappeared, and he found himself caught in the arms of Sam.

“Hollo, ” said that eccentric functionary, “furniter's cheap where you come from, Sir. Self-acting ink, that “ere; it's wrote your mark upon the wall, old gen'l'm'n. Hold still, Sir; wot's the use o” runnin” arter a man as has made his lucky, and got to t'other end of the Borough by this time? ”

Mr. Pickwick's mind, like those of all truly great men, was open to conviction. He was a quick and powerful reasoner; and a moment's reflection sufficed to remind him of the impotency of his rage. It subsided as quickly as it had been roused. He panted for breath, and looked benignantly round upon his friends.

Shall we tell the lamentations that ensued when Miss Wardle found herself deserted by the faithless Jingle? Shall we extract Mr. Pickwick's masterly description of that heartrending scene? His note-book, blotted with the tears of sympathising humanity, lies open before us; one word, and it is in the printer's hands. But, no! we will be resolute! We will not wring the public bosom, with the delineation of such suffering!

Slowly and sadly did the two friends and the deserted lady return next day in the Muggleton heavy coach. Dimly and darkly had the sombre shadows of a summer's night fallen upon all around, when they again reached Dingley Dell, and stood within the entrance to Manor Farm.

CHAPTER XI INVOLVING ANOTHER JOURNEY, AND AN ANTIQUARIAN

DISCOVERY; RECORDING Mr. PICKWICK'S DETERMINATION

TO BE PRESENT AT AN ELECTION; AND CONTAINING

A MANUSCRIPT OF THE OLD CLERGYMAN'S

A night of quiet and repose in the profound silence of Dingley Dell, and an hour's breathing of its fresh and fragrant air on the ensuing morning, completely recovered Mr. Pickwick from the effects of his late fatigue of body and anxiety of mind. That illustrious man had been separated from his friends and fol lowers for two whole days; and it was with a degree of pleasure and delight, which no common imagination can adequately conceive, that he stepped forward to greet Mr. Winkle and Mr. Snodgrass, as he encountered those gentlemen on his return from his early walk. The pleasure was mutual; for who could ever gaze on Mr. Pickwick's beaming face without experiencing the sensation? But still a cloud seemed to hang over his companions which that great man could not but be sensible of, and was wholly at a loss to account for. There was a mysterious air about them both, as unusual as it was alarming.

“And how, ” said Mr. Pickwick, when he had grasped his followers by the hand, and exchanged warm salutations of welcome—“how is Tupman? ”

Mr. Winkle, to whom the question was more peculiarly addressed, made no reply. He turned away his head, and appeared absorbed in melancholy reflection.

“Snodgrass, ” said Mr. Pickwick earnestly, “how is our friend—he is not ill? ”

“No, ” replied Mr. Snodgrass; and a tear trembled on his sentimental eyelid, like a rain-drop on a window-frame-'no; he is not ill. ”

Mr. Pickwick stopped, and gazed on each of his friends in turn.

“Winkle—Snodgrass, ” said Mr. Pickwick; “what does this mean? Where is our friend? What has happened? Speak—I conjure, I entreat—nay, I command you, speak. ”

There was a solemnity—a dignity—in Mr. Pickwick's manner, not to be withstood.

“He is gone, ” said Mr. Snodgrass.

“Gone! ” exclaimed Mr. Pickwick. “Gone! ”

“Gone, ” repeated Mr. Snodgrass.

“Where! ” ejaculated Mr. Pickwick.

“We can only guess, from that communication, ” replied Mr. Snodgrass, taking a letter from his pocket, and placing it in his friend's hand. “Yesterday morning, when a letter was received from Mr. Wardle, stating that you would be home with his sister at night, the melancholy which had hung over our friend during the whole of the previous day, was observed to increase. He shortly afterwards disappeared: he was missing during the whole day, and in the evening this letter was brought by the hostler from the Crown, at Muggleton. It had been left in his charge in the morning, with a strict injunction that it should not be delivered until night. ”

Mr. Pickwick opened the epistle. It was in his friend's handwriting, and these were its contents: —

“MY DEAR PICKWICK, —YOU, my dear friend, are placed far beyond the reach of many mortal frailties and weaknesses which ordinary people cannot overcome. You do not know what it is, at one blow, to be deserted by a lovely and fascinating creature, and to fall a victim to the artifices of a villain, who had the grin of cunning beneath the mask of friendship. I hope you never may.

“Any letter addressed to me at the Leather Bottle, Cobham, Kent, will be forwarded—supposing I still exist. I hasten from the sight of that world, which has become odious to me. Should I hasten from it altogether, pity—forgive me. Life, my dear Pickwick, has become insupportable to me. The spirit which burns within us, is a porter's knot, on which to rest the heavy load of worldly cares and troubles; and when that spirit fails us, the burden is too heavy to be borne. We sink beneath it. You may tell Rachael—Ah, that name! —

“TRACY TupmAN. ”

“We must leave this place directly, ” said Mr. Pickwick, as he refolded the note. “It would not have been decent for us to remain here, under any circumstances, after what has happened; and now we are bound to follow in search of our friend. ” And so saying, he led the way to the house.

His intention was rapidly communicated. The entreaties to remain were pressing, but Mr. Pickwick was inflexible. Business, he said, required his immediate attendance.

The old clergyman was present.

“You are not really going? ” said he, taking Mr. Pickwick aside.

Mr. Pickwick reiterated his former determination.

“Then here, ” said the old gentleman, “is a little manuscript, which I had hoped to have the pleasure of reading to you myself. I found it on the death of a friend of mine—a medical man, engaged in our county lunatic asylum—among a variety of papers, which I had the option of destroying or preserving, as I thought proper. I can hardly believe that the manuscript is genuine, though it certainly is not in my friend's hand. However, whether it be the genuine production of a maniac, or founded upon the ravings of some unhappy being (which I think more probable), read it, and judge for yourself. ”

Mr. Pickwick received the manuscript, and parted from the benevolent old gentleman with many expressions of good-will and esteem.

It was a more difficult task to take leave of the inmates of Manor Farm, from whom they had received so much hospitality and kindness. Mr. Pickwick kissed the young ladies—we were going to say, as if they were his own daughters, only, as he might possibly have infused a little more warmth into the salutation, the comparison would not be quite appropriate—hugged the old lady with filial cordiality; and patted the rosy cheeks of the female servants in a most patriarchal manner, as he slipped into the hands of each some more substantial expression of his approval. The exchange of cordialities with their fine old host and Mr. Trundle was even more hearty and prolonged; and it was not until Mr. Snodgrass had been several times called for, and at last emerged from a dark passage followed soon after by Emily (whose bright eyes looked unusually dim), that the three friends were enabled to tear themselves from their friendly entertainers. Many a backward look they gave at the farm, as they walked slowly away; and many a kiss did Mr. Snodgrass waft in the air, in acknowledgment of something very like a lady's handkerchief, which was waved from one of the upper windows, until a turn of the lane hid the old house from their sight.

At Muggleton they procured a conveyance to Rochester. By the time they reached the last-named place, the violence of their grief had sufficiently abated to admit of their making a very excellent early dinner; and having procured the necessary information relative to the road, the three friends set forward again in the afternoon to walk to Cobham.

A delightful walk it was; for it was a pleasant afternoon in June, and their way lay through a deep and shady wood, cooled by the light wind which gently rustled the thick foliage, and enlivened by the songs of the birds that perched upon the boughs. The ivy and the moss crept in thick clusters over the old trees, and the soft green turf overspread the ground like a silken mat. They emerged upon an open park, with an ancient hall, displaying the quaint and picturesque architecture of Elizabeth's time. Long vistas of stately oaks and elm trees appeared on every side; large herds of deer were cropping the fresh grass; and occasionally a startled hare scoured along the ground, with the speed of the shadows thrown by the light clouds which swept across a sunny landscape like a passing breath of summer.

“If this, ” said Mr. Pickwick, looking about him—“if this were the place to which all who are troubled with our friend's complaint came, I fancy their old attachment to this world would very soon return. ”

“I think so too, ” said Mr. Winkle.

“And really, ” added Mr. Pickwick, after half an hour's walking had brought them to the village, “really, for a misanthrope's choice, this is one of the prettiest and most desirable places of residence I ever met with. ”

In this opinion also, both Mr. Winkle and Mr. Snodgrass expressed their concurrence; and having been directed to the Leather Bottle, a clean and commodious village ale-house, the three travellers entered, and at once inquired for a gentleman of the name of Tupman.

“Show the gentlemen into the parlour, Tom, ” said the landlady.

A stout country lad opened a door at the end of the passage, and the three friends entered a long, low-roofed room, furnished with a large number of high-backed leather-cushioned chairs, of fantastic shapes, and embellished with a great variety of old portraits and roughly-coloured prints of some antiquity. At the upper end of the room was a table, with a white cloth upon it, well covered with a roast fowl, bacon, ale, and et ceteras; and at the table sat Mr. Tupman, looking as unlike a man who had taken his leave of the world, as possible.

On the entrance of his friends, that gentleman laid down his knife and fork, and with a mournful air advanced to meet them.

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