Pickwick Abroad: A Companion to the Pickwick Papers — page 149: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

othe bottle, which. Mary had. brought, to assure himself that i brandy ; and ‘having female not to eat any of the sweets in the esired that excellent next apartment, he hastened with his. ” wounded yguest back to the drawing-room, where, all kinds of sympathy,,were immedi- ately offered’ to the. gallant Captain. In- eed to such-an extent was he the object of universal commiseration, that Miss Aramin- tha Muggins inquired of her mother whether it would: not be decent. and becoming for her to faint : but the prudent parent thought thag ane scene was quite enough at a time; and so the idea was immediately renounced and tears substituted instead of a, fit? The oe rilles now prnianeed , ad : of th “ glanced the many twinkling, feet ” Misses Stodge and the Misses Muggins, to-. gether with those of several other Misses, in the mazy dance. The young gentlemen whispered tendet things in the ears of the young ladies; and the young ladies sim- pered, and looked tender things at the young gentlemen. Some young gentle- men walked .the figures with the utmost ease and indifference of manner in the world ; and others cut xs many capers as if they had just emerged from a dancing- Those young ladies who had academy, pretty feet and ancles, took advantage of the opportunity offered to make others ature of the fact which they themselves well knew; and thore, whose legs were anything but aristocratic, were careful to ruffle their long petticoats, as little as pos- sible, What an expressive picture of hu- man failings, weaknesses, and passions, is the ball-room!. It would seem as if every thought, every sentiment, were agitated and. revealed, by the mere motion of the dance. And then the little whispering— the harmless scaydal—the temporary in- timacy, so soon to relapse into coldness and distance—which accompany the quadrille ! —Of the harmless scand ,take the following as a specimen. | “How well Miss Aramintha looks this evening,” observed a young lady to her ner. : , Well, do you think so now ?” returned the young gentleman thus addressed. “ For ' my part, I never did admire her,” “ Oh | to, admiration, that is another thing,” said the young lady : “I meant well for her.” ee T. 1 ’ o « ; ° drew it a gf over his face as he» possibly | ould. © Mr. fugeins then applied his nose’ Yee Vinegar and not ‘tons,” continued Miss Avapeinthg as the Tippings.” ‘Intended advanced. “ She is ‘always laughing,” observed the “young gentleman, determined to prefer his partner to any one else in the room, . “She knows she has good teeth,” said the young lady. “But what do you think of the eldest Miss Stodge?” ' » “So exceedingly vulgar!” was the an- swer. » | remember.” = yh | “Ah! that’s it: I knew there must be something. People who-come out of the country, always are vulgar.” , And while this young gentleman and this young lady were thus diverting themselves at the expense)of Miss Aramintha Muggins nae cousin, Miss Aramintha herself was not less agreeably occupied with Captain Walsingham,» . aie “Tm sure I don’t know where pa could have picked up that gawky young man op- posite,” said Miss Aramintha. i “T don’t like to say a word, you know,” returned Captain Walsingham, “ but I really do not think the company is so very select :” and his’eye (for one was temporarily use- less) wandered. towards the place where Mr. Boozie was sitting, De “T asked ma not to inyite Gadding- : “but she will have her own way. And then there’s old Mrs. Chilmers, who takes snuff: I can’t, bear that old woman; she is so scandalous —she neverhas a good word for anybody. The Gogars ain’t amiss—only they do dress" As for the two Miss Niddrys, I detest so | 3 the sight of them; though they ain't so bad Having thus mentioned the names of nearly all the families or individuals in the room, Miss Aramintha kindly observed that “She comes from the country, you must’ “if it weren’t for them, the company would, © — be agreeable enough,” and Captain Waly. singham perfectly coincided in all that his uch was a portion of the occupation of those present at Mr, Mug- gin’s ball; and, with a change of names, the same sketch willapply to any ball that ever yet was given, from the reunion at Al- mack’s to the “hop” at a‘country fair. “TI beg your pardon, Sir,” said Mr. Boozie, stepping up to Captain Walsingham during an interval between the dances; “but have T not had the fore s, i f ; “ Never, Sir—never,” replied the Captain.» “ Weren't you ever at Naples—no Paris, pleasure of seeing you be- I mean ?”” demanded Mr. Boozie, inflicting ay e ECOnniclooolks (A) (CO) im ee. “