Pickwick Abroad: A Companion to the Pickwick Papers — page 160: what you’re looking at

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

14€ “Wot. «id he do thatfor?” demanded Mr. Weller, senior. In wot Mr. Cuttle calls a fit o’ absence. o’mind,” answered Sam; “ an’ he never found out his mistake till his patient got vell, and he his-self wos taken wery ill.” “ That there obserwation o’ your’n, Sam- ivel, puts me in mind o’ the surgeon as pulled his boy up afore the beak, an’ ac- cused him 0’ stealin’ the bottles instead o’ deliverin’ the medicine at the proper houses. ‘Pray how did you detect the youngster, old ‘feller? says the magistrate-—‘ Please your vorship,’ says the doctor, ‘I found all my patients a-gettin’ vell, an’ I thought it wos so exceedin’ odd that a wague sus- picion (a wery wague von at fust) entered my mind. I watched the young mayle- factor there, and diskivered the whole trick. If he’d only gone on in the same vay a little longer, I shouldn’t ha’ had a patient left. They’d all ha’ got well.’— That’s my anny-goat, Sammy.” “We must show you something of Paris life, Sir,” said Mr. Knackers, taking advan- tage of a pause in the conversation; and with a view of taking a similar advantage of Mr. Weller’s innocence concerning the French capital. | “¢ Wery much obleeged for your per-lite offer, Sir; as the king said ven O’Connel offered him a go o’ whiskey; but Id ray- » ther de-cline it,’ exclaimed Mr. Weller, senior. “ lve got my own son here, an’ a wery dutiful an’ dewout little boy he is— ain’t you, Sammy ?” “The wery hemblem o’ filial dewotion, old feller,” réplied Sam, bestowing a fa- miliar wink upon his venerated parent. “T wos rayther too vell brought up not to foller a good example; as the mule vich had associated all its life vith its father, as wos a stubborn donkey, observed to its mas’er,” - “A wery excellent remark is that there o yourn, Samivel,” said Mr. Weller, senior, approvingly ; ‘an’ I don’t mind if I treats you and them two wery amiable gen’le- . men, aS wos desirous o’ showin’ me about Paris, to a bottle o’ the best wine the place can perduce.— Villam.” “ Sir,” said the waiter. “ Two bottles o’ your best Port di-rectly,” Villam,” said Mr. Tony Weller, regardless of the kicks under the table, and the winks above the table, which were profusely bestowed upon him by his very dutiful S00. PIOKWICK ABROAD. “ How come you to find out, this here place ?” asked Sam, whom a glass or two of a wine he had not tasted for a long time, at length succeeded in restoring to good humor. aa ‘‘ There’s a old coachman—a friend o’ mine,” said Mr. Weller, sen. “as took a coach on the Dover road. Ve embarked in the same we gether five-and-twenty year ago, come next Janivary ;—rollockin’ young blades we wos in them times—” The mere reminiscence of his early days recalled so many pleasing associations to the memory of Mr. Tony Weller, that he burst out into an immoderate fit of laugh- ter, and did not cease till he was quite purple in the face. “That’s right, old stick-in-the-mud,” ex- claimed Sam; “ vind-pipes is cheap now. a-days, since strangilation seems to be no more feared than a hot tatur by a vild Trishman.” | “Never mind, Sammy,” said the old gentleman: ‘‘ven you come to. my age, only you carry yourself as vell as I does, an’ then you may talk. But wot wos I a- sayin? Wy—that this here old friend o’ mine had been in Paris—’twas during the cholera, vich he kept under vith French brandy—an’ he stopped at Vood’s here his-self—” | ' “ Ah, so he recommended the hot-tel,” said Sam, shrewdly suspecting that his revered father was somewhat inclined to wander in his discourse. ‘ Vell, I’ve heerd o’ more improbable things than that ’ere.” “ Wery true, Sammy,” rejoined old Mr. Weller, chuckling ; “it ud ha’ been much more vonderfuller if that red-nosed man as used to wisit the late Mrs. We, had left off drinkin.’ But wot d’ye think become o’ that there Stiggins, Samivel ?” “Can’t say,” was the respectful answer of Mr. Weller, junior. “TI see hirffla-sitkin’ in the stocks at Chatham, von day, Sammy,” continued Mr. Weller, senior, ‘‘ for havin’ tried to con- wert the daughter o’ the o’oman vere he lodged. I didn’t pitch a rotten egg at him, Sam—Oh ! no—not by no means wotsom- ever ;” and as he spoke, he shook his head, jerked his right thumb over his left shoul- der, and bestowed a hieroglyphic alphabet of winks upon Messieurs Knackers” and Porret, who seemed somewhat at a loss to comprehend the meaning of that animate and living telegraph. hon’rable perfession to- (C(O) 10\OO) = a (GO