Pickwick Abroad: A Companion to the Pickwick Papers — page 48: what you’re looking at

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

tah 40 variety of contortions, to accomplish as; formed, madly in love with Anastasie de many different sorts of agreeable smiles— he employed all the stars, moons, Venuses, and Cupids that ever were created or imagined, to embellish his discourse-—and as his language became the more impassion- ed, so it grew the less intelligible. He des- canted on love at first sight—made a lengthy oration on circumstances often throwing to- gether two beings that were intended for each other from their births—talked an en- tire folio on the folly of supposing that dis- parity of ages could be a preventive to happiness—pronounced a lexicon of argu- ments to demonstrate the fact that men of mature age generally make the best hus- bands—and coneluded with a dictionary of comments on the expediency of prompt de- | termination, and the unmitigated folly of delay im matters so essentially connected with the felicity of a couple of individuals during the term of their natural lives. Fortunately for Mr. Tupman, the “ only one moment” of the Marchioness was a good hour and a half; or else he never would have had time to propound, explain, and demonstrate so many theories and hypotheses as he effectually brought to a most satisfactory conclusion on this event- ful day. And, in order to do ample justice to the patience of the French, and adduce another argument in favor of their being deemed the most polite people in the world, we must not omit to state that Mademoiselle de Volage assented to every thing uttered by Mr. Tupman, and listened with evident pleasure to the highly compre- hensible and logical positions advanced by that gentleman. . Mi At length Madame la Marquise de Volage did return to the room where she had left her daughter to entertain Mr. Tup- man, and Mr. Tupman to pay compliments to her daughter, and her daughter and Mr, Tupman to amuse each other to the utmost of their power; and the respectable relict of the late Peer of France expressed her astonishment at the celerity with which ‘time glided away; and then recollected that she hada small party—a peizt sozree or rewnion—that evening; and concluded by “provoking” Mr. Tupman to be present, if he had nothing better to do, at halfpast nine o'clock. Of course Mr. Tupman had no other engagement; so he gratefully ac- cepted the invitation, and then made his bow—or in other terms, retired, much pleased with the acquaintances he had anything more snug nor pl a PICKWICK ABROAD, | Volage, and not without a shrewd suspi- clon that he had ,made some impression upon the young charmer herself. And to the eternal honor of Mr. Tupman be it stated, that, as he descended the five flights of stairs which led from the airy apart- ments of the Marchioness to the street, it « never once struck him whether, in | a-tete with the beautiful Anastasie, he not rendered himself as ridiculous as possible. But great minds disregard trifles we had | like these, and illustrious individuals are. frequently the least accessible to the whis- perings of that most vulgar, ungenteel, and plebian sense, very justly and appropriately designated by the title of Common Sense. Mr. Tupman fortunately found Mr. Boo- zie still waiting for him in the vicinity of the house in which Madame de Volage rented apartments; and he could not do. otherwise than compliment that gentleman on his patience in t a companion. “Why,” observed Mr. Boozie, “ the fact is that I should never have found my way back to Meurice’s hotel by myself: and as I fan- cled that something extraordinary must be us waiting so long for going on upstairs, you know—what a. fib Im telling, when I thmk of it—I never thought but once—yes, I did, though—I thought twice about you and the young lady. Once I reflected whether she had red hair, or wore a ca : “ Beautiful black hair!’ exclaimed .Mr, Tupman, his temper somewhat ruffled by this latter observation. it “ And, then,” continued Mr. Boozie, “I began to reflect. whether she could be “a kept mistress or a regular out and-outer.” “What, sir !”’cried Mr. Tracy Tupman, in wrathful indignation. “She is a virtuous girl, sir—a paragon of beauty, sir—a phe- nix of modesty—a dragon of virtue—a Ve- nus in charms—a Diana in chastity—a—a —sIr , We “T dare say I was telling an untruth,” interrupted Mr. Boozie, his large eyes squint- ing absolute rounds of beef at Mr. Tracy Tupman, who thought he had. never seen leasant than the family circle he had just left. | The two gentlemen, having thus recipro- cally intimated the state of their feelings in so highly satisfactory and candid a man- ner, hastened to Meurice’s hotel with as much expedition as their very extensive topographical knopledst, of Paris enabled “ wn ™ Go LOOKS (E(0)