Pickwick Abroad: A Companion to the Pickwick Papers — page 91: what you’re looking at

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

’ 4 # ‘ sy * : ) ¥ ' an PICKWICK ABROAD. 79 nd disagreeable, too?” ‘added Mr. audibly ; “ this is precisely the sum II inkle. | ). | left in my name at Rott i “_ ~_“ Me cannot bear him,” was the reply ; | very well spare it.fora month or so.”" “but me obliged to appear civil and glad “Me not want it: for more than’ rt- he come—me find it necessaire to | night,” suggested Madame de ?Amotur. p hypocrite a little.” 7 | Mr. Winkle thought he might as well ~ ™M inkle did not attempt to contro- | lay the foundation of a Platonic attach-. he lady’s self-accusation ; he however her conduct was very prudent and gery tural ; and, in ‘g thdye philan- _thropy of’ his heart he sincerely pitied her ~ forlorn situatio n, He then proceeded to t ‘assure her, that, if it had not been for fear of ‘compromising her own happiness, he st decidedly should have faced out the a ’ anger, and even gone to any extremity to - which mstances and the obnoxious cousin it have impelled him. The lady was about to thank her visitor, who suddenly assumed a fierce and warlike as- pect, for his kind condescension and Chris- tian forbearance, when the door again opened, and Mr. Winkle gave so sudden a start and uttered so lamentable a moan, _ that Madame de Amour fancied for a mo- . ‘tment he was attacked with a some dangerous malady. | the servant girl to clear away the luncheon, however, apparently relieved Mr. Winkle from that which looked uncommonly like trepidation ; and the discourse again turned upon the cousin, the imprisonment of Mr. Yinkle in the cu hoard and the private ¢ireumstances of the young widow. “You see,’ said Madame de l’Amoury me,rather bad situated—me dependent en- tirely on dat cousin of mine—and he only pay my bills—he give me not one obole of ready money. If me had ready money, me commence law-process against my hus- band’s partners, and me recover my rights.” ‘‘And how much should you claim ?” in- quired Mr. Winkle, thinking at the same time that he had never seen so sae a. person in deshabiller before. ) ‘accommodate Madame de PAmour with a ew ment with a young and beautiful wo na by the advance of a loan which woul make her rich and wha Je for life; Aaa itl that promptitude wich emi- . oo , ° . nently characterized his own actions and : those of his illustrious companions in tra- vel, he venturéd to observe that he could > e couple of hundred pounds for a period something less than a month, and that he would procure her the sum on the follow- ing morning. At first the offer was de- | clined altogether—then, when Mr. Winkle “ had relinquished the subject, it was again introduced by the lady herself—and even- ; tually the loan was accepted with a mul- “oe titude of thanks anda host of blushes. Mr. Winkle then took -his leave, having pro- mised to partake of a dejeuner a la four- | chette alone with Madame de |’Amour at two precisely on the ensuing day, and having been strictly enjoined by that lady * not to mention his acquaintance with her to a soul—not even to his friends—for fear & it should reach the ears of her jealous cou- . sin. Ai : But as Mr. Winkle walked homewards, he began to reflect that he had done wrong in promising to assist a femme who might possibly estrange his heart from the wife of his best and purest affections. Al-_ — though it has been attempted to prove that | the wife is of less value than the husband, — inasmuch as it has been stated, that the latter is the sovereign-lord, while the for- mer is but a crown of glory, we are of the opinion that the female is by far the more valuable of the two; and we sincerely pa “Three millions of francs—dat make— | that it was no other idea which imp let me see how much?” said the widow, counting with her fingers : “dat make one aad and twenty tousand pounds ster- ie as “ What is the amount you require, Ma- dam, to commence the law-suit ?”. pro- ceeded Mr. Winkle. fy Wd ' “About five tousand francs,” was the re- ply, accompanied by a glance that called a smile to Mr. Winkle’s lip, and a blush to Mr. Winkle’s cheek. Mr. Winkle to act as he did. on his return home. Taking advantage of the half-hour before dinner, when Mr. Pickwick was vashiadthte hands in his bed-chamber, Mr. Winkle beckoned) Mr. Tupman to foilow him into his own room; and there having cautiously closed the door, he thus ad- dressed his friend :— ‘~ “Singular,” said that gentleman, musing ! the most beautiful creature in existence.” ‘* My dear Tupman, I have this morning. . | ai met with a most extraordinary adventure. r Accident has made me acquainted with ~~ ¢ ? COMIC OOOKS.COM