Pickwick Abroad: A Companion to the Pickwick Papers — page 94: what you’re looking at

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ye a 425) Watch. (26.) Hanged. Magistrate or judge 8% ed which he, had learnt from a house-breaker with whom he had once been incarcerated in a watch-house. in London. So, with- out waiting for assent or dissent, he forth- with began the following pathetic air for the benefit and instruction of the aston- ished Mr. Pickwick and that gentleman’s friends. i | TL THE HOUSE-BREAKER’S SONG. I ne’er was a nose, (1) for the reglars (2) came _ Whe.weyver a'pannie (3) was done :— Oh! who would chirp (4) to dishonor his name, And betray his pals (5) in a nibsome (6) game To the traps? (7)—Not I for one ! Let nobs in ‘the fur-trade (8) hold their jaw, And let the jug (9) be free ;—- Let Davy*s-dust (10) and a well-fak’d claw (11) For fancy coves be the only law, And a double-tongued squib (12) to keep in awe _ The chaps that flout at me! From morn to night we’ll booze a ken, (13) And we'll pass the bingo (14) round; At dusk we’ll make our lucky, (15) and then, » ~ With our nags so flash, and our merry-men, We’ll scour the lonely ground. And if the swells resist our *‘ Stand !”” We'll squib (16) without a joke ; For I’m snigger’d if we will be trepann’d By the blarneying jaw of a knowing hand, And thus be lagg’d (17) to a foreign land, Or die by an artichoke. (18) But should the traps be on the sly, For a change we'll have a crack ; (19) The richest cribs (20) shall our wants supply— Or we'll knap (21) a fogle (22) with fingers fly, (23) When the swell one turns his back. The flimsies we can smash (24) as well, | Or a ticker (25) deftly prig ;— But if ever a pal in limbo fell, He’d sooner be scragg’d (26) at once than tell; W Though the hum-box) patterer (27) talked of hell, And the beak (28) wore his nottiest (29) wig! » When Mr. Lipman had brought this truly erudite specimen of the beauties of his | mother tongue to a conelusion, Mr. Jopling was most vehement in his plaudits, Mr. Pickwick most soundly asleep, and Me: sieurs Tupman and Winkle in a most inter- esting state of uncertainty as to whether the words they had just heard were Hebrew or Chinese. They accordingly joined Mr. Jop- (1) One who betrays his companions (2) Share of the plunder. (3) Burglary. (4) Inform (5) Companions. (6) Gentlemanly. (7) Police officers. (8) Old Bailey pleaders. (9) Prison. (10) Gun- powder. (11) An experienced hand at stealing. (12) Double-barrelled gun. (13) ‘ Drink freely. (14) Brandy. (15) Depart. (16) Fire. (17) Trans- portec. (18) A hearty choke; i e., hanging. (19) A Burglary. (20) Houses. (21) Steal. (22) Handkerchief. (23) Skilful. (24) Pass false notes. (27) Parson. (28) (29) Handsomest. aR PICKWICK ABROAD. Pa ling in his occupation of striking the table with his clenched fist; aud, during the re-. mainder of the evening, the whole party preserved so excellent an understanding with each other, that when Messieurs Lip- man and Jopling rose to depart, they kindly expressed their intention of visiting their courteous hosts again as speedily i , possible, : | ’ ’ . \ ‘es rt CHAPTER XViL : ’ A Singular Conversation that takes place in a Pastry-cook’s Shop.—Mr. Tupman’s reception at the abode of Madame De L’Amour.—The ar- rival of an old acquaintance.—Mr. Winkle inter- rupts an agreeable discourse. 4 It is an important fact ascertained by ge- ographers and topographers in general, that the Rue de Luxembourg is bounded on the north by the Rue St. Honoré, on the south by the Rue de Rivoli, on the east by one side of itself, ‘and on the west by the churck of St. Hyacinth or the Assumption. _ Travel- lers endowed with a Belzonian spirit of re- | search, will also inform us that in the middl: | of the aforesaid: eastern boundary of th: equally aforesaid street, there exists a pastry cook’s shop of inviting and pleasing appear ance ; and the editor of these Memoirs car bear testimopy to its being tenanted by people who speak very good English, anc — who keep a certain select assortment ol waiters and oyster-patties. ar ee On the occasion to which our history hae ~ immediate reference, the two English shop: boys were lounging at the tastefully-arranged counter, about half an hour after mid-day on the second of April, 1835, dipping their fin- gers into the preserves and raspberry-tarts, when their mistress who was seated in an inner parlor, did not see them, and discuss- ing with serious faces divers important mat- ters when she did. ‘Their conversation ap- peared to be compounded of certain agreea: ble figures of speech more or less connected with their professional engagements; and as the emblematic synonyms, by which they characterized the different customers who frequented the shop, may prove to be of con- siderable importance to the fraternity in ge- neral, inasmuch as they may enable: pastry: venders to designate their patrons the more easily through the medium of those gentle- men’s tastes, we have here carefully repro- duced the same :— * . “Well, I never should ha’ thought it By » CONIICL@OC <S (E(0)