Pickwick Abroad: or, The Tour in France — page 304: what you’re looking at

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

252: PICKWICK ABROAD, And most interesting feats were those arta aarp M. Franconi’s troop. First came Mademoiselle Armantine, and performed a thou- sand capers upon horseback, disdaining all reins and such-like vul- ger appendages, and waving two tricoloured flags most gallantly m er hands. Then she leapt over a number of bars—or rather the horse did for her, while she stood perpendicularly upon the animal’s back; and, when this exhibition was brought toa conclusion, she trip nimbly to the ground, made a low bow, and disappeared amidst the shouts and applauses of the spectators. ‘That young ooman don’t make herself a dancin’ kangaroo for no- thin’ at all,” observed Mr. Weller, gee Sabena, and whispering to his master; “ von ‘ud think as how she’d bin born a-top of a horse, and made it her cradle. She seems to do it all improwisatris-like, as they says o’ the vandering poets.” ‘It 1s very remarkable, Sam,” coincided Mr. Pickwick. ‘‘I won- der how they come to be so expert in their feats of horsemanship.” **T'll tell you how it is, Sir,” said Mr. Weller with a knowing wink. “Them young gals isfust born in a stable ; after vich their mothers gets & little up in the vorld and lets them sleep upon horse-hair sofas, from vich they imbibes their fust impressions. Then, ven they can run alone, they rides on sticks, and mops, or vot not; and ven they gets a little older they has a wooden horse to practise on. In process o’ time they’re placed on a donkey for farther exercise—then they falls in love vith a cavalry soldier—then they mdes on a horse in reality 3 and in this vay, you see, Sir, it comes nat’ral to them, as the pick- pocket said ven he saw his three small children a-goin’ to the house of cor-rection for the third time.” ‘¢ ‘W ell—that is not an improbable way of explaining the mystery, Sam,” remarked Mr. Pickwick, considerably edified by his servant's discourse. ‘‘ But what should you think if you were to see the young lady have a desperate fall from he horse ?”” “‘ That she'd better get up again, Sir,” returned Mr. Weller, after a moment's hesitation. This truly edifying conversation was put a stop to by the entrance of a little pony dressed up in all the panoply and accoutrements of a modern war-horse, and followed by a smail Koy, whose age might be about eight or nine, and whose garb was that of Napoleon. These two miniature specimens of animated nature then commenced a series of exploits in eachother’s society—the pony obeying the dictates of his little master, and the little master himself achieving two or three falls as he essayed to leap upon the said pony’s back. The audience, however, applauded, because he was dressed as Napoleon; and each failure only elicited more clamorous approbation. At length the pony and boy walked away together; and then the handsome Madame Le- jears made her appearance in the arena. This lady’s feats pretty well resembled those performed by Ma- demoiselle Armantine; but more éc/at was attached to them by the spectators, inasmuch as it was whispered that the lady previous to be- gs aes wife of M. Lejears, had succumbed to the wiles of the high. est Duke in the kingdom; and that a sum of twenty thousand francs in ready money, and a quarter of that amount per annum, had been the principal inducements to M. Lejears to accept her as his spouse, and CORNICLOOG ©) <S co