Pickwick Abroad: or, The Tour in France — page 164: what you’re looking at

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

Pickwick Abroad, I23 “Nor those moe boot jacks,” observed io Lipman, in deep indignation at so hi c ea ect on the part of the visitor. This was more than Mr. Pickwick could bear ; for be it recollected, that our philanthropic hero had come to visit—in his own beautiful and expressive | ‘‘ a stranger In a strange land ;”’ and on his arriv al he found ene Thon ak nema herict unfriend. object of his kind solic! so exceedingly tipsy, that he scarcely recognised the indi- viduals who crowded at the door of his chamber. Mr. Pickwick shook his head, and held his peace: but he also tumed upon his heel, beckoned his companions to follow him, and retired in disgust from the prison, attended by Messieurs Boozie, Tupman, and Winkle, Mr. Tims having preferred to remain with Mr. Adolphus Crashem, “ just to see that he didn’t get into mischief,” as he declared, but really with the praise-worthy intention of assisting at the orgies. When the hackney-coach, in which Mr. Pickwick and his three companions were quietly ensconced, arrived at that end of the Rue de la Paix which forms the commencement of the Place Vendéme, the driver suddenly pulled up his horses, and thereby caused Mr. Pick- wick to thrust his head out of the window in order to ascertain the reason of the delay. The Place Vendéme was crowded with troops and with the spectators of that which was going forward; and the united bands of a couple of regiments were assembled together round the base of Napoleon’s Column. ‘“ Here is something worth looking at,” exclaimed Mr. Pickwick, when he had taken a long survey of the soldiers and the multitude of unwashed aforesaid. ‘‘ Indeed!’ cried Mr. Tupman; “let us dismiss the coach, and see what's going on.” This proposition was immediately acceded to, and the party soon added four more to the number of the spectators that thronged the northern avenue to the Place Vendéme. Around the Place were two entire regiments drawn up in well-disciplined array; and a most exhilarating sight it was. Mr. Pickwick, with a gleam of satisfaction on his countenance, stood gracefully on his tip-toes, and glanced along the serried ranks of warriors, as if he were their chief; and even Mr. Winkle felt a momentary glow of ardour as he scanned the successors to those heroes who had carried their conquests from one extremity of Europe to the other, under the command of him around whose statue a few of the champions of France were now assembled. Fortunately for the party, Mr. Tupman suddenly recognised, at a little distance, his quondam systematic acquaintance, Mr. Hook Walker; and in the course of a minute that gentleman was busil occupied in explaining certain matters with which Mr. Pickwick an his friends would otherwise have remained unacquainted. ‘It is a degradation, my dear Sir,”’ said Mr. Hook Walker, slowly suffering the words to issue from his lips: ‘ and a degradation,” con- tinued Mr. Walker, ‘‘is this. When a French soldier has been guilty of some extreme act of turpitude and delinquency, it is a part of the. French system to turn him out of the army. A parade is formed, as, you see it now—the criminal is conducted to the centre of the square or circle, whichever it may happen to be, formed by the soldiers, and. there his buttons are cut off, his shoulder-straps torn away, and. COL q) DGe (c@