Pickwick Abroad: or, The Tour in France — page 343: what you’re looking at

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

282 Pickwick Abroad. cent people, and because he did not fancy himself strong enough to do it, was going to send out and hire a bully to help him.” The good nature of Mr. Chitty was now put to a severe test. The young gentleman was desirous of tasting a variety of dishes—and the task of ordering them invariably fell upon Mr. Chitty. This circumstance was a considerable inducement to cut short the luncheon as much as possible: the bill was accordingly called for and paid by Mr. Tu and Mr. Winkle; and the young gentleman was left to shift for him- self, which he most likely did as well as he could. In the meantime, what had been the occupation of the immortal Pickwick? No sooner had his friends departed, than this great man extracted the mysterious letter from the chest of drawers in which he had carefully stowed it beneath a couple of pairs of his own unmen- tionables, and cautiously broke the seal. He then unfolded the envelop, and found that it enclosed two sheets of letter-paper written very closely upon in a particularly fine female hand. An exquisite encil-drawing of an extensive edifice covered a piece of card-board which fell from between the sheets of manuscript. Mr. Pickwick examined it long and critically, and at once perceived that it exhibited a considerable de of talent. Beneath it was the name of the original of the design :—that original was the Salpetriere, a portion of _ og "> SEP sm ve —— . e- - wey all 8 Let i : al i | ae — = —— - : —_—— j= 7 = __ | 4 -_ —— =) | | ' s — = <= =§ — : = = a | ! | aaa a = = -- — i) \ | | , = | 5 | ! | * . . ¥ | _—" = “ = | ——S— eS = ee ' > ee ! f = : = q rol r - , i | | | | | = | ee | | =4}— _x_-_ — ee ow es —~ 7 » . a - # . = ‘ “7 2 * | | i eae \ ed: a. hi which vast building is made into a receptacle for the insane. With a heavy heart Mr. Pickwick laid aside the drawing, and applied himself to a perusal of the manuscripts which he held in his hand. The contents of those mysterious pages told the following sad and heart-rending history, during the perusal of which the tear of sympathy frequently rolled down the cheeks of our venerable old friend, and dropped upon that page where doubtless the fountain of the writer's grief had already been poured forth in profusion. (a) Goin ASO KS CO