Pickwick Abroad: or, The Tour in France — page 55: what you’re looking at

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

26 Pickwick Abroad. rebellious personage whose untimely melody had created the noise that prevailed in the house. A dozen accusing tongues, and as many extended fingers, indicated Mr. Samuel Weller to be the culprit, and in a moment the two sergents-de-ville precipitated themselves upon him, and made every preparation to eject him from the theatre. “‘ Brayvo! here's a rig!” cried Sam; and by a desperate effort he freed himself from the grasp of the policemen, knocked the cocked hat of one without any ceremony into the pit, and banged the other over the eyes of its proprietor. ‘Go it, my covey!” cried an Englishman from the boxes. “‘Arrah! by Jasus, my dear fellow—and why don’t ye pitch mto em, by my sowl now ?” ejaculated a vulgar representative of the sons of the Emerald Isle, who was stationed in the pit. ‘““You had much better come and help me, gen’lemen,” ejaculated Mr. Weller, very coolly ; ‘and then ve might do vonders by co-alition, as the wery nice ministers vich vos in observed to the wery foolish ministers vich vos out.” “ Sacré Anglais ’’ muttered a Frenchman who stood near Sam, and who immediately stepped forward to aid the functionaries of the law, while those individuals, having recovered from the momentary surprise into which Mr. Weller’s pugilistic behaviour had thrown them, prepared once more to secure the offender—an object which, ' despite of the manly resistance they experienced, was speedily accom- plished by dint of superior strength. Sam looked around in vain for his friend the waiter—that gentleman had deemed it prudent to retire at the commencement of the uproar. “‘ This is all wery vell, gen’lemen,” said Mr. Weller, having now recovered his usual equanimity and coolness; “but you’re a d—d unconstitushonal force, you air—and I’m a free-born Englishman, vich von’t submit to none o’ your Johnny Darmies.” The town-serjeants did not pay the slightest attention to—even if they understood—this manly assertion of political right and privilege; but bore Mr. Weller away from the theatre, and conducted him through the streets to the main guard-house, on the Grande-Place, a crowd of French and English following in the rear, and rending the air with their shouts and exclamations. The commissary of police was imme- diately sent for; but a quarter of an hour elapsed ere his arrival, as he was engaged in a game of dominoes at a neighbouring café, and could not attend to business till he had done it. : When the great functionary did, however, make his appearance at the guard-house, he examined into the matter with the greatest im- partiality and justice, allowing Mr. Weller the benefit of an interpreter, and listening to his tale, through the medium of the said interpreter, with extraordinary patience. “The case being thoroughly understood, the commissary, who was not overawed, as Mr. Weller fondly fancied he would have been, at the magic name of Pickwick, declined pro- nouncing judgment till the following morning; and in the mean time Mr. Weller was consigned to the quiet seclusion of a little cell of about four feet square, in the Light-house, called the Violon. q) COL TOO KS (c@