Pickwick Abroad: or, The Tour in France — page 334: what you’re looking at

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

Pickwick Abroad. 2735 no sooner was he freed from the suffocating grasp, than he found himself close by the side of the interesting creature into whose Vicinity the turmoil had thrown him. A ray of joy darted across her paly features—her eyes shone with a gleam of something more than natural light—she glanced hastily around—she saw that for one moment she was unobserved—and she drew, quickly as lightning, a letter from her bosom, and placed it in Mr. Pickwick’s hand, with a look of such tender appeal, a savage’s heart could not have resisted it, The rapidity of the movement for an instant astonished that benevolent man: but in another he recovered his presence of mind— the lovely stranger had relapsed into her melancholy, unobserving mood—her countenance was pale and void of expression, as usual— her black bright eyes alone gave evidence of life: Mr. Pickwick felt a tear trickle down his cheek as he gazed upon her—it was all the work but of three seconds—he conveyed the letter to his pocket, and rejoined his friends, who were by this time at liberty also. The Doctor followed his guests to the door, and helped them into the hackney-coach. : ‘‘T am bound to make a thousand apologies,” said he, addressing himself to Mr. Scuttle; “and pray communicate what I say to your two friends: this lady, I perceive, understands me. The fact is, I thought my patients were more tractable—”’ ** What!” resumed Mrs. Weston, a ray of light flashing across her mind. : ‘“* You have guessed it,” said the Doctor: ‘‘ but one may as well see a mad-house as atheatre. The former you will never seek again —the latter cannot afford you so useful a lesson :’’—and with these words he closed the door of the vehicle, and ordered the coachman to drive to Paris. When Mr. Pickwick was informed of the nature of the place in which he had passed the previous hour, his ideas were instantly reflected back to the condition of the lovely girl, whose malady he had more or less divined the moment after she had given him the letter; and he resolved to lose no time in perusing a document the contents of which he suspected to be fraught with more than a common degree of interest. He, however, kept the secret and Mrs. Weston’s fingers firmly locked up, the former in his own breast, and the latter in his own hand, as the vehicle rolled rapidly through the Champs Elysées. : Sea CHAPTER XXXIII. ANOTHER RACY ANECDOTE BY MR. SAMUEL WELLER.—A VISIT TO A LEARNED PROFESSOR, AND THAT PROFESSOR’S SYSTEM OF DEMON- ' STRATION.—MR. COGHLAN S MANUALS FOR TRAVELLERS ARE NOT ALWAYS EFFICIENT. In the meantime the green britzka had pursued its comfortable and uiet way along the southern bank of the Seine. The coachman filled the air with the burden of amilitary song, and Mr. Weller with tobacco T EORAICLOO© Ss (CO)