Pickwick Abroad; or, The Tour in France — page 100: what you’re looking at

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

PICKWICK ABROAD, S7 considerately interfered in the poor animal’s behalf by verbally con- signing it to the hottest regions he could think of: so the party sate down to supper, and the cat retired to snooze beneath a chair in one corner of the room. Mr, Crashem had caused a most splendid repast to be prepared; and as—for we scorn to deny or withhold one atom of the real truth— Messieurs Lipman and Jopling had made a quiet and economical | dinner at three o’clock, p. m., off a couple of baked potatoes and a | piece of butter each, they did not fail to do ample justice to the supper | at which they so unexpectedly and pleasantly found theiselves seated. The bottle was circulated freely, and a variety of toasts was proposed and drank with considerable enthusiasm. Indeed, to such an extent | was the hilarity of the evening carried, that Mr. Pickwick entered into two arguments and made an oration,—Mr. Boozie only contradicted himself upon his own evidence seventeen times im the course of an hour,—Mr. Crashem cited his own family on three-and-twenty diffe- rent occasions,—and Messieurs Lipman and Jopling emptied two bot- tles in drinking wine with Mr. Winkle, while Mr. Tims amused him- self by rolling small pellets of bread and aiming them at Mr. Pick- wick’s nose, Now it happened that Mr. Tims was a very quarrelsome gentleman when he had taken a small drop too much: and it also happened on the evening of which we are writing, that such a quantity of liquor, in the shape of wine and spirits, had been circulated and drank, that in Mr. Crashem’s room there was scarcely a sober person aiter supper. Mr. Tims unfortunately advanced some statement, which Mr, Boozie, intending to set himself right in a “‘confounded he” he had just uttered, unhappily contradicted ; and a row was the immediate consequence. Mr. Tims flew at Mr. Boozie—and Mr. Boozie’s wig fiew to the oppo- site side of the room: Mr. Lipman attempted to enact the part of me- diator, and was immediately converted into a belligerent by a knock on the eye which Mr. Crashem inadvertently gave him: Mr. Jopling pre- pared to assault Mr. Winkle; and Mr. Winkle crept under the table, while Mr. Pickwick, thinking to restore order by putting Mr. Boozie in possession of his wig, commenced a most vigorous search after the hairy tegument, and caught hold of the domestic cat, which a delusion of the optics had represented to his sight as the lost perrugue. ‘The cat, thus unceremoniously disturbed in the midst of her slumbers, flew at Mr. Pickwick and dragged her claws spitefully across his expressive countenance ; nor was it before a considerable time had elapsed that the animal could be reduced to pacific measures of any kind. It were hard and difficult to.say how long the wariare might have been waged, had not Mr. Weller suddenly rushed into the room, and speedily compelled the combatants to desist from their pugilistic strife, | ‘“‘ Five minutes more, Sir,” said that gentleman, addressing his mas- ter, so soon as something like order had been restored, “ an’ ve shall all be booked, as the devil said ven he sent for to take Doctor Faustns.”’ | This powerful appeal to the feelings of great men could not for one moment be resisted. Mr. Pickwick, Mr. Winkle, Mr. Boozie, and Mr. Tims accordingly took a certain vague and undefined leave of the pri- Gomichboo CS) (E) =)