Pickwick Abroad; or, The Tour in France — page 288: what you’re looking at

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

re ‘> ig PICKWICK ABROAD. 279 letter so mysteriously entrusted to him;—nor shall we detail how Mr _ Walker retired to sleep in the most adjacent guard-house, as he had _ that morning had some dispute with his landlord relative to a certain little pecuniary matter, and was not desirous of renewing the quarrel. _We shall therefore concisely state, for the behoof of our readers, that Mr. Pickwick (bemg desirous ef devoting the morning to the perusal / of the mad gir]’s manuscript) declined to accompany his friends to ‘the proposed treat; that breakfast and Mr. Walker, who had taken a hasty but wholesome and refreshing wash at a neighbouring pump, _made their appearance together; and that as ten o’clock sounded in the church steeples, Mr. Chitty’s voice did the same in the ante. chamber. ‘¢ Have you breaktfasted, Chitty?” enquired Mr. Pickwick, when the usual compliments of the morning were past. “Thank you, my dear Sir,” returned Mr. Chitty: ‘*I don’t care if I just pick a bit:—” and suiting the action to the word, he in process of time picked the bones of a fowl so clean that they seemed as if they had been blanched. “Take an egg, now,” said the good-natured Mr. Pickwick, delighted that his guests enjoyed themselves. ‘‘Sam—an egg for Mr. Chitty.”’ ‘‘ Here is von, and a reglar trump he is too,” observed Mr. Weller, as he placed the edible in question on the poet’s plate. ‘‘ Eggs ralyis egos now, Sir, as the American said.” *¢On what occasion did he make that remark, Sam ?’’ demanded Mr. Pickwick. “Tl jist tax my memory,” said Mr. Weller, rubbing his head; *“an’ if I on’y does it as vell as the Government does to the poor vich can’t afford to pay, and is starved in prison in consekvence, or dies in the vorkus, | shall do it vith rayther a good effect.” * Well, Sam, proceed,” cried Mr. Pickwick, encouragingly. “Vell, Sir,” continued Mr. Weller, bestowing upon Mr. Hook Walker a patronizing wink, and a nod upon Mr. Chitty, “this is the horigin o’ the story. A countryman in Kentucky, Sir, goes to a grocer, and says, ‘ Vot ‘ll you give for eggs to-day, old feller?’— * Seventeen cents,’ vos the reply: ‘ for there has been a meetin’ o’ the grocers, yesterday—leastvays in the arternoon, and they von’t wote no higher terms. —The countryman drives avay, and calls agin next veek, ‘ Vell, Sir,’ says he to the grocer, ‘now vot d’ye bid for eggs 2” —‘On’y ivelve cents,’ says the grocer, says he; ‘for there’s been another meetin’, and them’s the prices as vos unanimously chosen.’— That vouldn’t do—neither: the countryman valks his lucky” — “What is that, Sam?” cried Mr. Pickwick. ‘‘ Made his fortune, I suppose ?” — “Qh! no, Sir—it’s on’y a fashionable phrase as is much in wogue vith members 0’ parli’ment, young gen’lemen about town, and sich dike chaps; and it means that he vent avay,” explained Mr. Weller. “But the countryman comes a third time, vithout no eggs at all. “Fave you any for sale to-day?’ says the grocer, who vos quvite out. —No,’ says the countryman, ‘I ha’nt: eggs raly is eggs, now.’— *Vot does all that mean?’ says the grocer, says he; for he’d hada | wery considerable order for eggs, and vos villin’ to give any price for 7em now.‘ Vy, simply this,’ answers the countryman, ‘ that the hens i Ss ; ~ ~ Gomicbooks (EO) =