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PICKWICKIANMANNERS AND CUSTOMS, BY

PERCY FITZGERALD. 

THE_ROXBURGHE PRESS_, LIMITED, FIFTEEN, VICTORIA STREET, WESTMINSTER. 

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InscribedTOAUGUSTINE BIRRELL, M. P. 

PICKWICKIAN MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 

No English book has so materially increased the general gaiety of thecountry, or inspired the feeling of comedy to such a degree as, "ThePickwick Club. " It is now some "sixty years since" this book waspublished, and it is still heartily appreciated. What English novel orstory is there which is made the subject of notes and commentaries on themost elaborate scale; whose very misprints and inconsistencies arecounted up; whose earliest "states of the plates" are sought out andesteemed precious? "Pickwick, " wonderful to say, is the only story thathas produced a literature of its own--quite a little library--and haskept artists, topographers, antiquaries, and collectors all busily atwork. 

There seems to be some mystery, almost miracle, here. A young fellow offour-and-twenty throws off, or rather "rattles off, " in the exuberance ofhis spirits, a never-flagging series of incidents and characters. Thestory is read, devoured, absorbed, all over the world, and now, sixtyyears after its appearance, new and yet newer editions are being issued. All the places alluded to and described in the book have in their turnbeen lifted into fame, and there are constantly appearing in magazinesillustrated articles on "Rochester and Dickens, " "Dickens Land, ""Dickens' London, " and the rest. Wonderful! People, indeed, seem neverto tire of the subject--the same topics are taken up over and over again. The secret seems to be that the book was a living thing, and still lives. It is, moreover, perhaps the best, most accurate picture of character andmanners that are quite gone by: in it the meaning and significance of oldbuildings, old inns, old churches, and old towns are reached, andinterpreted in most interesting fashion; the humour, bubbling over, andnever forced, and always fresh, is sustained through some six hundredclosely-printed pages; all which, in itself, is a marvel andunapproached. It is easy, however, to talk of the boisterousness, the"caricature, " the unlicensed recklessness of the book, the lack ofrestraint, the defiance of the probabilities. It is popular andacceptable all the same. But there is one test which incontestablyproves its merit, and supplies its title, to be considered all but"monumental. " This is its prodigious fertility and suggestiveness. 

At this moment a review is being made of the long Victorian Age, andpeople are reckoning up the wonderful changes in life and manners thathave taken place within the past sixty years. These have been soimperceptibly made that they are likely to escape our ken, and the eyechiefly settles on some few of the more striking and monumental kind, such as the introduction of railways, of ocean steamships, electricity, and the like. But no standard of comparison could be more useful or morecompendious than the immortal chronicle of PICKWICK, in which the oldlife, not forgotten by some of us, is summarised with the completeness ofa history. The reign of Pickwick, like that of the sovereign, began somesixty years ago. Let us recall some of these changes. 

To begin: We have now no arrest for debt, with the attendant sponging-houses, Cursitor Street, sheriffs' officers, and bailiffs; and no greatFleet Prison, Marshalsea, or King's Bench for imprisoning debtors. Thereare no polling days and hustings, with riotous proceedings, or"hocussing" of voters; and no bribery on a splendid scale. 

Drinking and drunkenness in society have quite gone out of fashion. Gentlemen at a country house rarely or never come up from dinner, orreturn from a cricket match, in an almost "beastly" state ofintoxication; and "cold punch" is not very constantly drunk through theday. There are no elopements now in chaises and four, like MissWardle's, with headlong pursuit in other chaises and four; nor arespecial licenses issued at a moment's notice to help clandestinemarriages. There is now no frequenting of taverns and "free and easies"by gentlemen, at the "Magpie and Stump" and such places, nor do personsof means take up their residence at houses like the "George and Vulture"in the City. No galleried inns (though one still lingers on in Holborn), are there, at which travellers put up: there were then nearly a dozen, inthe Borough and elsewhere. There are no coaches on the great roads, noguards and bulky drivers; no gigs with hoods, called "cabs, " with thedriver's seat next his fare; no "hackney coaches, " no "Hampstead stages, "no "Stanhopes" or "guillotined cabriolets"--whatever they were--or "mail-carts, " the "pwettiest thing" driven by gentlemen. And there are no"sedan chairs" to take Mrs. Dowler home. There are no "poke" or "coal-scuttle" bonnets, such as the Miss Wardles wore; no knee-breeches andgaiters; no "tights, " with silk stockings and pumps for evening wear; nobig low-crowned hats, no striped vests for valets, and, above all, nogorgeous "uniforms, " light blue, crimson, and gold, or "orange plush, "such as were worn by the Bath gentlemen's gentlemen. "Thunder andlightning" shirt buttons, "mosaic studs"--whatever they were--are thingsof the past. They are all gone. Gone too is "half-price" at thetheatres. At Bath, the "White Hart" has disappeared with its waitersdressed so peculiarly--"like Westminster boys. " We have no serjeants nowlike Buzfuz or Snubbin: their Inn is abolished, and so are all thesmaller Inns--Clement's or Clifford's--where the queer client lived. Neither are valentines in high fashion. Chatham Dockyard, with itshierarchy, "the Clubbers, " and the rest, has been closed. No one nowgives _dejeunes_, not _dejeuners_; or "public breakfasts, " such as theauthoress of the "Expiring Frog" gave. The "delegates" have beensuppressed, and Doctors' Commons itself is levelled to the ground. The"Fox under the Hill" has given place to a great hotel. The old familiar"White Horse Cellars" has been rebuilt, made into shops and a restaurant. There are no "street keepers" now, but the London Police. The_Eatanswill Gazette_ and its scurrilities are not tolerated. Specialconstables are rarely heard of, and appear only to be laughed at: theirstaves, tipped with a brass crown, are sold as curios. Turnpikes, whichare found largely in "Pickwick, " have been suppressed. The abuses ofprotracted litigation in Chancery and other Courts have been reformed. Nopapers are "filed at the Temple"--whatever that meant. The Pound, as anincident of village correction has, all but a few, disappeared. 

Then for the professional classes, which are described in the chroniclewith such graphic power and vivacity. As at this time "Boz" drew theessential elements of character instead of the more superficial ones--hislater practice--there is not much change to be noted. We have themedical life exhibited by Bob Sawyer and his friends; the legal world inCourt and chambers--judges, counsel, and solicitors--are all much as theyare now. Sir Frank Lockwood has found this subject large enough fortreatment in his little volume, "The Law and Lawyers of Pickwick. " Itmay be thought that no judge of the pattern of Stareleigh could be foundnow, but we could name recent performances in which incidents such as, "Is your name Nathaniel Daniel or Daniel Nathaniel?" have been repeated. Neither has the blustering of Buzfuz or his sophistical plaintivenesswholly gone by. The "cloth" was represented by the powerful butrevolting sketch of Stiggins, which, it is strange, was not resented bythe Dissenters of the day, and also by a more worthy specimen in theperson of the clergyman at Dingley Dell. There are the mail-coachdrivers, with the "ostlers, boots, countrymen, gamekeepers, peasants, andothers, " as they have it in the play-bills. Truly admirable, andexcelling the rest, are "Boz's" sketches--actually "living pictures"--ofthe fashionable footmen at Bath, beside which the strokes in thatdiverting piece "High Life below Stairs" seem almost flat. Thesimperings of these gentry, their airs and conceit, we may be sure, obtain now. Once coming out of a Theatre, at some fashionableperformance, through a long lane of tall menials, one fussy aristocratpushed one of them out of his way. The menial contemptuously pushed himback. The other in a rage said, "How dare you? Don't you know, I'm theEarl of ---" "Well, " said the other coldly, "If you _be_ a Hearl, can'tyou be'ave as sich?"

After the wedding at Manor Farm we find that bride and bridegroom did notset off from the house on a wedding tour, but remained for the night. This seemed to be the custom. Kissing, too, on the Pickwickianprinciples, would not now, to such an extent, be tolerated. There is anenormous amount in the story. The amorous Tupman had scarcely enteredthe hall of a strange house when he began osculatory attempts on the lipsof one of the maids; and when Mr. Pickwick and his friends called on Mr. Winkle, sen. , at Birmingham, Bob Sawyer made similar playfulefforts--being called an "odous creetur" by the lady. In fact, thecustom seemed to be to kiss when and wherever you could conveniently. Getting drunk after any drinking, and at any time of the day, seemed tobe common enough. There was a vast amount of open fields, &c. , aboutLondon which engendered the "Cockney sportsman. " He disappeared as thefields were built over. We have no longer the peculiar "stand-up"collars, or "gills, " and check neck-cloths. 

But Mr. Bantam's costume at the Bath Assembly, shows the most startlingchange. Where is now the "gold eye glass?"--we know that eye glass, which was of a solid sort, not fixed on the nose, but held to the eye--a"quizzing glass, " and folding up on a hinge--"a broad black ribbon" too;the "gold snuffbox;" gold rings "innumerable" on the fingers, and "adiamond pin" on his "shirt frill, " a "curb chain" with large gold sealshanging from his waistcoat--(a "curb chain" proper was then a little thinchain finely wrought, of very close links. ) Then there was the "pliantebony cane, with a heavy gold top. " Ebony, however, is not pliant, butthe reverse--black was the word intended. Then those "smalls" andstockings to match. Mr. Pickwick, a privileged man, appeared on thisoccasion, indeed always, in his favourite white breeches and gaiters. Infact, on no occasion save one, when he wore a great-coat, does he appearwithout them. Bantam's snuff was "Prince's mixture, " so named after theRegent, and his scent "_Bouquet du Roi_. " "Prince's mixture" is stillmade, but "_Bouquet du Roi_" is supplanted. 

Perker's dress is also that of the stage attorney, as we have him now, and recognize him. He would not be the attorney without that dress. Hewas "all in black, with boots as shiny as his eyes, _a low whiteneckcloth_, and a _clean_ shirt with a frill to it. " This, of course, meant that he put on one every day, and is yet a slight point of contactwith Johnson, who described someone as being only able to go out "onclean shirt days;" a gold watch and seals depended from his _Fob_. "Depended" is a curious use of the word, and quite gone out. 

Another startling change is in the matter of duels. The duels inPickwick come about quite as a matter of course, and as a common socialincident. In the "forties" I recall a military uncle of my own--agentleman, like uncle Toby--handing his card to some one in a billiardroom, with a view to "a meeting. " Dickens' friend Forster was at onetime "going out" with another gentleman. Mr. Lang thinks that duellingwas prohibited about 1844, and "Courts of Honour" substituted. But thereal cause was the duel between Colonel Fawcett and Lieut. Munro, brothers-in-law, when the former was killed. This, and some othertragedies of the kind, shocked the public. The "Courts of Honour, " ofcourse, only affected military men. 

Mr. Pickwick, himself, had nearly "gone out" on two or three occasions, once with Mr. Slammer, once with Mr. Magnus; while his scuffle withTupman would surely have led to one. Winkle, presumed to be a coward, had no less than three "affairs" on his hands: one with Slammer, one withDowler, and one with Bob Sawyer. At Bob Sawyer's Party, the two medicalstudents, tendered their cards. For so amiable a man, Mr. Pickwick hadsome extraordinary failings. He seems to have had no restraint wheredrink was in the case, and was hopelessly drunk about six times--on threeoccasions, at least, he was preparing to assault violently. He once_hurled an inkstand_; he once struck a person; once challenged his friendto "come on. " Yet the capital comedy spirit of the author carries usover these blemishes. 

When Sam was relating to his master the story of the sausage maker'sdisappearance, Mr. Pickwick, horrified, asked had he been "Burked?" There_Boz_ might have repeated his apologetic footnote, on Jingle's share inthe Revolution of 1830. "A remarkable instance of his force of propheticimagination, etc. " For the sausage story was related in the year ofgrace 1827, and Burke was executed in 1829, some two years later. 

Mr. Lang has suggested that the bodies Mr. Sawyer and his friendsubscribed for, were "snatched, " but he forgets that this traffic was asecret one, and the bodies were brought to the private residence of thephysicians, the only safe way (_Vide_ the memoirs of Sir A. Cooper). Ata great public Hospital the practice would be impossible. 

"Hot elder wine, well qualified with brandy and spice, " is a drink thatwould not now be accepted with enthusiasm at the humblest wedding, evenin the rural districts: we are assured that sound "was the sleep andpleasant were the dreams that followed. " Which is not so certain. Thecake was cut and "passed through the ring, " also an exploded custom, whatever its meaning was. In what novel now-a-days would there be anallusion to "Warren's blacking, " or to "Rowland's oil, " which was, ofcourse, their famous "Macassar. " These articles, however, may still beprocured, and to that oil we owe the familiar interposing towel or pieceof embroidery the "antimacassar, " devised to protect the sofa or easychair from the unguent of the hair. "Moral pocket handkerchiefs, " forteaching religion to natives of the West Indies, combining amusement withinstruction, "blending select tales with woodcuts, " are no longer used. 

Old Temple Bar has long since disappeared, so has the Holborn Valley. TheFleet was pulled down about ten years after Pickwick, but imprisonmentfor debt continued until 1860 or so. Indeed Mr. Lang seems to think itstill goes on, for he says it is now "disguised as imprisonment forcontempt of Court. " This is a mistake. In the County Courts when smalldebts under 3 pounds 10s. Are sued for, the judge will order a smallweekly sum to be paid in discharge; in case of failure to pay, he willpunish the disobedience by duress not exceeding fifteen days--a whollydifferent thing from imprisonment for debt. 

Where now are the _Pewter Pots_, and the pot boy with his strap of"pewters?"--we would have to search for them now. Long cut glasses havetaken their place. Where, too, is the invariable Porter, drunk almostexclusively in Pickwick? Bass had not then made its great name. Thereis no mention of Billiard tables, but much about Skittles and Bagatelle, which were the pastimes at Taverns. 

Then the Warming Pan! Who now "does trouble himself about the WarmingPan?"--which is yet "a harmless necessary and I will add a comfortingarticle of domestic furniture. " Observe _necessary_, as though everyfamily had it as an article of their "domestic furniture. " It is odd tothink of Mary going round all the beds in the house, and deftlyintroducing this "article" between the sheets. Or was it only for theold people: or in chilly weather merely? On these points we must beunsatisfied. The practice, however, points to a certain effeminacy--theaverage person of our day would not care to have his bed so treated--withinvalids the "Hot Water Bottle" has "usurped its place. " We find thissuperannuated instrument in the "antique" dealers' shops, at a goodfigure--a quaint old world thing, of a sort of old-fashioned cut andpattern. There only do people appear to trouble themselves about it. 

"Chops and tomato sauce. " This too is superannuated also. A morecorrect taste is now chops _au naturel_, and relying on their own naturaljuices; but we have cutlets, with tomatos. 

Again, are little boys no longer clad in "a tight suit of corduroy, spangled with brass buttons of very considerable size:" indeed corduroyis seldom seen save on the figures of some _chic_ ladies. And howfortunate to live in days when a smart valet could be secured for twelvepounds a year, and two suits; {24} and not less. 

Surprising too was the valet's accustomed dress. "A grey coat, a blackhat, with a cockade on it, a pink striped waistcoat, light breeches andgaiters. " What too were "bright _basket_ buttons" on a brown coat? FancyBalls too, like Mrs. Leo Hunter's, were given in the daytime, and causedno astonishment. Nor have we lodging-houses with beds on the "twopennyrope" principle. There are no "dry arches" of Waterloo Bridge: thoughhere I suspect Boz was confounding them with those of the Adelphi. 

Gone too are the simple games of childhood. Marbles for instance. Werecall Serjeant Buzfuz's pathetic allusion to little Bardell's "AlleyTors and Commoneys; the long familiar cry of 'knuckle down' isneglected. " Who sees a boy playing marbles now in the street orelsewhere? Mr. Lang in his edition gives us no lore about this point. "Alley Tors" was short for "Alabaster, " the material of which the _best_marbles were made. 

"Tor" however, is usually spelt "Taw. " "Commoneys" were the inferior orcommoner kind. "Knuckle down, " according to our recollections, was thelaying the knuckle on the ground for a shot. "Odd and even" was alsospoken of by the Serjeant. Another game alluded to, is mysteriouslycalled "Tip-cheese"--of which the latest editor speculates "probably Tip-cat was meant: the game at which Bunyan was distinguishing himself whenhe had a call. " The "cat" was a plain piece of wood, sharpened at bothends. I suppose made to jump, like a cat. But _unde_ "cheese, " unlessit was a piece of rind that was struck. 

"Flying the garter" is another of the Pickwickian boy games. Talkingwith a very old gentleman, lately, I thought of asking him concerning"Flying the garter:" he at once enlightened me. It was a familiar thinghe remembered well "when a boy. " It was a sort of "Leap Frog, "exercise--only with a greater and longer spring: he spoke also of ashuffle of the feet during the process. 

And again. There is a piquant quaintness in the upside-down turning ofevery thing in this wonderful Book. Such as Perker's eyes, which aredescribed as playing with his "inquisitive nose" a "perpetual gameof"--what, think you? Bo-Peep? not at all: but "peep-bo. " How odd andunaccountable! We all knew the little "Bo-peep, " and her sheep--but"peep-bo" is quite a reversal. 

Gas was introduced into London about the year 1812 and was thought aprodigiously "brilliant illuminant. " But in the Pickwickian days it wasstill in a crude state--and we can see in the first print--that of theclub room--only two attenuated jets over the table. In many of theprints we find the dip or mould candle, which was used to light Sam as hesat in the coffee room of the Blue Boar. Mr. Nupkins' kitchen was _not_lit by gas. 

As to this matter of light--it all depends on habit and accommodating. When a boy I have listened to "Ivanhoe" read out--O enchantment! by thelight of _two_ "mould" candles--the regular thing--which required"snuffing" about every ten minutes, and snuffing required dexterity. Thesnuffers--laid on a long tray--were of ponderous construction; it wasgenerally some one's regular duty to snuff--how odd seems this now! The"plaited wicks" which came later were thought a triumph, and the snuffersdisappeared. They also are to be seen in the Curio Shops. 

How curious, too, the encroachment of a too practical age on the oldromance. "Fainting" was the regular thing in the Pickwickian days, inany agitation; "burnt feathers" and the "sal volatile" being the remedy. The beautiful, tender and engaging creatures we see in the annuals, allfainted regularly--and knew _how_ to faint--were perhaps taught it. Thuswhen Mr. Pickwick was assumed to have "proposed" to his landlady, she inbusiness-like fashion actually "fainted;" now-a-days "fainting" has goneout as much as duelling. 

In the travellers' rooms at Hotels--in the "commercial" room--we do notsee people smoking "large Dutch pipes"--nor is "brandy and water" theonly drink of the smoking room. Mr. Pickwick and his friends were always"breaking the waxen seals" of their letters--while Sam, and people of hisdegree, used the wafer. (What by the way was the "fat little boy"--inthe seal of Mr. Winkle's penitential letter to his sire? Possibly acupid. ) Snuff taking was then common enough in the case of professionalpeople like Perker. 

At this moment there is to be seen in the corner of many an antiqueHall--Sedan chair laid up in ordinary--of black leather, bound with brass-nails. We can well recall in our boyish days, mamma in full dress andher hair in "bands, " going out to dine in her chair. On arriving at thehouse the chair was taken up the steps and carried bodily into theHall--the chair men drew out their poles, lifted the head, opened thedoor and the dame stepped out. The operation was not without its state. 

Gone too are the "carpet bags" which Mr. Pickwick carried and also Mr. Slurk--(why he brought it with him into the kitchen is not very clear). {30}

Skates were then spelt "Skaits. " The "Heavy smack, " transportedluggage--to the Provinces by river or canal. The "Twopenny Postman" isoften alluded to. "Campstools, " carried about for use, excited noastonishment. Gentlemen don't go to Reviews now, as Mr. Wardle did, arrayed in "a blue coat and bright buttons, corduroy (Boz also spells it_corderoy_) breeches and top boots, " nor ladies "in scarfs and feathers. "It is curious, by the way, that Wardle talks something after thefashionable manner of our day, dropping his g's--as who should say"huntin', " or "rippin'"--"I spent some evnins" he says "at your club. ""My gals, " he says also. "Capons" are not much eaten now. "Drinkingwine" or "having a glass of wine" has gone out, and with it Mr. Tupman'sgallant manner of challenge to a fair one, _i. E. _ "touching theenchanting Rachel's wrist with one hand and gently elevating his bottlewith the other. " "Pope Joan" is little played now, if at all; "Fish"too; how rarely one sees those mother-of-pearl fish! The "Cloth is not_drawn_" and the table exposed to view, to be covered with dessert, bottles, glasses, etc. The shining mahogany was always a brave show, andwe fear this comes of using cheap made up tables of common wood. Stillwe wot of some homes, old houses in the country, where the practice iskept up. It is evident that Mr. Wardle's dinner was at about 3 or 4o'clock, for none was offered to the party that arrived about 6. This wemay presume was the mode in old fashioned country houses. Supper came ateleven. 

A chaise and four could go at the pace of fifteen miles an hour. 

A "1000 horse-power" was Jingle's idea of extravagant speed by steamagency. Now we have got to 4, 5, and 10 thousand horsepower. Gentlemen's"frills" in the daytime are never seen now. Foot gear took the shape of"Hessians'" "halves, " "painted tops, " "Wellington's" or "Bluchers. " Thereare many other trifles which will evidence these changes. We are told ofthe "common eighteen-penny French skull cap. " Note _common_--it isexhibited on Mr. Smangle's head--a rather smartish thing with a tassel. Nightcaps, too, they are surely gone by now: though a few old people maywear them, but then boys and young men all did. It also had a tassel. There is the "Frog Hornpipe, " whatever dance that was: the "pousette;"while "cold srub, " which is not in much vogue now, was the drink of theBath Footmen. "Botany Bay ease, and New South Wales gentility, " refer tothe old convict days. This indeed is the most startling transformationof all. For instead of Botany Bay, and its miserable associations, wehave the grand flourishing Australia, with its noble cities, Parliamentsand the rest. Gone out too, we suppose, the "Oxford-mixture trousers;""Oxford grey" it was then called. 

Then for Sam's "Profeel machine. " Mr. Andrew Lang in his notes wonderswhat this "Profeel machine" was, and fancies it was the silhouetteprocess. This had nothing to do with the "Profeel machine"--which isdescribed in "Little Pedlington, " a delightful specimen of Pickwickianhumour, and which ought to be better known than it is. "There now, " saidDaubson, the painter of "the all but breathing Grenadier, " (alas!rejected by the Academy). "Then get up and sit down, if you please, mister. " "He pointed to a narrow high-backed chair, placed on aplatform; by the side of the chair was a machine of curious construction, from which protruded a long wire. 'Heady stiddy, mister. ' He thenslowly drew the wire over my head and down my nose and chin. " Such wasthe "Profeel machine. "

There are many antiquated allusions in Pickwick--which have oftenexercised the ingenuity of the curious. Sam's "Fanteegs, " has been givenup in despair--as though there were no solution--yet, Professor Skeat, aneminent authority, has long since furnished it. {34}

"Through the button hole"--a slang term for the mouth, has been well"threshed out"--as it is called. Of "My Prooshian Blue, " as his sonaffectedly styled his parent, Mr. Lang correctly suggests the solution, that the term came of George IV's intention of changing the uniform ofthe Army to Blue. But this has been said before. 

Boz in his Pickwickian names was fond of disguising their sense to theeye, though not to the ear. Thus Lady Snuphanuph, looks a grotesque, butsomewhat plausible name--snuff-enough--a further indication of themanners and customs. So with Lord Mutanhed, _i. E. _ "Muttonhead. "Mallard, Serjeant Snubbin's Clerk, I have suspected, may have been someMr. Duck--whom "Boz" had known--in that line. 

"A MONUMENTAL PICKWICK. "

The fruitfulness of Pickwick, and amazing prolificness, that is one ofits marvels. It is regularly "worked on, " like Dante or Shakespeare. ThePickwickian Library is really a wonder. It is intelligible how a worklike Boswell's "Johnson, " full of allusions and names of persons who havelived, spoken, and written, should give rise to explanation andcommentaries; but a work of mere imagination, it would be thought, couldnot furnish such openings. As we have just seen, Pickwick and the othercharacters are so real, so artfully blended with existing usages, manners, and localities, as to become actual living things. 

Mere panegyric of one's favourite is idle. So I lately took a reallyeffective way of _proving_ the surprising fertility of the work and ofits power of engendering speculation and illustration. I set aboutcollecting all that has been done, written, and drawn on the subjectduring these sixty years past, together with all those lightermanifestations of popularity which surely indicate "the form andpressure" of its influence. The result is now before me, and all butfills a small room. When set in proper order and bound, it will fillover thirty great quartos--"huge armfuls" as Elia has it. In short, itis a "Monumental Pickwick. "

The basis of _The Text_ is of course, the original edition of 1836. Thereare specimens of the titles and a few pages of every known edition; thefirst cheap or popular one; the "Library" edition; the "Charles Dickens"ditto; the _Edition de Luxe_; the "Victoria": "Jubilee, " edited by C. Dickens the younger; editions at a shilling and at sixpence; the editionsold for one penny; the new "Gadshill, " edited by Andrew Lang; with the"Roxburghe, " edited by F. Kitton, presently to be published. The_Foreign Editions in English_; four American editions, two ofPhiladelphia, and two of New York; the Tauchnitz (German) and Baudry(French); the curious Calcutta edition; with one of the most interestingeditions, viz. , the one published at Launceston in Van Diemen's Land inthe year 1839, that is before the name of the Colony was changed. Thepublisher speaks feelingly of the enormous difficulties he had toencounter, and he boasts, with a certain pride, that it is "the largestpublication that has issued from either the New South Wales or theTasmanian Press. " Not only this, but the whole of the work, printing, engraving, and binding, was executed in the Colony. He had to be contentwith lithography for the plates, and indeed, could only manage aselection of twenty of the best. He says, too, that even in England, lithography is found a process of considerable difficulty. They areexecuted in a very rough and imperfect way, and not very faithfully by anartist who signs himself "Tiz. " The poor, but spirited publisher addsthat the expense has been enormous--"greater than was originallycontemplated, " but he comforts himself with the compliment that "if anypublication would repay the cost of its production, it would be the far-famed Pickwick Papers. " On the whole, it is a very interesting editionto have, and I have never seen a copy save the one I possess. I havealso an American edition, printed in Philadelphia, which has a greatinterest. It was bought there by Mrs. Charles Dickens, and presented byher to her faithful maid, Anne. I possess also a copy of the ChristmasCarol given by his son, the author, to his father John. Few recall that"Boz" wrote a sequel to his Pickwick--a rather dismal failure--quitedevoid of humour. He revived Sam and old Weller, and Mr. Pickwick, butthey are unrecognizable figures. He judiciously suppressed this attempt, after making it a sort of introduction to Humphrey's Clock. Of course, we have it here. 

_Translations_: Of these there are some twenty in all, but I have _only_the French, German, Russian, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, Hungarian. 

Then come _Selections_: "Readings" from "Pickwick"; "Dialogues" fromditto; "Wellerisms, " by Charles Kent and Mr. Rideal. 

_Dramatic Versions_: "The Pickwickians, " "Perambulations, " "Sam Weller, "etc. The "Pickwick" opera, by Burnand; "The Trial in 'Pickwick'";"Bardell _v. _ Pickwick. " There are "Play Bills"--various. Connectedwith this department is the literature of the "Readings"--"CharlesDickens as a Reader, " by Kent, and "Pen Photographs, " by Kate Field. AlsoDolby's account of the Reading Tours, and the little prepared versionsfor sale in the rooms in green covers; also bills, tickets, andprogrammes _galore_. 

In _Music_ we have "The Ivy Green" and "A Christmas Carol. "

_Imitations_: "Pickwick Abroad, " by G. W. Reynolds; "Pickwick inAmerica, " the "Penny Pickwick, " the "Queerfish Chronicles, " the "CadgerClub, " and many more. 

In the way of _Commentaries_: The "History of Pickwick, " "Origin of SamWeller": Sir F. Lockwood's "The Law and Lawyers of Pickwick"; Kent's"Humour and Pathos of Charles Dickens"; accounts from "Forster's Life"and from the "Letters, " "Controversy with Seymour" (Mrs. Seymour's rarepamphlet is not procurable), "Dickensiana, " by F. Kitton;"Bibliographies" by Herne Shepherd, Cook and also by Kitton. 

_Criticisms_: The _Quarterly Review_, the _Westminster Review_, _Fraser'sMagazine_, Taine's estimate, "L'inimitable Boz" by Comte de Heussey, withmany more. 

_Topographical_: Hughes' "Tramp in Dickens-Land, " "In Kent with CharlesDickens, " by Frost; "Bozland, " by Percy Fitzgerald; "The Childhood andYouth of C. Dickens, " by Langton; "Dickens's London, " by Allbutt; "AboutEngland with Dickens, " by Rimmer; Papers in American and EnglishMagazines; "A Pickwickian Pilgrimage, " by Hassard; "Old Rochester, " andothers. 

_Commentaries on the Illustrations_: Here is a regular department--Accountof "Phiz, " by Kitton; "Life of Hablot K. Browne, " by Croal Thomson; "Lifeof G. Cruikshank, " Mr. Dexter's book, and another by Charles P. Johnson. 

Next we refer to the _Illustrations_ themselves: The plates to theoriginal edition are by Seymour (7), Buss (2), Phiz-Seymour (7), and by"Phiz" (35). Variations, by "Phiz"; variations, coloured by Pailthorpe;facsimiles of original drawings--altogether about 200. There are _ExtraPlates_ by Heath, Sir John Gilbert, Onwhyn ("Sam Weller"), Sibson, AlfredCrowquill, Antony (American), Onwhyn (Posthumous) and Frost, FrederickBarnard (to popular edition); also some folio plates; C. J. Leslie (afrontispiece). "Phiz" published later a series of six, and also a largenumber of coarse woodcuts to illustrate a cheap edition. 

There are also a series of clever extra illustrations by Pailthorpe andothers, coloured by the same. We have seen F. Barnard's illustrationscoloured by Pailthorpe. There are here also the original plates re-drawnin Calcutta. They were also reproduced in Philadelphia, with additionalones by Nast. Others were issued in Sydney. There are a number ofGerman woodcut illustrations to illustrate the German translations; somerude woodcuts to illustrate Dicks' edition: ditto to Penny edition. Thereis also a set of portraits from "Pickwick" in _Bell's Life_, probably byKenny Meadows; and coloured figures by "Kyd. "

There are many pictures in colours--Pickwick, Weller, &c. --to illustrateChristmas calendars, chiefly "made in Germany. "

The most curious tribute is the issue by the Phonographic Society of"Pickwick" in shorthand; and, finally, "Pickwick" in raised characters onthe Braille system for the blind. 

This odd publication of "Pickwick" for the Blind came about in a quaintway enough. As we know, the author issued at his own expense one of hisworks in raised characters, as a present to these afflicted persons. Arich old gentleman had noticed a blind beggar seated with the Bible openon his knees, droning out the passages in the usual fashion. Some of theimpostor sort learn the lines by heart and "make believe" to read, asthey pass their fingers over the characters. The rich old gentleman'sblind reader read in the genuine way, and got through about fiftychapters a day. No one, however, is much improved by the lecture. Theymerely wonder at the phenomenon and go their way. The rich old gentlemanpresently spoke to the blind reader: "Why don't you read 'Pickwick' orsome other book that the public will listen to?" "Sir, " he replied--hemust have been of the stock of Silas Wegg--"give me 'Pickwick' in raisedcharacters and I will read it. "

The rich old gentleman went his way and inquired at the proper places, but the work was not known. He gave an order for a hundred copies of"Pickwick" in "Wait's Improved Braille Type, " and in about six months itwas delivered to him--not the whole work, but a selection of the moreeffective episodes. The blind reader was pleased; the old gentlemaninsisted on a private rehearsal; select passages were chosen which werecalculated to take about twenty minutes each. When he arrived on themorning fixed for the first attempt, he found his friend at his post withquite a crowd gathered round him, in convulsions of laughter. The "poorblind" was reading, or feeling out, old Mr. Weller's ejectment of the red-nosed man. The hat was overflowing with coppers and even silver. Sothings went on prospering for a while. "Pickwick" was a magnificentsuccess, and the blind man was never without a crowd round him of somefifteen to fifty persons. But the other blind readers found the demandfor the sacred text vanishing; and people would unfeelingly interruptthem to inquire the way to the "Pickwick man. " Eventually the policebegan to interfere, and required him to "move on;" "he was obstructingthe pavement"--not, perhaps, he, but "Pickwick. " He _did_ move on toHyde Park, but there were others there, performers young and up-to-date, and with full use of their eyes, who did the same thing with action andelocution. So he fairly gave the thing up, and returned to hisScriptures. This tale would have amused "Boz" himself. 

Of a more miscellaneous kind are "The Pickwick Songster, " "Sam Weller'sAlmanac, " "Sam Weller's Song Book, " "The Pickwick Pen, " "Oh, what a boonand a blessing to men, " etc. , --to say nothing of innumerable carelesssheets, and trifles of all kinds and of every degree. Then we haveadapted advertisements. The Proprietors of Beecham's Pills use the sceneof Mr. Pickwick's discovery of the Bill Stumps inscription. Some carpetcleaners have Sam and the pretty housemaid folding the carpet. Lastlycomes the author, "Boz" himself, with letters, portraits, pictures of hishomes, etc. , all more or less connected with the period when he waswriting this book, a facsimile of his receipt for copy money, a copy ofhis agreement with Chapman and Hall, and many more items. {47}

I have often wondered how it was that "the inimitable Boz, " took solittle interest in his great Book. It always seemed to me that he didnot care for praise of it, or wish much that it should be alluded to. Buthe at once became interested, when you spoke of some of his artful plots, in Bleak House, or Little Dorrit--then his eye kindled. He may havefancied, as his friend Forster also did, that Pickwick was a rather_jejune_ juvenile thing, inartistically planned, and thrown off, orrather rattled off. His _penchant_, as was the case with Liston and someof the low comedians, was for harrowing tragedy and pathos. 

Once when driving with him on a jaunting car in Dublin, he asked me, didI know so-and-so, and I answered promptly in Mr. Winkle's words, "I don'tknow him, but I have seen him. " This _apropos_ made him laugh heartily. I am now inclined to think that the real explanation of his distaste was, that the Book was associated with one of the most painful and distractingepisodes of his life, which affected him so acutely, that he actuallyflung aside his work in the full tumult of success, and left the eagerpublic without its regular monthly number. "I have been so unnerved" hewrites, in an unpublished letter to Harrison Ainsworth, "and hurt by theloss of the dear girl whom I loved, after my wife, more dearly andfervently than anyone on earth, that I have been compelled for once togive up all idea of my monthly work, and to try a fortnight's rest andquiet. "

In this long book, there are found allusions to only two or three otherworks. What these are might form one of the questions "set" at the nextPickwick examination. Fielding is quoted once. In the dedicationallusion is made to Talfourd's three speeches in Parliament, on thecopyright question; these were published in a little volume, and make, fairly enough, one of the illustrative documents of "Pickwick. " In thefirst number of the first edition there is an odd note, rather out ofplace, but it was withdrawn later--meant to ridicule Mr. Jingle's storyof "Ponto's" sagacity; it states that in Mr. Jesse's gleanings, there aremore amazing stories than this. 

Mr. Jesse was a sort of personage living at Richmond--where I wellremember him, when I was there as a boy. "Jesse's gleanings" was then awell-known and popular book; and his stories of dogs are certainlyextraordinary enough to have invoked Boz's ridicule. We are told of theFrench poodle, who after rolling himself in the mud of the Seine, wouldrub himself against any well-polished boots that he noticed, and wouldthus bring custom to his master, who was a shoe black on the _Pont Neuf_. He was taken to London by an English purchaser, but in a few daysdisappeared, and was discovered pursuing his old trade on the Bridge. Other dogs, we were told, after being transported long distances, wouldinvariably find their way back. These prodigies, however, do not appearso wonderful now, after the strange things about dogs and cats that havebeen retailed in a well-known "weekly. " A third allusion is to Sterne's_Maria of Moulines_, made, of all people in the world, by Sam Weller. 

"BOZ" AND "BOZZY. "

It may seem somewhat far-fetched to put "Pickwick" beside Boswell's alsoimmortal work, but I think really the comparison is not a fanciful one. No one enjoyed the book so much as "Boz. " He knew it thoroughly. Indeed, it is fitting that "Boz" should relish "Bozzy;" for "Bozzy" wouldcertainly have relished "Boz" and have "attended him with respectfulattention. " It has not been yet shown how much there is in commonbetween the two great books, and, indeed, between them and a third, greater than either, the immortal "Don Quixote. " All three are"travelling stories. " Sterne also was partial to a travelling story. Lately, when a guest at the "Johnson Club, " I ventured to expoundminutely, and at length, this curious similarity between Boswell andDickens. Dickens' appreciation of "Bozzy" is proved by his admirableparody which is found in one of his letters to Wilkie Collins, and whichis superior to anything of the sort--to Chalmers', Walcot's, or any thathave been attempted:--

 "Sir, " as Dr. Johnson would have said, "if it be not irrational in a man to count his feathered bipeds before they are hatched, we will conjointly astonish them next year. " _Boswell_. "Sir, I hardly understand you. " _Johnson_. "You never understood anything. " _Boswell_ (in a sprightly manner). "Perhaps, sir, I am all the better for it. " _Johnson_. "I do not know but that you are. There is Lord Carlisle (smiling)--he never understands anything, and yet the dog is well enough. Then, sir, there is Forster--he understands many things, and yet the fellow is fretful. Again, sir, there is Dickens, with a facile way with him--like Davy, sir, like Davy--yet I am told that the man is lying at a hedge alehouse by the seashore in Kent as long as they will trust him. " _Boswell_. "But there are no hedges by the sea in Kent, sir. " _Johnson_. "And why not, sir?" _Boswell_ (at a loss). "I don't know, sir, unless--" _Johnson_ (thundering). "Let us have no unlesses, sir. If your father had never said unless he would never have begotten you, sir. " _Boswell_ (yielding). "Sir, that is very true. "

To begin, the Christian names of the two great men were the same. SamJohnson and Samuel Pickwick. Johnson had a relation called Nathaniel, and Pickwick had a "follower" also Nathaniel. Both the great men foundedClubs: Johnson's was in Essex Street, Strand, to say nothing of theLiterary or Johnson Club; the other in Huggin Lane. Johnson had hisGoldsmith, Reynolds, Boswell, Burke, and the rest, as his members and"followers:" Mr. Pickwick had his Tupman, Snodgrass, Winkle, and others. These were the "travelling members, " just as Dr. Johnson and Boswell werethe travelling members of their Club. Boswell was the notetaker, so wasSnodgrass. When we see the pair staying at the Three Crowns atLichfield--calling on friends--waited on by the manager of the localTheatre, etc. , we are forcibly reminded of the visits to Rochester andIpswich. 

Boswell one night dropped into a tavern in Butcher Row, and saw his greatfriend in a warm discussion with a strange Irishman, who was very shortwith him, and the sketch recalls very forcibly Mr. Pickwick at the Magpieand Stump, where old Jack Bamber told him that he knew nothing about themysteries of the old haunted chambers in Clifford's Inn and such places. The Turk's Head, the Crown and Anchor, the Cheshire Cheese, The Mitre, may be set beside the Magpie and Stump, the George and Vulture, and WhiteHorse Cellars. 

More curious still in Boswell's life, there is mentioned a friend ofJohnson's who is actually named--Weller! I leave it as a pleasant cruxfor the ingenious Pickwickian to find out where. 

Johnson had his faithful servant, Frank: Mr. Pickwick his Sam. The twosages equally revelled in travelling in post-chaises and staying at inns;both made friends with people in the coaches and commercial rooms. Thereare also some odd accidental coincidences which help in the likeness. Johnson was constantly in the Borough, and we have a good scene with Mr. Pickwick at the White Hart in the same place. Mr. Pickwick had hiswidow, Mrs. Bardell; and Johnson his in the person of the fair Thrale. Johnson had his friend Taylor at Ashbourne, to whom he often went onvisits, always going down by coach; while Mr. Pickwick had his friendWardle, with whom he stayed at Manor Farm, in Kent. We know of thereview at Rochester which Mr. Pickwick and friends attended, and how theywere charged by the soldiery. Oddly enough Dr. Johnson attended a reviewalso at Rochester, when he was on a visit to his friend Captain Langton. Johnson, again, found his way to Bath, went to the Assembly Rooms, etc. ;and our friend Mr. Pickwick, we need not say, also enjoyed himself there. In Boswell's record we have a character called Mudge, an "out of the way"name; and in Pickwick we find a Mudge. George Steevens, who figures somuch in Boswell's work, was the author of an antiquarian hoax played offon a learned brother, of the same class as "Bill Stumps, his mark. " Hehad an old inscription engraved on an unused bit of pewter--it was wellbegrimed and well battered, then exposed for sale in a broker's shop, where it was greedily purchased by the credulous virtuoso. The notion, by the way, of the Club button was taken from the Prince Regent, who hadhis Club and uniform, which he allowed favourites to wear. 

There is a story in Boswell's Biography which is transferred to"Pickwick, " that of the unlucky gentleman who died from a surfeit ofcrumpets; Sam, it will be recollected, describes it as a case of the man"as killed hisself on principle. "

 "He used to go away to a coffee-house after his dinner and have a small pot o' coffee and four crumpets. He fell ill and sent for the doctor. Doctor comes in a green fly vith a kind o' Robinson Crusoe set o' steps as he could let down ven he got out, and pull up arter him ven he got in, to perwent the necessity o' the coachman's gettin' down, and thereby undeceivin' the public by lettin' 'em see that it wos only a livery coat he'd got on, and not the trousers to match. 'How many crumpets at a sittin' do you think 'ud kill me off at once?' said the patient. 'I don't know, ' says the doctor. 'Do you think half a crown's vurth 'ud do it?' says the patient. 'I think it might, ' says the doctor. 'Three shillin' 's vurth 'ud be sure to do it, I s'pose?' says the patient. 'Certainly, ' says the doctor. 'Wery good, ' says the patient; 'good-night. ' Next mornin' he gets up, has a fire lit, orders in three shillin's' vurth o' crumpets, toasts 'em all, eat 'em all, and blows his brains out. "

 "What did he do that for?" inquired Mr. Pickwick abruptly; for he was considerably startled by this tragical termination of the narrative. 

 "Wot did he do it for, sir?" reiterated Sam. "Wy, in support of his great principle that crumpets was wholesome, and to show that he vouldn't be put out of his vay for nobody!"

Thus Dickens marvellously enriched this quaint story. It may be foundamusing to trace the genesis of the tale. In Boswell it runs: "Mr. Fitzherbert, who loved buttered muffins, but durst not eat them becausethey disagreed with his stomach, resolved to shoot himself, and then eatthree buttered muffins for breakfast, knowing that he should not betroubled with indigestion. " We find that De Quincey, in one of hisessays, reports the case of an officer holding the rank of lieutenant-colonel who could not tolerate a breakfast without muffins. But hesuffered agonies of indigestion. "He would stand the nuisance no longer, but yet, being a just man, he would give Nature one final chance ofreforming her dyspeptic atrocities. Muffins therefore being laid at oneangle of the table and pistols at the other, with rigid equity theColonel awaited the result. This was naturally pretty much as usual; andthen the poor man, incapable of retreating from his word of honour, committed suicide, having left a line for posterity to the effect, "thata muffinless world was no world for him. "

It will be recollected that, during the Christmas festivities at ManorFarm, after a certain amount of kissing had taken place under themistletoe, Mr. Pickwick was "standing under the mistletoe, looking with avery pleased countenance on all that was passing round him, when theyoung lady with the black eyes, after a little whispering with the otheryoung ladies, made a sudden dart forward, and putting her arm round Mr. Pickwick's neck, saluted him affectionately on the left cheek, and beforehe distinctly knew what was the matter he was surrounded by the wholebevy, and kissed by every one of them. " Compare with this what happenedto Dr. Johnson in the Hebrides:

 "This evening one of our married ladies, a lively, pretty little woman, good-humouredly sat down upon Dr. Johnson's knee, and being encouraged by some of the company, put her hands round his neck and kissed him. "Do it again, " said he, "and let us see who will tire first. " He kept her on his knee some time while he and she drank tea. He was now like a _buck_ indeed. All the company were much entertained to find him so easy and pleasant. To me it was highly comic to see the grave philosopher--the Rambler--toying with a Highland beauty! But what could he do? He must have been surly, and weak too, had he not behaved as he did. He would have been laughed at, and not more respected, though less loved. "

Was not this Mr. Pickwick exactly?

Or, we might fancy this little scene taking place at Dunvegan Castle, onthe night of the dance, when Johnson was in such high good-humour. Hisfaithful henchman might have come up to him and have said jocosely, "_You_, sir, in silk stockings?"

 "And why not, sir--why not?" said the Doctor warmly. "Oh, of course, " I answered, "there is no reason why you should not wear them. " "I imagine not, sir--I imagine not, " said the Doctor in a very peremptory tone. I had contemplated a laugh, but found it was a serious matter. I looked grave, and said they were a pretty pattern. "I hope they are, " said Dr. Johnson, fixing his eyes upon me. "You see nothing extraordinary in these stockings _as_ stockings, I trust, sir?" "Certainly not; oh, certainly not, " I replied, and my revered friend's countenance assumed its customary benign expression. 

Now, is not this Pickwickian all over? Yet it is the exact record ofwhat occurred at Manor Farm, in "Pickwick, " with a change only in thenames, and would pass very fairly as an amiable outburst of theredoubtable Doctor's. 

Or, again, let us put a bit of "Boz" into "Bozzy's" work. The amiable"Goldy" was partial to extravagant dress, and to showing himself off. 

 When a masquerade at Ranelagh was talked of, he said to Doctor Johnson, "I shall go as a Corsican. " "What!" said the Doctor, with a sudden start. "As a Corsican, " Dr. Goldsmith repeated mildly. "You don't mean to say, " said the Doctor to him, gazing at him with solemn sternness, "that it is your intention to put yourself into a green velvet jacket with a two-inch tail?" "Such _is_ my intention, sir, " replied Goldsmith warmly; "and why not, sir?" "Because, sir, " said the Doctor, considerably excited, "you are too old. " "Too old!" exclaimed Goldsmith. "And if any further ground of objection be wanting, " said Dr. Johnson, "You are too fat, sir. " "Sir, " said Dr. Goldsmith, his face suffused with a crimson glow, "this is an insult. " "Sir, " said the sage in the same tone, "it is not half the insult to you, that your appearance in my presence in a green velvet jacket with two-inch tail would be to me. " "Sir, " said Dr. Goldsmith, "you're a fellow. " "Sir, " said Dr. Johnson, "you're another!"

Winkle in a very amusing way often suggests Boswell; and Mr. Pickwicktreats him with as great rudeness as did Johnson _his_ Winkle. When thatunhappy gentleman, or follower exhibited himself on the ice, Mr. Pickwick, we are told, was excited and indignant. "He beckoned to Mr. Weller and said in a stern voice: Take the skates off. " "No, but I hadscarcely began, " remonstrated Mr. Winkle. "Take his skates off, "repeated Mr. Pickwick, firmly. The command was not to be resisted. "Lifthim up, " said Mr. Pickwick--Sam assisted him to rise. Mr. Pickwickretired a few paces apart from the by-standers and beckoning his friendto approach, fixed a searching look on him and uttered in a low, butdistinct and emphatic tone, these remarkable words: "You're a humbug, sir. " "A what?" said Mr. Winkle, starting. "A humbug, sir, I will speakplainer if you wish it--an impostor, sir. " With these words Mr. Pickwickturned slowly on his heel and rejoined his friends. Was not this exactlythe Sage's treatment of his "Bozzy" on many occasions?

There is yet another odd coincidence. Everyone knows how Bob Sawyer'sparty was disturbed by Mrs. Raddle's angry expostulations, and the guestshad to disperse. Well, Mr. Boswell, who had much of the Sawyer tone--gavea party at his rooms in Downing Street, and his landlord behaved sooutrageously, that he gave him notice, and the next day quitted hisrooms. "I feel I shall have to give my landlady notice, " said Mr. Sawyerwith a ghastly smile. Mr. Boswell had actually to take some of theinvited guests to the Mitre and entertain them there. 

There is a pleasant passage connected with Dr. Johnson's visit toPlymouth, with his old friend Sir Joshua. He was much pleased with thisjaunt and declared he had derived from it a great accession of new ideas. . . "The magnificence of the Navy the ship building and all itscircumstances afforded him a grand subject of contemplation. " Hecontemplated it in fact, as Mr. Pickwick contemplated Chatham and theMedway. The commissioner of the dockyard paid him the compliment, etc. The characteristic part, however, was that the Doctor enteredenthusiastically into the local politics. "There was a new town risingup round the dockyard, as a rival to the old one, and knowing from thesagacity and just observation of human nature, that it is certain if aman hates at all, he will hate his next neighbour, he concluded that thisnew and rising town could but excite the envy and jealousy of the old. Hetherefore set himself resolutely on the side of the old town, the_established_ town in which he was. Considering it a kind of duty to_stand_ by it. He accordingly entered warmly into its interests, andupon every occasion talked of _the Dockers_ as "upstarts and aliens. " Asthey wanted to be supplied with water from the old town, not having adrop themselves, Johnson affecting to entertain the passions of theplace, was violent in opposition; and half laughing at himself for hispretended zeal, and where he had no concern, exclaimed: "No! I amagainst the _Dockers_; I am a Plymouth man. Rogues! let them die ofthirst; they shall not have a drop. I _hate_ a Docker!"

Now all this is very like what the amiable Pickwick would have done; infact like something he _did_ do and felt, when he repaired to Eatanswillfor the election. On entering the town he at once chose his party, andtook it up enthusiastically. "With his usual foresight and sagacity, "like Dr. Johnson, he had chosen a fortunately desirable moment for hisvisit. "Slumkey for ever, " roared the honest and independent. "Slumkeyfor ever!" echoed Mr. Pickwick, taking off his hat. "No Fizkin, " roaredthe crowd. "Certainly not, " shouted Mr. Pickwick. "Who is Slumkey?"whispered Mr. Tupman. "I don't know, " said Mr. Pickwick, in the sametone. "Hush! don't ask any questions. It's always best on theseoccasions to do what the mob do. " "But suppose there are two mobs, "suggested Mr. Snodgrass. "Shout with the largest, " replied Mr. Pickwick. Volumes could not have said more. On asking for rooms at the Town Arms, which was the Great White Horse, Mr. Pickwick was asked "was he Blue. "Mr. Pickwick in reply, asked for Perker. "He is blue I think. " "O yes, sir. " "Then _we_ are blue, " said Mr. Pickwick, but observing the manlooked rather doubtful at this accommodating account he gave him hiscard. Perker arranged everything. "Spirited contest, my dear sir, " hesaid, "I am delighted to hear it, " said Mr. Pickwick. "I like to seesturdy patriotism, on whatever side it is called forth. " Later, we aretold, Mr. Pickwick entered heart and soul into the business, and, likethe sage, caught the prevailing excitement. "Although _no great partisanof either side_, Mr. Pickwick was sufficiently fired by Mr. Pott'senthusiasm to apply his whole time and attention to the proceedings, etc. " All this, of course, does not correspond exactly, but the spiritof the selections are the same. 

The Doctor it is known, would go out at midnight with his friendsBeauclerk and Layton to have what he called "a rouze, " and Garrick washumorously apprehensive that he would have to bail out his old friendfrom the watchhouse. Mr. Pickwick had many a "rouze" with his followers. And Johnson himself, in the matter of drink, was at one time as bad asMr. Pickwick, only he had a better head, and could "carry his liquordiscreetly, " like the Baron of Bradwardine. He had actually to give updrink on account of this tendency to excess. 

PICKWICKIAN ORIGINALS. 

There is a shrewd remark of the late Bishop Norwich, Dean Stanley'sfather, that to catch and describe the tone and feeling of a place givesa better idea of it than any minute or accurate description. "Somebooks, " he says, "give one ideas of places without descriptions; there issomething which suggests more vivid and agreeable images than distinctwords. Would _Gil Blas_ for instance? It opens with a scene of history, chivalry, Spain, orange trees, fountains, guitars, muleteers; there isthe picturesque and the sense of the picturesque, as distinct as theactual object. " Now this exactly applies to "Pickwick, " which brings upbefore us Rochester, Ipswich, Muggleton, Birmingham, and a dozen otherplaces to the tourist. The night of the arrival at Birmingham forinstance, and the going out after dinner to call on Mr. Winkle, sen. , isstrangely vivid. 

{Map of the Pickwick Tours: p70. Jpg}

So real is our Pickwickian Odyssey that it can be followed in all itsstages as in a diary. To put it all in "ship shape" as it were andenhance this practical feeling I have drawn out the route in a littlemap. It is wonderful how much the party saw and how much ground theycovered, and it is not a far-fetched idea that were a similar party inour day, good humoured, venturesome and accessible, to visitold-fashioned, out of the way towns, and look out for fun, acquaintancesand characters, they might have a good deal of the amusement andadventure that the Pickwickians enjoyed. 

The Pickwickians first went to Rochester, Chatham, Dingley Dell, andperhaps to Gravesend. Mr. Pickwick with Wardle then pursued Jingle totown, returning thence to the Dell, which he at once left for Cobham, where he found his friend Tupman. The party then returned to town. Nextwe have the _first_ visit to Ipswich--called Eatanswill--from which townMr. Pickwick and Sam posted to Bury St. Edmunds; thence to London. Nextcame their third expedition to Dingley Dell for the Christmasfestivities. Then the second visit to Ipswich. Then the journey toBath, and that from Bath to Bristol. Later a second journey toBristol--another from Bristol to Birmingham, and from Birmingham toLondon, Mr. Pickwick's final junketing before retiring to Dulwich. 

Yet another interesting side of the Pickwick story is its almostbiographical character. Boz seems to take us with him from his veryboyhood. During the old days when his father was at Chatham he had seenall the Rochester incidents, sat by the old Castle and Bridge, noted withadmiring awe the dockyard people, the Balls at "The Bull, " the Reviews onthe Lines. The officers--like Dr. Slammer, all the figures--fat boyincluded--were drawn from this stage of his life. The Golden Cross, which figures also in _Copperfield_, he had constantly stopped at. Heknew, too, the inns in the Boro'. The large legal element and its oddincidents and characters he had learned and studied during his briefapprenticeship to the Law. The interior economy of the Fleet Prison hehad learned from his family's disastrous experiences; the turnkeys, andblighted inhabitants he had certainly taken from life. But he shiftedthe scene from the Marshalsea to the King's Bench Prison--the formerplace would have been too painful a reminiscence for his father. To hisreporting expeditions we owe the Election scenes at Ipswich, and toanother visit for the same object, his Bath experiences. Much of thevividness and reality of his touchings, particularly in the case ofRochester and its doings, is the magnifying, searching power resultingfrom a life of sorrow in childhood, family troubles working on a keen, sensitive nature; these made him appreciate and meditate on all that wasgoing on about him, as a sort of relief and relaxation. All the Londonscenes the meetings at taverns--were personal experiences. Among hisfriends were medical students and many odd beings. We can trace hisextraordinary appreciation of Christmas--and its genial, softeningfestivities--which clung to him till it altogether faded out, to the samesense of relief; it furnished an opportunity of forgetting for a time (atleast), the dismal, gloomy home. 

Boz, if he drew his characters from life, did not draw wholesale; hewould take only a portion of a character that pleased him and work it upin combination with another distinct character. It was thus he dealtwith Leigh Hunt, borrowing his amusing, airy frivolity, and combining itwith the meanness and heartlessness of Skimpole. I have always fanciedthat Dowler in "Pickwick" was founded--after this composite principle--onhis true-hearted but imperious friend, Forster. Forster was indeed alsoa perfect reproduction of Dr. Johnson and had the despotic intolerance--inconversation certainly--of that great man. Like him "if his pistolmissed fire, he knocked you down with the butt end of it. " He could beas amiable and tender-hearted as "old Sam" himself. Listening to Dowlerat the coach office in Piccadilly we--who knew Forster well--seemed tohear his very voice. "It was a stern-eyed man of about five-and-forty, who had large black whiskers. He was buttoned up to the chin in a browncoat and had a large seal-skin cap and a cloak beside him. He looked upfrom his breakfast as Mr. Pickwick entered with a fierce and peremptoryair, _which was very dignified_, and which seemed to say that he ratherexpected _somebody wanted to take advantage of him_, _but it wouldn'tdo_" . . . "Are you going to Bath?" said the strange man. "I am, sir, "replied Mr. Pickwick. "And these other gentleman?" "They are goingalso, " said Mr. Pickwick. "Not inside--I'll be damned if you're goinginside, " said the strange man. "Not all of us, " said Mr. Pickwick. "No--not all of you, " said the strange man, emphatically. "We take twoplaces. If they try and squeeze six people into an infernal box thatonly holds four I'll take a post-chaise and bring an action. It won'tdo, " etc. This recalls the pleasant story about Forster and the cabmanwho summoned him. The latter was adjudged to be in the wrong and said heknew it, but "that he was determined to show him up, he were _such aharbitrary cove_. " None enjoyed this story more than Forster himself, and I have heard him say to a lady humorously, "Now you must. You know Iam 'such a harbitrary cove. '" Dear good old Forster!

I must confess all Pickwickians would like to know biographical details, as one might call them, about the personages engaged in the trial. Ineed not repeat that Judge Stareleigh was drawn from Mr. Justice Gazalee, or that Buzfuz was founded on Mr. Serjeant Bompas, or Bumpus. CharlesCarpenter Bompas was his full designation. He was made a Serjeant in1827, the very year of the memorable trial. He obtained a Patent ofPrecedence in 1834. "Buzfuz's son"--Mr. W. Bompas, Q. C. , who will pardonthe freedom of the designation--was born in the year of the celebratedtrial. He was the youngest son and had a very distinguished career bothat College and at the Bar, being a "leader" on his circuit, revisingbarrister, bencher, recorder, and was last year appointed a County Courtjudge. 

Who were Serjeant Snubbin, Skimpin, and Phunkey? No traditions have cometo us as to these gentlemen. Skimpin may have been Wilkins, and Snubbina Serjeant Arabin, a contemporary of Buzfuz. But we are altogether inthe dark. 

We should have liked also to have some "prehistoric peeps" at theprevious biography of Mr. Pickwick before the story began. We have but acouple of indications of his calling: the allusion by Perker at the closeof the story--"The agent at Liverpool said he had been obliged to youmany times when you were in business. " He was therefore a merchant or intrade. Snubbin at the trial stated that "Mr. Pickwick had retired frombusiness and was a gentleman of considerable independent property. "

In the original announcement of the "Pickwick Papers" there are somescraps of information about Mr. Pickwick and the Club itself. Thiscurious little screed shows that the programme was much larger than theone carried out:--

"On the 31st of March, 1836, will be published, to be continued Monthly, price OneShilling, the First Number of

THE POSTHUMOUS PAPERSOFTHE PICKWICK CLUB;containing a faithful record of thePERAMBULATIONS, PERILS, TRAVELS, ADVENTURES, AND SPORTING TRANSACTIONSOF THE CORRESPONDING MEMBERS. 

EDITED BY "BOZ. "

And each Monthly Part embellished withfour illustrations by Seymour. 

 "The Pickwick Club, so renowned in the annals of Huggin Lane, and so closely entwined with the thousand interesting associations connected with Lothbury and Cateaton Street, was founded in the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two, by Samuel Pickwick--the great traveller--whose fondness for the useful arts prompted his celebrated journey to Birmingham in the depth of winter; and whose taste for the beauties of nature even led him to penetrate to the very borders of Wales in the height of summer. 

 "This remarkable man would appear to have infused a considerable portion of his restless and inquiring spirit into the breasts of other members of the Club, and to have awakened in their minds the same insatiable thirst for travel which so eminently characterized his own. The whole surface of Middlesex, a part of Surrey, a portion of Essex, and several square miles of Kent were in their turns examined and reported on. In a rapid steamer they smoothly navigated the placid Thames; and in an open boat they fearlessly crossed the turbid Medway. High-roads and by-roads, towns and villages, public conveyances and their passengers, first-rate inns and road-side public houses, races, fairs, regattas elections, meetings, market days--all the scenes that can possibly occur to enliven a country place, and at which different traits of character may be observed and recognized, were alike visited and beheld by the ardent Pickwick and his enthusiastic followers. 

 "The Pickwick Travels, the Pickwick Diary, the Pickwick Correspondence--in short, the whole of the Pickwick Papers'--were carefully preserved, and duly registered by the secretary, from time to time, in the voluminous Transactions of the Pickwick Club. These Transactions have been purchased from the patriotic secretary, at an immense expense, and placed in the hands of 'Boz, ' the author of "Sketches Illustrative of Every Day Life and Every Day People"--a gentleman whom the publishers consider highly qualified for the task of arranging these important documents, and placing them before the public in an attractive form. He is at present deeply immersed in his arduous labours, the first fruits of which will appear on the 31st March. 

 "Seymour has devoted himself, heart and graver, to the task of illustrating the beauties of Pickwick. It was reserved to Gibbon to paint, in colours that will never fade, the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire--to Hume to chronicle the strife and turmoil of the two proud houses that divided England against herself--to Napier to pen, in burning words, the History of the War in the Peninsula--the deeds and actions of the gifted Pickwick yet remain for 'Boz' and Seymour to hand down to posterity. 

 "From the present appearance of these important documents and the probable extent of the selections from them, it is presumed that the series will be completed in about twenty numbers. "

From this it will be seen that it was intended to exhibit all the humoursof the social amusements with which the public regaled itself. Mr. Pickwick and friends were to be shown on board a steamer; at races, fairs, regattas, market days, meetings--"at all the scenes that canpossibly occur to enliven a country place, and at which different traitsof character may be observed and recognized. " This was a very scientificand well drawn scheme; and it was, on the whole, most faithfully and evenbrilliantly carried out. But with infinite art Boz emancipated himselffrom the formal hide-bound trammels of Syntax tours and the like, when itwas reckoned that the hero and his friends would be exhibited like "BobLogic" and "Tom and Jerry" in a regular series of public places. "Mr. Pickwick has an Adventure at Vauxhall, " "Mr. Pickwick Goes to Margate, "etc. : we had a narrow escape, it would seem, of this conventional sort ofthing, and no doubt it was this the publishers looked for. But "Boz"asserted his supremacy, and made the narrative the chief element. 

It was interesting thus to know that Mr. Pickwick had visited the bordersof Wales--I suppose, Chester--but what was his celebrated journey toBirmingham, prompted by his "fondness for the useful arts"? This couldhardly refer to his visit to Mr. Winkle, sen. The Club, it will be seen, was founded in 1822, and its place of meeting would appear to have beenthis Huggin Lane, City, "so intimately associated with Lothbury andCateaton Street. " The picture of the meeting of the Club shows us thatit consisted of the ominous number of _thirteen_. There is not room formore. They seem like a set of well-to-do retired tradesmen; the facesare such as we should see on the stage in a piece of low comedy: for theone on the left Mr. Edward Terry might have sat. The secretary sits atthe bottom of the table, with his back to us, and the chairman, withcapacious stomach, at the top. Blotton, whom Mr. Pickwick ratherunhandsomely described as a "vain and disappointed haberdasher, " may havefollowed this business. He is an ill-looking fellow enough, with black, bushy whiskers. The Pickwickians are decidedly the most gentlemanly ofthe party. But why was it necessary for Mr. Pickwick to stand upon achair? This, however, may have been a custom of the day at free and easymeetings. 

"Posthumous _papers_"--moreover, did not correctly describe the characterof the Book, for the narrative did not profess to be founded on documentsat all. He was, however, committed to this title by his earlyannouncement, and indeed intended to carry out a device of usingSnodgrass's "Note Books, " whose duty it was during the course of theadventures to take down diligently all that he observed. But thiscumbrous fiction was discarded after a couple of numbers. "Posthumouspapers" had been used some ten years before, in another work. 

Almost every page--save perhaps a dismal story or two--in the 609 pagesof Pickwick is good; but there are two or three passages which areobscure, if not forced in humour. Witness Mr. Bantam's recognition ofMr. Pickwick, as the gentleman residing on Clapham Green--not yetCommon--"who lost the use of his limbs from imprudently taking cold afterport wine, who could not be moved in consequence of acute suffering, andwho had the water from the King's Bath bottled at 103 degrees, and _sentby waggon to his bedroom in Town_; when he bathed, sneezed, and same dayrecovered. " This is grotesque enough and farcical, but without muchmeaning. On another occasion we are told that Tupman was casting certain"_Anti_-Pickwickian glances" at the servant maids, which is unmeaning. Nodoubt, _Un_-Pickwickian was intended. 

Why is there no "Pickwick Club" in London? It might be worth trying, andwould be more successful than even the Johnson Club. There is surelygenuine "stuff" to work on. Our friends in America, who are Pickwickian_quand meme_, have established the "All-Around Dickens Club. " Themembers seem to be ladies, though there are a number of honorary membersof the other sex, which include members of "Boz's" own family, with Mr. Kitton, Mr. W. Hughes, Mr. Charles Kent, myself, and some more. Thedevice of the club is "Boz's" own book-plate, and the "flower" of theclub is his favourite geranium. The President is Mrs. Adelaide Garland;and some very interesting papers, to judge from their titles, have beenread, such as "Bath and its Associations with Landor, " "The City ofBristol with its Literary Associations, " "The Excursion to the TeaGardens of Hampstead, " prefaced by a description of the historic old inn, "Poem by Charles Kent, " "Dickens at Gad's Hill, " "A Description ofBirmingham, its Institutions, and Dickens' Interest therein"; with a"Reading of Mr. Pickwick's Mission to Birmingham, Coventry and theadjacent Warwickshire Country, " etc. There is also a very clever seriesof examination questions by the President in imitation of Calverley's. 

"Had Mr. Pickwick loved?" Mr. Lang asks; "it is natural to believe thathe had never proposed, never. His heart, however bruised, was neitherbroken nor embittered. " His temperament was certainly affectionate--ifnot absolutely amatory: he certainly never missed an opportunity where akiss was practicable. 

But stay! has anyone noted that on the wall of his room at Dulwich, therehangs the portrait of a lady--just over this might seem to meansomething. But on looking close, we see it is the dear filial oldfellow's mother. A striking likeness, and she has spectacles like hercelebrated son. 

As all papers connected with the Pickwick era are scarce and meagre--forthe reason that no one was then thinking of "Boz"; any that have comedown to us are specially interesting. Here are a few "pieces, " whichwill be welcomed by all Pickwickians. The first is a letter of ourauthor to his publishers. 

 "Furnival's Inn, "Friday Morning. 

 "DEAR SIR, --I am very glad to find I shall have the pleasure of celebrating Mr. Pickwick's success with you on Sunday. When you have sufficiently recovered from the fatigues of publication, will you just let me know from your books how we stand. Drawing 10 pounds one day, and 20 pounds another, and so forth, I have become rather mystified, and jumbled up our accounts in my brain, in a very incomprehensible state. 

 "Faithfully yours, "CHARLES DICKENS. "

This must have been written at the conclusion of the story in 1837, andis in a very modest tone considering how triumphant had been the success. Connected with this is a paper of yet more interest, a receipt forpayment for one of the early numbers. 

{Manuscript of a letter by Dickens: p88. Jpg}

For this Pickwickian Banquet, he had reluctantly to give up one at thehome of his new friend Forster. In an unpublished letter, he writes tohim as "Dear Sir"--the beginning of a four-and-thirty years'friendship--"I have been so much engaged in the pleasing occupation ofmoving. " He was unable to go to his new friend to dinner because he hadbeen "long engaged to the Pickwick publishers to a dinner in honour ofthat hero, which comes off to-morrow. "

In an interesting letter of Dickens'--Pickwickian ones are rare--sold atHodgson's rooms, July, 1895, he writes: "Mr. Seymour shot himself beforethe second number of the Pickwick papers, not the third as you would haveit, was published. While he lay dead, it was necessary the search shouldbe made in his working room for the plates to the second number, the dayfor publication of which was drawing near. The plates were foundunfinished, with their faces turned to the wall. " This scrap brought 12pounds 10s. Apropos of prices, who that was present will forget thescene at Christie's when the six "Pickwick Ladles" were sold? These werequaint things, like enlarged Apostle Spoons, and the figures wellmodelled. They had been made specially, and presented to "Boz" on theconclusion of his story, by his publishers. The Pickwick Ladle brought69 pounds. Jingle, 30 pounds. Winkle, 23 pounds. Sam, 64 pounds. OldWeller, 51 pounds; and the Fat Boy, 35 pounds 14s. , or over 280 pounds inall. Nay, the leather case was put up, and brought three guineas. Werecall Andrew Halliday displaying one to us, with a sort of triumph. Charles Dickens, the younger, got two, I think; Messrs. Agnew the others. 

CONCERNING THE PLATES AND EXTRA PLATES AND "STATES" OF PICKWICK. 

It is an interesting question what should be the relation of illustrationto the story, and of the artist to the story-teller; and what are thelimitations of their respective provinces. Both should workindependently of each other; that is, the artist should tell the storyfrom his own point of view--he is not merely to servilely translate thesituations into "black and white. " He should be, in fact, what the actoris to a drama. When Eugene Delacroix's illustrations to Goethe's "Faust"were shown to the great author, he expressed admiration of their truthand spirit; and on his secretary saying that they would lead to a betterunderstanding of his poem, said: "With that we have naught to do; on thecontrary, the more complete imagination of such an artist compels us tobelieve that the situations as he represents them are preferable to themas described. It is therefore likely that the readers will find that heexerts a strong force upon their imagination. " This shows, allowingsomething for the compliment, what a distinct force the great writerattributed to the artist, that he did not consider him an assistant ormerely subsidiary. The actor becomes, after his fashion, a distinctcreator and originator, supplying details, etc. , of his own, but takingcare that these are consistent with the text and do not contradict it inany way. 

This large treatment was exactly "Phiz's. " He seems to "act" "Boz's"drama, yet he did not introduce anything that was not warranted by thespirit of the text. He found himself present at the scene, and felt howit _must_ have occurred. He had a wonderful power of selecting what wasessential and what should be essential. Nor did he make a minuteinventory of such details as were mentioned in the text. Hence theextraordinary vitality and spirit of his work. There is action in all, and each picture tells its own story. To see the merit of this system, we have only to contrast with it such attempts as we find in modernproductions, where the artist's method is to present to us figuresgrouped together, apparently talking but not _acting_--such things as wehave week by week in _Punch_. The late Sir John Millais and otherartists of almost equal rank used to furnish illustrations to serialstories, and all their pictures were of this kind--two or threefigures--well drawn, certainly--one standing, the others sitting down, itmay be, engaged in conversation. This brought us "no forrarder" andsupplied no dramatic interest. 

It should be said, however, that it is only to "Pickwick" that this highpraise can be extended. With every succeeding story the character of thework seemed to fall off, or rather the methods of the artist to change. It may have been, too, the inspiration from a dramatic spirited storyalso failed, for "Boz" had abandoned the free, almost reckless style ofhis first tale. There was a living distinctness, too, in the Pickwickian_coterie_, and every figure, familiar and recognizable, seemed to haveinfinite possibilities. The very look of them would inspire. 

In this spirit of vitality and reality also, "Phiz" rather suggests afamous foreign illustrator, Chodowiecki, who a century ago was inenormous request for the illustration of books of all kinds, and whosegroups and figures, drawn with much spirit and roundness, arrested theeye at once and told the situation. Later "Phiz" fell off in his workand indeed adopted quite new and more commercial methods, such as wouldenable him to get through the vast amount of work that came to him. Therewere no longer these telling situations to limn which spoke forthemselves, and without straw, bricks are not to be made. In this latermanner we seem to have bid adieu to the inspiration--to the fine old_round_ style of drawing--where the figures "stand out" completely. Headopted a sort of sketchy fashion; his figures became silhouettes andquite flat. There was also a singular carelessness in finish--a mereoutline served for a face. The result was a monotony and similarity oftreatment, with a certain unreality and grotesqueness which are likenothing in life. In this, however, he may have been inspired by thegrotesque personages he was put to illustrate--the Smallweeds and thelike. 

It would be an interesting speculation to consider what would have becomeof "Pickwick" had this artist not been forthcoming. Would we have reallyknown our Mr. Pickwick and his "followers" as we do now, or, indeed, would we have so keenly appreciated the humorous situations? I believenot. It was the graven figures of these personages, and the brilliantway in which the situations were concentrated, as it were, into a point, that produced such striking effect: without these adjuncts the Head ofthe Club and his friends would have been more or less abstractions, verymuch what the characters in Theodore Hook's "Gilbert Gurney" are. TakeMr. Pickwick. The author supplied only a few hints as to his personalappearance--he was bald, mild, pale, wore spectacles and gaiters; but whowould have imagined him as we have him now, with his high forehead, blandair, protuberant front. The same with the others. Mr. Thackeray triedin many ways to give some corporeal existence to his own characters to"Becky, " Pendennis, and others; but who sees them as we do Mr. Pickwick?So with his various "situations"--many most dramatic and effective, butno one would guess it from the etchings. The Pickwick scenes all tell astory of their own; and a person--say a foreigner--who had never evenheard of the story would certainly smile over the situations, and bepiqued into speculating what could be the ultimate meaning. 

At the exhibition "illustrating a century and a half of Englishhumorists, " given by the Fine Art Society--under the direction of Mr. Joseph Grego--in October, 1896, there was a collection of originalPickwick drawings no less than fifty-six in number. There were three bySeymour, two by Bass and thirty-four by Phiz, all used in the book; whileof those unused--probably found unsuitable, there were five by Buss, including a proposed title-page, and two of the Fat Boy "awake on thisoccasion only. " There were also five by Phiz, which were not engraved, and one by Leech. The drawing of the dying clown, Seymour was engagedupon when he committed suicide. Of Buss' there were two of Mr. Pickwickat the Review, two of the cricket match, two of the Fat Boy "awake, " "theinfluence of the salmon"--unused, "Mr. Winkle's first shot"--unused, studies of character in Pickwick, and a study for the title-page. Thepoor, discarded Buss took a vast deal of pains therefore to accomplishhis task. Of Phiz's unused designs there was "Mr. Winkle's first shot"and two for the Gabriel Grub story, also one for "the Warden's room. "Most interesting of all was his "original study" for the figure of Mr. Pickwick. 

Mr. Grego, himself an excellent artist, placed at the door of the societya very telling figure of Mr. Pickwick displayed on a poster andeffectively coloured. It was new to find our genial old friend smilingan invitation to us--in Bond Street. This--which I took for alithographed "poster"--was Mr. Grego's own work, portrayed in watercolours. 

There have been many would-be illustrators of the chronicle, some onoriginal lines of their own; but these must be on the whole pronounced tobe failures. On looking at them we somehow feel that the figures andsituations are wholly strange to us; that we don't know them or recognizethem. The reason is possibly that the artists are not in perfectsympathy or intelligence with the story; they do not know every turning, corner and cranny of it, as did "Phiz"--and indeed as did everyone elseliving at that time; they were not inspired, above all, by its author. But there was a more serious reason still for the failure. It will beseen that in Phiz's wonderful plates the faces and figures are more orless _generalized_. We cannot tell exactly, for instance, what were Mr. Winkle's or even Sam Weller's features. Neither their mouths, eyes, ornoses, could be put in distinct shape. We have only the general air andtone and suggestion--as of persons seen afar off in a crowd. Yet theyare always recognizable. This is art, and it gave the artist a greaterfreedom in his treatment. Now when an illustrator like the lateFrederick Barnard came, he drew his Jingle, his Pickwick, Weller, andWinkle, with _all_ their features, in quite a literal and particularfashion--the features were minutely and carefully brought out, with theresult that they seem almost strange to us. Nor do they express thecharacters. There _is_ an expression, but it seems not the one to whichwe are accustomed. Mr. Pickwick is generally shown as a rather "cranky"and testy old gentleman in his expressions, whereas the note of all"Phiz's" faces is a good softness and unctuousness even. Now thissomewhat philosophical analysis points to a principle in art illustrationwhich accounts in a great measure for the unsatisfactory results where itis attempted to illustrate familiar works--such as those of Tennyson, Shakespeare, etc. The reader has a fixed idea before him, which he hasformed for himself--an indistinct, shapeless one it might be, but stillof sufficient outline to be disturbed. Among the innumerablepresentments of Shakespeare's heroines no one has ever seen any thatsatisfied or that even corresponded. They are usually not generalizedenough. Again, the readers of "Pickwick" grew month by month, or numberby number, more and more acquainted with the characters: for the figuresand faces appeared over and over and yet over again. 

The most diverting, however, of all these imitators andextra-illustrators is assuredly the artist of the German edition. Theseries is admirably drawn, every figure well finished, but figures, faces, and scenes are unrecognizable. It is the Frenchman's idea ofHamlet. Mr. Pickwick and his friends are stout Germans, dressed inGerman garments, sitting in German restaurants with long tankards with_lids_ before them. The incidents are made as literal and historical aspossible. The difficulty, of course, was that none of their adventurescould have occurred in a country like Germany, or if they did, would havebecome an affair of police. No German could see humour in that. Notwithstanding all this, the true Pickwickian will welcome them as apleasant contribution to the Pickwickian humour, and no one would havelaughed so loudly at them as Boz himself. 

The original illustrations form a serious and important department ofPickwickian lore, and entail an almost _scientific_ knowledge. Little, indeed, did the young "Boz" dream, when he was settling with hispublishers that the work was to contain forty-two plates--an immensenumber it might seem--that these were to fructify into such an enormousprogeny. We, begin, of course, with the regular official plates thatbelong strictly to the work. Here we find three artists at work--eachsucceeding the other--the unfortunate Robert Seymour coming first withhis seven spirited pictures; next the unlucky Buss, with his twocondemned productions, later to be dismissed from the book altogether;and finally, "Phiz, " or Hablot K. Browne, who furnished the remainingplates to the end. As is well known, so great was the run upon the bookthat the plates were unequal to the duty, and "Phiz" had to re-engravethem several times--often duplicates on the one plate--naturally notcopying them very closely. Hence we have the rather interesting"variations. " He by-and-bye re-engraved Seymour's seven, copying themwith wonderful exactness, and finally substituted two of his own forthose of the condemned Buss. The volume, therefore, was furnished withseven Seymours, and their seven replicas, the two Buss's, their tworeplicas, and the thirty-three "Phiz" pictures, each with its"variation. "

These variations are very interesting, and even amusing. On an ordinarycareless glance one would hardly detect much difference--the artist, whoseemed to wish to have a certain freedom, made these changes either toamuse himself or as if resenting the monotony of copying. In any casethey represent an amount of patient labour that is quite unique in suchthings. 

The Pickwickian "student" may be glad to go with us through some of theplates and have an account of these differences. We must premise thatthe first state of the plates may be considered "proofs beforeletters"--the descriptive titles being only found in the later editions. 

1. "The Frontispiece. " (We shall call the second state _b_, the first_a_. ) In _a_ the signature "Phiz, " "fct. " or "fecit" is on the left, in_b_ it is divided half on each side. The harlequin painting has a fullface in _a_, a side face in _b_. The face at the apex of the picture hasa mouth closed in _b_, and open in _a_. There are variations in nearlyall the grotesque faces; and in _b_ the faces of Mr. Pickwick and Sam arefuller and more animated. In _b_ the general treatment of the whole isricher. 

2. "The Title-page. " In _a_ the sign has Veller, in _b_ Weller. OldWeller's face in _b_ is more resolved and animated; in _a_ water isflowing from the pail. 

3. "Mr. Pickwick Addressing the Club. " Mr. Pickwick in _b_ is morecantankerous than in _a_--all the faces scarcely correspond inexpression, though the outlines are the same. The work, shading, etc. , is much bolder in _b_. 

4. "Scene with the Cabman. " Very little difference between the plates, save in the spectacles lying on the ground. These are trivialities. 

5. "The Sagacious Dog. " _b_ is more heavily shaded, but _a_ is muchsuperior in the dog and face of the sportsman. Trees in _b_ moreelaborate. 

6. "Dr. Slammer's Defiance. " The figures on the top of the stairs aremuch darker and bolder in _b_. Jingle's and Tupman's faces are better in_b_ than in _a_, and Jingle's legs are better drawn in _b_. 

7. "The Dying Clown. " A most dramatic and tragic conception, whichshows that Seymour would have been invaluable later on for Dickens' moreserious work. The chief differences are in the face of the man at hisbedside and the candle. 

8. "Mr. Pickwick in Search of his Hat. " The drawing of Mr. Pickwick'slegs is rather strange. The right leg could hardly be so much twistedback while Mr. Pickwick runs straight forward; his left hand or arm isobscure in both. All the faces differ--the hat in _b_ has much more thelook of being blown along than that in _a_. 

9. "Mr. Winkle Soothes a Refractory Steed. " Seymour's horse isinfinitely more spirited and better drawn than Phiz's. Its strugglingattitude is admirable. Seymour's landscape is touched more delicately;the faces differ in both. 

10. "The Cricket Match. " First Buss plate. He introduced a farcicalincident not in the text--the ball knocking off the fielder's hat, who isquite close to the batsman. A very poor production. Observe the"antediluvian" shape of the bat--no paddings on the legs. The sketch isvaluable as showing how _not_ to interpret Dickens' humour, or rather howto interpret it in a strictly _literal_ way--that is, without humour. 

11. "Tupman in the Arbour. " Second Buss plate--rather ostentatiouslysigned "Drawn and etched by R. W. Buss. " Tupman appears to be tumblingover Miss Wardle. 

12. The same subject by "Phiz. " A remarkable contrast in treatment;there is the suggestion of the pair being surprised. We see how the fatboy came on them. The old Manor Farm in the background, with its gables, etc. , is a pleasing addition, and like all "Phiz's" landscapes, delicately touched in. The scared alarm on the two faces isfirst-rate--even Miss Wardle's foot as well as Tupman's is expressive. There appears to be no "variation" of this plate. 

13. "The Influence of the Salmon. " A truly dramatic group overflowingwith humour. Note no fewer than ten faces in the background, servants, etc. , all expressing interest according to their class and degree. Thefive chief characters express drunkenness in five different fashions: thehopeless, combative, despairing, affectionate, etc. Wardle's stolid calmis good. 

14. "The Breakdown. " This was "Phiz's" _coup d'essai_ after he wascalled in, and is a most spirited piece. But the variations make thesecond plate almost a new one. The drawing, grouping, etc. , in _b_ arean enormous improvement, and supply life and animation. The threefigures, Pickwick, Wardle, and the postillion, are all altered for thebetter. In _b_ Mr. Pickwick's nervousness, as he is extricated from thechaise, is well shown. The postillion becomes a round spirited figure, instead of a mere sketch; Wardle, as in the text, instead of stoopingdown and merely showing his back, is tramping about gesticulating. Avery spirited white horse is introduced with a postillion as spirited;the single chaise in the distance, the horses drawn back, and Jinglestretching out, is admirable. It is somehow conveyed in a clever way in_b_ that Miss Wardle is peeping through the hind window at the scene. There is a wheel on the ground in _b_, and one hat; in _a_ there are twohats--Mr. Pickwick's, which is recognizable, and Wardle's. 

15. "First Appearance of Mr. S. Weller. " In the first issue a faint"Nemo" can be made out in the corner, and it is said the same signatureis on the preceding plate, though I have never been able to trace itclearly. This plate, as is well known, represents the court of the OldWhite Hart Inn in the Borough, which was pulled down some years ago. Onthis background--the galleries, etc. , being picturesquely indicated--standout brilliantly the four figures. The plate was varied in importantways. In the _b_ version some fine effects of light and shade arebrought out by the aid of the loaded cart and Wardle's figure. Wardle'shat is changed from a common round one to a low broad-leafed one, hisfigure made stouter, and he is clothed with dark instead of whitebreeches, his face broadened and made more good-humoured. Sam's face in_b_ is made much more like the ideal Sam; that in _a_ is grotesque. Perker's face and attitude are altered in _b_, where he is made moreinterrogative. Mr. Pickwick in _b_ is much more placid and bland than in_a_, and he carries his hat more jauntily. Top-boots in _b_ areintroduced among those which Sam is cleaning. He, oddly, seems to becleaning a _white_ boot. A capital dog in _b_ is sniffing at Mr. Pickwick's leg; in _a_ there is a rather unmeaning skulking animal. Allthe smaller figures are altered. 

16. "Mrs. Bardell Faints. " The first plate is feeble and ill-drawn, though Mrs. Bardell's and Tupman's faces are good, the latter somewhatfarcical; the boy "Tommy" is decidedly bad and too small. Mr. Pickwick'sface in _a_ is better than in _b_. In the second attempt all is bolderand more spirited. The three Pickwickians are made to expressastonishment, even in their legs. There is a table-desk in _a_, not in_b_. A clock and two vases are introduced, and a picture over the mirrorrepresenting a sleeping beauty with a cupid. 

17. "The Election at Eatanswill. " The first plate represents anelection riot in front of the hustings, which is wild and fairlyspirited. But no doubt it appeared somewhat confused to the artist. Inhis second he made it quite another matter. Over the hustings heintroduced a glimpse of the old Ipswich gables. He changed the figureand dress of Fizkin, the rival candidate. He had Perker sitting on therail, but substituted a standing-up figure, talking--presumably Perker, but taller than that gentleman. In _b_, Mr. Pickwick's face expressesastonishment at the disorder; in _a_ he is mildly placid. In _b_ thefigure behind Mr. Pickwick is turned into Sam by placing a cockade on hishat. Next to Fizkin is a new portly figure introduced. The figures inthe crowd are changed in wholesale fashion, and yet the "root idea" inboth is the same. An artist, we fancy, would learn much from thesecontrasts, seeing how strikingly "Phiz" could shift his characters. Inthe first draft there was not sufficient movement. To the left there wasa stout sailor in a striped jacket who was thrusting a pole into thechest of a thin man in check trousers. This, as drawn, seemed tootranquil, and he substituted a stouter, more jovial figure with gymnasticaction--the second was made more contrasted. Next him was a confusedgroup--a man with a paper cap, in place of which he supplied a stout manon whom the other was driven back, and who was being pushed from behind. The animation of the background is immensely increased by hats, and arms, and sticks being waved. Everything is bolder and clearer. The secondtrombone player, however, is not so spirited as the first, and the drum-beater becomes rather a "Punch and Judy" showman. An artistic effect oflight is produced by this drum. There are a great many more boards, too, introduced in _b_. 

"Mrs. Leo Hunter's Fancy dress Dejeune. " In _b_ the finish and treatmentare infinitely improved. Mr. Pickwick's face and figure is more refinedand artistic. The way he holds his hat in his right hand and his leftalso are improved; both are more extended. Mr. Snodgrass's left leg isbrought behind Mr. Pickwick's in _b_. Water--a pond perhaps--is infront. Tupman's hat is altered in _b_, and feathers added; his face ismore serious and less grotesque. Mrs. Pott is more piquant, as theauthor suggested to the artist. The birdcage, instead of being high inthe tree, is lowered and hangs from it. The most curious change is thatof Pott, who in _a_ is out of all scale, seeming to be about seven feethigh. He was lowered in _b_, and given a beard and a more hairy cap. Itwas said, indeed, that the original face was too like Lord Brougham's, but the reason for the change was probably what I have given. 

"The Young Ladies' Seminary. " All details are changed. The rather"cranky" face of Mr. Pickwick, utterly unlike him, was improved andrestored to its natural benevolence; more detail put into the faces, notably the cook's. The girls are made more distinct and attractive--thelady principal at the back made effective; all the foliage treateddifferently, a tree on the left removed. In _a_ there is a sort of hookon the inside of the door to hold a bell, which is absent; in _b_ it isadded. The bolts, etc. , are different. 

"Mr. Pickwick in the Pound. " _b_ is more brilliant and vastly improved;the smaller donkey is removed, the three reduced to two; the sweep's capis made _white_; the faces are altered, and made more animated. Mr. Pickwick's figure in the barrow is perhaps _not_ improved, but his faceis. 

"Mr. Pickwick in the Attorney's Office. " Sam's face in _a_ was quiteunlike, and was improved; the position of his legs altered. The otherpoints are much the same. 

"Last Visit of Heyland to the Old Man. " This is a sort of anticipationof "Phiz's" later treatment of tragic subjects, as supplied for "BleakHouse" and such stories. Heyling's cloak in _b_ is draped over his leftarm, the boards of the door are outlined differently. In _a_ the face ofthe old man a side one, with little expression; in _b_ it was made three-quarters, and contorted with horror--the attitude powerfully expressive, indeed. The figures of both are worth comparing. 

"The Double-bedded Room. " In _b_ the lady's face is refined, and madeless of the "nut-cracker" type. The comb is removed, her feet areseparated, and the figure becomes not ungraceful. A white night-gown in_b_ is introduced; in _a_ it is her day-gown, and dark; the back of thechair in _b_ is treated more ornamentally; in _a_ a plain frillednightcap is hung on the chair, changed in _b_ to a more grotesque and"Gamp-like" headgear. Nothing can be better in _a_ than the effect oflight from the rushlight on the floor. This is helped by the lady'sfigure, which is darkened in _a_, and thrown out by the white curtainsbehind. Mr. Pickwick's face in _a_ is not good, and much improved in_b_. It will be noted that the artist often thus failed in his hero'sface--"missing his tip, " as it were. This picture admirably illustratesthe artist's power of _legitimately_ emphasizing details--such as thenight-cap--to add to the comic situation. 

"Mr. Weller Attacks the Executive of Ipswich. " There is scarcely anyalteration worth notice. 

"Job Trotter Encounters Sam. " The two plates are nearly the same, exceptthat Mary's face is made prettier. Sam's is improved, and Job Trotter'sfigure and face more marked and spirited. 

"Christmas Eve at Mr. Wardle's. " The changes here are a cat and dogintroduced in the foreground in _b_, instead of the dog which in _a_ isbetween Mr. Pickwick and the old lady. 

"Gabriel Grubb. " A face is introduced into a branch or knot of thetree--an odd, rather far-fetched effect. The effectively outlined churchin the background is St. Albans Abbey. 

"Mr. Pickwick Slides. " In _b_ Mr. Winkle's skates are introduced. Inone version there are _five_ stakes instead of four, and Miss Allen's furboots and feet are depicted differently in each. 

"Conviviality at Bob Sawyer's. " The two plates correspond almostexactly--save for a slight alteration in the arrangement of the books inthe case. 

"Mr. Pickwick Sits for his Portrait. " Slight alterations in the facesand in the bird-cage. The arrangement of the panes in the window is alsodifferent. Mr. Pickwick's face is made more intelligent. A handle issupplied to a pewter pot on the floor. 

"The Warden's Room. " Almost exactly the same in both. But why has Mr. Pickwick his spectacles on when just roused from sleep? There is acollar to the shirt hanging from the cord. 

"The Meeting with Jingle. " Very slight changes in the faces. Thechild's face in _b_ is admirable, and, like one of Cruikshank'sminiatures, it conveys alarm and grief. The face of the woman wateringher plant is improved. Note the Hogarthian touch of the initials carvedon the window, sufficiently distinct and yet not intrusively so. This isa most skilfully grouped and dramatic picture, and properly conveys theauthor's idea. 

"The Ghostly Passenger. " This illustration of what is one of the besttales of mystery is equally picturesque and original. The five figuresin front are truly remarkable. The elegant interesting figure of thewoman, the fop with his hat in the air, the bully with the big sword, theman with the blunderbuss, and the bewildered rustic, to say nothing ofthe muffled figures on the coach, make up a perfect _play_. There seemsa flutter over all; it is like, as it was intended to be, a scene in adream. 

"Mr. Winkle Returns under Extraordinary Circumstances. " There is littledifference between the plates, save as to the details of the objects inthe cupboard. In _b_ some bottles have been introduced on the top shelf. Mrs. Winkle's is a pleasing, graceful figure in both, and improved andrefined in _b_. More spirit, too, is put into Mr. Pickwick's figure ashe rises in astonishment. It may be noted what a graceful type ofwomanhood then prevailed, the face being thrown out by "bands" of hairand ringlets, the large spreading bonnets and white veils. Mary wears anenormous bonnet or hat like her mistress. 

"Mr. Sawyer's Mode of Travelling. " The amazing spirit and movement ofthis picture cannot be too much praised. The chaise seems whirlingalong, so that the coach, meeting it, seems embarrassed and striving toget out of the way. The Irish family, struggling to keep up with thechaise, is inimitable. There are some changes in _b_. The man with thestick behind has a bundle or bag attached. The mother with her threechildren is a delightful group, and much improved in the second plate. The child holding up flowers is admirably drawn. The child who hasfallen is given a different attitude in _b_. The dog, too, is slightlyaltered. 

"The Rival Editors. " There is little change made, save that more plates, jugs, etc. , are introduced. The "row" is shown with extraordinaryspirit. Note the grotesque effect of Pott's face, shown through thecloth that Sam has put over his head. The onions have got detached fromthe hank hung to the ceiling, and are tumbling on the combatants, and--acapital touch this--the blackbird, whose cage has been covered over tosecure its repose, is shown in _b_ dashing against the bars. We mightask, however, what does the cook there, and why does she "trouble herselfabout the warming-pan"?

"Mary and the Fat Boy. " Both plates nearly the same, the languishingface of the Fat Boy admirable. Mary's figure, as she draws the chair, charming, though somewhat stout at the back. The cook is present, and aplate laid for her, which is contrary to the text. 

"Mr. Weller and his Friends Drinking to Mr. Pell. " Plates almost thesame, save for a slight alteration in the faces, and a vinegar cruetintroduced next to Mr. Pell's oysters. Admirable and most original anddistinct are the figures of the four coachmen, even the one of whom wehave only a back view. 

Perhaps no one of the plates displays Phiz's vivid power so forcibly asthe one of the trial "Bardell v. Pickwick. " Observe the dramaticanimation, with the difficulty of treating a number of figures seated inregular rows. The types of the lawyers are truly admirable. In thislatter piece there are no less than thirty-five faces, allcharacteristic, showing the peculiar smug and pedantic cast of thebarristerial lineaments. Note specially the one at the end of the thirdbench who is engrossed in his brief, the pair in the centre who arediscussing something, the two standing up. But what is speciallyexcellent is the selection of faces for the four counsel concerned in thecase. Nothing could be more appropriate or better suit the author'sdescription. What could excel, or "beat" Buzfuz with his puffed, coarseface and hulking form? His brother Serjeant has the dried, "peaked" lookof the overworked barrister, and though he is in his wig we recognize himat once, having seen him before at his chambers. Mr. Phunkey, behind, isthe well-meaning but incapable performer to be exhibited in hisexamination of Winkle; and Mr. Skimpin is the alert, unscrupulous, wide-awake practitioner who "made such a hare" of Mr. Winkle. The compositionof this picture is indeed a work of high art. 

In "Mr. Pickwick sliding, " how admirably caught is the tone of a genial, frosty day at a country-house, with the animation of the spectators--thecharming landscape. In the scene of "Under the Mistletoe" at Manor Farm, the Fat Boy, by some mistake of size, cannot be more than five or sixyears old, and Tupman is shown on one knee "making up" to one of theyoung ladies. Beaux seemed to have been very scarce in the districtwhere stout, elderly gentlemen were thus privileged. 

The curious thing is that hardly a single face of Mr. Pickwick'scorresponds with its fellows, yet all are sufficiently like andrecognizable. In the first picture of the club he is a cantankerous, sour, old fellow, but the artist presently mellowed him. The bald, benevolent forehead, the portly little figure, the gaiters, eye-glass andribbon always put on expressively, seem his likeness. The "Mr. Pickwicksliding" and the "Mr. Pickwick sitting for his portrait in the Fleet"have different faces. 

There has always been a sort of fascination in tracing out andidentifying the Pickwickian localities. It is astonishing the number ofpersons that have been engrossed with this pursuit. Take Muggleton forinstance, which seems to have hitherto defied all attempts at discovery. The younger Charles Dickens fancied that town, Malling, which lies to thesouth of Rochester. Mr. Frost, Mr. Hughes, and other "explorers" allhave their favourite town. I, myself, had fixed on Maidstone asfulfilling the necessary conditions of having a Mayor and Corporation; asagainst this choice and that of all the towns that were south ofRochester there was always this fact, that Boz describes the party goingup the street as they left Rochester, a route that led them north-east. But the late Miss Dickens--"Mamie" as she was affectionately called--inher pleasing and very natural little book, "My Father as I Recall Him, "has casually dropped a hint which puts us on the right track. Whendriving with her on the "beautiful back road to Cobham once, he pointedout a spot. There it was, he said, where Mr. Pickwick dropped his whip. "The distressed travellers had to walk some twelve or fourteen miles--aboutthe distance of Muggleton--which was important enough to have a Mayor andCorporation, etc. We ourselves have walked this road, and it led usto--Gravesend. Gravesend we believe to be Muggleton--against allcompetitors. Further, when chasing Jingle, Wardle went straight fromMuggleton to town, as you can do from Gravesend; from which place thereis a long walk to Cobham. 

For abundance of editions the immortal Pickwick can hold its own with anymodern of its "weight, age, and size. " From the splendid yet unwieldy_edition de luxe_, all but Bible-like in its proportions, to the onepenny edition sold on barrows in Cheapside, every form and pattern hasbeen supplied. 

The Gadshill Edition, with Introduction by Andrew Lang, has recently beenissued by Messrs. Chapman and Hall, and is all that can be desired. Print, paper, and size are excellent, perfect, even captivating. The oldillustrations, from the original plates, are bright and clear, unworn andunclogged with ink. The editor has been judiciously reserved in hisintroduction and annotations. While Mr. Lang's lack of sympathy withDickens is well-known, and, like Sam Weller after leaving the witness-box, he has said just as little respecting Mr. Pickwick as might be, "which was precisely the object he had in view all along. " But it almostseems as though one required to be "brought up" in Pickwick, so to speak, thoroughly to understand him. No true Pickwickian would ever have calledTuckle the Bath Footman, "Blazer, " or Jingle, "Jungle. " It were better, too, not to adopt a carping tone in dealing with so joyous andirresponsible a work. "Dickens, " we are told, "knew nothing of cricket. "Yet in his prime the present writer has seen him "marking" all day long, or acting as umpire, with extraordinary knowledge and enthusiasm. InPickwickian days the game was not what it is now; it was always more orless irregular and disorderly. As proof of "Boz's" ignorance, Mr. Langsays it is a mystery why Podder "missed the bad balls, blocked thedoubtful ones, took the good ones, and sent them flying, etc. " Surelynothing could be plainer. He "missed"--that is, did not strike--theballs of which nothing could be made, blocked the dangerous ones, and hitthe good ones all over the field. What more or what better could Dr. Grace do?

* * * * *

The original agreement for "Pickwick" I have not seen, though it isprobably in existence, but there is now being shown at the Earl's CourtVictorian Era Exhibition a very interesting Pickwickian curio. When thelast number had appeared, a deed was created between the two publishers, Edward Chapman and William Hall, giving them increased control over thebook. It is dated November 18th, 1837, and sets out that the propertyconsisted of three shares held by the two publishers and author. It wascontracted that the former should purchase for a period of five years theauthor's third share. And it was further stipulated that at the end ofthat term, they, and no one else, should have the benefit of any newarrangement. There was also an arrangement about purchasing the "stock, "etc. , at the end of the term. No mention, however, is made of the termsor "consideration, " for which reference is made to another deed. Thewhole is commendably short and intelligible. 

Footnotes:

{24} As I write it is mentioned in some "society case" that the valetreceived 63 pounds a year, and 30s. A month "beer money. "

{30} Not long since, we noticed the general merriment at the VictoriaStation on the apparition of one of these curios carried by a rurallooking man. 

{34} _Vide_ "History of Pickwick. "

{47} NOTE--We have even in London the regular Pickwickian publisher, whose work is stimulated by a generous ardour and prepared knowledge of"States, " Curios of all kinds associated with Boz in general, andPickwick in particular. Among these is Mr. Spencer, of High Holborn--"whowill get you up a Pickwick" with all the advertisements, wrappers, etc. , within a reasonable period--and who will point out to you some mysteriouserror in the paging, which has escaped previous commentators. There isalso Mr. Robson, of Coventry Street, and Mr. Harvey, of St. James'Street.