The eloquent Pickwick, with one hand gracefully concealed behind his coat tails, and the other waving in air, to assist his glowing declamation;his elevated position revealing those tights and gaiters, which, had they clothed an ordinary man, might have passed without observation, but which, when Pickwick clothed them--if we may use the expression--inspired voluntary awe and respect; surrounded by the men who had volunteered to share the perils of his travels, and who were destined to participate in the glories of his discoveries.On his right hand sat Mr.Tracy Tupman--the too susceptible Tupman, who to the wisdom and experience of maturer years superadded the enthusiasm and ardour of a boy, in the most interesting and pardonable of human weaknesses--love.Time and feeding had expanded that once romantic form; the black silk waistcoat had become more and more developed; inch by inch had the gold watch-chain beneath it disappeared from within the range of Tupman's vision; and gradually had the capacious chin encroached upon the borders of the white cravat: but the soul of Tupman had known no change--admiration of the fair sex was still its ruling passion.On the left of his great leader sat the poetic Snodgrass, and near him again the sporting Winkle, the former poetically enveloped in a mysterious blue coat with a canine-skin collar, and the latter communicating additional lustre to a new green shooting coat, plaid neckerchief, and closely-fitted drabs.
"Mr.Pickwick's oration upon this occasion, together with the debt thereon, is entered on the Transactions of the Club.Both bear a strong affinity to the discussions of other celebrated bodies; and, as it is always interesting to trace a resemblance between the proceedings of great men, we transfer the entry to these pages.
"Mr.Pickwick observed (says the Secretary) that fame was dear to the heart of every man.Poetic fame was dear to the heart of his friend Snodgrass;the fame of conquest was equally dear to his friend Tupman; and the desire of earning fame in the sports of the field, the air, and the water, was uppermost in the breast of his friend Winkle.He (Mr.Pickwick) would not deny that he was influenced by human passions, and human feelings (cheers)--possibly by human weaknesses--(loud cries of `No'); but this he would say, that if ever the fire of self-importance broke out in his bosom, the desire to benefit the human race in preference effectually quenched it.The praise of mankind was his Swing; philanthropy was his insurance office.(Vehement cheering.) He had felt some pride--he acknowledged it freely, and let his enemies make the most of it--he had felt some pride when he presented his Tittlebatian Theory to the world; it might be celebrated or it might not.
(A cry of `It is,' and great cheering.) He would take the assertion of that honourable Pickwickian whose voice he had just heard--it was celebrated;but if the fame of that treatise were to extend to the furthest confines of the known world, the pride with which he should reflect on the authorship of that production would be as nothing compared with the pride with which he looked around him, on this, the proudest moment of his existence.(Cheers.)He was a humble individual.(No, no.) Still he could not but feel that they had selected him for a service of great honour, and of some danger.
Travelling was in a troubled state, and the minds of coachmen were unsettled.
Let them look abroad and contemplate the scenes which were enacting around them.Stage coaches were upsetting in all directions, horses were bolting, boats were overturning, and boilers were bursting.(Cheers--a voice `No.')No! (Cheers.) Let the honourable Pickwickian who cried `No' so loudly come forward and deny it, if he could.(Cheers.) Who was it that cried `No'?
(Enthusiastic cheering.) Was it some vain and disappointed man--he would not say haberdasher--(loud cheers)--who, jealous of the praise which had been--perhaps undeservedly--bestowed on his (Mr.Pickwick's) researches, and smarting under the censure which had been heaped upon his own feeble attempts at rivalry, now took this vile and calumnious mode of--"Mr.B LOTTON (of Aldgate) rose to order.Did the honourable Pickwickian allude to him? (Cries of `Order,' `Chair,' `Yes,'
`No,' `Go on,' `Leave off,' etc.)
"Mr.P ICKWICK would not put up to be put down by clamour.He had alluded to the honourable gentleman.(Great excitement.)"Mr.B LOTTON would only say then, that he repelled the hon.gent.'s false and scurrilous accusation, with profound contempt.
(Great cheering.) The hon.gent.was a humbug.(Immense confusion, and loud cries of `Chair,' and `Order.')"Mr.A.S NODGRASS rose to order.He threw himself upon the chair.(Hear.) He wished to know whether this disgraceful contest between two members of that club should be allowed to continue.(Hear, hear.)"The C HAIRMAN was quite sure the hon.Pickwickian would withdraw the expression he had just made use of.
"Mr.B LOTTON , with all possible respect for the chair, was quite sure he would not.
"The C HAIRMAN felt it his imperative duty to demand of the honourable gentleman, whether he had used the expression which had just escaped him in a common sense.
"Mr.B LOTTON had no hesitation in saying that he had not--he had used the word in its Pickwickian sense.(Hear, hear.) He was bound to acknowledge that, personally, he entertained the highest regard and esteem for the honourable gentleman; he had merely considered him a humbug in a Pickwickian point of view.(Hear, hear.)"Mr.P ICKWICK felt much gratified by the fair, candid, and full explanation of his honourable friend.He begged it to be at once understood, that his own observations had been merely intended to bear a Pickwickian construction.(Cheers.)"Here the entry terminates, as we have no doubt the debate did also, after arriving at such a highly satisfactory and intelligible point.We have no official statement of the facts which the reader will find recorded in the next chapter, but they have been carefully collated from letters and other MS.authorities, so unquestionably genuine as to justify their narration in a connected form.1 Perpetual Vice-President--Member Pickwick Club.
2 General Chairman--Member Pickwick Club.
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