The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. Volume 1 of 2

Seven o’clock had hardly ceased striking on the following morning when Mr. Pickwick’s comprehensive mind was aroused from the state of unconsciousness in which slumber had plunged it, by a loud knocking at his chamber door.

“Who’s there?” said Mr. Pickwick, starting up in bed.

“Boots, sir.”

“What do you want?”

“Please, sir, can you tell me which gentleman of your party wears a bright blue dress coat, with a gilt button with P. C. on it?”

“It’s been given out to brush,” thought Mr. Pickwick, “and the man has forgotten whom it belongs to. Mr. Winkle,” he called out, “next room but two, on the right hand.”

“Thank’ee, sir,” said the Boots, and away he went.

“What’s the matter?” cried Mr. Tupman, as a loud knocking at his door aroused him from his oblivious repose.

“Can I speak to Mr. Winkle, sir?” replied the Boots from the outside.

“Winkle – Winkle!” shouted Mr. Tupman, calling into the inner room.

“Hallo!” replied a faint voice from within the bed-clothes.

“You’re wanted – some one at the door – ” and having exerted himself to articulate thus much, Mr. Tracy Tupman turned round and fell fast asleep again.

“Wanted!” said Mr. Winkle, hastily jumping out of bed, and putting on a few articles of clothing; “wanted! at this distance from town – who on earth can want me?”

“Gentleman in the coffee-room, sir,” replied the Boots, as Mr. Winkle opened the door and confronted him; “gentleman says he’ll not detain you a moment, sir, but he can take no denial.”

“Very odd!” said Mr. Winkle; “I’ll be down directly.”

He hurriedly wrapped himself in a travelling-shawl and dressing-gown, and proceeded down-stairs. An old woman and a couple of waiters were cleaning the coffee-room, and an officer in undress uniform was looking out of the window. He turned round as Mr. Winkle entered, and made a stiff inclination of the head. Having ordered the attendants to retire, and closed the door very carefully, he said, “Mr. Winkle, I presume?”

“My name is Winkle, sir.”

“You will not be surprised, sir, when I inform you that I have called here this morning on behalf of my friend, Dr. Slammer, of the Ninety-seventh.”

“Doctor Slammer!” said Mr. Winkle.

“Dr. Slammer. He begged me to express his opinion that your conduct of last evening was of a description which no gentleman could endure: and (he added) which no one gentleman would pursue towards another.”

Mr. Winkle’s astonishment was too real, and too evident, to escape the observation of Dr. Slammer’s friend; he therefore proceeded – “My friend, Doctor Slammer, requested me to add, that he was firmly persuaded you were intoxicated during a portion of the evening, and possibly unconscious of the extent of the insult you were guilty of. He commissioned me to say, that should this be pleaded as an excuse for your behaviour, he will consent to accept a written apology, to be penned by you, from my dictation.”

“A written apology!” repeated Mr. Winkle, in the most emphatic tone of amazement possible.

“Of course you know the alternative,” replied the visitor coolly.

“Were you entrusted with this message to me by name?” inquired Mr. Winkle, whose intellects were hopelessly confused by this extraordinary conversation.

“I was not present myself,” replied the visitor, “and in consequence of your firm refusal to give your card to Doctor Slammer, I was desired by that gentleman to identify the wearer of a very uncommon coat – a bright blue dress coat, with a gilt button displaying a bust, and the letters ‘P. C.’”

Mr. Winkle actually staggered with astonishment as he heard his own costume thus minutely described. Doctor Slammer’s friend proceeded – “From the inquiries I made at the bar, just now, I was convinced that the owner of the coat in question arrived here, with three gentlemen, yesterday afternoon. I immediately sent up to the gentleman who was described as appearing the head of the party, and he at once referred me to you.”

If the principal tower of Rochester Castle had suddenly walked from its foundation, and stationed itself opposite the coffee-room window, Mr. Winkle’s surprise would have been as nothing compared with the profound astonishment with which he had heard this address. His first impression was, that his coat had been stolen. “Will you allow me to detain you one moment?” said he.

“Certainly,” replied the unwelcome visitor.

Mr. Winkle ran hastily up-stairs, and with a trembling hand opened the bag. There was the coat in its usual place, but exhibiting, on a close inspection, evident tokens of having been worn on the preceding night.

“It must be so,” said Mr. Winkle, letting the coat fall from his hands. “I took too much wine after dinner, and have a very vague recollection of walking about the streets and smoking a cigar afterwards. The fact is, I was very drunk; – I must have changed my coat – gone somewhere – and insulted somebody – I have no doubt of it; and this message is the terrible consequence.” Saying which, Mr. Winkle retraced his steps in the direction of the coffee-room, with the gloomy and dreadful resolve of accepting the challenge of the warlike Dr. Slammer, and abiding by the worst consequences that might ensue.

To this determination Mr. Winkle was urged by a variety of considerations, the first of which was, his reputation with the club. He had always been looked up to as a high authority on all matters of amusement and dexterity, whether offensive, defensive, or inoffensive; and if, on this very first occasion of being put to the test, he shrunk back from the trial, beneath his leader’s eye, his name and standing were lost for ever. Besides, he remembered to have heard it frequently surmised by the uninitiated in such matters that by an understood arrangement between the seconds, the pistols were seldom loaded with ball; and, furthermore, he reflected that if he applied to Mr. Snodgrass to act as his second, and depicted the danger in glowing terms, that gentleman might possibly communicate the intelligence to Mr. Pickwick, who would certainly lose no time in transmitting it to the local authorities, and thus prevent the killing or maiming of his follower.

Such were his thoughts when he returned to the coffee-room, and intimated his intention of accepting the Doctor’s challenge.

“Will you refer me to a friend, to arrange the time and place of meeting?” said the officer.

“Quite unnecessary,” replied Mr. Winkle; “name them to me, and I can procure the attendance of a friend afterwards.”

“Shall we say – sunset this evening?” inquired the officer, in a careless tone.

“Very good,” replied Mr. Winkle, thinking in his heart it was very bad.

“You know Fort Pitt?”

“Yes; I saw it yesterday.”

“If you will take the trouble to turn into the field which borders the trench, take the foot-path to the left when you arrive at an angle of the fortification, and keep straight on, till you see me, I will precede you to a secluded place, where the affair can be conducted without fear of interruption.”

“Fear of interruption!” thought Mr. Winkle.

“Nothing more to arrange, I think,” said the officer.

“I am not aware of anything more,” replied Mr. Winkle.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning:” and the officer whistled a lively air as he strode away.

That morning’s breakfast passed heavily off. Mr. Tupman was not in a condition to rise, after the unwonted dissipation of the previous night; Mr. Snodgrass appeared to labour under a poetical depression of spirits; and even Mr. Pickwick evinced an unusual attachment to silence and soda-water. Mr. Winkle eagerly watched his opportunity; it was not long wanting. Mr. Snodgrass proposed a visit to the castle, and as Mr. Winkle was the only other member of the party disposed to walk, they went out together.

“Snodgrass,” said Mr. Winkle, when they had turned out of the public street, “Snodgrass, my dear fellow, can I rely upon your secrecy?” As he said this, he most devoutly and earnestly hoped he could not.

“You can,” replied Mr. Snodgrass. “Hear me swear – ”

“No, no,” interrupted Winkle, terrified at the idea of his companion’s unconsciously pledging himself not to give information; “don’t swear, don’t swear; it’s quite unnecessary.”

Mr. Snodgrass dropped the hand which he had, in the spirit of poesy, raised towards the clouds as he made the above appeal, and assumed an attitude of attention.

“I want your assistance, my dear fellow, in an affair of honour,” said Mr. Winkle.

“You shall have it,” replied Mr. Snodgrass, clasping his friend’s hand.

“With a Doctor – Doctor Slammer, of the Ninety-seventh,” said Mr. Winkle, wishing to make the matter appear as solemn as possible; “an affair with an officer, seconded by another officer, at sunset this evening, in a lonely field beyond Fort Pitt.”

“I will attend you,” said Mr. Snodgrass.

He was astonished, but by no means dismayed. It is extraordinary how cool any party but the principal can be in such cases. Mr. Winkle had forgotten this. He had judged of his friend’s feelings by his own.

“The consequences may be dreadful,” said Mr. Winkle.

“I hope not,” said Mr. Snodgrass.

“The Doctor, I believe, is a very good shot,” said Mr. Winkle.

“Most of these military men are,” observed Mr. Snodgrass, calmly; “but so are you, an’t you?”

Mr. Winkle replied in the affirmative; and perceiving that he had not alarmed his companion sufficiently, changed his ground.

“Snodgrass,” he said, in a voice tremulous with emotion, “if I fall, you will find in a packet which I shall place in your hands a note for my – for my father.”

This attack was a failure also. Mr. Snodgrass was affected, but he undertook the delivery of the note as readily as if he had been a Twopenny Postman.

“If I fall,” said Mr. Winkle, “or if the Doctor falls, you, my dear friend, will be tried as an accessory before the fact. Shall I involve my friend in transportation – possibly for life!”

Mr. Snodgrass winced a little at this, but his heroism was invincible. “In the cause of friendship,” he fervently exclaimed, “I would brave all dangers.”

How Mr. Winkle cursed his companion’s devoted friendship internally, as they walked silently along, side by side, for some minutes, each immersed in his own meditations! The morning was wearing away; he grew desperate.

“Snodgrass,” he said, stopping suddenly, “do not let me be baulked in this matter – do not give information to the local authorities – do not obtain the assistance of several peace officers, to take either me or Doctor Slammer, of the Ninety-seventh Regiment, at present quartered in Chatham Barracks, into custody, and thus prevent this duel; – I say, do not.”

Mr. Snodgrass seized his friend’s hand warmly, as he enthusiastically replied, “Not for worlds!”

A thrill passed over Mr. Winkle’s frame as the conviction that he had nothing to hope from his friend’s fears, and that he was destined to become an animated target, rushed forcibly upon him.

The state of the case having been formally explained to Mr. Snodgrass, and a case of satisfaction pistols, with the satisfactory accompaniments of powder, ball, and caps, having been hired from a manufacturer in Rochester, the two friends returned to their inn; Mr. Winkle to ruminate on the approaching struggle, and Mr. Snodgrass to arrange the weapons of war, and put them into proper order for immediate use.

It was a dull and heavy evening when they again sallied forth on their awkward errand. Mr. Winkle was muffled up in a huge cloak to escape observation, and Mr. Snodgrass bore under his the instruments of destruction.

“Have you got everything?” said Mr. Winkle, in an agitated tone.

“Everything,” replied Mr. Snodgrass; “plenty of ammunition, in case the shots don’t take effect. There’s a quarter of a pound of powder in the case, and I have got two newspapers in my pocket for the loadings.”

These were instances of friendship for which any man might reasonably feel most grateful. The presumption is, that the gratitude of Mr. Winkle was too powerful for utterance, as he said nothing, but continued to walk on – rather slowly.

“We are in excellent time,” said Mr. Snodgrass, as they climbed the fence of the first field; “the sun is just going down.” Mr. Winkle looked up at the declining orb and painfully thought of the probability of his “going down” himself, before long.

“There’s the officer,” exclaimed Mr. Winkle, after a few minutes’ walking.

“Where?” said Mr. Snodgrass.

“There; – the gentleman in the blue cloak.” Mr. Snodgrass looked in the direction indicated by the forefinger of his friend, and observed a figure, muffled up, as he had described. The officer evinced his consciousness of their presence by slightly beckoning with his hand; and the two friends followed him at a little distance, as he walked away.

The evening grew more dull every moment, and a melancholy wind sounded through the deserted fields, like a distant giant whistling for his house-dog. The sadness of the scene imparted a sombre tinge to the feelings of Mr. Winkle. He started as they passed the angle of the trench – it looked like a colossal grave.

The officer turned suddenly from the path, and after climbing a paling, and scaling a hedge, entered a secluded field. Two gentlemen were waiting in it; one was a little fat man, with black hair; and the other – a portly personage in a braided surtout – was sitting with perfect equanimity on a camp-stool.

“The other party, and a surgeon, I suppose,” said Mr. Snodgrass; “take a drop of brandy.” Mr. Winkle seized the wicker bottle which his friend proffered, and took a lengthened pull at the exhilarating liquid.

“My friend, sir, Mr. Snodgrass,” said Mr. Winkle, as the officer approached. Doctor Slammer’s friend bowed, and produced a case similar to that which Mr. Snodgrass carried.

“We have nothing farther to say, sir, I think,” he coldly remarked, as he opened the case; “an apology has been resolutely declined.”

“Nothing, sir,” said Mr. Snodgrass, who began to feel rather uncomfortable himself.

“Will you step forward?” said the officer.

“Certainly,” replied Mr. Snodgrass. The ground was measured, and preliminaries arranged.

“You will find these better than your own,” said the opposite second, producing his pistols. “You saw me load them. Do you object to use them?”

“Certainly not,” replied Mr. Snodgrass. The offer relieved him from considerable embarrassment, for his previous notions of loading a pistol were rather vague and undefined.

“We may place our men, then, I think,” observed the officer, with as much indifference as if the principals were chess-men, and the seconds players.

“I think we may,” replied Mr. Snodgrass; who would have assented to any proposition, because he knew nothing about the matter. The officer crossed to Doctor Slammer, and Mr. Snodgrass went up to Mr. Winkle.

“It’s all ready,” he said, offering the pistol. “Give me your cloak.”

“You have got the packet, my dear fellow,” said poor Winkle.

“All right,” said Mr. Snodgrass. “Be steady, and wing him.”

It occurred to Mr. Winkle that this advice was very like that which bystanders invariably give to the smallest boy in a street fight, namely, “Go in, and win:” – an admirable thing to recommend, if you only know how to do it. He took off his cloak, however, in silence – it always took a long time to undo that cloak – and accepted the pistol. The seconds retired, the gentleman on the camp-stool did the same, and the belligerents approached each other.

Mr. Winkle was always remarkable for extreme humanity. It is conjectured that his unwillingness to hurt a fellow-creature intentionally was the cause of his shutting his eyes when he arrived at the fatal spot; and that the circumstance of his eyes being closed, prevented his observing the very extraordinary and unaccountable demeanour of Doctor Slammer. That gentleman started, stared, retreated, rubbed his eyes, stared again; and finally shouted “Stop, stop!”

“What’s all this?” said Doctor Slammer, as his friend and Mr. Snodgrass came running up. “That’s not the man.”

“Not the man!” said Dr. Slammer’s second.

“Not the man!” said Mr. Snodgrass.

“Not the man!” said the gentleman with the camp-stool in his hand.

“Certainly not,” replied the little Doctor. “That’s not the person who insulted me last night.”

“Very extraordinary!” exclaimed the officer.

“Very,” said the gentleman with the camp-stool. “The only question is, whether the gentleman, being on the ground, must not be considered, as a matter of form, to be the individual who insulted our friend, Dr. Slammer, yesterday evening, whether he is really that individual or not:” and having delivered this suggestion, with a very sage and mysterious air, the man with the camp-stool took a large pinch of snuff, and looked profoundly round, with the air of an authority in such matters.

Now Mr. Winkle had opened his eyes, and his ears too, when he heard his adversary call out for a cessation of hostilities; and perceiving by what he had afterwards said, that there was, beyond all question, some mistake in the matter, he at once foresaw the increase of reputation he should inevitably acquire by concealing the real motive of his coming out: he therefore stepped boldly forward, and said —

“I am not the person. I know it.”

“Then, that,” said the man with the camp-stool, “is an affront to Dr. Slammer, and a sufficient reason for proceeding immediately.”

“Pray be quiet, Payne,” said the Doctor’s second. “Why did you not communicate this fact to me this morning, sir?”

“To be sure – to be sure,” said the man with the camp-stool, indignantly.

“I entreat you to be quiet, Payne,” said the other. “May I repeat my question, sir?”

“Because, sir,” replied Mr. Winkle, who had had time to deliberate upon his answer, “because, sir, you described an intoxicated and ungentlemanly person as wearing a coat which I have the honour, not only to wear, but to have invented – the proposed uniform, sir, of the Pickwick Club in London. The honour of that uniform I feel bound to maintain, and I therefore, without inquiry, accepted the challenge which you offered me.”

“My dear sir,” said the good-humoured little Doctor, advancing with extended hand, “I honour your gallantry. Permit me to say, sir, that I highly admire your conduct, and extremely regret having caused you the inconvenience of this meeting, to no purpose.”

“I beg you won’t mention it, sir,” said Mr. Winkle.

“I shall feel proud of your acquaintance, sir,” said the little Doctor.

“It will afford me the greatest pleasure to know you, sir,” replied Mr. Winkle. Thereupon the Doctor and Mr. Winkle shook hands, and then Mr. Winkle and Lieutenant Tappleton (the Doctor’s second), and then Mr. Winkle and the man with the camp-stool, and finally, Mr. Winkle and Mr. Snodgrass – the last-named gentleman in an excess of admiration at the noble conduct of his heroic friend.

“I think we may adjourn,” said Lieutenant Tappleton.

“Certainly,” added the Doctor.

“Unless,” interposed the man with the camp-stool, “unless Mr. Winkle feels himself aggrieved by the challenge; in which case, I submit, he has a right to satisfaction.”

Mr. Winkle, with great self-denial, expressed himself quite satisfied already.

“Or possibly,” said the man with the camp-stool, “the gentleman’s second may feel himself affronted with some observations which fell from me at an early period of this meeting: if so, I shall be happy to give him satisfaction immediately.”

Mr. Snodgrass hastily professed himself very much obliged with the handsome offer of the gentleman who had spoken last, which he was only induced to decline by his entire contentment with the whole proceedings. The two seconds adjusted the cases, and the whole party left the ground in a much more lively manner than they had proceeded to it.

“Do you remain long here?” inquired Dr. Slammer of Mr. Winkle, as they walked on most amicably together.

“I think we shall leave here the day after to-morrow,” was the reply.

“I trust I shall have the pleasure of seeing you and your friend at my rooms, and of spending a pleasant evening with you after this awkward mistake,” said the little Doctor; “are you disengaged this evening?”

“We have some friends here,” replied Mr. Winkle, “and I should not like to leave them to-night. Perhaps you and your friend will join us at the Bull?”

“With great pleasure,” said the little Doctor; “will ten o’clock be too late to look in for half an hour?”

“Oh dear no,” said Mr. Winkle. “I shall be most happy to introduce you to my friends, Mr. Pickwick and Mr. Tupman.”

“It will give me great pleasure, I am sure,” replied Dr. Slammer, little suspecting who Mr. Tupman was.

“You will be sure to come?” said Mr. Snodgrass.

“Oh, certainly.”

By this time they had reached the road. Cordial farewells were exchanged, and the party separated. Doctor Slammer and his friends repaired to the barracks, and Mr. Winkle, accompanied by Mr. Snodgrass, returned to their inn.