the pickwickians begin their adventures

they meet mr. alfred jingle, and winkle

is involved in a duel

once upon a time, in london, there was a club called "the pickwick club." mr. samuel pickwick, its founder and chairman, was a benevolent, simple-hearted old gentleman of some wealth, with a taste for science. he delighted to invent the most profound theories, to explain the most ordinary happenings and to write long papers to be read before the club. he had a large bald head, and eyes that twinkled behind round spectacles, and he made a speech with one hand under his coat tails and the other waving in the air.

his fellow members looked upon mr. pickwick as a very great man, and when he proposed that he and three others form a "corresponding society," which should travel about and forward to the club accounts of their adventures, the idea was at once adopted.

the three that mr. pickwick chose were named tupman, snodgrass and winkle. tupman was middle-aged with a double chin and was so fat[pg 214] that for years he had not seen the watch chain that crossed his silk waistcoat. but he had a youthful, romantic disposition, and a great liking for the fair sex. snodgrass, who had no parents, was a ward of mr. pickwick's and imagined himself a poet. winkle was a young man whose father had sent him to london to learn life; he wore a green shooting-coat and his great ambition was to be considered a sportsman, though at heart he was afraid of either a horse or a gun. with these three companions mr. pickwick prepared to set out in search of adventures.

next morning as he drove in a cab to the inn where all were to take the coach, mr. pickwick began to chat with the driver. the cabman amused himself by telling the most impossible things, all of which mr. pickwick believed. when he said his horse was forty-two years old and that he often kept him out three weeks at a time without resting, down it went in mr. pickwick's note-book as a wonderful instance of the endurance of horses. unfortunately, however, the driver thought mr. pickwick was putting down the number of the cab so as to complain of him, and as they arrived just then at the inn, he jumped from his seat with the intention of fighting his dismayed passenger. he knocked off mr. pickwick's spectacles and, dancing back and forth as the other's three comrades rushed to the rescue, planted a blow in mr. snodgrass's eye, another in tupman's waistcoat and[pg 215] ended by knocking all the breath out of winkle's body.

from this dilemma they were rescued by a tall, thin, long-haired, young man in a faded green coat, worn black trousers and patched shoes, who seized mr. pickwick and lugged him into the inn by main force, talking with a jaunty independent manner and in rapid and broken sentences:

"this way, sir—where's your friends?—all a mistake—never mind—here, waiter—brandy and water—raw beefsteak for the gentleman's eye—eh,—ha-ha!"

the seedy-looking stranger, whose name was alfred jingle, was a passenger on the same coach that day and entertained the pickwickians with marvelous stories of his life in spain. none of these was true, to be sure, but they were all entered in mr. pickwick's note-book. in gratitude, that night the latter invited jingle to dinner at the town inn where they stopped.

the dinner was long, and almost before it was over not only mr. pickwick, but snodgrass and winkle also were asleep. tupman, however, was more wakeful; a ball, the waiter had told him, was to be held that night on the upper floor and he longed to attend it. jingle readily agreed, especially when tupman said he could borrow for him a blue dress suit, the property of the sleeping winkle.

they were soon dressed and at the ball. jingle's[pg 216] jaunty air gained him a number of introductions. before long he was dancing with a little old widow named mrs. budger, who was very rich, and to whom he at once began to make love. there was an army surgeon present named slammer—a short fat man with a ring of upright black hair around his head, and a bald plain on top of it—who had been courting the rich widow himself. doctor slammer was old; jingle was young, and the lady felt flattered. every moment the doctor grew angrier and at last tried to pick a quarrel with the wearer of the blue dress suit, at which jingle only laughed. the ball over, tupman and jingle went down stairs. winkle's clothes were returned to their place, and jingle, promising to join the party at dinner next day, took his departure.

the pickwickians were hardly awake next morning when an army officer came to the inn inquiring which gentleman of their number owned a blue dress suit with gilt buttons. when told that mr. winkle had such a costume he demanded to see him, and at once, in the name of his friend doctor slammer, challenged him to fight a duel that night at sunset.

poor winkle almost fainted with surprise. when the stranger explained that the wearer of the blue suit had insulted doctor slammer, winkle concluded that he must have drunk too much wine at dinner, changed his clothes, gone somewhere, and insulted somebody—of all of which he had no[pg 217] recollection. he saw no way, therefore, but to accept the bloodthirsty challenge, hoping that something would happen to prevent the duel.

winkle was dreadfully afraid, for he had never fired a pistol in his life. he chose snodgrass for his second, hoping the latter would tell mr. pickwick; but snodgrass, he soon found to his dismay, had no idea of doing so. the day wore heavily away, and winkle could think of no escape. at sunset they walked to the appointed spot—a lonely field—and at last winkle found himself, pistol in hand, opposite another man armed likewise, and waiting the signal to shoot.

at that moment doctor slammer saw that the man he faced was not the one who had insulted him at the ball. explanations were soon made and the whole party walked back together to the inn, where winkle introduced his new friends to the pickwickians. jingle, however, was with the latter, and doctor slammer at once recognized him as the wearer of the blue dress suit. the doctor flew into a rage and only the statement of his fellow officer, that jingle was not a gentleman, but a strolling actor far beneath the doctor's dignity, prevented an encounter. as it was, slammer stumped off in anger, leaving the pickwickians to enjoy the evening in their own way.