snodgrass gets into difficulties, but wins
his lady-love. the adventures of the
pickwickians come to an end
mr. pickwick journeyed first to bristol, to break the news of arabella's marriage to her brother, ben allen. the latter was angry at first, but finally he and bob sawyer shook hands with the visitor and agreed to treasure no ill-feeling.
both the young gentlemen insisted on going with mr. pickwick to the winkle homestead—a circumstance[pg 253] which did not make that visit an easy one. arabella's brother went fast asleep in the parlor while they waited, and when bob sawyer pinched him, as the old gentleman entered, he awoke with a shriek without the least idea where he was.
this was most embarrassing to mr. pickwick, but he said all he could for winkle. the old gentleman, however, would send no message to his son, and mr. pickwick and sam weller returned with disappointment.
in london sam found a letter awaiting him from his father. his mother-in-law was dead and the public house and its earnings were now the old stage-driver's. sam went to see old tony and found him terrified. all the widows in town were setting their caps for him and he was afraid one of them would succeed in marrying him. he had determined to sell out the business, give the money to mr. pickwick to invest for him, and keep to stage-driving so as to be safe.
while sam sat with his father talking matters over, the red-nosed preacher came sidling in to inquire whether mrs. weller's will had not left some money for him. he felt so much at home that he went to the cupboard and poured himself out a big tumbler of his favorite pineapple rum. this was more than old tony weller could stand. he fell upon the old hypocrite, kicked him through the door and ducked him in the horse trough.[pg 254]
mr. pickwick, meanwhile, had been arranging to buy the release of jingle and job trotter, and to send them to the west indies, where they might have a chance to make an honest living. while he was attending to this at his lawyer's, a prolonged knock came at the door. it was joe, mr. wardle's fat boy, erect, but gone fast asleep between his knocks.
mr. wardle came up from his carriage, delighted to see his old friend, of whose imprisonment he had just heard. he told mr. pickwick that his daughter emily had fallen in love with snodgrass, and that, discovering it, he had brought her to london to ask the advice of mr. pickwick in the matter. while they talked he sent the fat boy back to the inn to tell emily that mr. pickwick would dine there with them.
the fat boy went on this errand, and coming suddenly into the inn sitting-room, discovered emily, with her waist encircled with snodgrass's arm while arabella and her pretty housemaid were obligingly looking out of the window. there was but one thing to do: they bribed the fat boy not to tell!
snodgrass, unluckily, stayed too long. as he was leaving, he heard mr. wardle, with mr. pickwick and winkle, coming up the stair. he was obliged to retreat, and took refuge in mr. wardle's bedroom, from which there was no escape, save through the dining-room.[pg 255]
the dinner hour was a painful one to emily, for the fat boy's secret kept him awake, and he winked at her and at arabella so often that mr. wardle noticed it. the latter sent him into the bedroom finally for his snuff-box and he came out very pale, mr. snodgrass having seized him there, and begged him to tell some one secretly to release him.
accordingly the fat boy made desperate efforts to attract mr. pickwick's attention—first by making faces at him when he thought no one else was looking and finally by running a pin into his leg. but this did not have the desired results. mr. pickwick concluded he was crazy, and mr. wardle was about to have him taken down stairs, when into the confusion, with a very red face, walked snodgrass, out of the bedroom. he explained his presence there, declared his love for emily, was forgiven on the spot and joined the dinner.
the happiness of all was complete when old mr. winkle arrived (having made up his mind to see his son's wife and judge for himself) and found arabella so sweet that he kissed her and forgave winkle on the instant.
thus the last adventure of the pickwickians ended happily. mr. pickwick had seen, before this, that the marriage of his companions would change his own life. he withdrew his name from the pickwick club (which thereupon went to pieces), and purchased a house near london for the entertainment[pg 256] of his friends, and there a few days later snodgrass and emily were married in the presence of mr. wardle and all the pickwickians.
after the wedding, snodgrass bought a farm near dingley dell where, with emily, he lived many years, and was always accounted a great poet on account of his pensive and absent-minded manner. winkle, with arabella, settled a half-mile from mr. pickwick. tupman never again fell in love, though for years his romantic air made him the admiration of numerous single ladies of the neighborhood.
ben allen and bob sawyer went to india as surgeons where (after having had yellow fever fourteen times) they became teetotalers and thereafter did well. mrs. bardell continued to let lodgings to single gentlemen, but never had another breach of promise suit. old tony weller finally gave up business and retired to live on the interest of the money mr. pickwick had invested for him, having, to the end of his life, a great dislike for widows. his son, sam, remaining faithful to his master, mr. pickwick at length made mary, the pretty maid, his housekeeper, on condition that she marry sam, which she did at once.
mr. pickwick lived happily, occupied in writing his adventures and in acting as godfather to the children of snodgrass and winkle. he never regretted what he had done for jingle and job trotter, who became in time worthy members of[pg 257] society. he was a favorite with all and the children loved him. every year he went to mr. wardle's to a large merrymaking, attended by his faithful sam weller, between whom and his master there was a regard that nothing but death could end.
