Page:The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club.djvu/238

180 180 POSTHUMOUS PAPERS OF

of his visiter. "Pleasantry, Sir I but no, I will be calm; I will

be calm, Sir ;" and in proof of his calmness, Mr. Pott flung himself into a chair, and foamed at the mouth.

" My dear Sir," interposed Mr. Winkle.

" Dear Sir I" replied Pott. " How dare you address me, as dear Sir, Sir ? How dare you look me in the face and do it ? "

" Well, Sir, if you come to that," responded Mr. Winkle, " how dare you look me in the face, and call me a serpent, Sir ?"

" Because you are one," replied Mr. Pott.

" Prove it, Sir," said Mr. Winkle, warmly. " Prove it."

A malignant scowl passed over the profound face of the editor, as he drew from his pocket, the Independent of that morning-; and laying- his fing-er on a particular paragraph, threw the journal across the table to Mr. Winkle.

That gentleman took it up, and read as follows : —

" Our obscure and filthy contemporary, in some disgusting observa- tions on the recent election for this borough, has presumed to violate the hallowed sanctity of private life, and to refer, in a manner not to be misunderstood, to the personal affairs of our late candidate — aye, and notwithstanding his base defeat, we will add, our future member, Mr. Fizkin. What does our dastardly contemporary mean ? What would the ruffian say, if we, setting at naught, like him, the decencies of social intercourse, were to raise the curtain which happily conceals his private life from general ridicule, not to say from general execration ? What^ if we were even to point out, and comment on, facts and circumstances which are publicly notorious, and beheld by every one, but our mole- eyed contemporary — what if we were to print the following effusion, which we received while we were writing the commencement of this article, from a talented fellow-townsman and correspondent : —

« ' LINES TO A BRASS POT.

" ' Oh Pott! if you*d known

How false she'd have grown, When you heard the marriage bells tinkle ;

You'd have done then, I vow,

What you cannot help now, And handed her over to W * * * * *.'"

" What," said Mr. Pott, solemnly — " what rhymes to ' tinkle,' villain ?"

"What rhymes to tinkle?" said Mrs. Pott, whose entrance at the moment forestalled the reply. " What rhymes to tinkle ? Why, Winkle, I should conceive : " and saying this, Mrs. Pott smiled sweetly on the disturbed Pickwickian, and extended her hand towards him. The agitated young man would have accepted it, in his confusion, had not Pott indignantly interposed.

" Back, Ma'am— hack," said the editor. " Take his hand before my very face ! "

" Mr. P. ! " said his astonished lady.

" Wretched woman, look here," exclaimed the husband. " Look