Page:The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club.djvu/458

376 376 POSTHUMOUS PAPERS OF

Dowler and his wife, respectively retired to their private sitting-rooms at the White Hart hotel, opposite the great pump room, Bath, where the waiters, from their costume, might be mistaken for Westminster boys, only they destroy the illusion by behaving themselves so much better.

Breakfast had scarcely been cleared away on the succeeding morning, when a waiter brought in Mr. Dowler's card, with a request to be allowed permission to introduce a friend. Mr. Dowler at once followed up the delivery of the card, by bringing himself and the friend also.

The friend was a charming young man of not much more than fifty, dressed in a very bright blue coat with resplendent buttons, black trousers, and the thinnest possible pair of highly-polished boots. A gold eye-glass was suspended from his neck by a short broad black ribbon ; a gold snuff- box was lightly clasped in his left hand, gold rings innumerable glittered on his fingers, and a large diamond pin set in gold glistened in his shirt frill. He had a gold watch, and a gold curb chain with large gold seals ; and he carried a pliant ebony cane with a heavy gold top. His linen was of the very whitest, finest, and stiffest ; his wig of the glossiest, blackest, and curliest. His snuif was princes' mixture ; his scent bouquet du roi. His features were contracted into a perpetual smile ; and his teeth were in such perfect order that it was difficult at a small distance to tell tne real ones from the false.

Esquire, M. C Bantam ; Mr. Pickwick. Know each other."
 * ' Mr. Pickwick," said Dowler ; " my friend, Angelo Cyrus Bantam,

" Welcome to Ba — ath, Sir. This is indeed an acquisition. Most welcome to Ba — ath, Sir. It is long — very long, Mr. Pickwick, since you drank the waters. It appears an age, Mr. Pickwick. Re — markable!"

Such were the expressions with which Angelo Cyrus Bantam, Esquire, M. C, took Mr. Pickwick's hand ; retaining it in his meantime, and shrugging up his shoulders with a constant succession of bows, as if he really could not make up his mind to the trial of letting it go again.

" It is a very long time since I drank the waters, certainly," replied Mr. Pickwick ; " for to the best of my knowledge, I was never here before."

"Never in Ba — ath, Mr. Pickwick I" exclaimed the Grand Master, etting the hand fall in astonishment. " Never in Ba — ath ! He ! he I Mr. Pickwick, you are a wag. Not bad, not bad. Good, good. He! he! he! Re — markable!"

" To my shame, I must say that I am perfectly serious," rejoined Mr. Pickwick, " I really never was here, before."

" Oh, I see," exclaimed the Grand Master, looking extremely pleased ; " Yes, yes — good, good — better and better. You are the gentleman of whom we have heard. Yes ; we know you, Mr. Pickwick ; we know you." r

" The reports of the trial in those confounded papers," thought Mr»M Pickwick. " They have heard all about me." '

" You are the gentleman residing on Clapham Green," resumed Bantam, " who lost the use of his limbs from imprudently taking cold after port wine — who could not be moved in consequence of acute suf-