Page:The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club.djvu/587

491 THE PICKWICK CLUB. 491

CHAPTER XLV.

RECORDS A TOUCHING ACT OF DELICATE FEELING, NOT UNMIXED WITH PLEASANTRY, ACHIEVED AND PERFORMED BY MESSRS. DODSON AND FOGG.

It was within a week of the close of the month of July, that a hackney cabriolet, number unrecorded, was seen to proceed at a rapid pace up Gos well- street ; three people were squeezed into it be- sides the driver, who sat, of course, in his own particular little dickey at the side ; over the apron were hung two shawls, belonging to all ap- pearance to two small vixenish-looking ladies under the apron, between whom, compressed into a very small compass, there was stowed away a gentleman of heavy and subdued demeanour, who, whenever he ventured to make an observation, was snapped up short, by one of the vixenish ladies before-mentioned. Lastly, the two vixenish ladies and the heavy gentleman were giving the driver contradictory directions, all tending to the one point, that he should stop at Mrs. Bardell's door, which the heavy gentleman in direct opposition to, and defiance of, the vixenish ladies, contended was a green door and not a yellow one.

" Stop at the house with the green door, driver," said the heavy gentleman.

" Oh ! you perwerse creetur ! " exclaimed one of the vixenish ladies. " Drive to the ouse with the yellow door, cabmin."

Upon this the cabman, who in a sudden effort to pull up at the house with the green door, had pulled the horse up so high that he nearly pulled him backwards into the cabriolet, let the animal's fore legs down to the ground again, and paused.

" Now vere am I to pull up ? " inquired the driver. " Settle it among yourselves. All I ask is, vere."

Here the contest was renewed with increased violence, and the horse being troubled with a fly on his nose, the cabman humanely employed his leisure in lashing him about the head, on the counter-irritation principle.

" Most wotes carries the day," said one of the vixenish ladies at length. " The ouse with the yellow door, cabmin."

But after the cabriolet had dashed up in splendid style to the house with the yellow door, " making," as one of the vixenish ladies triumph- antly said, " acterrally more noise than if one had come in one's own carriage" — and after the driver had dismounted to assist the ladies in getting out, the small round head of IMaster Thomas Bardell was thrust out of the one pair window of a house with a red door a few numbers off.

" Aggrawatin' thing," said the vixenish lady last mentioned, darting a withering glance at the heavy gentleman.