Pickwickian Studies | Page 4

line. There are arguments, too, from
the distances. There are two journeys in the book from Eatanswill to
Bury, which seem to furnish data for both theories--the Ipswich and the
Norwich ones. But if we have to take the dejeuner in its literal sense,
and put it early in the day, say, at eleven, and Mr. Pickwick's arrival at
Bury, "wery late," as Sam had it, we have some six hours, or, say, forty
miles, covered by the journey. But the events at Mrs. Leo Hunter's were
certainly at mid- day--between one and three o'clock. It was, in fact, a
grand lunch. So with Winkle's journey. He left Eatanswill half-an-hour
after breakfast, and must have travelled by the same coach as Mr.
Pickwick had done, and reached Bury just in time for dinner, or in six
or seven hours. Now it will not be said that he would not be a whole
day going four-and-twenty miles.
A fair answer to these pleas might be that Boz was not too scrupulous
as to times or distances when he was contriving incidents or events; and
numberless specimens could be given of his inaccuracies. Here,
"panting time toiled after him in vain." It was enough to talk of
breakfast and dinner without accurately computing the space between.
But a close admeasurement of the distance will disprove the Norwich
theory. Bury was twenty-four miles from Ipswich, and Ipswich forty
miles from Norwich--a total of seventy-four miles, to accomplish
which would have taken ten, eleven or twelve hours, to say nothing of
the chance of missing the "correspondance" with the Northern Norwich
coach. Then again, Boz is careful to state that Eatanswill was "one of
the smaller towns." In this class we would not place Norwich, a large
Cathedral City, with its innumerable churches, and population, even
then, of over 60,000, whereas Ipswich was certainly one of these
"smaller towns," having only 20,000. It must be also considered, too,
that this was a cross road, when the pace would be slower than on the
great main lines, say, at five miles an hour, which, with stoppages, &c.,
would occupy a period for the twenty- four miles of some four hours,
that is, say, from two to six o'clock. Boz, by his arrangement of the
traffic, would seem to assume that a conveyance could be secured at
any time of the day, for Mr. Pickwick conveniently found one the
instant he so abruptly quitted Mrs. Leo Hunter's, while Winkle and his

friends just as conveniently found one immediately after breakfast. He
appears to have been seven hours on the road. But the strong point on
which all Ipswichians may rest secure is Mr. Pickwick's statement to
Mrs. Leo Hunter that Bury was "not many miles from here."
But an even more convincing proof can be found in Jingle's relation to
Eatanswill. He came over from Bury to Mrs. Leo Hunter's party,
leaving his servant there, at the Hotel, and returned the same evening.
The place must have been but a short way off, when he could go and
return in the same day. Then what brought him to Eatanswill? We are
told that at the time he was courting Miss Nupkins, the Mayor's
daughter; of course, he rushed over in the hope of meeting her at Mrs.
Leo Hunter's dejeuner. Everything, therefore, fits well together.
I thought of consulting the report of the House of Commons Committee
on the Election Petition, and this confirmed my view. There great stress
is laid on the Blue and Buff colours: in both the report and the novel it
is mentioned that the constables' staves were painted Blue. Boz makes
Bob Sawyer say, in answer to Potts' horrified enquiry "Not Buff, sir?"
"Well I'm a kind of plaid at present--mixed colours"--something very
like this he must have noticed in the Report. A constable, asked was his
comrade, one Seagrave, Buff, answered, "well, half and half, I believe."
In the Report, voters were captured and put to bed at the White Horse;
and Sam tells how he "pumped over" a number of voters at the same
house. The very waiter, who received Mr. Pickwick so contemptuously,
was examined by the Committee--his name was Henry Cowey--and he
answered exactly like the waiter with the "fortnight's napkin and the
coeval stockings." When asked "was not so-and-so's appearance that of
an intoxicated person?" the language seemed too much for him, rather,
he took it to himself: "If I had been intoxicated, I could not have done
my business." This is quite in character.
Boz calls the inn at Eatanswill, "The Town Arms." There was no such
sign in all England at the time, as the Road Book shows. Why then
would he call the White Horse by that name? The Town Arms of
Ipswich have