The Pickwick Papers | Page 6

the discussions of other celebrated bodies; and, as it is
always interesting to trace a resemblance between the proceedings of

great men, we transfer the entry to these pages.
'Mr. Pickwick observed (says the secretary) that fame was dear to the
heart of every man. Poetic fame was dear to the heart of his friend
Snodgrass; the fame of conquest was equally dear to his friend Tupman;
and the desire of earning fame in the sports of the field, the air, and the
water was uppermost in the breast of his friend Winkle. He (Mr.
Pickwick) would not deny that he was influenced by human passions
and human feelings (cheers)-- possibly by human weaknesses (loud
cries of "No"); but this he would say, that if ever the fire of
self-importance broke out in his bosom, the desire to benefit the human
race in preference effectually quenched it. The praise of mankind was
his swing; philanthropy was his insurance office. (Vehement cheering.)
He had felt some pride--he acknowledged it freely, and let his enemies
make the most of it--he had felt some pride when he presented his
Tittlebatian Theory to the world; it might be celebrated or it might not.
(A cry of "It is," and great cheering.) He would take the assertion of
that honourable Pickwickian whose voice he had just heard--it was
celebrated; but if the fame of that treatise were to extend to the farthest
confines of the known world, the pride with which he should reflect on
the authorship of that production would be as nothing compared with
the pride with which he looked around him, on this, the proudest
moment of his existence. (Cheers.) He was a humble individual. ("No,
no.") Still he could not but feel that they had selected him for a service
of great honour, and of some danger. Travelling was in a troubled state,
and the minds of coachmen were unsettled. Let them look abroad and
contemplate the scenes which were enacting around them.
Stage-coaches were upsetting in all directions, horses were bolting,
boats were overturning, and boilers were bursting. (Cheers--a voice
"No.") No! (Cheers.) Let that honourable Pickwickian who cried "No"
so loudly come forward and deny it, if he could. (Cheers.) Who was it
that cried "No"? (Enthusiastic cheering.) Was it some vain and
disappointed man--he would not say haberdasher (loud cheers) --who,
jealous of the praise which had been--perhaps undeservedly-- bestowed
on his (Mr. Pickwick's) researches, and smarting under the censure
which had been heaped upon his own feeble attempts at rivalry, now
took this vile and calumnious mode of---

'Mr. BLOTTON (of Aldgate) rose to order. Did the honourable
Pickwickian allude to him? (Cries of "Order," "Chair," "Yes," "No,"
"Go on," "Leave off," etc.)
'Mr. PICKWICK would not put up to be put down by clamour. He had
alluded to the honourable gentleman. (Great excitement.)
'Mr. BLOTTON would only say then, that he repelled the hon. gent.'s
false and scurrilous accusation, with profound contempt. (Great
cheering.) The hon. gent. was a humbug. (Immense confusion, and loud
cries of "Chair," and "Order.")
'Mr. A. SNODGRASS rose to order. He threw himself upon the chair.
(Hear.) He wished to know whether this disgraceful contest between
two members of that club should be allowed to continue. (Hear, hear.)
'The CHAIRMAN was quite sure the hon. Pickwickian would
withdraw the expression he had just made use of.
'Mr. BLOTTON, with all possible respect for the chair, was quite sure
he would not.
'The CHAIRMAN felt it his imperative duty to demand of the
honourable gentleman, whether he had used the expression which had
just escaped him in a common sense.
'Mr. BLOTTON had no hesitation in saying that he had not--he had
used the word in its Pickwickian sense. (Hear, hear.) He was bound to
acknowledge that, personally, he entertained the highest regard and
esteem for the honourable gentleman; he had merely considered him a
humbug in a Pickwickian point of view. (Hear, hear.)
'Mr. PICKWICK felt much gratified by the fair, candid, and full
explanation of his honourable friend. He begged it to be at once
understood, that his own observations had been merely intended to bear
a Pickwickian construction. (Cheers.)'
Here the entry terminates, as we have no doubt the debate did also,

after arriving at such a highly satisfactory and intelligible point. We
have no official statement of the facts which the reader will find
recorded in the next chapter, but they have been carefully collated from
letters and other MS. authorities, so unquestionably genuine as to
justify their narration in a connected form.
CHAPTER II
THE FIRST DAY'S JOURNEY, AND THE FIRST EVENING'S
ADVENTURES; WITH THEIR CONSEQUENCES
That punctual servant of all work, the sun, had just risen, and begun to
strike a light on the morning of the thirteenth of