126 | 127 | 128 | 129 | 130 |
1 | 198 | 396 | 594 | 792 |
Ay - ay - very good,' said the little gentleman, 'you may ask that. How
dare you, sir? - eh, sir?'
'
Who the devil are you?' inquired Mr Jingle, in so fierce a tone, that
the little gentleman involuntarily fell back a step or two.
'
Who is he, you scoundrel,' interposed Wardle. 'He's my lawyer, Mr
Perker, of Gray's Inn. Perker, I'll have this fellow prosecuted - indicted
I'll - I'll - I'll ruin him. And you,' continued Mr Wardle, turning
-
abruptly round to his sister - 'you, Rachael, at a time of life when you
ought to know better, what do you mean by running away with a
vagabond, disgracing your family, and making yourself miserable? Get
on your bonnet and come back. Call a hackney-coach there, directly,
and bring this lady's bill, d'ye hear - d'ye hear?' 'Cert'nly, Sir,' replied
Sam, who had answered Wardle's violent ringing of the bell with a
degree of celerity which must have appeared marvellous to anybody
who didn't know that his eye had been applied to the outside of the
keyhole during the whole interview.
'
'
Get on your bonnet,' repeated Wardle.
Do nothing of the kind,' said Jingle. 'Leave the room, Sir - no
business here - lady's free to act as she pleases - more than one-and-
twenty.'
'
More than one-and-twenty!' ejaculated Wardle contemptuously. 'More
than one-and-forty!'
'
I ain't,' said the spinster aunt, her indignation getting the better of
her determination to faint.
'You are,' replied Wardle; 'you're fifty if you're an hour.'
Here the spinster aunt uttered a loud shriek, and became senseless.
'
A glass of water,' said the humane Mr Pickwick, summoning the
landlady.
'
A glass of water!' said the passionate Wardle. 'Bring a bucket, and
throw it all over her; it'll do her good, and she richly deserves it.'
'
Ugh, you brute!' ejaculated the kind-hearted landlady. 'Poor dear.'
And with sundry ejaculations of 'Come now, there's a dear - drink a
little of this - it'll do you good - don't give way so - there's a love,' etc.
etc., the landlady, assisted by a chambermaid, proceeded to vinegar
the forehead, beat the hands, titillate the nose, and unlace the stays
of the spinster aunt, and to administer such other restoratives as are
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