Chapter-1
The Pickwick Club was a club dedicated “to the advancement of knowledge, and the diffusion of learning. Its members included Samuel Pickwick, Tracy Tupman, Augustus Snodgrass, and Nathaniel Winkle who were to provide periodic reports (to the Club) of their travels which were financed out of their own pockets, meaning that they were gentlemen of leisure whose independent means allowed them to indulge in such pastimes. Samuel Pickwick, the founder of the club, was bald, spectacled and charismatic. Tupman had boyish charms, but with the advancing years had gotten fat. Snodgrass was a poet, and Winkle was a sportsman.
The minutes of the meeting held by the Pickwick Club on 12th May, 1827 related Mr. Pickwick’s determination to revitalize the art of travelling only to be taken to task by Mr. Blotton to whom the deterioration of the art was presumably attributed to. Nonetheless, Mr. Blotton stood by his argument, asserting that Samuel Pickwick was a humbug when Mr. A. Snodgrass objected, arguing that such talk was unbecoming to the dignity of the Pickwick Club. Mr. Blotton was firm in his stance, however. He added that he meant Samuel Pickwick was a humbug in the Pickwickian sense. The elaboration took off the edge of the humbug insult. Samuel Pickwick assured Mr. Blotton that the Pickwickian sense also applied to Samuel Pickwick’s indirect accusation of Mr. Blotton (as the man responsible for the art of travel’s deterioration) and all was well.
Having awakened, Mr. Samuel Pickwick resolved to get at the truth which lay beyond the scene outside his window. He quickly smaked, dressed, and had coffee before going out to hail a cab which was to take him to the Golden Cross where he was to meet his fellow Pickwickians namely Mr. Snodgrass, Mr. Tupman and Mr. Winkle.
On his way to the Golden Cross, Mr. Pickwick engaged the cab driver about the business of cab driving, all the while documenting the cab driver’s answers in writing. Little did Mr. Pickwick realize that his note taking was being construed as an act of betrayal by the cab driver. Indeed, when they arrivedd at the Golden Cross and Mr. Pickwick attempted to pay, the cab driver rejected the fare and challenged Mr. Pickwick to a fight. Mr. Pickwick’s friends came to Mr. Pickwick’s aid but to no avail. The cab driver challenged them all to a fight, drawing a crowd which was by and large sympathetic to the cab driver whose contention was that Mr. Pickwick was an informant, a spy working for a higher authority whose goal was ultimately to discredit the cab driver and possibly to run him out of business. With the crowd staunchly behind him, the cab driver began to physically assault Mr. Pickwick and his friends. The assault would made ended badly for Mr. Pickwick and his friends but for a stranger, “a tall thin young man in a green coat,” who intervened and dragged Mr. Pickwick and his friends into the relative safety of a travelers’ waiting room. There they shared a drank and administered to Mr. Snodgrass’ black eye with a beefsteak when a coachman entered to announce the impending departure of a coach destined for Rochester. As he was headed for Rochester, the stranger got up to leave only to be joined by Mr. Pickwick and his friends who were likewise headed for Rochester.
During the journey to Rochester, the stranger learnt that Mr. Pickwick was a philosopher of sorts, that Mr. Snodgrass was a poet of sorts, that Mr. Winkle was a sportsman of sorts, and that Mr. Tupman was a playboy of sorts. In turn, the Pickwickians learnt that the stranger had had a romance with a Spanish lady with whom he had eventually married before she had prematurely died. The Pickwickians noted all this down in their notebooks. Indeed, they were so delighted to be in the stranger’s company that when they arrived at Rochester, the Pickwickians managed to make the stranger agree to meet them in the evening for dinner.
At dinner, the combination of wine drinking and the stranger’s loquacity lulled Mr. Snodgrass, Mr. Winkle, and Mr. Pickwick into a slumber. Meanwhile, due to a ball which was underway upstairs and which Mr. Tupman was eager to attend, Mr. Tupman was wide awake. He was unable to attend, however, as the stranger with whom he hoped to attend, didn’t make the proper clothing, and as what clothes Mr. Tupman could lend the stranger wouldn’t fit (Mr. Tupman was fat; the stranger was thin) when it occurred to Mr. Tupman that the stranger would fit into Mr. Winkle’s clothes. Thus they borrowed a suit belonging to Mr. Winkle, who was asleep, and they attended the ball.
At the ball, the stranger and Mr. Tupman observed and listened as the great personages of Rochester entered, preceded by their names which were announced by the man at the door. (At the stranger’s insistence, Mr. Tupman and the stranger had entered anonymously.) By and by, spotting a wealthy widow and a doctor who was especially keen on the widow, the stranger decided to made some fun by insinuating himself between them. Mr. Tupman watched in shock as the stranger ignored the doctor’s indignation and captivated the widow who was only too glad to dance with the stranger. Mr. Tupman then took his turn dancing with the widow.
Eventually, the doctor, whose name was Slammer, accosted the stranger and challenged him to a duel. But the stranger dismissed Doctor Slammer, who promised the stranger that he won’t be denied, as someone who was not in his right mind on account of the crowd, the noise, and excessive wine.
The next morning, a knock on his door awakened Mr. Pickwick. Mr. Pickwick was asked about a coat and to whom the coat belonged—a coat which was a “a bright blue dress coat, with a gilt button with P.C. on it.” Mr. Pickwick identified the owner of the coat to be Mr. Winkle. By and by, Mr. Winkle was awakened and was asked to report to the coffee room on an urgent matter. Mr. Winkle obliged and found himself face to face with an officer who identified himself as Dr. Slammer’s representative. The officer informed Mr. Winkle that Dr. Slammer had a grudge to settle vis-a-vis Mr. Winkle but that he would be moulding to overlook the offence done unto him if Mr. Winkle would submit a written apology. The officer further informed Mr. Winkle, who couldn’t imagine how, that Dr. Slammer knew him by name upon inquiring into the owner of “blue dress coat with the gilt button with P.C. on it” which was only discovered this morning to have belonged to Mr. Winkle and which according to Dr. Slammer had been worn by the very man who had had the gall to offend Dr. Slammer the previous night. Subsequently, Mr. Winkle went to check the condition of his blue dress coat as the officer waited.
To Mr. Winkle’s horror, the blue dress coat showed signs of having been worn the previous night. He incorrectly surmised that account of too much wine he must’ve changed into it last without knowing it and while wearing it offended the man who was currently seeking retribution, again without knowing it because of too much drink.
However, rather than writing a written apology, Mr. Winkle decided to accept the challenge to a duel. He accepted it because,
- He’s afraid to lose face and be labelled a coward by his Pickwickian peers,
- He’s under the false impression that duel facilitators often omitted loading the pistols with bullets on purpose, and
- He’s sure when Mr. Pickwick got wind of the duel he would make the authorities involved—authorities who would put a stop to the affair before it got deadly.
During breakfast, Mr. Winkle waited for his opportunity to apprise the Pickwickians of his predicament and thought he had found it when Mr. Snodgrass proposed a walk to a Rochester landmark which no one but Mr. Winkle agreed to partake in. As they walked, counting on Mr. Snodgrass’ inability to keep a secret, which Mr. Winkle thought was as certain as night follows day, he made Mr. Snodgrass vow never to tell anyone what he—Mr. Winkle—was about to tell Mr. Snodgrass. To Mr. Winkle’s chagrin, Mr. Snodgrass promised to do just that. To scare Mr. Snodgrass into babbling, Mr. Winkle reminded Mr. Snodgrass that a duel was actually unlawful and that Mr. Snodgrass might be charged in a court of law as an accessory to a crime should he agree to be Mr. Winkle’s second in this affair. Alas, Mr. Snodgrass was steadfast and vowed to be faithful to Mr. Winkle to the end.
When Mr. Winkle and Mr. Snodgrass arrived at the scene of the duel, they were met by Dr. Slammer’s second, the officer, whose name was revealed to be Tappleton, Lieutenant Tappleton. As second Lieutenant Tappleton and Mr. Snodgrass confided, and when the two expressed satisfaction with the conditions under which the duel was to be conducted, the duelists were asked to take their places. Mr. Winkle and Dr. Slammer did so. However, as the duel was about to begin Dr. Slammer, arguing that Mr. Winkle was not the man who had offended him, cancelled the proceedings. Sensing an opportunity to enhance his reputation, Mr. Winkle stepped forward to admit that he was indeed not the man, i.e. he had agreed to the duel knowing full well that he wasn’t the man who had offended Dr. Slammer. When asked to explain himself, Mr. Winkle claimed that he was defending what his coat represented regardless of whether he had offended Dr. Slammer or not.
Hoodwinked into believing that Mr. Winkle’s false gallantry was the genuine article, Dr. Slammer offered Mr. Winkle his friendship. Mr. Winkle accepted, and they agreed to an evening social where they and their friends could mingle and share a laugh.
Mystified by Mr. Snodgrass and Mr. Winkle’s absence throughout the day, Mr. Pickwick welcomed them back with more enthusiasm than usual. Subsequently, Mr. Snodgrass started to relate, in great detail, the cause of his and Mr. Winkle’s absence when he and Winkle were introduced to “Dismal Jemmy,” a friend of the stranger. Presently, “Dismal Jemmy,” who was about to tell a story of his own when Snodgrass and Winkle interrupted and who was an actor by trade and whose real name was Hutley, resumed his story which was a dismal one about a talented actor with a drinking problem, entitled the “The Stroller’s Tale”.
Because of the tenuous nature of the acting profession, most actors lost their ability to earn a steady incame after a brief bout of success, and Jemmy’s talented actor friend’s drinking problem, whose name was John, was no exception. One night, Jemmy, who was also an actor, bumped into his actor friend John who was, not surprisingly, in a state of piteous penury and physical ill-health. John begged for a handout and Jemmy obliged.
A few nights later, a messenger gave Jemmy a note in which was written a plea for Jemmy to be by the John’s side, as John was “dangerously ill”. Jemmy complied with the John’s wish and appeared at his bedside. John was, alas, in a delusional state as he believedhis wife, who was also present, meant to harm him. Jemmy did what he could to comfort John and promised John’s wife that he would return the following night to keep an eye on her husband.
As promised, Jemmy returned on the following night only to found that John was more delusional than ever before. (It was obvious that John was on his death bed.) John believed that he was well and wondered why his caretakers were preventing him from going to work. Then, it happens: With one last struggle, John tried to say something of import only to die.
The story having been concluded, Mr. Pickwick was about to comment on it when he was interrupted with a message that visitors were on their way to pay their respects to Mr. Pickwick & Co. Mr. Winkle explained who the visitors were: officers of the 97th Regiment who he—Mr Winkle—had befriended in the morning. By and by, the visitors appeared, and Mr. Winkle did the honours of making introductions. The introductions went well when all of a sudden Dr. Slammer took offence at the sight of Mr. Tupman and especially at the sight of the stranger. Dr. Slammer confided in Lieutenant Tappleton who proceeded to interrogate Mr. Pickwick as to the exact nature of his relationship to the stranger. Mr. Pickwick affirmed that the stranger was his guest and denied that he was a member of the Pickwick Club. By and by, identifying the stranger as a notorious actor, Lieutenant Tappleton advised Mr. Pickwick to be more circumspect in choosing his friends before rudely taking his leave, accompanied by Dr. Slammer and Dr. Payne.
Their rude, inexplicable departure infuriated Mr. Pickwick who had to be restrained lest he should run after them and choke Dr. Payne who was especially rude. A draught of an alcoholic beverage brought Mr. Pickwick to his senses, however, and all was well.
With the day’s new dawning, the Pickwickians learnt that the town of Rochester would be treated to a military exercise. Forthwith the Pickwickians took their places amongst the townspeople to witness the pageantry. Alas, as they waited for the exercises to begin, the Pickwickians found it hard to hold their ground and maintained their dignity on account of the surging crowd which pressed against them and subjected them to all sorts of indignities. Indeed, to their consternation, as the military exercise began, the Pickwickians found themselves sandwiched between an advancing army and a stationary army whose job was to protect an imaginary fortification.
In the ensuing moments, Mr. Winkle and Mr. Snodgrass managed to avoid getting sandwiched between the two armies. Meanwhile Mr. Pickwick ran after his hat which the wind, having dislodged it from his head, now sent it scuttling along the ground. The chase proved to be so arduous that Mr. Pickwick gave up on the prospect of ever recovering it when the hat blew up against the wheel of a barouche. Taking advantage of the fortuitous circumstance, Mr. Pickwick recovered his hat when, lo and behold, he looked up to find Mr. Tupman, who had been mysteriously absent since the morning, in the barouche in the company of a stout gentleman & co.
Presently, Mr. Tupman and the stout gentleman urged Mr. Pickwick to join them in the barouche. The welcame was extended to Mr. Winkle and Mr. Snodgrass, who had come chasing after Mr. Pickwick. With everyone safely aboard the barouche, the stout gentleman identified himself as a friend who had once spent time in the Pickwick Club, which explained his having recognized and befriended Mr. Tupman earlier in the day. As for the others on the barouche, they were Mr. Wardle’s daughters Emily and Isabella, Emily and Isabella’s spinster aunt Miss Rachael Wardle, and Mr. Trundle who was Isabella’s beau. There was also fat boy, named Joe, who was presumably a servant in the Wardle’s service and who had an extraordinary propensity to sleep under all circumstances. By and by, with the military exercises having come to an interlude, the fat boy was awoken and an open air repast began. As they ate and drank, Miss Rachel Wardle engaged Mr. Tupman, telling him all about the respective flaws of her nieces: Isabella’s one fault was her habit of stooping while Emily’s was her propensity to be loud and bold, the aunt said. Emily and Isabella responded with a rebuff which would cause the aunt to retaliate but for Mr. Wardle’s interjection directed at the fat boy Joe who had fallen asleep, never minded that he was in the act of eating a huge piece of pie. Nonetheless, as Joe woke up to resume his duties and finish what he had started to eat, Mr. Wardle informed Mr. Pickwick that he wouldn’t made Joe replace with another servant for the world.
Presently, Mr. Wardle reiterated his invitation: Mr. Pickwick and the Pickwickians were to come by Mr. Wardle’s manor before they left Rochester.