Chapter-4
The Pickwickians arrived in Eatanswill which was engrossed in an election pitting Samuel Slumkey of the Blue faction against Horatio Fizkin, Esq., of the Buff faction, for a seat in Parliament. The Pickwickians were on their way to the Town Arms Inn when they were caught in the middle of a mob which was predominantly pro Slumkey. Ergo Mr. Pickwick joined the mob in cheering for Slumkey, compelling Mr. Snodgrass and Mr. Tupman to wonder why Mr. Pickwick would side himself with Slumkey when he had no idea who Slumkey was or what he stood for. Mr. Pickwick’s sage reply was that when caught in a mob, the best thing to do was to align oneself with the mob.
At the Town Arms Inn, the Pickwickians found themselves in a quandary. There might not be enough beds for them; and the fact there might or not be enough beds for them turned out to be contingent on their allegiance to either the Blue or Buff faction. Consequently, Mr. Pickwick enquired after Mr. Perker, the attorney who represented Mr. Wardle, and the attorney from whom Mr. Pickwick had found about Eatans would affect its election process in the first place.
Presently, the Pickwickians met Mr. Perker and exchanged greetings. From Mr. Perker, who was of the Blue faction, the Pickwickians learnt of the tremendous rivalry that existed between the Blue and Buff factions. The rivalry was so heated that both sides would go to extraordinary lengths to secure the majority vote on behalf of their man, including the keeping of potential opposition voters in a stupor of alcohol intoxication to prevent them from voting.
Through Mr. Perker, the Pickwickians were introduced to Mr. Pott, the editor of the Eatans Gazette, which was partedial to the Blue faction. Mr. Pott proved to be very proud of his work at the Gazette and of his calling as an “impartial newsman”. By and by, when the Pickwickians communicated to Mr. Pott of their lodging quandary, Mr. Pott provided them with a solution. Mr. Tupman and Mr. Snodgrass were to retire to the Peacock where there were two beds available; and Mr. Pickwick and Mr. Winkle were to be Mr. Pott’s guests in his mansion. Afraid to impose, Mr. Pickwick objected to the arrangement, but Mr. Pott insisted. As Mr. Tupman and Mr. Snodgrass had no objections on their parts and as the Pickwickians really had no other options, Mr. Pickwick grudgingly agreed to the arrangement.
At Mr. Pott’s mansion, Mr. Pickwick and Mr. Winkle made the acquaintance of Mrs. Pott who was only too glad to entertain guests. Complaining that her life was a secluded one, and that Mr. Pott’s obsession with politics bored her to tears, Mrs. Pott welcomed the Pickwickians. Thus, Mrs. Pott engaged Mr. Winkle in a game of cards, while Mr. Pickwick indulged Mr. Pott who regaled Mr. Pickwick with some of his editorial compostions.
The next day, Mr. Samuel Weller arrived at the Pott’s residence to attend to Mr. Pickwick. While attending to Mr. Pickwick, Mr. Weller told Mr. Pickwick a story about his—Mr. Weller’s—father which attested to the seriousness with which the people of Eatanswill took their politics. As the story went, Mr. Weller’s father, who operated a coach, was commissioned by an Eatans faction to bring voters from London to tip the balance of the votes. However, when the opposition got wind of the scheme, they warned Mr. Weller’s father of the possibility of an accident that might befall Mr. Weller’s father’s coach on a certain bridge en route to Eatanswould. Sure enough, on the day Mr. Weller’s father was transporting potential voters, his coach got upset on the very bridge mentioned and all the people were thrown into the couldal which the bridge spanned. Needless to say, Mr. Pickwick was astounded with Mr. Weller’s story.
Presently, Mr. Pickwick joined the others for breakfast, and then he accompanied Mr. Pott to the Town Arms where a political rally was taking place. Meanwhile, Mr. Winkle went with Mrs. Pott who was determined to procure a bird’s eye view of the political rally from a house top.
When Mr. Pickwick and Mr. Pott arrived at the Town Arms, a si±ble contingent of Blue faction supporters had assembled at the stable-yard. The assembly was to be treated to a photo-op of sorts in which the Blue faction candidate would shake the hands of twenty men and pat the heads of six children before addressing the assembly. The photo-op of sorts went according to plan even as Mr. Pickwick found himself buffeted a midst the crowd, which had by osmoswas all of sudden became a hybrid of Blue and Buff factions. Indeed, when Mr. Pickwick spotted Mrs. Pott and Mr. Winkle on a nearby house top and waved to them, to Mr. Pickwick’s indignation, the unruly crowd took Mr. Pickwick to task, accusing him of trying to steal Mr. Pott’s wife.
Presently, the Mightor of Eatans would addressed the crowd even as most of what he had to say was drowned out by the noise of the crowd. Indeed, the noise of the crowd drowned out most of what anybody had to say, including the respective speeches of Horatio Fizkin, Esq., and Samuel Slumkey, as the opposing factions did all they could to disrupt the opposing candidates. Eventually, at the behest of both the candidates, a semblance of order was established.
With relative order established, both candidates managed to make their speeches heard. Both candidates extolled the voting populace, and they both promised to do all they could to advance Eatans’ economy. When the Mightor openly stated his support for Samuel Slumkey, Horatio Fizkin demanded a poll. His demand was obliged.
Thanks were given to the hospitality of Mr. and Mrs. Pott; Mr. Pickwick and Mr. Winkle pleasantly spent their time in Eatans. Meanwhile, Mr. Snodgrass and Mr. Tupman managed to beguile their time by availing themselves of the amusements the Peacock had to offer. Chief among these amusements was the social gathering in the Peacock’s “commercial room” during the evening.
Presently, with the Eatans election having just ended, Mr. Snodgrass and Mr. Tupman spent their time in the “commercial room” when a dispute arose about the relative merits of women among the gathered assembly which included the one-eyed man, the placid man, the dirty-faced man, and the very red-faced man. The dispute compelled the one-eyed man to tell a story, which on second thought he hesitated to tell, but on third thought, urged onto it by Mr. Tupman, he decided to tell after all.
Entitled “The Bagman’s Story,” the one-eyed man’s story was about a traveller named Tom Smart who one day found himself traversing the roads on the windiest, wettest, and the most miserable days imaginable. His horse seemed none too happy about the situation as well on account which Tom promised the horse that they would find lodgings at the first roadside inn that they came across.
As promised, they found lodgings at the first roadside inn that they came across. While his horse was sheltered and fed, Tom Smart enjoyed a tumbler of hot punch. As he drunk, he noted with pleasure the various aspects of the inn. Indeed, but for a tall man who seemed bent on making the attractive innkeeper, a buxom widow, marry him, everything about the inn pleased Tom Smart greatly. Though he would’ve liked to confront the tall man and contend for the buxom widow’s affections, Tom Smart decided to turn in for the night.
Tom Smart went to his room where he noted with curiosity an old chair. He fell asleep only to awake an hour later. He took note of the old chair again, though why he couldn’t say. He tried to go back to sleep but to no avail. Suddenly, the old chair metamorphosed into an ugly, old man. Tom Smart attributed the miracle to his having drunken five tumblers of hot punch when the old chair, now the ugly, old man, talked to him.
At first, Tom berated the old chair, but when its aspect became something fierce, Tom regarded it with a measure of respect. By and by, the old chair informed Tom that it knew everything there was to know about Tom, especially his penury. Then explaining that the buxom widow, the innkeeper, was its ward, the old chair told Tom to marry the widow. When Tom mentioned the exploits of the tall man, the old chair averred that it would never did for the tall man, whose name was Jinkins, to marry the buxom widow and it explained why: Jinkins was already married and was the father of six kids; if he married the buxom widow, Jinkins would leave her after having sponged her dry of her money. Tom, on the other hand, would always be faithful to the buxom widow, as long as there was something to drink within the four walls, the old chair prognosticated.
Somewhat flattered, Tom told the old chair that the story discrediting Jinkins was all good and dandy, but how would he ever go about proving its veracity? The old chair informed Tom that in cupboard yonder there was a pair of trousers in a pocket of which was a letter written by Jinkins incriminating himself.
Presently, Tom Smart fell asleep. When he awoke, he talked to the chair to no avail. Tom thought that last night’s occurrence was a hallucination. But just in case, he checks the cupboard. Sure enough, there he found the trousers and the letter!
Tom Smart went downstairs to engage the buxom widow about the tall man. He asked about him, and the widow replied that his name was Jinkins. Tom warned her not to marry him, showing her the letter. Needless to say, the widow didn’t marry Jinkins. She married Tom Smart instead.
Though its veracity was questioned, the story was a success among the gathered assembly at the Peacock.
Three days passed since the end of the Eatans election. Mr. Pickwick, who felt that he had neglected Mr. Snodgrass and Mr. Tupman, decided to visit them at the Peakock when his valet Mr. Weller informed him of a visitor.
Subsequently, Mr. Pickwick greeted the visitor whose name was Mr. Leo Hunter. He had come on behalf of his wife Mrs. Leo Hunter who was throwing a masked ball to which the Pickwickians and the Potts were cordially invited. He would not take ‘no’ for an answer. However, when Mr. Pickwick objected to putting on a costume, an exception was made for Mr. Pickwick. Mr. Pickwick agreed to attend the masked ball.
When Mr. Pickwick arrived at the Peacock, he found that Mr. Winkle had already communicated the news about the masked ball to their associates. To Mr. Pickwick’s indignation, Mr. Tupman stated that he would go dressed as a bandit, i.e. as Mr. Alfred Jingle. Mr. Tupman reasserted his position, creating a standoff of sorts between he and Mr. Pickwick to the point that they were about to come to blows. Mr. Snodgrass interceded. Mr. Pickwick and Mr. Tupman came to their senses and reconciled. Mr. Tupman would go dressed as a bandit.
At the masked ball, the Pickwickians were greeted with acclaim. Even greater acclaim was accorded to the Potts. (Mr. Pott was dressed as a Russian officer of justice.) By and by, the Pickwickians were introduced to Mrs. Leo Hunter who was dressed as Minerva. Mrs. Leo Hunter was specially pleased to make Mr. Pickwick’s acquaintance. She introduced him to Count Smorltork, a famous foreigner who was gathering material for a learned study about England. Indeed, as Count Smorltork was introduced to the rest of the Pickwickians, he took copious notes.
The masked ball proceeded apace. To the party goers’ approbation, Mrs. Leo Hunter recited her poem “Ode to an Expiring Frog”. Mr. Pickwick was introduced to a Mr. Charles Fitz-Marshall who was, according to Mrs. Leo Hunter, a gentleman of fortune. Figuratively, with their mouths agape, Mr. Pickwick and Mr. Tupman dropped their respective forks and knives. Mr. Fitz-Marshall introduced himself to Mr. Pickwick only to excuse himself to see about his postilion. Mr. Pickwick asked Mrs. Leo Hunter about Mr. Fitz-Marshall’s current residence. Having acquired the information, despite Mrs. Leo Hunter’s objection, Mr. Pickwick excused himself as well. Presently, Mr. Pickwick summoned Mr. Weller, and together they set off for Angel at Bury, the current residence of Mr. Fitz-Marshall, who was no other than Mr. Alfred Jingle.
Despite going to Angel at Bury to settle a serious matter, Mr. Pickwick couldn’t help but to admire the wonderful August scenery which included women and children piling fruits into sieves and women and children gathering scattered ears of corn. Mr. Pickwick’s servant Sam Weller agreed and averred that being out on the road meant being cooped up inside all day, which led to a conversation about “two penny rope” accommodations (the poorest of poor accommodations) of which Sam was an expert.
When they arrived at Angel at Bury, Sam persuaded Mr. Pickwick to allow him—Sam—to do all the intelligence gathering with regard to Mr. Alfred JingleèkMr. Charles Fitz-Marshall. Sam also persuaded Mr. Pickwick to postpone the undertaking until tomorrow, i.e. until they had had a goodnight’s sleep.
The next day, Sam made the acquaintance of Job Trotter who had a big head and wore a mulberry-coloured suit. As Sam had correctly surmised, Trotter turned out to be Mr. Charles Fitz-Marshall’s man servant. At length, Trotter disclosed a personal quandary. His master was on the verge of taking a monetary advantage of a young lady of a boarding house, but he—Trotter—didn’t make the wherewithal to prevent the dastardly deed. Subsequently, Sam introduced Totter to Mr. Pickwick.
Trotter apprised Mr. Pickwick of his personal quandary and then, convinced by Mr. Pickwick that he had a moral obligation to act, proposed a plan that would spoil his master’s evil design. Mr. Pickwick had his doubts about the plan, but he decided to go along with it in the interest of bringing Mr. Alfred Jingle to justice.
Thus, in the undercover of the night, Mr. Pickwick and Sam retired to the Westgate House Establishment for Young Ladies. There, with Sam’s help, Mr. Pickwick scaled the establishment’s wall. Then, outside the establishment’s kitchen, Mr. Pickwick waited to ensnare Mr. Alfred Jingle in the act of eloping with the young lady of the boarding house.
Alas, when the time came to spring the trap, it became apparent that Mr. Pickwick’s doubts about the plan were warranted. Expecting Trotter to answer, Mr. Pickwick knocked at the door of the kitchen only to hide when one of the ladies of the establishment answered. It began to rain which turned into a downpour, soaking Mr. Pickwick. Unable to scale the wall on his own and abandon the plan, Mr. Pickwick knocked at the door again, but again, instead of Trotter one of the ladies of the establishment answered. Mr. Pickwick hid but to no avail. He had been spotted.
To assure the ladies of the Westgate boarding house that he meant no harm and that he had a legitimate reason for being where he was at this late hour, Mr. Pickwick submitted to being locked up in the establishment’s kitchen closet. Meanwhile, at Mr. Pickwick’s behest, two of the servants of the establishment went to fetch Sam Weller. By and by, Sam Weller arrived but he was not alone. He was with Mr. Wardle and Mr. Trundle. Apparently, Mr. Trundle had been officially engaged to be married to Isabella Wardle, and Mr. Wardle had joined Mr. Trundle at Westgate (for some rook shooting) where Mr. Trundle had a house and property.
Presently, Mr. Pickwick was told that everything had been cleared up. Miss Tomkins, the lady of the Westgate House Establishment for Young Ladies, had been apprised that a certain Mr. Jingle had fooled Mr. Pickwick into believing that Mr. Jingle was going to elope with one of the young ladies of Westgate boarding house, and that Mr. Pickwick was where he was when he was to prevent the crime.