Pickwickian Studies Part 1

Pickwickian Studies.

by Percy Fitzgerald.

CHAPTER I. IPSWICH

I.--The Great White Horse

This ancient Inn is a.s.sociated with some pleasant and diverting Pickwickian memories. We think of the adventure with "the lady in the yellow curl papers" and the double-bedded room, just as we would recall some "side splitting" farce in which Buckstone or Toole once made our jaws ache. As all the world knows, the "Great White Horse" is found in the good old town of Ipswich, still flourishes, and is scarcely altered from the days when Mr. Pickwick put up there. Had it not been thus a.s.sociated, Ipswich would have remained a place obscure and scarcely known, for it has little to attract save one curious old house and some old churches; and for the theatrical antiquary, the remnant of the old theatre in Tacket Street, where Garrick first appeared as an amateur under the name of Lyddal, about a hundred and sixty years ago, and where now the Salvation Army "performs" in his stead. {1} The touch of "Boz"

kindled the old bones into life, it peopled the narrow, winding streets with the Grummers, Nupkins, Jingles, Pickwick and his followers; with the immortal lady aforesaid in her yellow curl papers, to say nothing of Mr.

Peter Magnus. From afar off even, we look at Ipswich with a singular interest; some of us go down there to enjoy the peculiar feeling--and it _is_ a peculiar and piquant one--of staying at Mr. Pickwick's Inn--of sleeping even in his room. This relish, however, is only given to your true "follower," not to his German-metal counterfeit--though, strange to say, at this moment, Pickwick is chiefly "made in Germany," and comes to us from that country in highly-coloured almanacks--and pictures of all kinds. About Ipswich there is a very appropriate old-fashioned tone, and much of the proper country town air. The streets seem dingy enough--the hay waggon is encountered often. The "Great White Horse," which is at the corner of several streets, is a low, longish building--with a rather seedy air. But to read "Boz's" description of it, we see at once that he was somewhat overpowered by its grandeur and immense size--which, to us in these days of huge hotels, seems odd. It was no doubt a large posting house of many small chambers--and when crowded, as "Boz" saw it at Election time in 1835, swarming with committeemen, agents, and voters, must have impressed more than it would now. The Ball-room at "The Bull,"

in Rochester, affected him in much the same way; and there is a curious sensation in looking round us there, on its modest proportions--its little hutch of a gallery which would hold about half-a-dozen musicans, and the small contracted s.p.a.ce at the top where the "swells" of the dockyard stood together. "Boz," as he himself once told me, took away from Rochester the idea that its old, red brick Guildhall was one of the most imposing edifices in Europe, and described his astonishment on his return at seeing how small it was.

Apropos of Rochester and the Pickwick feeling, it may be said that to pa.s.s that place by on the London, Chatham, and Dover line rouses the most curious sensation. Above is the Castle, seen a long time before, with the glistening river at its feet; then one skirts the town pa.s.sing by the backs of the very old-fashioned houses, and you can recognise those of the Guildhall and of the Watts' Charity, and the gilt vanes of other quaint, old buildings; you see a glimpse of the road rising and falling, with its pathways raised on each side, with all sorts of faded tints--mellow, subdued reds, sombre greys, a patch of green here and there, and all more or less dingy, and "quite out of fashion." There is a rather forlorn tone over it all, especially when we have a glimpse of Ordnance Terrace, at Chatham, that abandoned, dilapidated row where the boy d.i.c.kens was brought up dismally enough. At that moment the images of the Pickwickians recur as of persons who had lived and had come down there on this pleasant adventure. And how well we know every stone and corner of the place, and the tone of the place! We might have lived there ourselves. Positively, as we walk through it, we seem to recognise localities like old friends.

"Boz," when he came to Ipswich, was no more than a humble reporter, on special duty, living in a homely way enough. The "White Horse" was not likely to put itself out for him, and he criticises it in his story, after a fashion that seems rather bold. His description is certainly unflattering:

"In the main street, on the left-hand side of the way"--observe how minute Boz is in his topography--"a short distance after you have pa.s.sed through the open s.p.a.ce fronting the Town Hall, stands an Inn known far and wide by the appellation of 'The Great White Horse,'

rendered the more conspicuous by a stone statue of some rampacious animal, with flowing mane and tail, distantly resembling an insane cart horse, which is elevated above the princ.i.p.al door. The 'Great White Horse' is famous in the neighbourhood in the same degree as a prize ox or county paper-chronicled turnip, or unwieldy pig--for its _enormous size_. Never were there such labyrinths of _uncarpeted pa.s.sages_, such cl.u.s.ters of _mouldy_, _badly-lighted rooms_, such huge numbers of small dens for eating or sleeping in, beneath any other roof, as are collected between the four walls of this overgrown Tavern."

Boz cannot give the accommodation a good word, for he calls the Pickwickian room "a large, badly furnished apartment, with _a dirty grate_ in which a small fire was making a wretched attempt to be cheerful, but was fast sinking beneath the dispiriting influence of the place." The dinner, too, seems to have been as bad, for a _bit of fish_ and a steak took one hour to get ready, with "_a bottle of the worst possible port_, _at the highest possible price_." Depreciation of a hostelry could not be more damaging. Again, Mr. Pickwick's bedroom is described as a sort of surprise, being "a more comfortable-looking apartment that his short experience of the accommodation of the Great White House had led him to expect."

Now this was bad enough, but his sketch of the waiter who received the arriving party is worse:

"A corpulent man, with a fortnight's napkin under his arm and coeval stockings."

There is something so hostile in all this that it certainly must have come from a sense of bad reception. As we said, the young reporter was likely enough to have been treated with haughty contempt by the corpulent waiter so admirably described, with his "coeval stockings."

Even the poor horse is not spared, "Rampacious" he is styled; the stone animal that still stands over the porch. It must be said that the steed in question is a very mild animal indeed, and far from ramping, is trotting placidly along. "Rampacious," however, scarcely seems correct--"Rampagious" is the proper form--particularly as "Boz" uses the words "On the rampage." We find ourselves ever looking at the animal with interest--as he effects his trot, one leg bent. The porch, and horse above it, have a sort of sacred character. I confess when I saw it for the first time I looked at it with an almost absurd reverence and curiosity. The thing is so much in keeping, one would expect to see the coach laden with Pickwickians drive up.

Mr. Pickwick's adventure, his losing his way in the pa.s.sages, &c., might occur to anyone. It is an odd feeling, the staying at this old hostelry, and, as it draws on towards midnight, seeking your room, through endless windings, turns, and short flights. There is even now to be seen the niche where Mr. Pickwick sat down for the night; so minute are the directions we can trace the various rooms. Mr. Pickwick asked for a private room and was taken down a "long dark pa.s.sage." It turned out later that Miss Witherfield's sitting-room was actually next door, so Mr.

Magnus had not far to go. These rooms were on the ground floor, so Mr.

Pickwick had to "descend" from his bedroom.

There is a tradition indeed that Mr. Pickwick's adventure with a lady really occurred to "Boz" himself, who had lost his way in the mazes of the pa.s.sages. I have a theory that his uncomfortable night in the pa.s.sages, and the possible displeasure of the authorities, may have jaundiced his views.

II.--Eatanswill and Ipswich

It is not "generally known" that Ipswich is introduced twice in the book: as Eatanswill, as well asunder its own proper name. As "Boz" was dealing with the corrupt practices at Elections, and severely ridiculing them, he was naturally afraid of being made responsible. Further, he had been despatched by the proprietors of the _Chronicle_ to report the speeches at the election, and he did not care to take advantage of his mission for literary purposes. The father of the late Mr. Alfred Morrison, the well- known, amiable virtuoso, was one of the candidates for Ipswich at the election in 1835, and he used to tell how young "Boz" was introduced into one of the rooms at the "Great White Horse," where the head-quarters of the candidate was. Sir Fitzroy Kelly was the other candidate, a name that seems pointed at in Fizkin.

This high and mighty point of the locality of Eatanswill has given rise to much discussion, and there are those who urge the claims of other towns, such as Yarmouth and Norwich. It has been ingeniously urged that, in his examination before Nupkins, Mr. Pickwick stated that he was a perfect stranger in the town, and had no knowledge of any householders there who could be bail for him. Now if Eatanswill were Ipswich, he must have known many--the Pott family for instance--and he had resided there for some time. But the author did not intend that the reader should believe that the two places were the same, and wished them to be considered different towns, though _he_ considered them as one. It has been urged, too, that Ipswich is not on the direct road to Norwich as stated by the author; but on consulting an old road book (Mogg's) I find that it is one of the important stages on the coach line.

But what is conclusive is the question of distance. On hurrying away so abruptly from Mrs. Leo Hunter's, Mr. Pickwick was told by that lady that the adventurer was at Bury St. Edmunds, "_not many miles from here_,"

that is a short way off. Now Bury is no more than about four-and-twenty miles from Ipswich, a matter of about four hours' coach travelling. Great Yarmouth is fully seventy by roundabout roads, which could not be described as being "a short way from here." It would have taken eight or nine hours--a day's journey. Mr. Pickwick left Eatanswill about one or two, for the lunch was going on, and got to Bury in time for dinner, which, had he left Yarmouth, would have taken him to the small hours of the morning.

No one was such a thorough "Pressman" as was "Boz," or threw himself with such ardour into his profession. To his zeal and knowledge in this respect we have the warmest testimonies. When he was at Ipswich for the election, he, beyond doubt, entered with zest and enjoyment into all the humours. No one could have written so minute and hearty an account without having been "behind the scenes" and in the confidence of one or other of the parties. And no wonder, for he represented one of the most important of the London "dailies."

The fact is, Ipswich was a sort of a tempestuous borough, the scene of many a desperate conflict in which one individual, Mr. Fitzroy Kelly--later Chief Baron--made the most persevering efforts, again and again renewed, to secure his footing. Thus, in December, 1832, there was a fierce struggle with other candidates, Messrs. Morrison, Dundas, and Rigby Wason, in which he was worsted--for the moment. But, in January, 1835, when he stood again, he was successful. This must have been the one in Pickwick, when the excesses there described may have taken place.

There were four candidates: one of whom, Mr. Dundas--no doubt depicted as the Honourable Mr. Slumkey--being of the n.o.ble family of Zetland. We find that the successful candidate was unseated on pet.i.tion, and his place taken by another candidate. In 1837, he stood once more, and was defeated by a very narrow majority. On a scrutiny, he was restored to Parliament. Finally, in 1847, he lost the seat and gave up this very uncertain borough. Now all this shows what forces were at work, and that, with such determined candidates, electoral purity was not likely to stand in the way. All which makes for Ipswich.

It must be said, however, that a fair case can be made for Norwich. In introducing Eatanswill, Boz says that "an anxious desire to abstain from giving offence" prompted Mr. Pickwick, _i.e._, Boz, to conceal the real name of the place. He adds that he travelled by the Norwich coach, "but this entry (in Mr. Pickwick's notes) was afterwards lined through as if for the purpose of concealing even the direction." Some might think that this was a veiled indication, but it seems too broad and obvious a method, that is, by crossing out a name to reveal the name. It is much more likely he meant that the town was somewhere between Norwich and London, and on that 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 s.p.a.ce 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 cla.s.s 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 a.s.sume 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 Pet.i.tion, 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 two white _Sea Horses_ as supporters. This had certainly something to do with the matter.

Mr. Pott was surely a real personage: for "Boz," who presently did not scruple to "takeoff" a living Yorkshire schoolmaster in a fashion that all his neighbours and friends recognised the original, would not draw back in the case of an editor. Indeed, it is plain that in all points Pott is truly an admirable figure, perfect in every point of view, and finished. In fact, Pott and Pell, in their way, are the two best pieces of work in the book. How admirable is the description; "a tall, thin man with a sandy-coloured head, inclined to baldness, and a face in which solemn importance was blended with a look of unfathomable profundity. He was dressed in a long, brown surtout, with a black cloth waistcoat and drab trousers. A double eye-gla.s.s dangled at his waistcoat, and on his head he wore a very low-crowned hat with a broad rim." Every touch is delightful--although all is literal the literalness is all humour. As when Pott, to recreate his guest, Mr. Pickwick, told Jane to "go down into the office and bring me up the file of the Gazette for 1828. I'll read you just a few of the leaders I wrote at that time upon the Buff job of appointing a new tollman to the turnpike here. I rather think they'll amuse you." This was rich enough, and he came back to the same topic towards the end of the book.

It will be remembered Mr. Pott went to Mrs. Leo Hunter's _Fete_ in the character of a Russian with a knout in his hand. No doubt the Gazette had its "eye on Russia" and like the famous _Skibbereen Eagle_ had solemnly warned the Autocrat to that effect. It is, by the way, amusing to find that this organ, _The Eagle_ to wit, which so increased the gaiety of the nation, has once more been warning the Autocrat, and in a vein that proves that "our filthy contemporary," _The Eatanswill Gazette_, was no exaggerated picture. This is how _The Eagle_, in a late issue, speaks of the Russian occupation of Port Arthur:--"And once again that keen, fierce glance is cast in the direction of the grasping Muscovite; again, one of the foulest, one of the vilest dynasties that has impiously trampled on the laws of G.o.d, and has violated every progressive aspiration the Almighty implanted in the human heart when He fashioned man in His own image, and breathed into his soul the breath of life, threatens, for the moment at least, to put back the hands of the clock that tells the progress of civilisation. The Emperor of all the Russias, this wicked enemy of the human race, has succeeded in raising his hideous flag on Port Arthur, and planting his iron heel and cloven hoof on the heathen Chinese--filthy, degenerate creatures, who, it must be admitted, are fitting companions for the tallow-eating, 'knouting'

barbarian."

III.--Nupkins and Magnus.

Who was intended by Nupkins, the intolerable Mayor of Ipswich? An odious being. We may wonder at "Boz's" courage, for, of course, the existing Mayor of Ipswich might think that the satire was pointed at _him_. There can be little doubt, however, that Nupkins was drawn from a London Police Magistrate, and is, in fact, another portrait of the functionary whom he sketched specially for "Oliver Twist" under the name of Mr. Fang.

Nupkins, however, is more in the comedy vein--ridiculed rather than gibbeted--than was Mr. Fang. We have only to compare the touches in both descriptions:

"I beg your pardon for interrupting you," said Mr. Pickwick, "but before you proceed to act upon any opinion you may have formed, I must claim my right to be heard."

"Hold your tongue," said the magistrate, peremptorily.

"I must submit to you, sir--" said Mr. Pickwick.

"Hold your tongue, or I shall order an officer to remove you."

"You may order your officers to do whatever you please, sir," said Mr.

Pickwick.

Compare with this "Oliver Twist":

"Who are you?" said Mr. Fang.

"Before I am sworn, I must beg to say one word, and that is I really never, without actual experience, could have believed--"