Humorous stories; Legal stories; London (England) -- Fiction; Trials (Breach of promise) -- Fiction
Mr. Winkle faltered out a reply in the affirmative; and both
gentlemen were forthwith invested with a slip of paper, and a
shilling each, by the dexterous Mr. Jackson.
'Now,' said Jackson, 'I'm affraid you'll think me rather troublesome,
but I want somebody else, if it ain't inconvenient. I _have_ Samuel
Weller's name here, Mr. Pickwick.'
'Send my servant here, waiter,' said Mr. Pickwick. The waiter
retired, considerably astonished, and Mr. Pickwick motioned Jackson
to a seat.
There was a painful pause, which was at length broken by the innocent
defendant.
'I suppose, sir,' said Mr. Pickwick, his indignation rising while he
spoke; 'I suppose, sir, that it is the intention of your employers to
seek to criminate me upon the testimony of my own friends?'
Mr. Jackson struck his forefinger several times against the left side
of his nose, to intimate that he was not there to disclose the
secrets of the prison-house, and playfully rejoined:
'Not knowin', can't say.'
'For what other reason, sir,' pursued Mr. Pickwick, 'are these
subpoenas served upon them, if not for this?'
'Very good plant, Mr. Pickwick,' replied Jackson, slowly shaking his
head. 'But it won't do. No harm in trying, but there's little to be
got out of me.'
Here Mr. Jackson smiled once more upon the company, and, applying his
left thumb to the tip of his nose, worked a visionary coffee-mill
with his right hand: thereby performing a very graceful piece of
pantomime (then much in vogue, but now, unhappily, almost obsolete)
which was familiarly denominated 'taking a grinder.' (Imagine a
modern solicitor's clerk "Taking a grinder!")
'No, no, Mr. Pickwick,' said Jackson, in conclusion; 'Perker's people
must guess what we served these subpoenas for. If they can't, they
must wait till the action comes on, and then they'll find out.'
Mr. Pickwick bestowed a look of excessive disgust on his unwelcome
visitor, and would probably have hurled some tremendous anathema at
the heads of Messrs. Dodson and Fogg, had not Sam's entrance at the
instant interrupted him.
'Samuel Weller?' said Mr. Jackson, inquiringly.
'Vun o' the truest things as you've said for many a long year,'
replied Sam, in a most composed manner.
'Here's a subpoena for you, Mr. Weller,' said Jackson.
'What's that in English?' inquired Sam.
'Here's the original,' said Jackson, declining the required
explanation.
'Which?' said Sam.
'This,' replied Jackson, shaking the parchment.
'Oh, that's the 'rig'nal, is it?' said Sam. 'Well, I'm wery glad
I've seen the 'rig'nal, 'cos it's a gratifyin' sort o' thing, and
eases vun's mind so much.'
'And here's the shilling,' said Jackson. 'It's from Dodson and
Fogg's.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account