The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens (black male authors txt) đ
- Author: Charles Dickens
- Performer: 0812967275
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âA wretched-looking woman, the manâs wife, met me on the stairs, and, telling me that he had just fallen into a kind of doze, led me softly in, and placed a chair for me at the bedside. The sick man was lying with his face turned towards the wall; and as he took no heed of my presence, I had leisure to observe the place in which I found myself.
âHe was lying on an old bedstead, which turned up during the day. The tattered remains of a checked curtain were drawn round the bedâs head, to exclude the wind, which, however, made its way into the comfortless room through the numerous chinks in the door, and blew it to and fro every instant. There was a low cinder fire in a rusty, unfixed grate; and an old three-cornered stained table, with some medicine bottles, a broken glass, and a few other domestic articles, was drawn out before it. A little child was sleeping on a temporary bed which had been made for it on the floor, and the woman sat on a chair by its side. There were a couple of shelves, with a few plates and cups and saucers; and a pair of stage shoes and a couple of foils hung beneath them. With the exception of little heaps of rags and bundles which had been carelessly thrown into the corners of the room, these were the only things in the apartment.
âI had had time to note these little particulars, and to mark the heavy breathing and feverish startings of the sick man, before he was aware of my presence. In the restless attempts to procure some easy resting-place for his head, he tossed his hand out of the bed, and it fell on mine. He started up, and stared eagerly in my face.
ââMr. Hutley, John,â said his wife; âMr. Hutley, that you sent for to-night, you know.â
ââAh!â said the invalid, passing his hand across his forehead; âHutleyâHutleyâlet me see.â He seemed endeavouring to collect his thoughts for a few seconds, and then grasping me tightly by the wrist said, âDonât leave meâdonât leave me, old fellow. Sheâll murder me; I know she will.â
ââHas he been long so?â said I, addressing his weeping wife.
ââSince yesterday night,â she replied. âJohn, John, donât you know me?â ââDonât let her come near me,â said the man, with a shudder, as she stooped over him. âDrive her away; I canât bear her near me.â He stared wildly at her, with a look of deadly apprehension, and then whispered in my ear, âI beat her, Jem; I beat her yesterday, and many times before. I have starved her and the boy too; and now I am weak and helpless, Jem, sheâll murder me for it; I know she will. If youâd seen her cry, as I have, youâd know it too. Keep her off.â He relaxed his grasp, and sank back exhausted on the pillow. âI knew but too well what all this meant. If I could have entertained any doubt of it, for an instant, one glance at the womanâs pale face and wasted form would have sufficiently explained the real state of the case. âYou had better stand aside,â said I to the poor creature. âYou can do him no good. Perhaps he will be calmer, if he does not see you.â She retired out of the manâs sight. He opened his eyes after a few seconds, and looked anxiously round.
ââIs she gone?â he eagerly inquired.
ââYesâyes,â said I; âshe shall not hurt you.â
ââIâll tell you what, Jem,â said the man, in a low voice, âshe does hurt me. Thereâs something in her eyes wakes such a dreadful fear in my heart, that it drives me mad. All last night, her large, staring eyes and pale face were close to mine; wherever I turned, they turned; and whenever I started up from my sleep, she was at the bedside looking at me.â He drew me closer to him, as he said in a deep alarmed whisper, âJem, she must be an evil spiritâa devil! Hush! I know she is. If she had been a woman she would have died long ago. No woman could have borne what she has.â
âI sickened at the thought of the long course of cruelty and neglect which must have occurred to produce such an impression on such a man. I could say nothing in reply; for who could offer hope, or consolation, to the abject being before me?
âI sat there for upwards of two hours, during which time he tossed about, murmuring exclamations of pain or impatience, restlessly throwing his arms here and there, and turning constantly from side to side. At length he fell into that state of partial unconsciousness, in which the mind wanders uneasily from scene to scene, and from place to place, without the control of reason, but still without being able to divest itself of an indescribable sense of present suffering. Finding from his incoherent wanderings that this was the case, and knowing that in all probability the fever would not grow immediately worse, I left him, promising his miserable wife that I would repeat my visit next evening, and, if necessary, sit up with the patient during the night.
âI kept my promise. The last four-and-twenty hours had produced a frightful alteration. The eyes, though deeply sunk and heavy, shone with a lustre frightful to behold. The lips were parched, and cracked in many places; the hard, dry skin glowed with a burning heat; and there was an almost unearthly air of wild anxiety in the manâs face, indicating even more strongly the ravages of the disease. The fever was at its height.
âI took the seat I had occupied the night before, and there I sat for hours, listening to sounds which must strike deep to the heart of the most callous among human beingsâthe awful ravings of a dying man. From what I had heard of the medical attendantâs opinion, I knew there was no hope for him: I was sitting by his death-bed. I saw the wasted limbsâwhich a few hours before had been distorted for the amusement of a boisterous gallery, writhing under the tortures of a burning feverâI heard the clownâs shrill laugh, blending with the low murmurings of the dying man.
âIt is a touching thing to hear the mind reverting to the ordinary occupations and pursuits of health, when the body lies before you weak and helpless; but when those occupations are of a character the most strongly opposed to anything we associate with grave and solemn ideas, the impression produced is infinitely more powerful. The theatre and the public-house were the chief themes of the wretched manâs wanderings. It was evening, he fancied; he had a part to play that night; it was late, and he must leave home instantly. Why did they hold him, and prevent his going?âhe should lose the moneyâhe must go. No! they would not let him. He hid his face in his burning hands, and feebly bemoaned his own weakness, and the cruelty of his persecutors. A short pause, and he shouted out a few doggerel rhymesâthe last he had ever learned. He rose in bed, drew up his withered limbs, and rolled about in uncouth positions; he was actingâhe was at the theatre. A minuteâs silence, and he murmured the burden of some roaring song. He had reached the old house at lastâhow hot the room was. He had been ill, very ill, but he was well now, and happy. Fill up his glass. Who was that, that dashed it from his lips? It was the same persecutor that had followed him before. He fell back upon his pillow and moaned aloud. A short period of oblivion, and he was wandering through a tedious maze of low-arched roomsâso low, sometimes, that he must creep upon his hands and knees to make his way along; it was close and dark, and every way he turned, some obstacle impeded his progress. There were insects, too, hideous crawling things, with eyes that stared upon him, and filled the very air around, glistening horribly amidst the thick darkness of the place. The walls and ceiling were alive with reptilesâthe vault expanded to an enormous sizeâfrightful figures flitted to and froâand the faces of men he knew, rendered hideous by gibing and mouthing, peered out from among them; they were searing him with heated irons, and binding his head with cords till the blood started; and he struggled madly for life.
âAt the close of one of these paroxysms, when I had with great difficulty held him down in his bed, he sank into what appeared to be a slumber. Overpowered with watching and exertion, I had closed my eyes for a few minutes, when I felt a violent clutch on my shoulder. I awoke instantly. He had raised himself up, so as to seat himself in bedâa dreadful change had come over his face, but consciousness had returned, for he evidently knew me. The child, who had been long since disturbed by his ravings, rose from its little bed, and ran towards its father, screaming with frightâthe mother hastily caught it in her arms, lest he should injure it in the violence of his insanity; but, terrified by the alteration of his features, stood transfixed by the bedside. He grasped my shoulder convulsively, and, striking his breast with the other hand, made a desperate attempt to articulate. It was unavailing; he extended his arm towards them, and made another violent effort. There was a rattling noise in the throatâa glare of the eyeâa short stifled groanâand he fell backâdead!â
It would afford us the highest gratification to be enabled to record Mr. Pickwickâs opinion of the foregoing anecdote. We have little doubt that we should have been enabled to present it to our readers, but for a most unfortunate occurrence.
Mr. Pickwick had replaced on the table the glass which, during the last few sentences of the tale, he had retained in his hand; and had just made up his mind to speakâindeed, we have the authority of Mr. Snodgrassâs note-book for stating, that he had actually opened his mouthâwhen the waiter entered the room, and saidâ
âSome gentlemen, Sir.â
It has been conjectured that Mr. Pickwick was on the point of delivering some remarks which would have enlightened the world, if not the Thames, when he was thus interrupted; for he gazed sternly on the waiterâs countenance, and then looked round on the company generally, as if seeking for information relative to the new-comers.
âOh!â said Mr. Winkle, rising, âsome friends of mineâshow them in. Very pleasant fellows,â added Mr. Winkle, after the waiter had retiredââofficers of the 97th, whose acquaintance I made rather oddly this morning. You will like them very much.â
Mr. Pickwickâs equanimity was at once restored. The waiter returned, and ushered three gentlemen into the room.
âLieutenant Tappleton,â said Mr. Winkle, âLieutenant Tappleton, Mr. PickwickâDoctor Payne, Mr. PickwickâMr. Snodgrass you have seen before, my friend Mr. Tupman, Doctor PayneâDoctor Slammer, Mr. PickwickâMr. Tupman, Doctor Slamââ
Here Mr. Winkle suddenly paused; for strong emotion was visible on the countenance both of Mr. Tupman and the doctor.
âI have met THIS gentleman before,â said the Doctor, with marked emphasis.
âIndeed!â said Mr. Winkle.
âAndâand that person, too, if I am not mistaken,â said the doctor, bestowing a scrutinising glance on the green-coated stranger. âI think I gave that person a very pressing invitation last night, which he thought proper to decline.â Saying which the doctor scowled magnanimously on the stranger, and whispered his friend Lieutenant Tappleton.
âYou donât say so,â said that gentleman, at the conclusion of the whisper.
âI do, indeed,â replied Doctor Slammer.
âYou are bound to kick him on the spot,â murmured the owner of
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