ll a military uncle of my own--a
gentleman, like uncle Toby--handing his card to some one in a billiard
room, with a view to "a meeting." Dickens' friend Forster was at one
time "going out" with another gentleman. Mr. Lang thinks that duelling
was prohibited about 1844, and "Courts of Honour" substituted. But the
real cause was the duel between Colonel Fawcett and Lieut. Munro,
brothers-in-law, when the former was killed. This, and some other
tragedies of the kind, shocked the public. The "Courts of Honour," of
course, only affected military men.

Mr. Pickwick, himself, had nearly "gone out" on two or three occasions,
once with Mr. Slammer, once with Mr. Magnus; while his scuffle with
Tupman would surely have led to one. Winkle, presumed to be a coward,
had no less than three "affairs" on his hands: one with Slammer, one with
Dowler, and one with Bob Sawyer. At Bob Sawyer's Party, the two medical
students, tendered their cards. For so amiable a man, Mr. Pickwick had
some extraordinary failings. He seems to have had no restraint where
drink was in the case, and was hopelessly drunk about six times--on three
occasions, at least, he was preparing to assault violently. He once
_hurled an inkstand_; he once struck a person; once challenged his friend
to "come on." Yet the capital comedy spirit of the author carries us
over these blemishes.

When Sam was relating to his master the story of the sausage maker's
disappearance, Mr. Pickwick, horrified, asked had he been "Burked?" There
_Boz_ might have repeated his apologetic footnote, on Jingle's share in
the Revolution of 1830. "A remarkable instance of his force of prophetic
imagination, etc." For the sausage story was related in the year of
grace 1827, and Burke was executed in 1829, some two years later.

Mr. Lang has suggested that the bodies Mr. Sawyer and his friend
subscribed for, were "snatched," but he forgets that this traffic was a
secret one, and the bodies were brought to the private residence of the
physicians, the only safe way (_Vide_ the memoirs of Sir A. Cooper). At
a great public Hospital the practice would be impossible.

"Hot elder wine, well qualified with brandy and spice," is a drink that
would not now be accepted with enthusiasm at the humblest wedding, even
in the rural districts: we are assured that sound "was the sleep and
pleasant were the dreams that followed." Which is not so certain. The
cake was cut and "passed through the ri