, with no very commendable
emphasis, that the precious old dote had a particular partiality for
Bruin's dominions, nor could be driven from the strange hallucination.
Another minute and the poor old man was in the most alarming state of
mind that could be imagined; the largest dough-nut on the platter had
stuck half-way down his throat. To relieve himself of his
unsuccessful attempt at swallowing things beyond his capacity, he
called lustily for Palm, who, unfortunately, had left in disgust, the
stench of Bear's grease being too strong for his capricious
organs. 'He! he! he! ah mun, I doe believe to heaven it's all up--I
doe!' gurgled the old man, struggling in spasmodic efforts to get the
thing up or down. 'If I die,' he continued, 'with this lump of
indecision in my throat, the consequences will be that no man will
mourn over me.' Littlejohn, always ready to move as occasion required,
sprung to his aid, crying 'Swallow it! swallow it! for the honor of
Young England swallow it! If it comes up you're a dead premier: dead
without a doctor.' The whole thing now became a complex confusion; no
one knew how to unconfuse it. It was a sad mistake having its origin
only in the want of the age's appliances to our day and its
circumstances; he had attempted a nut he had not capacity to
swallow. A dozen voices cried out 'Bring in the doctor.' and as many
more said the case was a desperate one. Some run one way; some run
another; 'and some never moved. Downing street was in tribulation.
Then everybody ran in everybody's way; nobody knew what to do; nor
could anybody find Mr. Chesterfield, the loud shouts for whom seemed
to make him a character of some importance. Mr. Smooth kept very cool
the while, thinking it best to maintain his philosophy up to a
scientific point; and in that way he reckoned it was as well to send
for Doctor _Punch_, who, in such cases was an adept of a practitioner,
and had an extensive infirmary in Fleet street, where patients
innumerable were healed for three-pence. Well, just as they were on
the point of making a rush, a voice cried out--'Here I am! here I am!'
and in another minute there jumped from under the table a
suspicious-looking turkey, who stood upon the platter, clapped his
wings, and sent the dough-nuts into a flutter about the room. 'I'm all
right' he proclaimed, stretching to his extreme height 'let every man
take care of himself.' My reader will scarce question my veracity when
I say the turke