Miles happened suddenly to turn his
head, upon which Mr. Pickwick skipped away, and said with some
fierceness, 'Good night, sir - I was about to say good night, sir,
- nothing more;' and so made a bow and left him.
'Now, Sam,' said Mr. Pickwick, when he had got down-stairs.
'All right, sir,' replied Mr. Weller. 'Hold hard, sir. Right arm
fust - now the left - now one strong conwulsion, and the great-
coat's on, sir.'
Mr. Pickwick acted upon these directions, and being further
assisted by Sam, who pulled at one side of the collar, and Mr.
Weller, who pulled hard at the other, was speedily enrobed. Mr.
Weller, senior, then produced a full-sized stable lantern, which he
had carefully deposited in a remote corner, on his arrival, and
inquired whether Mr. Pickwick would have 'the lamps alight.'
'I think not to-night,' said Mr. Pickwick.
'Then if this here lady vill per-mit,' rejoined Mr. Weller, 'we'll
leave it here, ready for next journey. This here lantern, mum,'
said Mr. Weller, handing it to the housekeeper, 'vunce belonged to
the celebrated Bill Blinder as is now at grass, as all on us vill
be in our turns. Bill, mum, wos the hostler as had charge o' them
two vell-known piebald leaders that run in the Bristol fast coach,
and vould never go to no other tune but a sutherly vind and a
cloudy sky, which wos consekvently played incessant, by the guard,
wenever they wos on duty. He wos took wery bad one arternoon,
arter having been off his feed, and wery shaky on his legs for some
veeks; and he says to his mate, "Matey," he says, "I think I'm a-
goin' the wrong side o' the post, and that my foot's wery near the
bucket.
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