st Christmas; that she had very dutifully
made up her mind to run away with him, in laudable imitation of her
old friend and school-fellow; but that having some compunctions of
conscience on the subject, inasmuch as I had always been rather kindly
disposed to both of them, they had thought it better in the first
instance to pay me the compliment of asking whether I would have any
objection to their being married in the usual matter-of-fact manner.
There now, Mr. Pickwick, if you can make it convenient to reduce your
eyes to their usual size again, and to let me hear what you think we
ought to do, I shall feel rather obliged to you!'

The testy manner in which the hearty old gentleman uttered this last
sentence was not wholly unwarranted; for Mr. Pickwick's face had settled
down into an expression of blank amazement and perplexity, quite curious
to behold.

'Snodgrass!-since last Christmas!' were the first broken words that
issued from the lips of the confounded gentleman.

'Since last Christmas,' replied Wardle; 'that's plain enough, and very
bad spectacles we must have worn, not to have discovered it before.'

'I don't understand it,' said Mr. Pickwick, ruminating; 'I cannot really
understand it.'

'It's easy enough to understand it,' replied the choleric old gentleman.
'If you had been a younger man, you would have been in the secret long
ago; and besides,' added Wardle, after a moment's hesitation, 'the truth
is, that, knowing nothing of this matter, I have rather pressed Emily
for four or five months past, to receive favourably (if she could; I
would never attempt to force a girl's inclinations) the addresses of
a young gentleman down in our neighbourhood. I have no doubt that,
girl-like, to enhance her own value and increase the ardour of Mr.
Snodgrass, she has represented this matter in very glowing colours,
and that they have both arrived at the conclusion that they are a
terribly-persecuted pair of unfortunates, and have no resource but
clandestine matrimony, or charcoal. Now the question is, what's to be
done?'

'What have YOU done?' inquired Mr. Pickwick.

'I!'

'I mean what did you do when your married daughter told you this?'

'Oh, I made a fool of myself of course,' rejoined Wardle.

'Just so,' interposed Perker, who had accompanied this dialogue with
sundry twitchings of his watch-chain, vindictive rubbings of his nose,
and other symptoms of impatience. 'That's very natural; but how?'

'I wen