think of appealing to either--all which seems strange to us
nowadays. At the Review even, the soldiers coolly overthrew Mr. Pickwick
and his friends who had got in their way. Winkle was maltreated so
severely that the blood streamed from his nose; this would not now be
tolerated. When Jingle affronted the great man by calling his friend
"Tuppy," Mr. Pickwick, we are told, "hurled the inkstand madly forward
and followed it up himself." This hurling of things at offenders was a
common incident, particularly in quarrels at table, when the decanter was
frequently so used, or a glass of wine thrown in the face. After the
adventure at the Boarding School, Mr. Pickwick "indented his pillow with
a tremendous blow," and announced that, if he met Jingle again, he would
"inflict personal chastisement on him"; while Sam declared that he would
bring "real water" into Job's eyes. Old Lobbs, in the story, was going
to throttle Pipkin. Mrs. Potts insisted that the editor of _The
Independent_ should be horsewhipped. More extraordinary still, old
Weller, at a quiet tea-meeting, assaulted the Shepherd, giving him "two
or three for himself, and two or three more to hand over to the man with
the red nose." Everyone set themselves right in this way and, it is
clear, knew how to use their "bunch of fives." Nor were there any
summonses or police courts afterwards; the incident was closed. Sam,
attempting to rescue his master at Ipswich, knocked down the "specials"
right and left, knocking down some for others to lie upon, yet he was
only fined two pounds for the first assault and three for the second--now
he would have been sent to jail under a severe sentence. Mrs. Raddle
insisted that her husband should get up and knock every one of the guests
down stairs, while Jack Hopkins offered to go upstairs and "pitch into
the landlord." At the Brick Lane meeting, Brother Stiggins, intoxicated,
knocked Brother Tadger down the stairs, while old Weller violently
assaulted Stiggins. At Bath, Dowler hunted Winkle round the Crescent,
threatening to cut his throat; and at Bristol, when the terrified Winkle
tried to ring the bell, Dowler fancied that he was going to strike him.
At Bristol, Ben Allen flourished the poker, threatening his sister's
rival, and when Mr. Pickwick sent Sam to capture Winkle, he instructed
him to knock him down even, if he resisted; this direction was given with
all seriousness. "If he attempts to run away from you, _kn