ance at the passing coffin. This is what our fast
decomposing and wholly noisome contemporary is now doing. Shall we
say it? How beastly, how congenial to the man's feelings! Paugh!
Decency; propriety; sense of restraint; all unknown terms in his Malay
tongue--for this Swift's yahoo. But we know what rankles. Has our
contemporary in mind a chastisement that was inflicted on him in the
kitchen of a certain inn, and in the presence of Pickwick himself--has
he forgotten the fire irons--or, to speak accurately, _the_ fire
irons. That bruise, we dare swear, is still raw. But there are pole-
cats who cannot divest themselves of their odour, do what they will,
and this festering mass of decaying garbage, which goes by the name of
_The Independent_, and which is unaccountably overlooked by the night
men in their rounds, is fast breeding a pestilence in the pure air of
Eatanswill." This lamentable controversy still continues.

STRANGE INCIDENT.

We noticed among the company at Mr. Pickwick's funeral a gentleman of
unobstrusive exterior, who seemed to be vainly seeking his place, and
to whom our representative offered his services. It turned out that
his name was Trundle, and that he was one of the appointed
pall-bearers, but that he had been unaccountably overlooked, and his
place taken by someone else. Mr. Trundle made no complaint, but our
representative thought it his duty to mention the circumstance to Mr.
Wardle, who, it appears, is his father-in-law, but who only smiled,
good-humouredly saying "O, Trundle, to be sure. No one minds him and
_he_ won't mind." But no further attention was paid to the matter.
Mr. Trundle, our representative adds, was a man of modest and retiring
ways, and did not seem in the least put out by the mistake.

Footnotes:

{1} Some years ago, as it is stated in Murray's Guide Book, most of the
old gabled houses disappeared. They are shown in "Phiz's" picturesque
sketch.

{66} "Oliver Twist" was begun in January, 1837, and Rose Maylie
introduced about July or August. Mary Hogarth died on May 7th.

{68} Mr. Wright lately possessed a most interesting copy, presented
number by number to Mary Hogarth by the author, up to No. 14, with this
inscription: "From hers affectionately, Charles Dickens." The succeeding
numbers were given to her schoolfellow, Miss Walker. Mr. Wright also
possessed the