upon the
characters and pursuits, of the persons by whom he
was surrounded--a habit in which he in common with
many other great men delighted to indulge.

"A very old lady, in a lofty cap and faded silk
gown,--no less a personage than Mr. Wardle's
mother,--occupied the post of honour on the
right-hand corner of the chimney-piece; and
various certificates of her having been brought up
in the way she should go when young, and of her
not having departed from it when old, ornamented
the walls, in the form of samplers of ancient
date, worsted landscapes of equal antiquity, and
crimson silk tea-kettle holders of a more modern
period. The aunt, the two young ladies, and Mr.
Wardle, each vying with the other in paying
zealous and unremitting attentions to the old
lady, crowded round her easy-chair, one holding
her ear-trumpet, another an orange, and a third a
smelling-bottle, while a fourth was busily engaged
in patting and punching the pillows, which were
arranged for her support. On the opposite side sat
a bald-headed old gentleman, with a good-humoured
benevolent face,--the clergyman of Dingley Dell;
and next him sat his wife, a stout, blooming old
lady, who looked as if she were well skilled, not
only in the art and mystery of manufacturing
home-made cordials, greatly to other people's
satisfaction, but of tasting them occasionally,
very much to her own. A little hard-headed,
Ripstone pippin-faced man, was conversing with a
fat old gentleman in one corner; and two or three
more old gentlemen, and two or three more old
ladies, sat bolt upright and motionless on their
chairs, staring very hard at Mr. Pickwick and his
fellow-voyagers.

"'Mr. Pickwick, mother,' said Mr. Wardle, at the
very top of his voice.

"'Ah!' said the old lady, shaking her head; 'I
can't hear you.'

"'Mr. Pickwick, grandma!' screamed both the young
ladies together.

"'Ah!' exclaimed the old lady. 'Well; it don't
much matter. He don't care for an old 'ooman like
me, I dare say.'

"'I assure you, mada