It was getting dark; that is to say, a few gas jets were kindled in this place which was never light, by way of compliment to the evening, which had set in outside.As it was rather warm, some of the tenants of the numerous little rooms which opened into the gallery on either hand, had set their doors ajar.Mr.Pickwick peeped into them as he passed along, with great curiosity and interest.Here four or five great hulking fellows, just visible through a cloud of tobacco-smoke, were engaged in noisy and riotous conversation over half-emptied pots of beer, or playing at all-fours with a very greasy pack of cards.In the adjoining room, some solitary tenant might be seen, poring, by the light of a feeble tallow candle, over a bundle of soiled and tattered papers, yellow with dust and dropping to pieces from age: writing, for the hundredth time, some lengthened statement of his grievances, for the perusal of some great man whose eyes it would never reach, or whose heart it would never touch.In a third, a man, with his wife and a whole crowd of children might be seen making up a scanty bed on the ground, or upon a few chairs, for the younger ones to pass the night in.And in a fourth, and a fifth, and a sixth, and a seventh, the noise, and the beer, and the tobacco-smoke, and the cards, all came over again in greater force than before.
In the galleries themselves, and more especially on the staircases, there lingered a great number of people, who came there, some because their rooms were empty and lonesome, others because their rooms were full and hot: the greater part because they were restless and uncomfortable, and not possessed of the secret of exactly knowing what to do with themselves.
There were many classes of people here, from the labouring man in his fustian jacket, to the broken-down spendthrift in his shawl dressing-gown, most appropriately out at elbows; but there was the same air about them all--a listless jail-bird careless swagger, a vagabondish who's-afraid sort of bearing, which is wholly indescribable in words, but which any man can understand in one moment if he wish, by setting foot in the nearest debtor's prison, and looking at the very first group of people he sees there, with the same interest as Mr.Pickwick did.
"It strikes me, Sam," said Mr.Pickwick, leaning over the iron-rail at the stairhead, "It strikes me, Sam, that imprisonment for debt is scarcely any punishment at all.""Think not, sir?" inquired Mr.Weller.
"You see how these fellows drink, and smoke, and roar," replied Mr.
Pickwick."It's quite impossible that they can mind it much.""Ah, that's just the wery thing, sir," rejoined Sam, " they don't mind it; it's a regular holiday to them--all porter and skittles.It's the t'other vuns as gets done over, vith this sort o' thing: them down-hearted fellers as can't svig avay at the beer, nor play at skittles neither; them as vould pay if they could, and gets low by being boxed up.I'll tell you wot it is, sir; them as is always a idlin' in public-houses it don't damage at all, and them as is always a workin' wen they can, it damages too much.
`It's unekal,' as my father used to say wen his grog warn't made half-and-half:
`It's unekal, and that's the fault on it.'""I think you're right, Sam," said Mr.Pickwick, after a few moments, reflection, "quite right.""P'raps, now and then, there's some honest people as likes it," observed Mr.Weller, in a ruminative tone, "but I never heerd o' one as I can call to mind, 'cept the little dirty-faced man in the brown coat; and that was force of habit.""And who was he?" inquired Mr.Pickwick.
"Wy, that's just the wery point as nobody never know'd," replied Sam.
"But what did he do?"
"Wy, he did wot many men as has been much better know'd has done in their time, sir," replied Sam, "he run a match agin the constable, and vun it.""In other words, I suppose," said Mr.Pickwick, "he got into debt.""Just that, sir," replied Sam, "and in course o' time he come here in consekens.It warn't much--execution for nine pound nothin', multiplied by five for costs; but hows'ever here he stopped for seventeen year.If he got any wrinkles in his face, they was stopped up vith the dirt, for both the dirty face and the brown coat wos just the same at the end o'
that time as they wos at the beginnin'.He wos a wery peaceful inoffendin'
little creetur, and wos alvays a bustlin' about for somebody, or playin'
rackets and never vinnin'; till at last the turnkeys they got quite fond on him, and he wos in the lodge ev'ry night, a chattering vith 'em, and tellin' stories, and all that 'ere.Vun night he wos in there as usual, along vith a wery old friend of his, as wos on the lock, ven he says all of a sudden, `I ain't seen the market outside, Bill,' he says (Fleet Market wos there at that time)--`I ain't seen the market outside, Bill,' he says, `for seventeen year.' `I know you ain't,' says the turnkey, smoking his pipe.`I should like to see it for a minit, Bill,' he says.`Wery probable,'
says the turnkey, smoking his pipe wery fierce, and making believe he warn't up to wot the little man wanted.`Bill,' says the little man, more abrupt than afore, `I've got the fancy in my head.Let me see the public streets once more afore I die; and if I ain't struck with apoplexy, I'll be back in five minits by the clock.' `And wot 'ud become o' me if you wos struck with apoplexy?' said the turnkey.`Wy,' says the little creetur, `whoever found me, 'ud bring me home, for I've got my card in my pocket, Bill,' he says, `No.20, Coffee-room Flight': and that wos true, sure enough, for wen he wanted to make the acquaitance of any new-comer, he used to pull out a little limp card vith them words on it and nothin' else; in consideration of vich, he wos alvays called Number Tventy.The turnkey takes a fixed look at him, and at last he says in a solemn manner, `Tventy,'
he says, `I'll trust you; you won't get your old friend into trouble.'
