with an aquiline nose in lieu of a trunk. Rightly conjecturing
that this was the "Blue Boar" himself, he stepped into the house
and enquired concerning his parent. Finding that his father would
not be there for three-quarters of an hour or more, he ordered
from the barmaid "nine penn'orth o' brandy and water hike, and
the ink-stand," and having settled himself in the little parlour,
composed himself to write that wonderful "walentine" to Mary.
Just as Sam had finished his missive his father appeared on the
scene, and he was invited by the dutiful son to listen to what he
had written. Tony heard it through, punctuating it during the
process with a running commentary and much advice on marriage in
general and "widders" in particular.

It was here, too, that Tony, with the laudable intention of
helping Mr. Pickwick, offered the invaluable, and now historic,
advice concerning an "alleybi," there being, as he asserted,
"nothing like a' alleybi, Sammy, nothing."

It was in the same parlour on the same occasion that Mr. Weller,
senior, informed his son that he had two tickets "as wos sent"
to Mrs. Weller by the Shepherd "for the monthly meetin' o' the
Brick Lane Branch o' the United Grand Junction Ebenezer Temperance
Association." He communicated the secret "with great glee and
winked so indefatigably after doing so," "over a double glass
o' the inwariable," that he and Sam determined to make use of the
tickets with the projected plan of exposing the "real propensities
and qualities of the red-nosed man," the success of which is so
well remembered.

These facts in mind the "Blue Boar" ought not to be passed over