Publisher's Synopsis
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1907 edition. Excerpt: ... mr. bob sawyer'S party Theke is a repose about Lant Street, in the borough of Southwark in the county of Surrey, which sheds a gentle melancholy upon the soul. A house in Lant Street would not come within the denomination of a first-rate residence, in the strict acceptation of the term; but if a man wished to abstract himself from the world, --to remove himself from the reach of temptation, --to place himself beyond the possibility of any inducement to look out of window, --he should by all means go to Lant Street. In this happy retreat are colonized a few clear-starchers, a sprinkling of journeymen bookbinders, one or two prison agents for the Insolvent Court, several small housekeepers who are employed in the Docks, a handful of milliners, and a seasoning of jobbing tailors. The majority of the inhabitants either direct their energies to the letting of furnished apartments, or devote themselves to the healthful pursuit of mangling. The chief features in the still life of the street are green shutters, lodging-bills, brass door-plates, and bellhandles; the principal specimens of animated nature are the pot-boy, the muffin youth, and the baked-potato man. The population is migratory, usually disappearing on the verge of quarter-day, and generally by night. Her Majesty's revenues are seldom collected in this happy valley; the receipt of rent is dubious; and the water communication is frequently cut off. Mr. Bob Sawyer embellished one side of the fire, in his first-floor front, early on the evening for which he had invited Mr. Pickwick to a friendly party; and his chum Mr. Ben Allen embellished the other side. The preparations for the reception of visitors appeared to be completed. The umbrellas in the passage had been heaped into the little
