a groom, or a gamekeeper, or a seedsman. I looks like a sort of
compo of every one on 'em. Never mind; there's change of air, plenty to see, and
little to do; and all this suits my complaint uncommon; so long life to the
Pickvicks, says I!«
 

                                  Chapter XIII

Some Account of Eatanswill; of the State of Parties Therein; and of the Election
   of a Member To Serve in Parliament for That Ancient, Loyal, and Patriotic
                                    Borough.

We will frankly acknowledge, that up to the period of our being first immersed
in the voluminous papers of the Pickwick Club, we had never heard of Eatanswill;
we will with equal candour admit, that we have in vain searched for proof of the
actual existence of such a place at the present day. Knowing the deep reliance
to be placed on every note and statement of Mr. Pickwick's, and not presuming to
set up our recollection against the recorded declarations of that great man, we
have consulted every authority, bearing upon the subject, to which we could
possibly refer. We have traced every name in schedules A and B, without meeting
with that of Eatanswill; we have minutely examined every corner of the Pocket
County Maps issued for the benefit of society by our distinguished publishers,
and the same result has attended our investigation. We are therefore led to
believe, that Mr. Pickwick, with that anxious desire to abstain from giving
offence to any, and with those delicate feelings for which all who knew him well
know he was so eminently remarkable, purposely substituted a fictitious
designation, for the real name of the place in which his observations were made.
We are confirmed in this belief by a little circumstance, apparently slight and
trivial in itself, but when considered in this point of view, not undeserving of
notice. In Mr. Pickwick's note-book, we can just trace an entry of the fact,
that the places of himself and followers were booked by the Norwich coach; but
this entry was afterwards lined through, as if for the purpose of concealing
even the direction in which the borough is situated. We will not, therefore,
hazard a guess upon the subject, but will at once proceed with this history;
content with the materials which its characters have provided for us.
    It appears, then, that the Eatanswill people, like the people of many other
small towns, considered themselves of the utmost and most mighty importance, and
that every man in Eatanswill, conscious of the weight that attached to his
example, felt himself bound to unite,