mixed by the
dismal man, the stranger applied the glass to Mr. Pickwick's mouth; and the
remainder of its contents rapidly disappeared.
    There was a short pause; the brandy and water had done its work; the amiable
countenance of Mr. Pickwick was fast recovering its customary expression.
    »They are not worth your notice,« said the dismal man.
    »You are right, sir,« replied Mr. Pickwick, »they are not. I am ashamed to
have been betrayed into this warmth of feeling. Draw your chair up to the table,
sir.«
    The dismal man readily complied: a circle was again formed round the table,
and harmony once more prevailed. Some lingering irritability appeared to find a
resting-place in Mr. Winkle's bosom, occasioned possibly by the temporary
abstraction of his coat - though it is scarcely reasonable to suppose that so
slight a circumstance can have excited even a passing feeling of anger in a
Pickwickian breast. With this exception, their good humour was completely
restored; and the evening concluded with the conviviality with which it had
begun.
 

                                   Chapter IV

    A Field-Day and Bivouac. More New Friends. An Invitation to the Country.

Many authors entertain, not only a foolish, but a really dishonest objection to
acknowledge the sources from whence they derive much valuable information. We
have no such feeling. We are merely endeavouring to discharge, in an upright
manner, the responsible duties of our editorial functions; and whatever ambition
we might have felt under other circumstances to lay claim to the authorship of
these adventures, a regard for truth forbids us to do more than claim the merit
of their judicious arrangement and impartial narration. The Pickwick papers are
our New River Head; and we may be compared to the New River Company. The labours
of others have raised for us an immense reservoir of important facts. We merely
lay them on, and communicate them, in a clear and gentle stream, through the
medium of these numbers, to a world thirsting for Pickwickian knowledge.
    Acting in this spirit, and resolutely proceeding on our determination to
avow our obligations to the authorities we have consulted, we frankly say, that
to the note-book of Mr. Snodgrass are we indebted for the particulars recorded
in this, and the succeeding chapter - particulars which, now that we have
disburdened our conscience, we shall proceed to detail without further comment.
    The whole population of Rochester and the adjoining towns rose from their
beds at an early hour of the following morning, in a state of the utmost bustle
and excitement. A grand review was to take