- johns hopkins myostatin
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the only guests besides jonas were the doctor, the resident director,
and two other gentlemen, whom montague presented in due form. pop me
down among your fashionable visitors whenever i'm in town, pip. jonas
repaired to the dining room, along with his distinguished host, and
took his seat at the board between that individual and his friend
the doctor. the rest fell into their places like men who were well
accustomed to the house; and dinner was done full justice to, by all
parties. |
| the dishes, wines, and fruits were of the choicest kind. mr
jonas was in the midst of a calculation of the value of this item
alone, when his host disturbed him. it was
of no use having anything uncommon for you. one of a company must do it to hold
the connection together; but, as i take a pleasure in it, that's my
department. pip, in a natural spirit
of emulation, then related some instances of his own depth; and
wolf not to be left behind-hand, recited the leading points of one or two vastly humorous articles he was then preparing. these
lucubrations being of what he called 'a warm complexion,' were
highly approved; and all the company agreed that they were full of point. |
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'men of the world, my dear sir,' jobling whispered to jonas;
'thorough men of the world! to a professional person like myself
it's quite refreshing to come into this kind of society. the least of their
stories had a colonel in it; lords were as plentiful as oaths; and even
the blood royal ran in the muddy channel of their personal
recollections. |
'mr chuzzlewit didn't know him, i'm afraid,' said wolf, in reference
to a certain personage of illustrious descent, who had previously
figured in a reminiscence. 'but we must bring him into contact with this sort of fellows.
'oh, yes; he took my paper regularly for many years. we must keep the wolf from the door, as the proverb
says. and being complimentary, i printed it. what
the devil is it all about, pip? there's a lot of feet in shakspeare's
verse, but there an't any legs worth mentioning in shakspeare's
plays, are there, pip? juliet, desdemona, lady macbeth, and all the
rest of em, whatever their names are, might as well have no legs at all, for anything the audience know about it, pip. |
why, in that
respect they're all miss biffins to the audience, pip. what the people call dramatic poetry is a collection of sermons. what's the legitimate object of the
drama, pip? human nature.
indeed, both himself and wolf had so much in common with jonas,
that they became very amicable; and between their increasing
friendship and the fumes of wine, jonas grew talkative.
it does not follow in the case of such a person that the more
talkative he becomes, the more agreeable he is; on the contrary, his
merits show to most advantage, perhaps, in silence. having no
means, as he thought, of putting himself on an equality with the
rest, but by the assertion of that depth and sharpness on which he
had been complimented, jonas exhibited that faculty to the utmost;
and was so deep and sharp that he lost himself in his own
profundity, and cut his fingers with his own edge-tools.
it was especially in his way and character to exhibit his quality at his entertainer's expense; and while he drank of his sparkling
wines, and partook of his monstrous profusion, to ridicule the
extravagance which had set such costly fare before him. |
| even at such a wanton board, and in such more than doubtful company, this
might have proved a disagreeable experiment, but that tigg and
crimple, studying to understand their man thoroughly, gave him
what license he chose: knowing that the more he took, the better for their purpose. and thus while the blundering cheat -- gull that he
was, for all his cunning -- thought himself rolled up hedgehog
fashion, with his sharpest points towards them, he was, in fact,
betraying all his vulnerable parts to their unwinking watchfulness. |
whether the two gentlemen who contributed so much to the
doctor's philosophical knowledge (by the way, the doctor slipped off
quietly, after swallowing his usual amount of wine) had had their
cue distinctly from the host, or took it from what they saw and
heard, they acted their parts very well. they solicited the honour
of jonas's better acquaintance; trusted that they would have the
pleasure of introducing him into that elevated society in which he
was so well qualified to shine; and informed him, in the most
friendly manner that the advantages of their respective
establishments were entirely at his control. |
| in a word, they said 'be
one of us!' and jonas said he was infinitely obliged to them, and he
would be; adding within himself, that so long as they 'stood treat,'
there was nothing he would like better.
after coffee, which was served in the drawing-room, there was a short interval (mainly sustained by pip and wolf) of conversation;
rather highly spiced and strongly seasoned. |
| when it flagged, jonas
took it up and showed considerable humour in appraising the
furniture; inquiring whether such an article was paid for; what it
had originally cost, and the like. in all of this, he was, as he
considered, desperately hard on montague, and very demonstrative
of his own brilliant parts.
some champagne punch gave a new though temporary fillip to
entertainments of the evening. for leading to noisy
proceedings, which were not intelligible, it ended in unsteady
departure of two gentlemen of world, and the slumber of jonas upon one of sofas.
as he could not be to where he was, mr bailey
received orders to a -coach, and take him home; which
that young gentleman roused himself from an sleep in
hall to .. .. |