The Pickwick Club discussion
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Sketches by Boz
Sketches by Boz
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Characters, 11: Making a Night of It
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This is the only illustration I have from Cruikshank for these three sketches. 
Making a night of it
George Cruikshank
Characters 11
Here is an illustration by Fred Barnard:
The Prisoner's Van
Fred Barnard
Characters 12
I do not understand this illustration at all, I see no van anyway, but that is how it is marked, so I posted it.
Could the van be represented at the top right-ish part of the illustration where there is a woman framed by what looks like narrow doors? Since she is behind the front row of people but yet noticeably higher, this suggests she is at the doorway of a van on wheels.
An amusing little story is this. I love this description of the brawl, it's so much superior to 'there was a fight'! 'Mr Thomas Potter and Mr Robert Smithers ... when they had done treating themselves they began to treat everybody else; and the rest of the entertainment was a confused mixture of heads and heels, black eyes and blue uniforms, mud and gaslights, thick doors and stone paving.(Just a note: I think that nowadays when we talk of 'making a night of it' we simply mean 'having a fabulous night'. It doesn't have to extend into the wee hours of the next day, though it may.)
Oops! There ought to be an inverted comma after 'paving'!
Between "Making a Night of it" and "The Prisoners'Van" we certainly get a glance at interesting characters. I really enjoyed watching how Dickens described the people. From the first of his writing, Dickens shows a keen eye for both the physical description and the psychological makeup of people. I wonder if he took much time in the writing of the individual stories in The Sketches or not. My guess is no. Moving from the writing of a Sketch to the creation of a novel would have been some transition, but it makes The Pickwick Papers make all that much more sense, as PP is episodic in format.
I have to keep reminding myself how young Dickens was while this Sketches were being created.
Kim,I also tend to think, like Peter, that the van is on the top right of the picture. But maybe Barnard was so concentrated on those two sisters, who play an important role in the Sketch, that he simply forgot to draw the van. The strangest things can happen in life.
Hilary wrote: "An amusing little story is this. I love this description of the brawl, it's so much superior to 'there was a fight'! 'Mr Thomas Potter and Mr Robert Smithers ... when they had done treating themsel..."Yes, the play on words "treating themselves / treating others" is certainly more effective than saying there was a fight.
As to exending a fabulous night into the wee hours of the next day, I always found that the more a night extended into those hours, the less fabulous it become ;-)
Peter wrote: "I wonder if he took much time in the writing of the individual stories in The Sketches or not. My guess is no."I don't think, either, that Dickens took a lot of time in the writing of these Sketches. For one, the word Sketch already suggests that it is a product of spontaneity more or less, and then considering Dickens's output as a writer, I think that he was very quick with the quill.
And yes, "Pickwick" is also written in the vein of these Sketches, and it shows that Dickens was an avid reader of Smollett, and if I'm not mistaken, Fielding. [Well, I sure love Fielding, too.]
It's really amazing how young Dickens was when writing these Sketches. Some days ago I realized that when R.L. Stevenson was my age, he had been dead for two years. What have I to show as an equivalent of "Jekyll & Hyde" or "Treasure Island", or "The Master of Ballantrae"?
Tristram wrote: "Peter wrote: "I wonder if he took much time in the writing of the individual stories in The Sketches or not. My guess is no."I don't think, either, that Dickens took a lot of time in the writing ..."
What do you have to show for your life? Well, you along with Kim are the chief Pickwickians of The Pickwick Club, an ultra-exclusive group of individuals whose semi-riotest behaviour is focussed on the sole purpose of reading and discussing the writings of one of the -if not the - most famous writers of the English and every other language.
R.L. Stevenson may have his very own Treasure Island or possess a Jekyll and Hyde personality, but he could never be The Master of Ballantrae as you and Kim are.
So true, Tristram. The more the revelries (or for that matter, playing Scrabble) of 'the night before' highjack the wee hours, the more it flatters to deceive. Don your hat and coat at 9.30 so that you're home long before the witching hour! Everyone will be thrilled the next day, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. :p
Peter wrote: "What do you have to show for your life? Well, you along with Kim are the chief Pickwickians of The Pickwick Club, an ultra-exclusive group of individuals whose semi-riotest behaviour is focussed on the sole purpose of reading and discussing the writings of one of the -if not the - most famous writers of the English and every other language. "Oh Peter, that is so nice. You made all my days till Christmas ;-)
Hilary wrote: "So true, Tristram. The more the revelries (or for that matter, playing Scrabble) of 'the night before' highjack the wee hours, the more it flatters to deceive. Don your hat and coat at 9.30 so that..."That's the art of finishing on a high note ... Best practised on New Year's Eve, by going to bed shortly after midnight and not staying with the bunch of the party-guests who will linger on and get more and more depressed ;-)
Hee hee! Oh how true that is! ;-)
We have lived long enough - not to say that we are old - to know the truth about how nice it is to turn in early. Like today, after a long day's work, as soon as the kids are in bed, we'll settle down for a double feature of "Gunsmoke" and then go to bed. Weekend!!!
Peter wrote: "Tristram wrote: "Peter wrote: "I wonder if he took much time in the writing of the individual stories in The Sketches or not. My guess is no."I don't think, either, that Dickens took a lot of tim..."
Thank you Peter, you have made my day. Now I can go start unpacking my living room village with a smile on my face. A bigger smile.
Tristram wrote: "Oh Peter, that is so nice. You made all my days till Christmas ;-)"Oh, I loved reading that! I'm just not sure how that didn't happen long ago you knowing me this long. :-)
Kim wrote: "Tristram wrote: "Oh Peter, that is so nice. You made all my days till Christmas ;-)"Oh, I loved reading that! I'm just not sure how that didn't happen long ago you knowing me this long. :-)"
Ah, come on, Kim. You must know very well that since I got to know you, Christmas has got an additional dimension for me. ;-)
Tristram wrote: "Ah, come on, Kim. You must know very well that since I got to know you, Christmas has got an additional dimension for me. ;-) "I've just spent the last few days working on the village in the living room. I just finished it last night and have such pain in my neck and head that I had to call the doctor. He is seeing me tomorrow to give me another pain management injection. Crawling around on the floors underneath platforms figuring out which house light should go where leaves me in horrible pain. My daughter asked me how much longer I think I will be able to do all this knowing what it does to me and I told her when I'm ninety I'll still be crawling under platforms. Right now the dining room, living room, kitchen, our bedroom and bathroom are all finished and I'm ready to start on the family room. After I get my shot of course. :-)
Oh dear, Kim, that's terrible! Chronic pain is just AWFUL!!!! I shall pray for you. You have a lot of courage pushing through. I hope that you have some pain meds that will help you until tomorrow!!! x
Like Hilary, I am sorry to hear you are in pain. Here's hoping the meds work. I also hope the doctor recommends you go to the rooms that are decorated after dark, stand in the doorway, and have your husband or daughter turn the display lights on. Magic! Your work transformed into the beauty of Christmas. Light in the darkness.A tonic for the heart, mind and soul, and hopefully your discomfort as well.
Peter, I know that this is for Kim but your words melt my heart! Thank you!
Yes, that brought a smile to my face too. Oh, Hilary I think I must have every pain medication known to man here somewhere. :-)
I hope that the injection helped, Kim! x
Kim,I, too, am very sorry to hear about the pain you feel, and I hope that the medication will set things right again. I couldn't say it any better than Peter did, and I also know that seeing the beautiful results of your Christmas decoration will definitely also add to the painkilling effect your doctor has hopefully given you.
We are treated to how two young London clerks, the rather poetical and shy Mr. Robert Smithers and the rough-and-ready Mr. Thomas Potter, treat themselves to a night of painting the town red on the occasion of getting their salary. In the course of their festivities, however, they fall under the influence of bad spirits (when I come to think of it, however, I’d say the spirits must have quite good, only in too large quantities) and so they are arrested for disorderly behaviour and fined for damages. That’s basically all there is to this Sketch; only two things I did notice, after all:
1) This rather humorous description of a jolly night out, followed by a bad hangover (also with regard to the fines they have to pay) reminds me a bit of the scene in David Copperfield when our hero gets drunk for the first time and then runs into Agnes, which makes him feel quite ashamed.
2) A sentence like “Damons are rather hard to find, in these days of imprisonment for debt (except the sham ones, and they cost half-a-crown)” might be taken to show that Dickens was always more or less preoccupied with the topic of imprisonment for debt, due to the traumatic childhood experience he had to undergo.