Walking Sticks

[Brainy Cove]

What ho!

I was pondering the character who sucks on the head of his walking
stick. Was it Bassington-Bassington? Can't tell you which Jeeves tale
to look in. Wish I knew of a good Plum search site.

Anyway, this cove sucks on the head of his stick and I was wondering,
is this acceptable behaviour? Or are we meant to see it as peculiar?

Brainy Cove

[Ian Michaud, TWS]

Post by Brainy Cove
What ho!
I was pondering the character who sucks on the head of his walking
stick. Was it Bassington-Bassington? Can't tell you which Jeeves tale
to look in. Wish I knew of a good Plum search site.
Anyway, this cove sucks on the head of his stick and I was wondering,
is this acceptable behaviour? Or are we meant to see it as peculiar?
Brainy Cove

---
The one that immediately springs to mind is Lady Malvern's son Motty, Lord
Pershore, from the short story "Jeeves and the Unbidden Guest."
---
Motty, who was sucking the knob of his stick, uncorked himself.
"Yes, mother," he said, and corked himself up again.
---
One paragraph later:
---
I gave Motty the swift east-to-west. He was sitting with his mouth nuzzling
the stick, blinking at the wall.
---
And three or four paragraphs later:
---
He had stopped chewing his walking-stick and was sitting there with his
mouth open.
---
A mild, furtive, sheepish sort of blighter, in short.

The Mixer

[s***@gmail.com]

Post by Ian Michaud, TWS

Post by Brainy Cove
What ho!
I was pondering the character who sucks on the head of his walking
stick. Was it Bassington-Bassington? Can't tell you which Jeeves tale
to look in. Wish I knew of a good Plum search site.
Anyway, this cove sucks on the head of his stick and I was wondering,
is this acceptable behaviour? Or are we meant to see it as peculiar?
Brainy Cove

---
The one that immediately springs to mind is Lady Malvern's son Motty, Lord
Pershore, from the short story "Jeeves and the Unbidden Guest."
---
Motty, who was sucking the knob of his stick, uncorked himself.
"Yes, mother," he said, and corked himself up again.
---
---
I gave Motty the swift east-to-west.  He was sitting with his mouth nuzzling
the stick, blinking at the wall.
---
---
He had stopped chewing his walking-stick and was sitting there with his
mouth open.
---
A mild, furtive, sheepish sort of blighter, in short.
The Mixer

Talking of walking sticks, one is reminded of the stout walking stick
Lord Emsworth chose-albeit as an after thought- while starting on his
walk to the hunting lodge at Blandings, accompanied by Beach and
Baxter, who was principally the reason of his Lordship's prudent
choice of the stout WS.

Swordfish

[Brainy Cove]

Ah, that's the chap. Thanks to all for identifying him.

Back to the original question: Is this stick-chewing considered
ordinary behaviour? Or eccentric? Or straws-in-one's-hair barmy?

Brainy Cove

[Alan Follett]

Post by Brainy Cove
Ah, that's the chap. Thanks to all for
identifying him.
Back to the original question: Is this
stick-chewing considered ordinary
behaviour? Or eccentric? Or
straws-in-one's-hair barmy?

What ho, BC;

Not ordinary behaviour, certainly; but I see this as more on the lines
of an irritating habit than something that would attract the attention
of talent scouts from Colney Hatch.

For whatever it's worth, this is not the only literary instance of a
character chewing or sucking on a walking stick. Dickens portrays Tom
Gradgind as doing the same in /Hard Times/:

http://www.victorianweb.org/art/illustration/reinhart/ht9.html

Ta!
Le Vicomte de Blissac

[David M. Harris]

Post by Alan Follett

Post by Brainy Cove
Ah, that's the chap. Thanks to all for
identifying him.
Back to the original question: Is this
stick-chewing considered ordinary
behaviour? Or eccentric? Or
straws-in-one's-hair barmy?

What ho, BC;
Not ordinary behaviour, certainly; but I see this as more on the lines
of an irritating habit than something that would attract the attention
of talent scouts from Colney Hatch.
For whatever it's worth, this is not the only literary instance of a
character chewing or sucking on a walking stick. Dickens portrays Tom
http://www.victorianweb.org/art/illustration/reinhart/ht9.html
Ta!
Le Vicomte de Blissac

Lord Verisoft does it, also, in Nicholas Nickleby.

[Ian Michaud, TWS]

Post by Brainy Cove
Ah, that's the chap. Thanks to all for identifying him.

And to continue the discussion, today I was re-reading the old Reggie Pepper
story "Absent Treatment", and at one point Bobbie Cardew, the friend Reggie
was "helping" in the story, was observed "chewing the knob of his stick."

While Bobbie certainly didn't possess one of the world's biggest brains,
allowances can be made for his stick-chewing. It's a generally accepted
fact that anyone receiving the "help" of Reggie Pepper can be forgiven for
adopting slightly neurotic habits.

The Mixer

[B***@npole.com]

The chap you're thinking about is Wilmot, son of Lady Malvern in
"Jeeves And The Unbidden Guest".
Lady Malvern has Wilmot stay with Bertie while in New York City.
It is peculiar behavior on either side of the Atlantic., with the
possible exception to the more esoteric, underground club adventurers.

On Sat, 31 Oct 2009 11:02:49 -0700 (PDT), Brainy Cove

Post by Brainy Cove
What ho!
I was pondering the character who sucks on the head of his walking
stick. Was it Bassington-Bassington? Can't tell you which Jeeves tale
to look in. Wish I knew of a good Plum search site.
Anyway, this cove sucks on the head of his stick and I was wondering,
is this acceptable behaviour? Or are we meant to see it as peculiar?
Brainy Cove