A vast deal of coolness

Day 2 of The Pickwick Papers! Hooray! This is going to be a great project. I haven't yet managed to read in a very long go, but anyway I'm on page 64 and the book is huge fun. Here's my favourite section until now (concerning chasing after hats):

There are very few moments in a man's existence, when he experiences so much ludicrous distress, or meets with so little charitable commiseration, as when he is in pursuit of his own hat. A vast deal of coolness, and a peculiar degree of judgement, are requisite in catching a hat. A man must not be precipitate, or he runs over it: he must not rush into the opposite extreme, or he loses it altogether. The best way is, to keep gently up with the object of pursuit, to be wary and cautious, to watch your opportunity well, get gradually before it, then make a rapid dive, seize it by the crown, and stick it firmly on your head: smiling pleasantly all the time, as if you thought it as good a joke as anybody else.

I'll go on reading now. Enjoy your evening, wherever you are!