'Head of the garrison,' said the stranger, in reply to Mr Tupman's inquiring look.

Miss Bulder was warmly welcomed by the Misses Clubber; the greeting between Mrs. Colonel Bulder and Lady Clubber was of the most affectionate description; Colonel Bulder and Sir Thomas Clubber exchanged snuff-boxes, and looked very much like a pair of Monarchs of all they surveyed.

While the aristocracy of the place - the Bulders, and Clubbers, and Snipes - were thus preserving their dignity at the upper end of the room, the other classes of society were imitating their example in other parts of it. The less aristocratic officers of the 97th devoted themselves to the families of the less important functionaries from the dockyard. The solicitors' wives, and the wine-merchant's wife, headed another grade (the brewer's wife visited the Bulders); and Mrs. Tomlinson, the post-office keeper, seemed by mutual consent to have been chosen the leader of the trade party.

One of the most popular personages, in his own circle, present, was a little fat man, with a ring of upright black hair round his head, and an extensive bald area on the top of it - Doctor Slammer, surgeon to the 97th. The doctor took snuff with everybody, chatted with everybody, laughed, danced, made jokes, played whist, did everything, and was everywhere.

Vocabulary:

Garrison: The soldiers who guard a town.
Affectionate: Friendly and loving.
Snuff: A powder to make you sneeze (which was believed to be healthy).
Survey: Look over.
Imitate: Copy.
Devote: Give all your attention and energy to.
Functionaries:People who work in an organization.
Solicitor:A kind of lawyer
Mutual consent: Everyone's agreement
Trade party: A joke. It means the group of people who lived by trading.
Personage: Person.
Circle: Here it means group of friends.
Chat: Talk about things which are not serious