He quickly put a dressing-gown around himself, and went downstairs. An old woman and a couple of waiters were cleaning the coffee room, and an officer in uniform was looking out of the window. The officer turned round as Mr Winkle came in, and nodded his head stiffly. The soldier then ordered the servants to leave the room, and closed the door very carefully once they had left. He said, 'Are you Mr Winkle?'

'My name is Winkle, sir.'

'You will not be surprised, sir, when I tell you that I was asked my friend, Doctor Slammer, of the 97th to come here this morning.'

'Doctor Slammer?' said Mr Winkle.

'Doctor Slammer. He told me to say that no gentleman could put up with the way that you behaved last night; and that no gentleman should behave the way that you did'.

Doctor Slammer's friend noticed that Mr Winkle was completely astonished, and that he really did not know what the soldier was talking about. So he said - 'My friend, Doctor Slammer, is sure that you were drunk during the last part of the evening. Therefore perhaps you do not realise how greatly you insulted him. He asked me to say, that if you give this as an excuse for your behaviour, he will let you write a letter to him. You will apologize to him in this letter, and I will tell you what to write.