'We are not,' roared Mr Pickwick, in a tone which would have persuaded to any listener who was not involved that he was telling the truth.

'Ain't you, though - ain't you?' said the young man to Mr Pickwick. He made his way through the crowd by the infallible method of putting his elbow into the faces of the people who made up the crowd.

In a few hurried words Mr Pickwick explained what was really going on.'

'Come along, then,' said the man in the green coat, lugging Mr Pickwick after him, and talking the whole way. Here, No. 924, take your fare, and take yourself off - respectable gentleman - know him well - none of your nonsense - this way, sir - where's your friends? - all a mistake, I see - never mind - accidents will happen - best regulated families* - never say die - down upon your luck - Pull him UP - Put that in his pipe - like the flavour - damned rascals.' And with a long string of similar broken and generally meaningless sentences, delivered in an extremely talkative way, the stranger led the others to the traveller's waiting-room, where he was soon joined by Mr Pickwick and his followers.

'Here, waiter!' shouted the stranger, ringing the bell with tremendous violence, 'glasses all round - brandy-and-water, hot and strong, and sweet, and plenty, - eye damaged, Sir? Waiter! raw beef-steak for the gentleman's eye - nothing like raw beef-steak for a bruise, sir; cold lamp-post very good, but lamp-post inconvenient - damned odd standing in the open street half an hour, with your eye against a lamp-post - eh ,- very good - ha! ha!'

* This is a nonsense collection of colloquialisms

Vocabulary:

Roar: Shout like an angry lion.
Aint you?: Are you not?
Infallible: It always works.
Lug: To carry in an undignified way.
Take yourself off: Go away.
String: Things coming one after the other.
Delivered: Here it means 'said'.
Glasses all round: Give everyone a drink.