| 435 | 436 | 437 | 438 | 439 |
| 1 | 198 | 396 | 594 | 792 |
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Another knock at the door announced a large-headed young man in a
black wig, who brought with him a scorbutic youth in a long stock.
The next comer was a gentleman in a shirt emblazoned with pink
anchors, who was closely followed by a pale youth with a plated
watchguard. The arrival of a prim personage in clean linen and cloth
boots rendered the party complete. The little table with the green baize
cover was wheeled out; the first instalment of punch was brought in,
in a white jug; and the succeeding three hours were devoted to VINGT-
ET-UN at sixpence a dozen, which was only once interrupted by a
slight dispute between the scorbutic youth and the gentleman with
the pink anchors; in the course of which, the scorbutic youth
intimated a burning desire to pull the nose of the gentleman with the
emblems of hope; in reply to which, that individual expressed his
decided unwillingness to accept of any 'sauce' on gratuitous terms,
either from the irascible young gentleman with the scorbutic
countenance, or any other person who was ornamented with a head.
When the last 'natural' had been declared, and the profit and loss
account of fish and sixpences adjusted, to the satisfaction of all
parties, Mr Bob Sawyer rang for supper, and the visitors squeezed
themselves into corners while it was getting ready.
it was not so easily got ready as some people may imagine. First of all,
it was necessary to awaken the girl, who had fallen asleep with her
face on the kitchen table; this took a little time, and, even when she
did answer the bell, another quarter of an hour was consumed in
fruitless endeavours to impart to her a faint and distant glimmering of
reason. The man to whom the order for the oysters had been sent, had
not been told to open them; it is a very difficult thing to open an oyster
with a limp knife and a two-pronged fork; and very little was done in
this way. Very little of the beef was done either; and the ham (which
was also from the German-sausage shop round the corner) was in a
similar predicament. However, there was plenty of porter in a tin can;
and the cheese went a great way, for it was very strong. So upon the
whole, perhaps, the supper was quite as good as such matters usually
are.
After supper, another jug of punch was put upon the table, together
with a paper of cigars, and a couple of bottles of spirits. Then there
was an awful pause; and this awful pause was occasioned by a very
common occurrence in this sort of place, but a very embarrassing one
notwithstanding.
The fact is, the girl was washing the glasses. The establishment
boasted four: we do not record the circumstance as at all derogatory
to Mrs. Raddle, for there never was a lodging-house yet, that was not
short of glasses. The landlady's glasses were little, thin, blown-glass
tumblers, and those which had been borrowed from the public-house
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