It never caught my eye,' returned Mr Winkle.

Lord, if I had known who you were, I should have rushed out, and

caught you in my arms,' said Bob Sawyer; 'but upon my life, I thought

you were the King's-taxes.'

'No!' said Mr Winkle.

I did, indeed,' responded Bob Sawyer, 'and I was just going to say that

I wasn't at home, but if you'd leave a message I'd be sure to give it to

myself; for he don't know me; no more does the Lighting and Paving. I

think the Church-rates guesses who I am, and I know the Water-

works does, because I drew a tooth of his when I first came down

here. But come in, come in!' Chattering in this way, Mr Bob Sawyer

pushed Mr Winkle into the back room, where, amusing himself by

boring little circular caverns in the chimney-piece with a red-hot

poker, sat no less a person than Mr Benjamin Allen.

Well!' said Mr Winkle. 'This is indeed a pleasure I did not expect.

What a very nice place you have here!'

Pretty well, pretty well,' replied Bob Sawyer. 'I PASSED, soon after

that precious party, and my friends came down with the needful for

this business; so I put on a black suit of clothes, and a pair of

spectacles, and came here to look as solemn as I could.'

'And a very snug little business you have, no doubt?' said Mr Winkle

knowingly.

Very,' replied Bob Sawyer. 'So snug, that at the end of a few years you

might put all the profits in a wine-glass, and cover 'em over with a

gooseberry leaf.' 'You cannot surely mean that?' said Mr Winkle. 'The

stock itself - ' 'Dummies, my dear boy,' said Bob Sawyer; 'half the

drawers have nothing in 'em, and the other half don't open.'

'Nonsense!' said Mr Winkle.

Fact - honour!' returned Bob Sawyer, stepping out into the shop, and

demonstrating the veracity of the assertion by divers hard pulls at the

little gilt knobs on the counterfeit drawers. 'Hardly anything real in

the shop but the leeches, and THEY are second-hand.'

I shouldn't have thought it!' exclaimed Mr Winkle, much surprised.

I hope not,' replied Bob Sawyer, 'else where's the use of appearances,

eh? But what will you take? Do as we do? That's right. Ben, my fine

fellow, put your hand into the cupboard, and bring out the patent

digester.'

The Pickwick Papers