he was aware on it; but there were so many on 'em, that he hardly

know'd which was the best ones wen he heerd 'em mentioned.'

Mr Winkle then recounted what had passed between himself and Mr

Ben Allen, relative to Arabella; stated that his object was to gain an

interview with the young lady, and make a formal disclosure of his

passion; and declared his conviction, founded on certain dark hints

and mutterings of the aforesaid Ben, that, wherever she was at

present immured, it was somewhere near the Downs. And this was his

whole stock of knowledge or suspicion on the subject.

With this very slight clue to guide him, it was determined that Mr

Weller should start next morning on an expedition of discovery; it was

also arranged that Mr Pickwick and Mr Winkle, who were less

confident of their powers, should parade the town meanwhile, and

accidentally drop in upon Mr Bob Sawyer in the course of the day, in

the hope of seeing or hearing something of the young lady's

whereabouts.

Accordingly, next morning, Sam Weller issued forth upon his quest, in

no way daunted by the very discouraging prospect before him; and

away he walked, up one street and down another - we were going to

say, up one hill and down another, only it's all uphill at Clifton -

without meeting with anything or anybody that tended to throw the

faintest light on the matter in hand. Many were the colloquies into

which Sam entered with grooms who were airing horses on roads, and

nursemaids who were airing children in lanes; but nothing could Sam

elicit from either the first-mentioned or the last, which bore the

slightest reference to the object of his artfully-prosecuted inquiries.

There were a great many young ladies in a great many houses, the

greater part whereof were shrewdly suspected by the male and female

domestics to be deeply attached to somebody, or perfectly ready to

become so, if opportunity afforded. But as none among these young

ladies was Miss Arabella Allen, the information left Sam at exactly the

old point of wisdom at which he had stood before.

Sam struggled across the Downs against a good high wind, wondering

whether it was always necessary to hold your hat on with both hands

in that part of the country, and came to a shady by-place, about

which were sprinkled several little villas of quiet and secluded

appearance. Outside a stable door at the bottom of a long back lane

without a thoroughfare, a groom in undress was idling about,

apparently persuading himself that he was doing something with a

spade and a wheel-barrow. We may remark, in this place, that we

have scarcely ever seen a groom near a stable, in his lazy moments,

who has not been, to a greater or less extent, the victim of this

singular delusion.

The Pickwick Papers