ickwick; and,
after minutely inspecting that gentleman's appearance, from the crown of
his hat to the lowest button of his gaiters, replied emphatically--

'No!'

'Nor any gentleman of the name of Snodgrass?' inquired Mr. Pickwick.

'No!'

'Nor Winkle?'

'No!'

'My friends have not arrived to-day, Sir,' said Mr. Pickwick. 'We will
dine alone, then. Show us a private room, waiter.'

On this request being preferred, the corpulent man condescended to order
the boots to bring in the gentlemen's luggage; and preceding them down
a long, dark passage, ushered them into a large, badly-furnished
apartment, with a dirty grate, in which a small fire was making a
wretched attempt to be cheerful, but was fast sinking beneath the
dispiriting influence of the place. After the lapse of an hour, a bit
of fish and a steak was served up to the travellers, and when the dinner
was cleared away, Mr. Pickwick and Mr. Peter Magnus drew their chairs
up to the fire, and having ordered a bottle of the worst possible port
wine, at the highest possible price, for the good of the house, drank
brandy-and-water for their own.

Mr. Peter Magnus was naturally of a very communicative disposition, and
the brandy-and-water operated with wonderful effect in warming into
life the deepest hidden secrets of his bosom. After sundry accounts
of himself, his family, his connections, his friends, his jokes, his
business, and his brothers (most talkative men have a great deal to
say about their brothers), Mr. Peter Magnus took a view of Mr. Pickwick
through his coloured spectacles for several minutes, and then said, with
an air of modesty--

'And what do you think--what DO you think, Mr. Pickwick--I have come
down here for?'

'Upon my word,' said Mr. Pickwick, 'it is wholly impossible for me to
guess; on business, perhaps.'

'Partly right, Sir,' replied Mr. Peter Magnus, 'but partly wrong at the
same time; try again, Mr. Pickwick.'

'Really,' said Mr. Pickwick, 'I must throw myself on your mercy, to tell
me or not, as you may think best; for I should never guess, if I were to
try all night.'

'Why, then, he-he-he!' said Mr. Peter Magnus, with a bashful titter,
'what should you think, Mr. Pickwick, if I had come down here to make a
proposal, Sir, eh? He, he, he!'

'Think! That you are very likely to succeed,' replied Mr. Pickwick, with
one of his beaming smiles. 'Ah!' said Mr. Magnus. 'But do you really
think so, Mr. Pickwick? Do you, though?'