“I heard him call Mrs. Bardell a good creature, and I heard him ask her to compose herself, for what a situation it was, if anybody should come, or words to that effect.”

“Now, Mr. Winkle, I have only one more question to ask you, and I beg you to bear in mind his Lordship’s caution. Will you undertake to swear that Pickwick, the defendant, did not say on the occasion in question⁠—‘My dear Mrs. Bardell, you’re a good creature; compose yourself to this situation, for to this situation you must come,’ or words to that effect?”

“I⁠—I didn’t understand him so, certainly,” said Mr. Winkle, astounded on this ingenious dovetailing of the few words he had heard. “I was on the staircase, and couldn’t hear distinctly; the impression on my mind is⁠—”