If Mrs Raddle felt disappointment at not being able to collect the rent that was rightfully due to her, Mr Headstone felt the situation even more keenly - for not only was his purse empty but so was his stomach, and before he could fill the latter he would need to fill the former. He therefore resolved to do what any entrepreneurial gentleman in a position of financial embarrassment must do if he is to make his way in the world, which is to fall back on the monetary resources of his acquaintances. As a consequence of this resolution, Mr Headstone wrapped himself in his great coat and a woollen muffler and set out for The George and Vulture. Here, in a corner by the fire, he found Mr Timothy Linkinwater, a fat, elderly, large-faced gentleman, with silver spectacles and a powdered head, taking a glass of brandy. Mr Linkinwater had open before him a copy of The Morning Chronicle and was in the process of exercising his eyes by running them over the columns of small print, allowing them rest only when he paused to remark to himself on some item of news that attracted his attention.
Mr Headstone took a seat beside this gentleman and, shaking him warmly and vigorously by the hand, intimated that he had never been so pleased to see him in all his life, which - for the pedagogue - was a statement of unusual veracity. Mr Linkinwater would no doubt have reciprocated this generous sentiment had he had any notion as to the identity of the individual who uttered it; but, as Mr Headstone had come in from the cold street without removing either his hat or his muffler, there was little to recommend him to the gentleman's remembrance. Once Mr Headstone had removed those articles of clothing that were an impediment to more intimate conversation, he was obliged to recall to Mr Linkinwater's memory the circumstances of their last meeting in the most vivid and particular detail. His ability to perform this service was, indeed, a remarkable feat of reminiscence considering that up until that moment the two gentlemen had never before made each other's acquaintance. Such, however, were Mr Headstone's powers of persuasion that Mr Linkinwater was not only convinced that he had been reunited with an old associate, but had also, by the time they separated, willingly parted with a five pound note as a token of their continuing friendship.
Mr Charles Dickens
