Being A Brief Observation On The Nature Of Equanimity

How long a gentleman should stand on the front step of a residence in the expectation that his knocking on the door be acknowledged by those within is a question that has never been answered to the satisfaction of polite society. Certain it is that Mr Headstone was unacquainted with the laws of etiquette in this regard; for he deemed it necessary to redouble his efforts in alerting the house to his presence by applying first his fists and then his boots to the green paintwork of the door, and, when this stratagem failed, by resorting to the novel expedient of shouting through the brass letterbox. Whether this produced the desired effect in rousing the occupants of the Number Forty Eighty Doughty Street, the reader will discover in our next communication.

In Which Mr Headstone Administers A Double-Knock

Determined to confront the man whom he believed to be the author of all his woes, Mr Headstone rose on the morrow, dressed himself in his second best suit and set out in the direction of Doughty Street, which is just north of Gray’s Inn in the borough of Camden. He had been provided with reliable information from Mr Snodgrass that Mr Dickens resided at number forty eight in that particular thoroughfare, and, as Mr Snodgrass was himself a gentleman of literary pursuits, the pedagogue had no reason to doubt the veracity of this intelligence. The street to which he was bound was a private one, and, as an emblem of its status, had at its entrance a lodge and a gate, which was presided over by a stout porter in a gold-laced hat and a mulberry-coloured coat. Mr Headstone addressed this officer with the deference that his uniform deserved, and, pressing a few coins into that worthy’s upturned palm, gained admittance forthwith. Number Forty Eight was a tall edifice of pink brick, distinguishable from its neighbours on either side by a green door under a white arch. There was nothing at all particular about the knocker on the door, except that it was very large; and when Mr Headstone applied a vigorous double-knock, it produced a sound designed to awaken even the most somnolent housemaid. However, despite repeated applications of this instrument of summons, the pedagogue was left waiting on the front step, and here we must also leave the reader awhile until someone comes to answer the door.