alighting, and having tendered his fare, an animated incident with
the cabman, who accused him of being an informer, ensued, and ended
in the assault and battery described in the following words:

"The cabman dashed his hat upon the ground with a reckless disregard
of his own private property, and knocked Mr. Pickwick's spectacles
off, and followed up the attack with a blow on Mr. Pickwick's nose
and another on Mr. Pickwick's chest; and a third in Mr. Snodgrass's
eye; and a fourth, by way of variety, in Mr. Tupman's waistcoat, and
then danced into the road and then back again to the pavement, and
finally dashed the whole temporary supply of breath out of Mr.
Winkle's body; and all in half a dozen seconds."

The embarrassing situation was only saved by the intervention of
Mr. Jingle, who quickly settled the cabman and escorted Mr. Pickwick
into the travellers' waiting-room and had a raw beefsteak applied to
Mr. Pickwick's eye, which had been badly mauled by the irate cabman.
All things righted themselves, however, and the merry party left the
"Golden Cross" on the coach for their journey to Rochester, to
the accompaniment of Mr. Jingle's staccato tones as they drove
through the archway, warning the company to take care of their heads:

"'Terrible place--dangerous work--other day--five children--mother-
tall lady, eating sandwiches-forgot the arch--crash--knock--children
look round--mother's head off--sandwich in her hand--no mouth to put
it in--head of family off--shocking--shocking.'"

The arch referred to by our jesting friend can be seen in the
picture here shown.