'My Lord and jury,' said Mrs. Cluppins, with interesting agitation, 'I will not deceive you.' 'You had better not, ma'am,' said the little judge. 'I was there,' resumed Mrs. Cluppins, 'unbeknown to Mrs. Bardell; I had been out with a little basket, gentlemen, to buy three pounds of red kidney pertaties, which was three pound, tuppense ha'penny, when I see Mrs. Bardell's street door on the jar.' 'On the what?' exclaimed the little judge. 'Partly open, my Lord,' said Serjeant Snubbin. 'She _said_ on the jar,' said the little judge with a cunning look. 'It's all the same, my lord,' said Serjeant Snubbin. The little judge looked doubtful, and said he'd make a note of it. Mrs. Cluppins then resumed-- 'I walked in, gentlemen, just to say good mornin', and went in a permiscuous manner up-stairs, and into the back room. Gentlemen, there was the sound of voices in the front room, and--' 'And you listened, I believe, Mrs. Cluppins,' said Serjeant Buzfuz. 'Beggin' your pardon, sir,' replied Mrs. Cluppins, in a majestic manner, 'I would scorn the haction. The voices was very loud, sir, and forced themselves upon my ear.' 'Well, Mrs. Cluppins, you were not listening, but you heard the voices. Was one of those voices Mr. Pickwick's?' 'Yes, it were, sir.' And Mrs. Cluppins, after distinctly stating that Mr. Pickwick addressed himself to Mrs. Bardell, repeated by slow degrees, and by dint of many questions the conversation with which our readers are already acquainted. Now we have to turn back to one of the earlier passages in the story for the conversation between the pair, "with which the reader is already acquainted." Thus we shall know what Mrs. Cluppin's might have heard. Mr. Pickwick paced the room to and fro with hurried steps, popped his head out of the window at intervals of about three minutes each, constantly referred to his watch, and exhibited many other manifestations of impatience, very unusual with him. It was evident that something of great importance was in contemplation, but what that something was not even Mrs. Bardell herself had been enabled to discover. 'Mrs. Bardell,' said Mr. Pickwick at last, as that amiable female approached the termination of a prolonged dusting of the apartment. 'Sir,' said Mrs. Bardell. 'Your little boy is a very long time gone.' 'Why, it's a good long way to the Borough, sir,' remonstrated Mrs. Bardell. 'Ah,' said Pickwick, 'very true; so it is.' Mr. Pickwick relapsed into silence, and Mrs. Bardell resumed her dusting. 'Mrs. Bardell,' said Mr. Pickwick, at the expiration of a few minutes. 'Sir,' said Mrs. Bardell again. 'Do you think it's a much greater expense to keep two people, than to keep one?'