She then ordered him to "take this lovely woman out to dinner." The question came, "Where shall we go, my dear?" "Greenwich!" said Bella valiantly. "And be sure you treat this lovely woman with everything of the best." And off they went in quest of the boat to take them down the river, and eventually arrived at the Ship Tavern. The little expedition down the river to reach it, we are told, "was delightful, and the little room overlooking the river into which they were shown for dinner was delightful. Everything was delightful. The park was delightful, the lunch was delightful, the dishes of fish were delightful, the wine was delightful. Bella was more delightful than any other item in the festival." And, as they sat together looking at the ships and steamboats making their way to the sea with the tide that was running down, "the lovely woman imagined all sorts of voyages for herself and Pa." So enchanted did Pa become that he was as willing "to put his head into the Sultan's tub of water as the beggar-boys below the window were to put _theirs_ in the mud"; and so the happy moments flew by and the time came to ring the bell, and pay the waiter, and return to London. Later on in the same identical room in the same identical tavern overlooking the Thames, the same delightful couple, with John Rokesmith, partook of another delightful dinner. Earlier in the day Bella Wilfer had become Mrs. John Rokesmith and celebrated the event with breakfast at Bella's cottage at Blackheath, and with a dinner at the Ship Tavern later, Bella's father being the only other guest. "What a dinner! Specimens of all the fishes that swim in the sea surely had swum their way to it, and, if samples of the fishes of divers colours that made a speech in the 'Arabian Nights,' and then jumped out of the frying pan, were not to be recognised, it was only because they had all become of one hue by being cooked in the batter among the whitebait. And the dishes being seasoned with Bliss--an article which they are sometimes out of at Greenwich--were of perfect flavour, and the golden drinks had been bottled in the golden age and hoarding up their sparkles ever since." The whole function was a sheer delight, a crowning success; but the full appreciation of its charm cannot be indicated by short quotations; it must be read in detail to be thoroughly enjoyed. The scene inspired J. Ashby Sterry to again drop into poetry: A wedding banquet here must dwell Within one's brightest recollection; Where Bella, John and Pa, as well, Made merry o'er the choice refection! The sparkling wine, the happy pair, With all their aged affection; The bland "Archbishop's" tender care, And Rumpty Wilfer's smart oration!-- A scene where fun and pathos blend, With all the heart and truth that lend A charm unto "Our Mutual Friend!" Alas! the tavern in which these happy hours were spent is a thing of the past, but its prosperous and palmy days are recorded in Time's annals.