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For some months past, Miss Pross and Mr. Cruncher had discharged

the office of purveyors; the former carrying the money; the

latter, the basket. Every afternoon at about the time when the

public lamps were lighted, they fared forth on this duty, and

made and brought home such purchases as were needful. Although

Miss Pross, through her long association with a French family,

might have known as much of their language as of her own, if she

had had a mind, she had no mind in that direction; consequently

she knew no more of that "nonsense" (as she was pleased to call

it) than Mr. Cruncher did. So her manner of marketing was to

plump a noun-substantive at the head of a shopkeeper without any

introduction in the nature of an article, and, if it happened not

to be the name of the thing she wanted, to look round for that

thing, lay hold of it, and hold on by it until the bargain was

concluded.