carts, coaches, carriages, broughams, cabriolets, gigs, coupes, landaus, clarences, barouches, all struggling in different directions.

Give a heathen charity and he remains a heathen, and the charity is soon gone; but only give him a contract of employment and you have pointed him on the road towards eternal life -’

‘You may pass that one around,’ she said, unrolling another. ‘I have more, if anyone would like one.’

he was more relaxed when he was in motion, as if the furious headlong impetus of the train somehow soothed his own restless need for activity.

They knew that the real prize was to get me to pay for love.

They talked of rousing all London, but never seemed to have enough postage stamps.

the Arabs - they’re the fascinating ones: you never know where you are with them. Their judgement is always being clouded by something: religion, or vanity, or pride.’

he was a type of man for whom love was indistinguishable from his own interests.

prodding his great pizzle into her hindquarters.