The Prisoners’ Van by Charles Dickens. Short summary

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One day Dickens and his friends, walking around evening London, saw a cluster of people who were waiting for the arrival of a prison carriage with criminals to the police station in Bow Street.

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In due course, the writer and his companions walked leisurely through the evening capital of Foggy Albion. As they walked, they saw a crowd of 30 to 40 people stationed on Bow Street. The author and his good acquaintances wished to find out what was the matter. The local shoemaker, whose name is unknown, did not answer their question immediately, but then stated that a royal carriage would soon arrive at the police station. According to the artist’s recollections, he and his entourage were very surprised by such a development, as the reason for the arrival of the first person of Great Britain to this place remained unclear.

But the reality turned out to be much more prosaic. A short time later, the most ordinary prison carriage arrived at the destination and the prisoners began to emerge.

Most of all Dickens remembered two young ladies — 14-year-old Bella and 16-year-old Emily. The writer notes with regret that the lives of the aforementioned young girls would sooner or later end sadly.