Dickens is at his usual descriptive self, taking a long time to explain the difference between what most people think of as a waiter, and how the narrative character "Mr. Christopher" works as a waiter, which is a bit of a combination of a waiter, bellhop, porter, and other jobs around the hotel and restaurant world. In fact, the first eleven pages are exposition and scene-painting, and it's not until page twelve that we get to the focal point of the story: somebody's luggage.