Sketches by Boz Characters Chapter XII - The Prisoners’ Van

In which an ordinary street scene near Bow-street Police-office reveals the somber assembly of a crowd awaiting the arrival of Her Majesty’s carriage, a veiled sobriquet for the grim prisoners’ van conveying those entangled in misfortune to London’s gaols. Amongst the sorrowful figures presented are two young sisters, emblematic of the rapid descent into vice and despair wrought by harsh circumstance, their story a poignant reflection of the city’s hidden tragedies.