The interpolated story told in 'The Ostler' is by Wilkie Collins. The Introduction (from the beginning, p. 581, to 'he complies with my request', p. 582) and Conclusion (from 'At this point of the narrative' to the end, p. 590) to 'The Ostler', however, is part of the framework of The Holly-Tree Inn - part, that is, of the linking and bridging sections that Dickens usually wrote himself. See notes to The Seven Poor Travellers and The Holly-Tree Inn [1855 Christmas].

Harry Stone; © Bloomington and Indiana University Press, 1968. DJO gratefully acknowledges permission to reproduce this material.