A sudden downpour results in a variety of people sheltering under the portico of St. Paul’s Church. Theatergoers are in the group, including two women who are later named as Mrs. Eynsford Hill and her daughter, Clara. Her son, Freddy, was sent to find a cab for them. Another woman joins the group, an impoverished flower girl who is later revealed to be named Eliza. When Freddy is leaving, he knocks her flowers to the ground, destroying the wares Eliza desperately needs to survive. He gives her some money to pay for her losses. Another gentleman, who is later revealed to be Colonel Pickering, joins the crowd, and Eliza tries to sell her flowers to him.

As Eliza tries to sell her flowers to the Colonel, a bystander warns her that another man is writing down all that she says. Worried that he is a police officer, Eliza panics and pleads her innocence as a good girl. The Note Taker is using an unusual writing style in his notes, which further confuses and upsets the crowd. He demonstrates how to read his notes and correctly identifies the birthplaces of many in the crowd.