salary added to his board, which enabled Tom to be independent of
the shop, as far as liquorice was concerned, and to cut a very smart
figure among the young men about Greenwich; for on Tom's promotion
another boy was appointed to the carrying out of the medicine as well as
the drudgery, and Tom took good care that this lad should clean his
boots as well as the doctor's, and not make quite so free with the
liquorice as he had done himself. I found out also that he had cut Anny
Whistle.

Mrs St. Felix continued to vend her tobacco, and I never failed seeing
her on my visits to Greenwich. She appeared to look just as young as
she did when I first knew her, and every one said that there was no
apparent alteration. She was as kind and as cheerful as ever; and I may
as well here remark that during this period a great intimacy had grown
up between her and my sister Virginia, very much to the annoyance of my
mother, who still retained her feelings of ill-will against Mrs St.
Felix--why, I do not know, except that she was so good-looking a person,
and such a favourite with everybody. But my father, who, when he chose,
would not be contradicted, insisted upon Virginia's being on good terms
with Mrs St. Felix, and used to take her there himself; and Virginia,
who had never forgotten the widow's kindness to me, was extremely
partial to her, and was much more in her company than my mother had any
idea of, for Virginia would not vex my mother unnecessarily by telling
her she had been with the widow unless she was directly asked.

It was about four months after my father and I had given our money to my
mother that I returned to Greenwich. A letter from Virginia had
acquainted me with the street and the number of the house which my
mother had taken, and I therefore walked from the beach right to it; and
I must say that when I came to the new abode I was very much surprised
at its neat and even handsome appearance. The ground-floor was fitted
up as a shop with large panes of glass, and inside upon stands were
arranged a variety of bonnets and caps, set off with looking-glass and
silk curtains, in the arrangement of which no little taste was
displayed. Behind the show goods was a curtain hanging on a brass rod,
drawn so as to conceal the workpeople who were within. There was a
private door as well as a shop door, and I hardly knew which I was to go
in at: however, as the shop door required no knocking, I went into that,
and fo