was of a similar class to the new one
he had left, only that the houses had fallen into a state of premature
decay; quite half, too, had declined from the genteel private and taken
to trade, with or without the bow window of shop life. For instance,
one displayed a few penny illustrated sheets and an assortment of
fly-specked clay pipes, the glass panes bearing the legends, "Tobacco"
and "Cigars." Another house had the door wide open, and sundry squeaks
issued therefrom--squeaks of a manufacturing tendency, indicative of
grinding, the process being explained by a red and yellow board, having
an artistic drawing of the machinery used, and the words, "Mangling Done
Here." Then, after an interval of private houses, there was a
fishmonger's, with a stock-in-trade of four plaice and ten bloaters,
opposite to a purveyors, in whose open window--the parlour by rights,
with the sashes out--were displayed two very unpleasant-looking
decapitations of the gentle sheep, and three trays of pieces, labelled
ninepence, sevenpence, and sixpence individually, apparently not from
any variation of quality, but the amount of bone.

"A werry nice sorter place," said the cabman, gazing down at the
numerous children, and the preternaturally big-headed, tadpoleish
babies, whose porters were staring at him. "Said it was a little
groshers shop. Ah, here we are."

It was only four doors farther on, and at this establishment there was a
shop front, with the name "B. Sturt" on the facia. The stock here did
not seem to be extensive, though the place was scrupulously clean.
There was a decorative and pictorial aspect about the trade carried on,
which was evidently that of a chandler's shop; for, in attenuated
letters over the door, you read that Barnabas Sturt was licenced by the
Board of Inland Revenue to deal in tea, coffee, pepper, vinegar, and
tobacco. The panes of the windows were gay with show cards, one of
which displayed the effects of Tomkins's Baking Powder, while in another
a lady was holding up fine linen got up with Winks's Prussian Blue, and
smiling sweetly at a neighbouring damsel stiff with regal starch. There
were pictorial cards, too, telling of the celebrated Unadulterated
Mustard, the Ho-fi Tea Company, and Fort's Popular Coffee.

Descending from his perch, the cabman stroked and patted his horse, and
then entered the shop, setting a bell jingling, and standing face to
face with a counter, a pair of scales, and a box of r