Tom Spings Back Parlour. 3 



Ms whiskers, which were bushy ; but I never shall forget 

 his eyes. If I remember rightly, his eyes were rather far 

 apart ; and in speaking, a kind of frown, which was not an 

 angry frown, seemed to come over his face and wrinkled 

 his forehead a little. His nose was disarranged from the 

 aquiline somewhat, as most of the P.R. heroes experienced. 

 He had a nice voice and a frank and open manner, which 

 stamped him as one of nature's gentlemen. He was dressed 

 in an evening black suit, though it was early in the after- 

 noon — for he always dressed for dinner, — and wore a white 

 neckcloth, and a brooch with some hah* in it in his shii-t 

 frill, and his boots were polished in a manner such as I never 

 saw surpassed, except by the late Mr. Daniel O'Connell ; 

 and it was enough to raise the envy of Beau Brummel to 

 have seen old Dan's boots. 



I stood looking at him in blank amazement, and I thought 

 to myself, " Can this man be Tom Spring, the great prize- 

 fighter ? " Spring looked at me, and said with a smile, 

 " Well, young gentleman, what are you staring at ? " My 

 answer was, '' Are you reaJbj Tom Spring ? " ^' Well, I was 

 Tom Sirring this morning," he said, "and I suppose I am now." 



Having made known my wants, which were some bread- 

 and-cheese and a glass of stout, Spring summoned his niece 

 from the back parlour, which opened out of the bar, and 

 my luncheon was placed on the counter. Now for Tom 

 Spring's niece — I never knew her name, except that she 

 was called " Mrs. B." She was a widow, of very consider- 

 able dimensions, of about forty years of age, fresh coloured 

 with a pau^ of arms from which I should have been very 

 sorry to have received a " one, two." An active little curly- 

 headed waiter, named Hickman (a relative of the celebrated 

 gasman), and a potboy, Joe Phelps (brother to Brighton 

 Bill) completed the establishment, so far as the outer world 

 could see ; and a very quiet, orderly household it was. 

 B-2 



