Penfold and the two young people went to see sights, or
to wander about the streets and look at the shops, which was as great
a treat as any thing. Mr. Penfold went with Ralph to a military tailor
and ordered his outfit, and to other shops, where he purchased such a
stock of other garments that Mrs. Conway declared Ralph would require
nothing for years. On the last day of the fortnight the uniforms and
trunks and clothes all arrived at the hotel, and of course Ralph had
to dress up and buckle on his sword for the first time. Mrs. Conway
shed a few tears, and would have shed more had not Mr. Penfold made
every one laugh so; and Mabel was seized with a fit of shyness for the
first time in her life when Mr. Penfold insisted that the ladies
should all kiss the young officer in honor of the occasion. And the
next morning the whole party went down to the wharf below London
Bridge to see Ralph on board the packet for Cork. Before leaving the
hotel Mr. Penfold slipped an envelope with ten crisp five pound notes
in it into Ralph's hand.
"I have paid in, my boy, two hundred pounds to the regimental agents,
and in future shall make you an allowance of the same amount every
year. You will see what other officers spend. My advice to you is: do
not spend more than others, and do not spend less. Money will keep
very well, you know, and a little reserve may always come in useful.
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