To enable this girl to earn her few weekly shillings, it was necessary
for the Child of the Marshalsea to go through an elaborate form with the
Father. 'Fanny is not going to live with us just now, father. She will be here a
good deal in the day, but she is going to live outside with uncle.'
'You surprise me. Why?' 'I think uncle wants a companion, father. He should be attended to, and
looked after.' 'A companion? He passes much of his time here. And you attend to him and
look after him, Amy, a great deal more than ever your sister will. You
all go out so much; you all go out so much.'
This was to keep up the ceremony and pretence of his having no idea that
Amy herself went out by the day to work. 'But we are always glad to come home, father; now, are we not? And as to
Fanny, perhaps besides keeping uncle company and taking care of him, it
may be as well for her not quite to live here, always. She was not born
here as I was, you know, father.'
'Well, Amy, well. I don't quite follow you, but it's natural I suppose
that Fanny should prefer to be outside, and even that you often should,
too. So, you and Fanny and your uncle, my dear, shall have your own way.
Good, good. I'll not meddle; don't mind me.' To get her brother out of the prison; out of the succession to Mrs
Bangham in executing commissions, and out of the slang interchange with
very doubtful companions consequent upon both; was her hardest task. At
eighteen he would have dragged on from hand to mouth, from hour to hour,
from penny to penny, until eighty. Nobody got into the prison from whom
he derived anything useful or good, and she could find no patron for him
but her old friend and godfather. 'Dear Bob,' said she, 'what is to become of poor Tip?'
His name was Edward, and Ted had been transformed into Tip, within the walls.
The turnkey had strong private opinions as to what would become of
poor Tip, and had even gone so far with the view of averting their
fulfilment, as to sound Tip in reference to the expediency of running
away and going to serve his country. But Tip had thanked him, and said
he didn't seem to care for his country.
'Well, my dear,' said the turnkey, 'something ought to be done with him.
Suppose I try and get him into the law?'