The Argosy, Vol. 49

# The House of Halliwell

This is the sixth installment of "The House of Halliwell" by Mrs. Henry Wood, author of East Lynne, published in March 1890. The chapter, titled "The Infirmary Pupil," introduces Thomas Elliot, a clergyman's son apprenticed to surgeon Mr. Dicks at Nearford Infirmary. Lodging with his aunt Mrs. Agatha Needham under strict conditions—no smoking, no speaking to servants except in her presence, bedtime at 10:30—Tom secretly violates every rule. The narrative depicts Tom in the dissecting-room with fellow medical pupils, smoking, drinking beer, and discussing a young woman named Loo (Georgy Freer), daughter of a wealthy lawyer. Tom boasts he will gain entry to the Freer household within a week despite her father's protective vigilance. The chapter portrays the casual hijinks of medical students and Tom's deceptions of his disapproving aunt.