Not that the boy lived wholly on charity. Sometimes he invested his little capital in a stock of newspapers, and persistently thrust that luminous organ, the _Planet_, under the notice of the wayfarer. But there was not much sale for the _Planet_ in Mayfair. The truth is, that Billy never realised the greatness of his surroundings, and the Birth and Wealth of other residents in that favoured district of the peerage and the plutocracy; nor would any one know the importance of Mayfair merely from personal observation. The _cliché_ of locality is not a matter of instinct, but of manufacture. In Mount Street, close at hand, a good deal of the manufacturing was done by the eminent firms of auctioneers and estate agents, the bank-like qualities of whose establishments appealed to the rich and the refined. Plate-glass windows, burnished mahogany, polished brass--plenty of brass--soft carpets, and delightful chairs, allured the seekers after mansions in town or country. Not here did vulgar posters in thick and sticky ink offend the eye. Bills of all sorts, including the little bills for commission and miscellaneous services, were kept out of sight. Beautifully executed photographs of desirable properties for gentlemen of position were to be seen in these handsome offices, and expensively got-up Particulars and Conditions of Sale were freely issued through the medium of the post. They could let you a cramped little dwelling in Mayfair for as low a rent as £450 a year, but, of course, for a really commodious residence, a much higher figure was demanded. It was a much higher rent that Sir John Westwood paid for his house in Hill Street. Long past and gone were the days of suburban residence. The rising man, like the man who is born on the heights, must have the right address. It was good enough for the once obscure barrister to journey daily from Norwood Junction, reminded _ad nauseam_ by the railway porters of the interesting regions of Anerley, Penge, Brockley, and New Cross. But a law adviser of the Crown, a parliamentarian battling for a foremost footing, must live in the right quarter. Mayfair is the place for the mighty, just as Harley Street--the valley of the shadow--is the place for the eminent doctor. The specialist knows that the people who come to him will measure his value less by his treatment than by the locality in which he writes his prescriptions. Such is the wisdom of the world.