Produced by David Edwards, Katie Ward and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) Transcriber's note: Archaic and variable spelling preserved as printed. Author's punctuation style preserved. Hyphenation standardized. Passages in italics indicated by underscore _. [Illustration: _The Old Tobacco Shop_ _By William Bowen_] The Old Tobacco Shop Also By WILLIAM BOWEN The Enchanted Forest The Old Tobacco Shop [Illustration: "Lord bless us!" cried the hunch back. "Look at that!"] _The Old Tobacco Shop_ _A True Account of What Befell a Little Boy in Search of Adventure_ _By William Bowen_ _Though you believe it not, I care not much: but an honest man, and of good judgment, believeth still what is told him, and that which he finds written._--RABELAIS. New York THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1921 _All rights reserved_ PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA COPYRIGHT, 1921 BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY Set up and Electrotyped. Published October, 1921 FERRIS PRINTING COMPANY NEW YORK To BILLY AND JOHN TWO LITTLE BOYS PRINCIPAL PERSONS Freddie Mr. Toby Aunt Amanda Mr. Punch The Churchwarden Mr. Hanlon The Sly Old Fox The Old Codger with the Wooden Leg Mr. Lemuel Mizzen The Cabin-Boy Marmaduke Captain Lingo Ketch the Practitioner The Third Vice-President Mr. Matthew Speak Shiraz the Rug-Merchant The King and Queen Robert, Jenny, and James Mr. Punch's Father LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 1. "Lord bless us!" cried the hunch back. "Look at that!" Frontispiece 2. "I'm Lemuel Mizzen, A.B., that's me!" 50 3. "L-l-Lem!" shrieked the parrot. "Who's your f-f-f-friends?" 86 4. Mr. Hanlon was standing on his feet by the log on which his head had been cut off 134 5. Shiraz the Rug-Merchant looked at his visitors with little beady black eyes 188 6. "Ah, yes," said Aunt Amanda, "there's no place like the Old Tobacco Shop after all" 235 CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. Mr. Punch and the Clock-Tower 1 II. Aunt Amanda and the Two Old Codgers 9 III. Introducing the Churchwarden 22 IV. In which Mr. Hanlon makes a Great Impression 31