earn [@:n], average ['&v@rIdZ], exceptional [Ik'sepS(@)n(@)l], facility [f@'sIlItI], poured [pO:d]
"As I grew richer I grew more ambitious
ambitious [&m'bIS@s], eventually [I'ventS@lI], suspicion [s@'spIS(@)n]
"Well, very soon I found that I was saving considerable sums of money. I do not mean that any beggar in the streets of London could earn 700 pounds a year — which is less than my average takings — but I had exceptional advantages in my power of making up, and also in a facility of repartee, which improved by practice and made me quite a recognized character in the City. All day a stream of pennies, varied by silver, poured in upon me, and it was a very bad day in which I failed to take 2 pounds.
"As I grew richer I grew more ambitious, took a house in the country, and eventually married, without anyone having a suspicion as to my real occupation. My dear wife knew that I had business in the City. She little knew what.