The people who lived in Mortimer Street were of the hard-worked lodging-house keeping class, and had too many anxieties connected with butcher's bills, rent, and taxes, to be able to give much time to their neighbours.

The life in the house which had changed hands had nothing noticeable about it.

It looked from the outside as it had always looked.
The door-steps were kept clean, milk was taken in twice a day, and local tradesmen's carts left things in the ordinary manner.

A doctor occasionally called to see someone, and the only person who had inquired about the patient (she was a friendly creature, who met Mrs.Cupp at the grocer's, and exchanged a few neighbourly words) was told that ladies who lived in furnished apartments, and had nothing to do, seemed to find an interest in seeing a doctor about things working-women had no time to bother about.

Mrs.Cupp's view seemed to be that doctor's visits and medicine bottles furnished entertainment.