Some ten or fifteen men were in this room, some of them busy preparing work for the next day. Two were busy making artificial flowers; one was working with copper wire, turning and twisting it into toasting forks, plate holders, and hangers to suspend flower pots. Two others were in the rag and bone trade, for I had seen them when I first entered, overlooking their stuff in the backyard. One man was a pedlar, for there was his pack, towards which he often turned his eyes, in distrust of his company. One was a musician, for there, sticking out of the top pocket of his coat, was a common tin whistle. "There," said I to myself, glancing at a man on my right hand--"here is the only respectable working man among them all." This man had on a clean moleskin pair of trousers, a pilot cloth coat, and on his neck a large clean white muffler. "Grinder?" asked this man, catching my eye before I could avoid it. "No," I answered, "a pedlar." "Oh," said he, "I didn't notice you carrying a pack when you came in." Alas! my little stock could easily be carried in my pockets. "No," I answered, "as a rule I don't carry much stock." "I shouldn't think you would," he said, glancing at my leg, "a bible ought to be enough for you, and a good living too." Now it happened that when I left London, I had made room in my pockets for two books which, up till that time, I had very little opportunity of reading. One was the bible, and the other was a small printed and cheap paper cover edition of Wordsworth. So, hearing this man mention a bible, I became extremely curious to learn how a man could earn a living by carrying a book of this kind. Seeking this information I said to this man--"I shouldn't think that there was much money to be made by carrying a bible." "Why not," he asked; "if you carry in your hand a decent rake (a comb), a flashy pair of sniffs (scissors) and a card of good links and studs--that is certainly a good bible for a living; but there is not much profit in a pair of stretchers (laces) or a packet of common sharps (needles). As for me," he continued, "I am on the downright, and I go in for straight begging, without showing anything in my hand. That grinder, whom I thought you were with, and am glad you are not, works very hard at dragging that old ricketty contrivance with him all over the country; and is he any better off than I am? I never fail to get the sixteen farthings for my feather (bed), I get all the scrand (food) I can eat; and I seldom lie down at night but what I am half skimished (half drunk), for I assure you I never go short of my skimish." Being curious to see this man at work, and to hear the tales with which he approached people, I told him I would accompany him the next day as far as Stratford, that was if he had no objection to my company, as I also intended to visit that town before I made my way towards London. To this proposal he seemed perfectly agreeable.