Great Britain -- Social conditions -- 19th century; London (England) -- Description and travel
that when the poor creature has a bruised face, she is the most
affectionate. He has no occupation whatever, this order of tramp, and
has no object whatever in going anywhere. He will sometimes call himself
a brickmaker, or a sawyer, but only when he takes an imaginary flight.
He generally represents himself, in a vague way, as looking out for a job
of work; but he never did work, he never does, and he never will. It is
a favourite fiction with him, however (as if he were the most industrious
character on earth), that _you_ never work; and as he goes past your
garden and sees you looking at your flowers, you will overhear him growl
with a strong sense of contrast, ‘_You_ are a lucky hidle devil, _you_
are!’
The slinking tramp is of the same hopeless order, and has the same
injured conviction on him that you were born to whatever you possess, and
never did anything to get it: but he is of a less audacious disposition.
He will stop before your gate, and say to his female companion with an
air of constitutional humility and propitiation—to edify any one who may
be within hearing behind a blind or a bush—‘This is a sweet spot, ain’t
it? A lovelly spot! And I wonder if they’d give two poor footsore
travellers like me and you, a drop of fresh water out of such a pretty
gen-teel crib? We’d take it wery koind on ’em, wouldn’t us? Wery koind,
upon my word, us would?’ He has a quick sense of a dog in the vicinity,
and will extend his modestly-injured propitiation to the dog chained up
in your yard; remarking, as he slinks at the yard gate, ‘Ah! You are a
foine breed o’ dog, too, and _you_ ain’t kep for nothink! I’d take it
wery koind o’ your master if he’d elp a traveller and his woife as envies
no gentlefolk their good fortun, wi’ a bit o’ your broken wittles. He’d
never know the want of it, nor more would you. Don’t bark like that, at
poor persons as never done you no arm; the poor is down-trodden and broke
enough without that; O DON’T!’ He generally heaves a prodigious sigh in
moving away, and always looks up the lane and down the lane, and up the
road and down the road, before going on.
Both of these orders of tramp are of a very robust habit; let the
hard-working labourer at whose cottage-door they prowl and beg, have the
ague never so badly, these tramps are sure to be in good health.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account