will ever be made known. The pork-pies which you see in these windows
contain no such effeminate morsels as lean meat, but have the appearance
of good substantial bladders of lard shoved into a strong crust, from
which there was no chance of escape, then sent to the oven and "done
brown." The ham-and-beef houses display the same love of fatness, as if
neither pig nor bullock could be overfed that comes to be consumed by
the "greasy citizens" of the east end of London.
As for fish! the very oysters gape at you with open mouths, as if they
knew how useless it would be to keep closed in such a ravenous-looking
neighbourhood. They seem to cast imploring glances at the passers-by, as
if begging to be taken out of the hot sun, and devoured as quickly as
possible. You see great suspicious-looking whelks, sweltering in little
saucers of vinegar; and you cannot help wondering what would be the
result if you attempted to eat one; and while you are thus doubting,
without "doating," some great broad-shouldered fellow comes up, throws
down his penny, and, making but one mouthful of the lot, lifts the
saucer to his lips, and drains the last drop of vinegar, then goes, for
a finisher, into the nearest gin-shop. Pickled eels, cut up into
Whitechapel mouthfuls, are fished up from the bottom of great brown
jars, and devoured with avidity. You can never pass along without seeing
brewers' drays unloading somewhere in the streets; and you cannot help
thinking what hundreds a year Barclay and Perkins might save, in the
wear and tear of men and horses, if they laid down pipes all the way
from their brewery in the Borough to Whitechapel.
What little _taste_ they display (if we may make use of so classical a
phrase in contradistinction to their "palatal" or gastronomic
propensities), is shewn in their love of pigeon-keeping; and many of the
"fanciers" in this district can boast of possessing both a choice and an
extensive stock of these beautiful birds. From this taste arise good
results, inasmuch as it leads them into the suburbs, especially on
Sundays, when they either carry the pigeons with them in bags or thrust
them into their coat-pockets, and so wander for three or four miles out,
when they turn the birds loose, both parties thus enjoying the luxury of
a little fresh air. They are excellent hands at decoying pigeons, for
all the "strays" that alight in the neighbourhood are pretty sure to
become "Whitechapel birds." What means they use for entrapping these
feathered favourites we have not been able to ascertain, though one
knowing fellow told us, with a deep-meaning wink, that "it was the
fineness of the climate, and a little hanky-panky' business." We paid a
pot of beer for the information, without asking for any clearer
definition of the latter phrase.