The Davenport gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Scott Co., Iowa) 1841-185?, 1852-06-03
From Dickens Household Words.
UGLINESS REDEE N / D
A TALE OF A LONDON DUsT-HEAP.

On a murky morning in November,
wind northeast, poor old woman with a
wooden leg was seen struggling against
lhe fitfu! gusts Of bitter breeze, along sto
ny, zig gag road full Of deep and irregular
cart ruts. Her ragged pe,licoat was blue
and SO was her wretched nose. a stick
was 10 her lett hand, which assisted her Il
dig and hobble her way along; and in heI
other hand, supported also beneath her
withered arm, was large, rusty, iror
sieve. Dust and fine ashes filled up all the
wrinkles in her face; and Of these there
were a prodigious number, for she was
eighty three years old. Her namo was
Peg Do,ting.
About quarter Of mile distant. having
a long ditch and broken-down fence as q
fore ground, there rose against the mud
died gray sky, huge dus,heap Of dirty
black color-being, in fact, one Of those i'm
mense mounds Of cinder, ashes, and other
emptyings from dust holes and bins, which
have conferred celebrity on certain suburb
an neghborhoods of grea, city. Towards
this dusky mountain old Peg Dot,ing was
now making her way.
Advancing towards the dust-heap by an
opposite path, very narrow and just re-
claimed from the mud by thick layer o.
freshly broken fints, there came at The
same time Gatfer Doubleyear, with his bone
bag sung over his shoulder. The rags o
his Goa, huttered in tho east wind, which
nIso whistled kccnly round his almost rim
less hat, and troubled his one eye. The
other eve, having met with an accident
last week, he had covered neatly with an
oyster shell, which was kept in its place by
a string ct each side. fastened through a
hole. lie used no staff to help him along
though his body was nearly bent double, &c
that his face was constantly turned TO the
earth, like that of four. footed creature
lie was ninety-seven years ofage.
As these two patriarchal laborers ep.
preached the grea, dus, heap, discordan,
voice hallooed to them from tho top of a bro
ken wall. II was meant as greeting Of the
morning, and proceeded from little Jen
lClinker, a poor deformed lad, whose back
had been broken when child. His nose
and chin were much too largo for the rest
of his face, and he had lost nearly all Of his
teeth from premature decav. But be haC
an eye cleaning with intelligence and life
and an expression at once patient and hope
i fol- He had balanced his msshapen frame
on the top Of the old wall, over which one
shriveled leg dangled, MS if by the weigh,
ofa hob nailed boot, that covered foot
| .rge enough for plowman.
In addition 10 his first mornings saluta
ton of his two aged friends, he now shout
ed out in tone Of triumph and selfgratu
Ia,ion, in which ho felt assured Of their
sympathv-"Two white skins, and tor
shellun.n
II may be requisite to state that little
Jem Cinker belonged to the dead.cat de-
par,ment Of the dust-heop. and now an-
nounced that prize Of three skins, in su,
perior condition, had rewarded him for be.
ing first in the field. He was enjoying q
self from the excitement Of his good for
tune.
At the base Of the great dust-heap the
two old people now met their young friend
"a sor, Of great grandson by mutual adop
ton-and they Mt once joined the party
! who had by this time assembled as usual
and were already busy at their several oc-
cupations.
: But besides all these, another individual
|, belonging to very different class, formed
) part ofthe scene, though appearing only
. on its out t-skirts A canal ran along at the
rear Of the dust heap, and on the banks Of
its opposite side slowly wandered by
with his hands clssped and hanging dowr
in front Of him, and eyes, bent vacantly up
on his hands tho foslorD figure of mar
I'M very shabby great-coat, which had ev
identity once belonged to one 10 the posi-
ton OF gentlemen. And TO gentleman
il still belonged--but in phat a position!-
A scholar, man OF wit, Of high sentiment
0! refinement, and good fortune wi,hal-
!now BY sudden ssturn of lawn bereft o
the last only, and finding that none Of III,
rest, for which (having his fovtunc) he ha,
been so much admired, enabled him /,
gain livelihood. His title deeds had bee Il
lost or stolen, and so he was bereft Of every
= thing he possessed. lie had talents
and such ns would have been profitably
avainbls had he known how TO use then
for this new purpose; but he did not; b.
was misdirecied; no made lru.tless efforts
in his want Of experience; and he was nov
starving. AS be passed the great dus
heap, he gave one vague, melancholy gaz'
. that way, aud then looked wisitully int,
:, the canal And he continued TO look int
the canal as he slowly moved along, till HI
was out Of sight.
A dust heap of this kind is Otter worth