The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1855-03-10
THE SEVEN POOR TRAVELLERS

THE SEVEN POOR TRAVELLERS.
From, tie ex.tra Christmas No. Of NusthoW Words
J CONDUCTED BY CHARLES DICKENS.
THE SECOND POOR TRAVELLER
| AN, by trade (Said the man with his arm
in sling), shipwright. | am recovering
from an unlucky chop that one of my mates
gave me with an adzc. When am all right
again, ] shall get taken on in Chatham Yard.
| have nothing else in particular to tell of
myself, so III tell bit of story Of seaport
town.
Aeon Nirlaz the jcwellcr sat in his shop on
the Common Hard of Bclleriport smoking his
evening pipe. Business was tolcrably brisk
In Bcllcriport ust then. The great three
decker the Blundcrborc Admiral Pumpkin
seeds flag ship had just come in from the
southern seas with the rest of the squadron,
and had been paid off. The big screw line
ot-battlc ship Fantail, Captain Sir Heavier
Cole, X. c. b., had got her b'ue-pcter up for
kamschatka, and her crew had been paid ad-
vance wages. The Dun,lrum war-Stcamer
was fresh coppering in the craving do K, and
her men were enjoying three weeks run
ashore. The Barracuda, the CaIaba>h, Tie
SkullSma>her, and the No>c-ring hu! return
ed from the African station with lots Of prize
money from captured Navcrs The .Jolvport
division of Royal MarincS-whO had plenty
OF money to spend, and spent it too-occu-
pied the Marine barracks. The Ninety
eighth P!unrcr>. together with the dero. COM
panics o! the Roval Scrcamcrs, had marched
in to relieve the Scycntv-third Wrc>,lers -
There was some thought Of cmbodvinr. for
garrison duty in Bclcrilort the Seventh or
West Swamp>lire Dra!.> regiment Of Militia.
Bcllc:lport was tli!: Of sailors. soldiers. and
marines. Seven GOLD laced cooked hats could
be observed on the door steps of the Gcorce
Hotel at one ti:nc. Almost every la!v'S bon
net in the High Street had military or ma, al
officers head looking under it. You could
scarcely get into Miss Pycborl the pastry
cooks shop for mi!>hirmcn There were 50
many soldiers in Ike streets, that YOU were
inclined to take the whole O. the reputation
of BcNcriport for Holsters. and to IMAGINE
that halt Of them We're boiled and the res.
waiting to be. The Common Hard was as
soft as tcathcrbrd with sailors. I.icutcn-
ant Hook at the Ecn1cz,ous was busy all
day cnro.in.t B'>. or,linarieS, and >tou, lads
The Royal GrUbblncton vctualIinS yard was
turning out thousands of barrels of salt beef
and pork and sea biscuits per diem Huge
guns were being hoi>trd on board ship; SEA-
man-rl@Scrs. ca'kcrS. carpenters, and ship
wrights. were all some hundreds of degrees
buster than bees; and ,unlrv gentlemen in
the dockyard, ha!itcd in their simple suits ..
drah. marked with The broad arrow - with
striped stockings and Glazed hats. and after
whose personal safety >rntin"!s with fixed
bayonctS and warlcrS in oil>kin coats ancc-
tionatrlv looked were busy too, in thci..
wav. dragging about ain-cablcs. books and
spar>, and loads of timber, steadily bnt sulki
" and, in their cio>c->havcn, Lcct!c-browcd
countcnanccs, cvncing a silent but profound
disgust.
Aeon Nir!az had not done so badly during
Bclleriport's recent bri>kncss lie was a
jcwcllcr: and sold watches, rng>, chains,
bracelets, snuff boxes. brooches, shrt-studs.
slccve-button>, pencil-cascs, and true lovers
knots. But his trade in Jewels did not inter-
fere with his vending hammocks, telescopes.
Sou'wc>tcr hats, lime. juice, maps, charts, and
logbooks, Guernsey shirts, clasp knives, pea
coats, preserved meats, razors, swinging
lamps, scaches:S, dancin.-pumps. cve-claS-
ses, waterproof ovcrallS. patent backing. and
silk ockc.-handkerchctS cmblazcncd with
the flags of all nations Nor did his dealings
in these articles prevent him from driving a
very tidy little business in the purchase Of
gold dust. elephants teeth, feathers and ban
danas, from homc-returned sailors: nor $50
the censorious said; from deriving some pref
ty little profits from the cashinS of scamcns :
advance notes, ard the discounting of the
acceptances of the officers of her majesty 5
army and navy: nor $50 the downright libel
lous said) from ding little in the wine
line, and a little in the picture line, and a
good deal, when occasion required it, in the
crimp line.
Acon-Virlaz sat in his shop on the Com
mon Hard of Belleriport smoking his evening
pipe. 1t was in the back shop that Aeon
Nirlaz sat Above his head hung the ham,
mocks, the pilet-trowsers narrow at the knees
and wide at the anclcs, the swinging lamps,
and the waterproof overalls. The 'front.' shop
loomed limly through grove Of rca-coats,
sou'wcster hats, Guernsey shirts, and cans of
preserved meat. One little gas jet in the
back shop-for the front shop was not vet
lighted d-flickered on the heterogeneous mass
OF articles hanging and heapcd up together
all around. The gas just tipped with light the
brass knobs of the drawers which ran around
all the four sides of the shop, tier above tier,
and held Moses knows how many more treas
ures of matchmaking tailoring, and outfittng.
The gas, just defined by fecbly shining
threads, the salient lines and and angles of a
great iron safe in one cornca; and finally the
gas just glcamed-twinkled furtively, like a
magpie looking into a marrow bone-upon
the heap Of iewelry collected upon the great