Connecticut western news., 1872-01-05
Dickens on e Canal Boat.

Those of our readers who have, and those who have not seen 8 canal boat, will appreciate the description of these affairs, given by Charles Dickens, who travelled on one. Of the boat and its surroundings land of course it will be understood that this was the day of "packet lines " on the canaH he says:
 "And now I come to the canal boat. Bless your heart and soul, my dear fel- low, if you could only see us on board the canal boat Let me think, for a mo- ment, at what time of the day or night should best like you to see us. In the morning? Between five and six in the morning, shall I say !? We'll you aOould like to see me standing on the deck, fish ing the dirty water out of the canal with tin ladle chained to the boat by long chain pouring the same into tin basin (also chained up in like manner) :; and scrubbing my faco with the jack towel. At night, shall I say ? don't know that you would like to look into the cabin al night, only to see me lying on tempora- ry shelf exactly the width of this sheet of paper when it's open measured ft thts n,orning), with one man above me and another below; and, in all, eight-and. twenty in low cabin, which you can'i stand upright in with your hat on. ] don't think you would like to look in al breakfast time either, for then these shelves have only just been taken down and put away, and the atmosphere of the place is, as you may suppose, by nc means fresh though there are upon the table tea and coffee, and bread and but. ter, and salmon, and shad, and liver, and steak, and potatoes, and pickles, and ham, and pudding, and sausages and three and-thirty people sitting round it. eating and drinking and savory bottles of gin. and whiskey, and brandy, Ghd rum, in tho bar hard by and seven-and-twenty out of the ei9ht-and-twenty men, in foul linen, with yellow streams from half chewed tobacco trickling down theil chins. Perhaps the best time for you to take peep would be the present. clever o'clock in the forenoon-when the barber is at his shaving, and the gentlemen are lounging about the stove waiting for theil turns, and not more than seventeen are splitting in concert, and two or three are walking overhead Qying down on the lug gage when the man at the helm shouts Bridge !) and I am writing this in the ladies' cabin, which is part of the gen. tlemen's, and only screened off by red curtain. Indeed, it exactly resembles the dwarf's private apartment in @ cara van at fair and the gentlemen, gener. ally, represent the spectators at penny a head. The place is just as clean an6 just as large as that caravan you and were in at Greenwich Fair last year. Out side, it is exactly like any caxal boat you have seen near the Regents Park or else where.
 "You can never conceive what the hawking and splitting is, the whole night through. Last night was the worst Upon my homer and word was obliged this morning, to lay my fur coat on the deck and wipe the half-dried flakes oi spittle from it with my handkerchief and the only surprise seemed to be that I should consider. it necessary to do so When turned in last night l put 1t on 6 stool beside me, and there it lay under 8 cross-fre from five men-three oppo. site, one above, and one below. make no complaints, and show no disgust. am looked upon as highly facetious al night, for crack jokes with everybody near me until we fall asleep. I am con. sidered very hardy in the morning, for run up, bare-necked, and plunge my head into the half-frozen water by half-past five o'clock. I am respected for my ac ivity, inasmush as jump from the boat to the towing path and walk five or six miles before breakfast, keeping up witl the horses all the time. In a word, they are quite astonished to find sedentary Englishman roughing it SO well, and talk ing so much exercise and question m, very much on that head. The greate part of the men will sit and shiver round the stove all day, rather than put on' foot before the other. As to having window. open, that's not to be though of