The Leavenworth weekly times. [volume] (Leavenworth, Kan.) 1870-1880, 1874-01-29
BOhe 0iao Life II London.
From the Independent

Bshe siaa Life In London.
From the Independent ]
The old man had written q poem on his
the organ grinders, and sent il to
q Magazine, only to have it returned. He
read il to me with q great deal OF feeling,
and then branched oil into an eloquent and
tues Of these people.
"A humble bat honest set they are" he
8 aid; and they are ~ kind to each other ~
il they were all one family. They are never
mixed up in any troubles, never in the aims
houses, never in public courts, and you never
hear one of them say word. They are all
poets-silent poets. They are the last Of
the troubadours."
Through this man, and BY other means
that gradually began to open, l met . great
many men Who lived by the pen, and Who
lived by the pen, and who were alike dissp-
pointed and poor. Always their lodgings
are very humble. and sometimes two or three
live in one room or garrett, and in q perpet-
ual state of siege from the lAndlsdy. Their
living. however, is better than their
lodgings, and often quite adequate.
For, somehow, it nearly always
happens that there is one at least in knot
of these ''lost children, IS the Italians were
wont to call their hapless poets, who has a
shilling or two to furnish meal for himself
and companions. And let it here be observ-
ed have never found, outside of the miners
of California, more generous and unselfish
set Of fellows in the world than these quiet
and disappointed pilgrims on the foothills Of
Olympus. Once, and not 90 very long ago,
l counted myself quite fortunate, after skir-
mishing about London for some, TO lind NV
self established in large and lofty room
along with two Of these Bohemiane, who
had come down from the North. We were
in the Cumberwell part Of South London,
near where Robert Browning was born, and
On account of this latter fact felt that We
we're in very aristocratic part Of London.
We tried to live regular and industrious
lives; yet every day Was aort of battle and
romance run in together. Every night three
men around our little fire, with its hatfnl OF
Goals, would have something new to tell Of
the great city; and thus learned as fast n
possible it, mysteries and its misery togeth-
er. We took our coffee al place called the
castle House," about mile from THE
Elephant and Cattle" well-known centre.
not far from the Rev. Mr.. SpurgeOn's Tab
nacle.
Our coffee at this place cost us one penny
each, bread and butter cost u. one penny
each, and bit OF meat or an egg cost one
penny more; and then We all three together
gave the waiter = penny, 70 that We break
tasted we'll enough on a little more than
threepence each. 1 have since breakfasted
in some very fine hotels; but somehow do
not think l have found any more satisfaction
or solid comfort in any Of them than found
there.
We always dined at home English fashion,
after the days work was over, and generally
about this bill Of far: We would send out for
basin Of soup, rich and steaming, which we
got for threepence; also for dish of roast
meat and potatoes, which cost IA a shilling,
then We had bread and beer besider, 80 that
We dined very we'll on something more than
q sixpence head.
One evening one Of my companions came
home and reported having found Bohe-
mian, an old college friend, who was subsis-
ting on one potato, to be had for half penny,
and penny basin Of pea soup, while he slept
on the twOpenny beds in Charles street,
Drury lane. This made us feel still more
stiff and aristocratic. There was one man, at
least, in London, Who was living on quietly
and still more humbly than ourselves.
One blesk winter night, one of those lusty
and resolute companions Of mine, who had
all of Spsrtans simplicity and severity in
his habits of life. proposed, in spirit Of
banter, TO walk around st. James Park, in
imitation Of DIR. johnson and Savage. when
they had not money or credit to procure a
bed. The other one laughed at him. Then
they got in high spirits over the romantic
proposition, and went out, and i really be-
lieve walked seven times around the Park,
a. they told me they did. At all events,
they did not return until the gray OF the
morning, much to the disgust Of the land
lady, who, suppose, believes to this day
that they were of on spree.
From the foregoing manner Of life you can
see how very cheap one can subsist here. or
rather exist and will also pre- t,y we'll under
stand how very hard it is to get place here
or anything ID do whatever ON the outskirts
of literature. These men l speak of were
graduates, were men of fine spirits, sober,
honest, and induf trious; bat they never got
on at all, and finally shipped AZ sailors tor
Australia. How many thousands Of such
men there are at this moment in the masses
of this great hungry city. eager to do some
thing and able to do it we'll, il il hard to tell;
but it is safe to say there are enough to make
any army.
/ caught CLEAN of sunshine about the
time my two companions last named went
away, and took better quarters over in the
north of London, near Highgate.