Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1874-02-05


the world than these quie and disap-
pointed pilgrims on the foothills OF
Olympus. Once, and not SO very long
ago, counted myself quite Fortunate
after skirnishing about London for
some time, to find myself established
in a large and lofty room along with
two of these Bohemians, 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 were in very aristocratic part
of London.
We tried to live regular and indus
trious lives yet every day was sort
of battle and romance run in together,
Every night three men around our lit
tie fire, with It's hatful of Goals, would
have something new to tell of the
great city; and thus learned as fast
as possible its mysteries and its misery
together. We took our coffee at
place called the ''Castle House." about
a mile from 'The Elephant and Castle"
well-known centre, not far from the
Rev. Mr. Surgeons Tabernacle.
Our coffee at this place cost us one
penny each, bread and butter cost us
one penny each, and bit of meat OF
an egg cost one penny more and then
we all three together gave the waiter
a penny, SO that we breakfasted well
enough ON little more than threepence
each. / have since break tasted in some
very fine hotels; bnt somehow 1 do
not think l have found any more salts
faction or solid comfort in any of them
than I found there.
We always dined at home, English
fashion, after the days work was over,
and generally on this bill Of fare :. 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 us
shilling then we had beer besides, so
/ that We dined very well on something
more than sixpence a head.
/ One evening one of my companions
came home and reported having found
a Bohemian, and old college friend,
! who was subsisting on one baked pc,
tato, to be had for halfpcnny, and a.
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 bleak winter night, one of those
lusty and resolute companions of mine,
who had all of Spartans simplicity
and severity in his habits of life, pro-
posed, in spirit of banter, to walk
around ST. James Park, in imitation of
DR.. johnson and Savage, when they
had not money or credit to procure
bed. The other one laughed at him
Then they got in high spirits over the
romantic proposition, and went ont,
and l really believe walked seven
times around the Park, as they told
me they did. At all events, they
did not return until the gray of the
morning, much to the DISGUST Of the
landlady, who, l suppose, believes to
this day that they were off on spree.
From the foregoing manner of life
you can see how very cheap one can
subsist here, OF rather, exist; and will
also pretty well understand how very
hard it is to get place here or any
thing to do whatever on the outskirts
of literature. These men I speak of
of were graduates, were men of fine
spirits, sober, honest, and Industrious.
but they never got on at all, and finally
shipped as sailors for 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 is hard to tell;
but it is safe to say there are enough to
make an army.
l caught a 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. JOAQUIN MILLER.