Morning journal and courier., 1883-08-22
Homes of the Criminal Glasses.

The disposition to magnify the vicissitudes l Of fortune which have befallen certain inhab- l itants of--street was shown me in the case 1 of an old woman who, it was currently re | ported, had once had 95, 900 of her own, and ! now made the beds in lodging house for Gs | 8 week. I found, however, when I came to know her, that e2OO was the most she had | ever had. The cases, too, of several Fgentle- l men" were from time to time reported to me 1 who, it is said had had a good education, l and were now living in a common lodging house, but when went I found that the
 gentleman" was not all that they had repre- scented him. Of course gentlemen and uni versity men are occasionally to be found in | common lodging houses, but I never hap pened to come across one. l met 8 clergy man of the Church of England once in one but, except for the cut of his coat, he did not appear out of place there. I remember | to have met lawyers clerk there, solicitor, doctor and representatives of several other
 professions, but they had sunk SO low, mo- rally and mentally, before they had come to
 the common lodging house that surprise was felt not at finding them where they were but
 at learning that they had ever been what they
 claimed to have been. They had acquired
 that peculiar appearance which stamps the
 common lodging house man. It Is quite un- 'mistakable, though not easily defnable. Di-
 verse as are the types, they have something in common which enables one to say, after
 
 istered lodging-house. It lies partly in the expression of the face and partly in the dress. But though they have this indefnable something in common, there may be found in this street the most surprising variety of experiences, and the most extraordinary ec- centricities of life. From it go out in the morning blind beggars who are blind no lon ger when they eat their suppers by the fire in the evening, made-up cripp!es, sham de. formities, and counterfeit old men. There was one house which had a reputation for the preparation of these impositions, and I have seen in it some of the materials of the various processes. These processes were certainly exceedingly successful. I remem- Der one afternoon, when was taking walk about mile from home overtaking a most miserabie-looking old man who, bent with age, could hardly drag one feeble leg after the other. His clothes hung in rags upon him he never raised his bent head as he dragged himself very slowly and very pain fully along. His appearance excited in most people good deal of compassion, though remarked, with indignation, that several Jeered at him. His condition, however seemed past being made better or worse He took money without any token of joy or gratitude, and ridicule without any sign of annoyance. I followed him as he struggled on, one slow step at & time, and at the end of about an hour and a half we were 3D. my street. He turned down into l lt, 1AIsSo HIS bent Dack, ufteQ his head, stepped lightly aleng the pavement, and | turned into house almost next to mine. | He was middIe-aged man whom I knew | quite well by sight, but had not recognized l ill his disguise of an old man. His venerable | but dirty and ragged white beard afterward | met, cleaned and nicely brushed on another | man who was got mp as a respectable old | man who had seen better days That beard | could tell some curious stories; it has waored | under many chins. Many singular charao- ters and many curious habits occur to my 1 mind as I write which, though not individu. 1 ally worth describing, yet contribute largely | to give the street that variety which is one of it's charms in the eyes of the inhabitants. Some of these habits cannot describe, and do not willingly think of, though feel that 8 picture of--street is incomplete without l them. One, however, I may mention as Illustrative of the harmless sort of eccentrici- ty. An elderly man, who used to drop in to my house without shoes on, was talking to me one evening about the badness of the l times, and remarked that though street sing ing wasn't what it used to be, yet that he could never starve while there were black l beetles in his lodging-house. did not be- ieve him at the time, but found on inquiry that he had undoubtedly acquired the habit of eating these insects raw with apparent enjoyment.