The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1883-10-26


the Boston HeraH, describes visit which
she paid, in the company of detective,
to the slums Of the English metropolis.
Among other things she says Passing
under lamp, observed a crippled fell
low industriously etching on the walk
with a few bits of crayon, aided in his
labor by the light of flaring candle
stuck in bottle. | had several times
seen these etchcrs and commisserated
them. This one only drew flower pot,
which contained the representation of %
rather impossible looking flower, which
might be II rose or a cabbage, or drop
steal gooseberry. l noticed that he
worked very slowly, which fact I've
before observed in the daytime, on che
curbstonc. GLOW is it, Mr.. Punks," 1
asked, "that these fellows don't ever
seem to get on rapidly. always see
them drawing fantastic flower pots, at
the sides of houses already completed
and which seem generally of higher
order of art, if that term be not II sar-
casm." "Why, Miss" Punks informed
me, " that is a regular trade, and lots of
them live here in the Dials. There is one
man you see-that's the governor of the
lot. lie hires company of fellows who.
have some idea of etching. and early in
the day they go around, so many to a
particular walk or district. and chalk
out rough landscape Later on comes
cripple, the more miserable the better.
He squats down with lot of different
colored crayon and boberishes up the
sketch here and there with little bits, such
as any one who had never even handled q
hpfn could do lau
hire the tagging from the 'guv'ncr, who
hires the artists. 1t is money-making
business for all hands. The passers-bv
seldom fail to give the crippled artist a
few pence, and during the day he col
lects enough to be able to pay the gunner
good sum for his flagstone privilege.
Most of the cripples live about the Seven
Dials. That one under the lamp is prac-
ticing to show the guv'ncr what he can
do" | had the curiosity to interview
this etchcr First securing his attention
by the magic and sure means of a penny
approached the lamp and asked him how
he lost his legs Il were in the pre-
servin' line, miss, and lost my Job when
the pcrtatcrs got scarce. Ne and lot
more was turned out COS they had too
many 'elpers. Then l got into the cat s
meal line, and one day "A bloomin' cab
came dashin' down the road and knocked
me down and ruined over me bloomin'
pins. l was in the orspital, but it
didn't do no good and the doctor
chaps one day sawed off what was left
of me pins, and so | went in fur
hart" The boy certainly had run the
gamut Of avocation. "You said you
were in the preserving line but the po-
tatoes ran short. Do they preserve po-
tatoes in England, pray ~ said l. Here
the boy grinned, and said: "Taint per-
taters, but raspberry jam they calls it. :"
Curious to- know what possible connec-
ton there was between two such dissimi-
lar productions, l begged an explanation
"Wcll, you see. miss, they takes perta-
ters puts EN- in 'ot water, soaks off the
dirt, then keeps lettin EN- dream off, adj
din more water, till the blessed fruit is
clean and the peel most off. Then they
pounds EN- down with big stone mash
cr, and pushes EN- through canvas net
into vat. Then they puts EN- through
two or three more finer ones till they re
all pulped as fine as sand. Then they
puts some pink colerin in EN-, and dash
of raspberry juice to flavor EN-; then they
packs EN- in jars and sells EN- for bob
each, and you ave your jam. 1t takes a lot
of 'elpers to mash EN- into the mashers" /
shall respect in future the manufacture of
wooden nutmegs, and confess I've known
OF the industry being outdone.