The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1886-02-18

hours to learn, this was his story 8
"Respectably connected, had never
learnt q trade; had been a shop porter,
married pretty seamstress, lived hap
PLY together for years on their joint
earnings. No ehildren-didn't want
them-hadn't care. Wife's work fell
off, food lessened; she became i'll; bit by
bit furniture sold, her heart broken at
parting with what she had painfully won
by her labor, When we had to sell the
sewing machine, I could see twas all
oversize clammed and died. Afetr her
funeral, started off. Friends had left the
place. I couldn't stand the work. No
more happiness for me, sir: Whittier
bound?; To s.. Worked there once
might get a job. THE only man
knew.% Hard, sir-verya hard!1 s
During this fragrnentary ceayelsation,
I saw the mangreedily grasl at a frag-
ment of newspaper, lying upon the
ground, which had evidently been
wrapped round something. : 8
Might have an advertisement on it,
you know"
The sight Of a sewing machine always
suggests his touching history, told me
along a road sllirting the ses! one misty
spring day. .,'. w. ,..,,. ..,,:,.
Tram,p5iss ,5is are mainly men with no definite
trade at their finger-ends. There Is
always chance for them somewhere,
and they lose nothing by net, asking for
- I'LL tive road
much rarer now, since railway travelling
has become so cheap, and .unionism
has developed. A crisis or S. strike will,
however, act in two -sending men
out, and drawing the1h i'll. A bundle OF
clothing or tools is generally carried by
the skilled tramp, and his gait is more
energetic.
To show how gait betrays, here is an
odd story. Meeting two brawy navvies
in Cornwall one day, I said to my COM
panion:
1.-TWO well-set men. See how they swing
in step; ex-soldiers or policemen, likely"
Two days afterward we were near one
Of the barrack-gates Mt Devonport when,
oehold, our two tramps coming along IN
custody. An acute rural policeman had,
80 we learned, noticed their military step
and bearing and gone up to them, saying,
with bold guess:
"You are deseaters from Devonport:"
Taken aback, as much as persons are If
you can show you know anything about
them, and possibly .suspecting the man
had a description of them, they admitted
they were, and offered no resistance, dis
cipline once more asserting its power.
They be:-H,, ! to Elted regiment; they
had only been five days from barracks;
and finer fellows + never saw. They
were navvies by occupation. -.
Foreigners on the tramp are not very
common, except on the coast-roads, and
they are mostly sailors. They are not
communicative, and know little English.
The oldest specimen of foreigner re-
member was a German clock-mender
met in the midlands, who puzzled me
greatly. He walked like a drilled man;
had well-kept side whiskers, and a bag
over his shoulder. We passed and re-
passed several times. He called at road
side houses, and as I slackened pace gen.
orally overlook me, but failed to get
him into fair conversation. v '...
sGoing far? To? Long way yet"
His peculiar German accent was com.
ing out more strongly. ,.
Seeking work."
ayes, as he went along"
For several minutes we kept step in 81
lence. Taking out newspaper I began
to read. The mans face relaxed.
SAny news of Garibaldi?" was the sud
den question that startled me. A Carl
baldian, said to myself at once. Itwas
just at the time the Italian hero made his
last armed venture. I read him the
news, and he broke out warmly:
aAh, bad man-very wicked mani" He
became more of o puzzle than ever-a
nut must crack. ..,' Ia, ,.-..., -.
Iwaited on his movements, diverted
from my intended walk; and devoted
myself to getting his story. He became
too excited to be very connected, and; his
German came grinding out at intervals
with orchestral effect. A friend
had beguiled him into associatiug with
Republicans; he had been in
some trouble in the movement of 1e4S;
he had been imprisoned for opinions he
did not hold; he was an absolutist and
skeptic. He had lost all all his friends,
and lad come to England. He was
clock mender, good at Americans or any
other make, and he tramped a district
from center, earning about 10 shillings
a week. Our conversation became
lively; he forgot to call at road side
houses, and to my defense of Garibaldi,
all he could splutter was, "Bad man
very-wicked mani" The chat seemed
to excite him very much, and at last he
ambled into little shop, got a job, and
I went forward.
Beggar tramps are the honest juniors
aversion. They are full of tricks, and
sometimes smart in speech.
"I never give to beegars on the road,n