The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1888-04-11
THE COSTERMONGER.
a ROUGH AND READY CHARACTER
OF THE BRITISH METROPOLIS.

Eondness for Street Braw1s-doW the
Costermonger Settles Disputes with
His Female-The overworked Pony
Idle Swarms in the Streets.
The London costermonger generally
wears fixed kind Of dress. His hat is
! always black derby, rusty from rain and
! weather His coat is generally a rusty
black frock. He rarely wears waistcoat.
His trousers may be corduroy or any kind
of the cheaper woolen patterns His shoes
are thick soled and hobnailed. He always
wears colored handkerchief tied around
his neck in place Of q collar. These hand
kerchiefs are always dirty, except upon
: rare Sunday and holiday occasions, when
new ties are donned. These handkerchiefs
are always of fanciful color, light blue
and red being the favorites They are
worn high up on the neck, leaving q couple
! of inches of dirty neck showing between
the handkerchief and the greasy collar of.
/ the shambling frock coat. The handker-
chief Is really the badge Of the order. This
handkerchief about the neck designates
the character and standing of a man in
England as completely and thoroughly as
If he wore a uniform prescribed by act OF
parliament The costermongers are men
engaged in street traffic of all kinds. They
are generally dealers in vegetables. They
begin with push carts. and If they are
prosperous and reach the climax Of their
ambition they become the owners Of small
two wheeled wagons, drawn by little don
keys or ponies. The strength and endur-
ance of these small animals are phenome-
nal. have seen from six to eight grown
hoinc
drawn at furious pace by a pony not
much larger than Newfoundland dog.
The costermonger never gives his pony
any rest. He works him during the week
in his business and uses the wretched lit
tie animal On Sunday to give his friends
treat in the shape of ride to some cock
ney resort in the suburbs. The coster-
mongers live in the street. They are
never indoors except for eating and sleep
ing A very severe, driving storm will
sometimes force them into the house, but
they generally take refuge under an avn
ing or some gateway. They are hardy,
tough, coarse fibered people. They are
noisy, and have perfect passion for
scenes Of uproar and excitement. You
rarely hear of costermongers numbering
any of their associates or Of their using
knives or pistols in their quarrels. They
have way of pounding and kicking
each other when engaged in disputes, but
are rarely arrested, as they never seem to
carry malice, and their fights generally
end up in good natured way. The
costermonger and his female are often
the chief actors in a street brawl. When
once a costermonger has begun to keep
company with q costermonger female
then she is considered his property. She
speaks of him as ner man and she ls
spoken of as his t'gal."
1t was Sunday morning. The two had
started out evidently for holiday. He
was in his best. He was surly, heavy
sawed fellow, with black eyes, a short
nose and brawny, hairy fists. He wore
little black derby hat about three sizes too
small for his great, round head. His
handkerchief was the lghtest of sky
um height, dressed in true costermonger
style. Their dispute grew out of dif-
ference of opinion as to where they
should spend the day. She insisted on
going one way and he the other. They
turned around and deliberately gave her
kick which lifted her about six inches
from the sidewalk, to convince her that
his way was the BEST. She turned quickly
and began kicking him in return. The
way she brought her number ten boots
around against his shins very soon con-
yinced him that she was as strong at that
kind of argument as he. They kicked at
each other for about five minutes, the
center of delighted and cheering crowd,
and then the costermonger female by her
skill in kicking carried the day. In mo-
ment or two more he gave UP, grinned
good naturedly and the two walked of
together for happy Sabbath.
The way domestic brawls are carried on
in the streets of London cannot be
matched, am certain, in any other city
! in the world The common people who
walk the streets regard these quarrels as
their own private theatricals and sternly
resent any interference Of the police AS
q general thing the police do not touch
the brawlers unless they make too much
of a disturbance and block up the streets.
The police then simply order them to
move on, and make arrests only where
the disturbing party resists. During my
| stay in London have seen more street
fights than had ever seen before in my
Life. The actors in these street fights or
domestic brawls appear to take great
pride in the parts which they are called
upon to play They are stimulated by the
cheers and roars Of approval from the au-
dience and do their best to maintain their
reputation for courage, ferocity and skill
in retort.
The women are especially excitable and
active in a street fight. The man gener-
ally looks sulky and sheepish when en-
gagged in a fight with his female in public.
but the women never give them chance
to back out. They are much more vim
dictive and active than the men. After
the man has been kicked three or four
times and has had his face scratched up
to a proper state of rawness, he be-
comes excited and then strikes out
brutally and cruelty, unless police
man happens to be too near. The women
are generally the victors in these street
fights The fighting women generally
have babies In their arms. have seen
-,,ul,ar of coStarmonoer yirapOS bound