Arizona weekly citizen., 1888-02-11
TIE C0STERMONGFR
A ROUGH AND READY cHARAcrz,
 OF THE BRITISH METRoPol Is

Fondness for Street RrauIs-u .,
 Co''erm"nser Settles Disputes wifi,
 HIS femaie-The overworked Po,,- Idle swarms in the Streets.
 The London costermonger general,
 Wear, wears INed kind of dress His bat i
 aI"ass uIack derby, rusty from rain mn,
 ,',-lSIt ~eASHer, iils coat IS generally a rusf,
 1I.'h JI.'0A TUCK. lie rarely wears waistco,f
 Ills trousers may be corduroy ar am, l-;,.l
 ot the cheaper woolen patterns Hi..I-,-' ,.''
 are thick SOled and hobnaiI.5 ,,7.''
 wears cOlored handkerchief tic5 .,-...'-s
 ms neck m place of a collar. Tb,se b..,,,S
 kerchieis are always dirty. exc.nr mn,
 rare sunday and holiday occasions ,Tbo-
 new ties are donued. These bandlarcl,;.'t
 are always of a fauciful color livbt IIn'
 ana Ted being the favorites. Tbav o-,
 worn hlSh up on the neck. leaving a cor,,,l,
 or inches of dirty neck showipl, bet,,-..,,
 tne hanGkerchief and the greasy collar ol
 1Ie shambing frock coat. The bandker
 SnleI Is really the badge of the order. hi,
 nahuherchief about the neck designate.
 Ino character and standing of a man in
 EhSland as completely and thoroughly n,
 De wore a uniform prescribed by act ot l pAEAahtent. The cOstermougers are u,ar
 engaged m street traffic of all kinds They
 are generally dealers in vegetables They
 begin with push carts. and if tbev ,rs
 prosperous and reach the climax of ,b.i,
 ambition they become the owners of small
 two wheeled wagons. drawn bv lirtle d,n. l Keys or ponies The strength and eudur.
 ance Of these small animals ar,. Dbarou,a
 nal ] have seen from six to eight ,,r,,,yr | people on a custermOnEer's cart beiup
 drawn at furious pace hv poDy pnt
 much larger than Newfoundland dog.
 The costermongoE neyer gives his pony
 any rest. He works him during The week
 tn ms buSlnoSs and uses the wretche,l lir-
 .le animal on Sunday Co give his friends a
 treat Tn the shape of ride to some cock.
 hey resort m the sUlusls. The cl,rer.
 m0nSers live in the street. They are | never Indoors except for eating and sleen- l Ing. \ 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 a hardy,
 tough, coarse tbcred people They are
 hoisy' and have a perfect passion for l scenes oi upIoar and excitement Ynu 1 rarely hear of costermongers murderfrg ! any oi thelr associates or of their using | kllves or pistols in their quarrels. They
 have e 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 a good uaturcd way. Ihe | cCstermOnger and his female are often the chief actors in a street brawL When once ccsternonger has begun tu keep | company with a costermonger female | then she k considered his property. SLe 1 speaks of him as her man and she is | spoken of as his gal %
 It was Sunday morning. The two had | started out evidently for a holiday. He | was in his best. He was d surlv. heavy | lawed fellow, with black eyes. short ' nose and brawny, hairy lists. He wore a | Eifle black derby hat about three sizes tuU | small for his great, round head His | handkerchief was the lghtest of sky ! blues. She was buX0m, burly. of mrli- | um height. dressed in true coStcrmon-er l 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 | disputed for half a moment and then he | turned around and deliberately gave her a 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 l Viuced 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 a delighted and cheering crowd, and then the cOstermOn-er female by her | skill in kicking carried the day. In a mo-
 ment or two more he gave up, Erinned srr=Fa rN ..fH | together for a happy Sabbath.
 l The way domestic brawls are carried on | in the streets of London cannot be | matched. ] am certain. in BnT other city | in the world. The common people who | walk the streets regard these quaIrels as | their own private theatricals and sternly resent any interference of the police. As ' 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 10 ] move on, and make arrests only where ! the disturbing party re-ists. 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 bTawls appear to take great pride in the parts which they are called l upon tO play. They are stimulated by the cheers and rUars of approval from the au- dieiice and do their best tO maintain their reputation for courage, ferOcity and skill n retort. The women are especially eXcitable and active in a street fight. The man gener- ally looks sulky and sheepish when en- Vaged in a fight wi-L lis female in public. But the women never give them a chance 10 back out. They are much more win ! sE q 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 brutaIlr and cruelly unless a 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 a number Of C0stermonEer yiragus bound ing from the ground like hyeuas, rushing up and down with great le"ps, bowling insults and CpiJhets, then sweeping down toward the hated object of their wrath for a blow or % kick, and when the man strikes out the baby never seems Co be re- Earied as anything more than butler The co-term0nEer female Gses her baby
 Rs a shield. The poor. Wretched baoy Is generally philosopher and rarely, fl ever howl, or cries. l have never heard a c-stcriuouger baby even peea during the most exciting phases Oi 90 street fight, although the mother may Le bowling like a panther in her rage and excitement.
 IL is this class oi people that makes even the best paris of London disa-reea- bIe. When their worl. is done they crowd
 the st1eets and fill the pEuGcs, drinking, swearing and quarreliu-. They wander
 fin great idle sWarms mp and down the best streets. never turning to inc right or Jeff for any one. do Euf know when tbev sleep. have never been out sO late
 au hour that hare not found any num-
 Der of them marching abOus hoDtiu- and
 bowling. and without Inc slightest check
 or hiudrlncc from the aUthortic-.-l. c.
 CrayvlDrd's LuuICu Letter iu New York
 World
 A Stab in the Dark
 Sometimes fails of it's murderous intent. The insidIous and dastsrdly attacks made upon the reputation O. Hostetter's Stomach BItters by persons who seek to