The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1888-03-24

cannot be behold in any other part Of the
greatest city in the world, nor hardly in any
other portion of the world itself"
This for the air, or, at least the pegs and
lines outside the shops, but the ground itself
has also its array Of colors. at is covered
with lines of boots and shoes, their shining
black relieved here and there by the admixt
ure OF women's boots, with drab, green,
plum or lavender colored legs as the upper
part OF the boot is always called in the trade
There is. too, an admixture of mems button
boots, with drab cloth legs, and of n few red,
yellow and russell colored slippers, and Of
children's colored morocco boots and shoes
Handkerchiefs, sometimes Of gaudy orange
pattern, are heaped in a chair. Lace and
muslin occupy small stands or are spread on
the ground. Black and drab and straw hats
are hung up or piled one upon another, while
necessarily threading their way through all
this intricacy, is mass Of people, some Of
whose dresses arc evidently recent purchases
in this lane"
Evidently the crowd has come hungry, and
evidently, too, the shop keepers have small
time for cooking, for every third shop seems
ono for fried fish, heaped up on willow
basket tops or trays, brown and crisp and
hot, arl quite worthy the penny or two
asked. But even these do not meet the de-
mand, for "winklcs' and mussels and
shrimTs, and all the high favored sea mys-
teries dear to the palate of poorer London,
are here also, in baskets and on stands, vine
gar, pepper, hidcously strealiy butter and
bread waiting as adjuncts The baked potato
man is here and the hot coffee and ginger
beer man, while barrows of sweets, of cakes,
of stale beer and green stuff move up and
down or hold their place by the more quietly
disposed vendors. 1t is a good natured
crowd as a whole, brutal word or shove
here or there, but for the most part the peo-
pie arc too well entertained for objection to
anything to find place, and wander up and
down, settling upon their purchases, chatting
the sellers and pausing at intervals for that
rsfreshment of the inner man which is never
far from the thoughts of Briton.
Now and then customer of a different
order appears; some shy, timid girl or
woman, driven by want to choose a garment
from these relics Of prosperity known to
this region only in name, and shrinking away
into the nearest and most shadowy shop.
Nor is she imposed upon. Petticoat lane has
its own tariff and certain theory Of morals,
and the buyer here gets usually fair return
for his money and unlimited freedom Of
choice 1t is hardly strange, then, that not
only the immediate jewellers in this region,
but pilgrims from many another poor
quarter in London, appear here and form
part of the curious and shifting crowd, leav-
ing their own rags sometimes and electing to
appear in those Of another order, though
hardly better than their own. 1t is said, too,
that thieves come here for DISCUSSES, and that
actors walk among the crowd studying
phases of low life not to be seen elsewhere.
Certainly there is variety enough to admit
them all, though whoever comes and goes in
these regions take care to be as inconspicuous
as possible, and to make some errand which
will, if need be, account for presence there.
With such precautions, an hour or more in
Petticoat lane is full of an absolutely new
experience, and if by any chance one of the
dwellers therein is known, and thus, entrance
obtained into the actual life of this strange
country, it is found to hold not only unique
side, but also its full portion of thht human
pain and joy and struggle which we and they
call living. HELEN CAMPBELL