Tombstone epitaph., 1890-02-08
TIE COSTERMONGER.
k ROUGH AND READY CHARACTEs
 OF THE BRITISH METROPOLIS.

ocbtiCS DispubcS nl-h
 His FemaIe-The overworked Pony Idle Swarms in the Streets.
 The London costermonger generally wears fixed kind of dress His hat is weather His coat is generally 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 a collar. These hand kerchiefs are always dirty, except upOI 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 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 desgnates the character and standing of a man in England as completely and thoroughly as if he wore uniform prescribed by act oi parliament The costermongers are mep engaged in street traffic of all kinds. TEeS 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 dor keys or ponies. The strength and endur- ance of these small animals are phenome- nal. I have seen from six to eight grown people on a costermonger's cart being drawn at a furious pace by pony not much larger than Newfoundland dog.
 The costermonger never gives his pony any rest. He works him during the WeeG 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 hg or some gateway. They are hardy tough, coarse fibered people. They are noisy, and have a perfect passion for scenes of uproar and excitement. You sarely hear of costermongers murdering any of their associates or of their using knives or pistols in their quarrels. They have a 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 natrIred way. The costermonger and his female are often the chief actors in a street brawl. When once a costermOnger has begun to kCep company with coStermonger fen ale then she is considered his property he speaks of him as her man ard she is spoken of as his ''gal'
 It was Sunday morning The two ad started out evidently for a holiday. He was in his best. He was a surly he " 5awed fellow, with black eyes, a s ort nose and brawny, hairy fists. He we a little black derby hat about three size too small for his great, round head His handkerchief was the hghtest of sky blues. She was buxom, burly, of | edi um height, dressed in true costermoL ger etyle. Their dispute grew out of a if ference of opinion as to where ti ey should spend the day. She insisted on going one way and he the other. ey disputed for half 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 dStt1uSU HIS SlluS very SOOu cCn- vinced him that she was as strong at u at kind of argument as be-. They kicked at each other for about five minutes, he center of delighted and cheering crowd, and then the costermonger female by Ter 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 general thing the police do not touch the brawlerS unless they make too much of 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 l had ever seen before in my life. The actors in these street fights OI domestic brawls appear to take grear 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 theb reputation for courage, ferocity and skill in retort.
 The women are especially eycitable ant active in street fight. The man gener ally looks sulky and sheepish when en gagged in fight with his female in public But the women never give them a chance to back out They are much more win dictive and active than the men. After the man has been kicked three or foul times and has had his face scratched UT to proper state of rawness, he be comes excited and then s.r:kes ou. brutally and cruelty, unless a police man happens to be too near. The womeI are generally the victors in these stree fights. The fighting women generally have babies in their arms. have seen number Of costermonger viragos bound ing from the ground like hyenas, rushins up and down with great leaps, bowling insults and epithets, then sweeping dowI toward the hated object of their wratl for blow or a kick, and when the maI strikes out the baby never seems to be re garded as anything more than buffer The costermonger female uses her bab as shield. The poor, wretched baby j generally philosopher and rarely, if ever bowls or cries. 1 have never heard costermonger baby even peep during the most exciting phases of q street fight although the mother may be bowling like panther in her rage and excitement.
 It is this class of people that make, even the be- parts of London disagreea ble WheI their work is done they crowc the streets and fill the publns, drinking swearing and quarreling. They wandei in crrpat idle SUarT0S mn arld 6Oyv1, h.