Tombstone epitaph., 1891-01-18
TIE CoSTERMONGER.
z aee.ts!! aee.ts.!! ssAsc sSASS Sss.esss:sssee.=E Sss.esss:sssee=Esss OF IHE BRITISH METROPOLIS.
ReasAs4s fer Street BrawIs--Isew tbs costsFmsnEsr Settles Disputes witE nAs Essaais-shs ovsrusrksd Pony- Sdls s~arEas tR the ssrssts

The London custermonger peueraIis wears fixed kind of dress His ha1 $ always black derby. rusty from rain and weather. His coat is generally & rusty black fTock- He rarely wears waistc0at His trousers may be corduroy or any kind Of the cheaper wOOlsn patterns His shoes gre thick soled and hobnailed. He always wears a eolSred handkerchief tied around his neck in place of a collar. These hand kerchiefs are always dirty, except upou rare Sunday and holiday occasions, when new ties are donned. These hautikegCkfefs are always of a fHncifui color, light blue and rcd being the faEoEises. They are wgra h.E0 SD ua tBs neck, leaving q couple of inches of dirty neck showing between the handkerchief and the greasy collar of the shambling frOSk coat The handker- chief is really the badge Of the order. This handkerchief about the neck 6esignatss the character and standing of a man in England as completely and thoroughly as if he wore uniform prescribed by act of parliament The costsrmongers are men engaged iu 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 theIg ambition they become the owners of small tsFo wheeled wagons, drawn by little dor keys or ponies. The strength and enduF- anoe of these small animals are phsnoue- nal I have seen from six to eight Er0Eu people on costermonger's cart being a-s1rn st tyssionz rase sy :,eny ecs much larger than a Newfoundland dog
 The costernlonger never gives his pony any rest. He works him during the wes.k tn his business and uses the gTretehed lit tie animal on Sunday to give his friends treat sn the shape Of ride to some cofk hey resort in the suburbs. The eosteF- sacRgers 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 ahey generally take refuge under an avn tog or some gateway. They are hardy, tough, coarse f3bered people. They are E0isy, and have 6 perfect passion for scenes of uproar and excitement Ton karely hear Of c0stermongers murIieFing any of their associates or Of their using Knives or pistols in their qugsrTels. They have way of pounding and kicking each other when engaged in disputes, bu. are rarely arrested, as they never seem to carry malice, and their fights generally end up in 6 good nRtrred way. The costermopger and his female are often the chief actors in street brawL When once oostermonger has begun to k CD company with costerm0nger fem 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 startsc out evidently for & holiday Hs was in his best He WAS 6 suriy, he VI sawed fellow, with black eyes, Q & ort nose and braRpy, hairy fists. He VIC 8 little black derby hat about tle-oe size too small for his great round head His haF saF = zA- blues. She was buxom, burFy, of u edi um height, dressed in true costernof ger style. Their dispute grew out of if ference of opinion as to where sy should spend the day. She insisted on going cns way and be the other. T. ey disputed for half moment and then he turned around and deliberately gave heI 6 kick which lifted her about six incl es from the sidewalk, to convince her q at his way was the best She turned quiet ly and began kicking hiIa in return he way she brought her number ten o0s ts around against his ships very soon c b- vinced him that she was as strong at u at kind of argument Es he. They kicked at each other for about five minutes, =hs center of delighted and cheering cruR d, and then the costeFmongeF female by CT skill in kicking carried the day. In a no Tnent or two more he gave up, grim e,i good nAturedly and the two walked of together for a happy Sabbath.
 The way domestic braWis are carried Un in the streets of London cannot be matched, ] am certain, in any other Sfty Sn tiae world The common people wbc walk the streets regard these qUarreis as their own private thcatrical5 and sternl5 resent any Interference of the police. As c general thing the police do not tonch the brawleTs unless they Tnaks too much ot disturbance and block up the streets. The police then simply order them tC move On, and make arrests only where the disturbing party reSists. During my stay in London have seen more stFeei fights thaa l had ever seen before in ny life. The actors in these street fights oI domestic brawis appear 10 take greai pride in the parts which they are called upon to play. They gre stimulated by the cheers and roars of approval from the an zleaee and do their best to maintain theiI reputation for courage, ferocity and skill tn retort.
 The women are especially eTcitabIe ane active in a street fight, The man gener ally looks suiky and sheepish when en gaged in fight with his female ss public Bat the women never give them ehsRef to back out. They are muck more win
 
 the man has besa kicked tbree or foul times and has had his face scratched uI to a proper state of raUness, he De comes excited and then s-rskes opi brutally and cruelty, unless 8 police man happens to be too near. The woEHeI are generally the Yictors in thesa stree fghta The fighting women generally have babies is their arms l have seen humber Of costerEaonger viraEos bound .ng from the ground like kyeaas, rushini Ep and down with great leGps, bowling snsuits ana epSthets, then sweeping dowI toward the hated object af their wFRtl for a biosF or a kick, and when the nsaI strikes onf the baby never seems to be re gzxtsed as aaytEiag more tbaB buffer. .Fsle costerraanger female usss her bs3 ss . shield. The poor, Eretehed baby is generally philosopher and rarely, if sSer kowls or cries. 1 have never heard f sssfaruaougur baby even peep during ths most exciting phases Of 2 street fight slfhough the mother may be lowing like . panther in her rage and excitemens.
 Itts this eiAes of people that n7azef eves the bsr1 parts of London disagreea fda. whez. their work is done they crows fsff fyzs y,tsE.ffna gfg-fFfsr inc