Evening star., 1893-09-09
CRIES ON THE STREETS.
Venders OF Food and Their Stock sn
Trnde-original Coster Monsers-
Cats Meat and Other Thfnxs.

Cats Meat and Other Thfnxu.
In the shape OF an odd little volnme tieA
together with tape. a curiosity-,oving anti
quarfan has gathered some Of the cries OF
LONDON streets. both ancient and modern
Formerly merchandise Of almost every
description was carried and cried I'm the
streets When shops were little mare than
open shanties. the apprentices shout OF
What dye lacky" was often aceompan-
led by a running description of the goods
on sale. together with remarks OF a per-
sonal description. complimentary or other
wise to likely and unlikely buyers.
A common London CRY at one time was
Buy tormentor for your heasf" This
article is said to have been part OF the
skin OF an animal with the hair left on, In
which heas would naturally take refuge
10 be subsequently, drowned Other author
iues assert that II was nothing more nov
less than 'scratch-back," such az was q
familiar article of toilet a century ago.
Commonly it took the shape Of a small
IVORY nsnd on the end Of a stick. BY means
OF which a part OF the person Otherwise
inaccessible could be reached
Dumpifnss and Puddfnss.
vendors OF food in those days were
numerous. One would call out. Dump
iinss, ho' Another cried, Hogs puddingsf's
other cries were. Newborn egys, eight q
groat, Ripe Turkey fgs." Fine poma-
tum, Buy a nesh-brush." .Buv INV
orooms. Water for the bugs" "Isair. or
eombinss for wigs" and Fine potatoes. (.
40 this day baked potatoes are sold ON the
streets all over London.
The words used In street cries ar, -ure,v
hteilg1ole. In London they are TO be dis
Srlnissteo by their tunes and the time OF
Gay: me no longer heard shout OF s'Hollo-
way cheese cakes" was pronouncSd IAN
my teeth ache" Not long ago an GA man
VINO dealt I'm brick-dust used TO veil some
thins that sounded exactly like. -Do you
ch,nI Jsnt Hck on the headr' veDdor OF
cnickweed brayed like an ass, while a
stentorian bawler shouted, Cats meat"
though he sold cabbages. Today there An
a coal-cart man who cries. I'm on the
Moolsack" but what he means is Pine
Wallsend cosl!" "Eaendy shoo-avn ,ra.
penny signifies a handy shoe horn for =
penny.
Buy my ruraps and burrsr I. an ola
ery requiring word OF explanation. Be
fore the skins of the newly-fayec oxen
were consigned TO the tanner, the inside
OF the ear. called the burr" and the feshy
part or the tail were removed These when
seasoned and baked. are said TO have fur-
nisneo an appetizing dish. 20 be recom-
mended for its chespness. The man blow.
ing q trumpet century ago was a seller
OF toy hobby-horses. He carried his vsres
IN sort OF cage. and to the head of each
horse was attached a ANAL nag.
The cry OF Marking stonesr' was farnil-
lar peiore the days Of the modern lead pen-
ell The stones were black or red Tbs
latter color was indelible and al cbear
lodging houses the red stone was used 70
mark upon linen the words stop fhiefrs
shouted:
Buy a msrking-stone marking stones buzz
Much pront In their use doth lie
I've marking g-stones OF color red
n
Rat Catchers OF OLD.
In the times OF Charles II the rat catchs
er went about with a banner emblazoned
with rats. The cry Of a vender Of hazel
nuts was "Jaw-work. up and under Jaw
work-a whole pot for a half pcnny,s
Another was ''New-laid eegs-crack'm ana
try M Yet other yells were "Brick-aust,.
Hot rolls" Buy a horn-book." PERI
wrinkles" Songs. three yards a penny
ana Lily-white mussels. penny a quart"
BIZ Sykes. the coster-monger-or Co.'S
tart" "-monger, as he was originally called
from his trade Of selling apples-now -FOUR
ishes under difficulties. What with the en-
viSus complaints OF the small shop seepes
whom he uncersells. and the rebuffs ef tlrs
policeman who keeps him lodging about
ana always ION the move" he has hard
time OF IT He changes his cries with the
stock OF his cart or barrow. One day he
viii invest in pineapples. when there is q
glut OF them. and in stentorian tones will
make known his willingness to exchange
slices for q half penny each or q whole one
for six pence. on other days 1t may se sp-
| ple6, hsh, vegetables photographs. on even
! tortises-the last being supposed 10 earn a
free IL uncomfortable passage 10 England
in homeward-bound ships by serving az
wedges to keep the cargo from shifting In
| the hold
Some time ago large numbers Of AMBER
tipped briar wood pipes we're cold IN the
streets Of London at a penny apiece. Sud-
denly the supply stopped. for the conmis-
sion merchant who furnished them hsd
mistaken dozen" for gross in the letter
supposed that the amber mouihpieces were
imitation. whereas. in fact. they were real,
and the pipes ought to have brought one
shilling each.
Cries OF the Present.
One vender Of today. who sells boot laces
In London. cries Boot laces-and the boot
laces." He has a bad temper. and. II sales
are slow. his shout winds Up with a storm
Of abuse addressed to non-buyers. after
which mental refreshment he calmly pro-
ceeds as before with. The boot laces-end
the boot laces" Another character familiar
to the metropolis is the penny Jacx-iB-the-
box seller, whose cry. Jack pops out Of
the box. is a peculiar double squeak. emit
| ted without movement OF the lips Tie
sound is supposed TO belong TO the Internal
economy OF the toy, and TO be a part " the
pennyworth, but once out OF the han Us of
his master, JACK Is voiceleSs.
One of the most common cries IN modern
London is that OF the man who sells cats'
meat. This Is mostly boiled horse, and 10
| delivered at houses in humps o. ske~ers.
1t has been reckoned that the $50 900 cats
in London annually consume $4,000 worth
OF this sort Of meat. but perhaps that 10 an
over estimate.
The bellows mender, who sometimes was
also a tinke-. used TO carry his tools about
London in a bag Of leather hung al his
back. Door mats OF rushes or rope were
sold by vendors at from si,pence 70 sever
al shillings each. The earliest green pea
brought 10 the metropolitan market q
dwarf variety, was called the Hastings.
This name continued TO be applied e. all
peas sold I'm the streets. and the cry Of
! Green Hastings" was heard IN every
street and alley until peas went out Of sea-
son. Mullins and crumpets were then. az
now. hawked about during the winter
months. Hot pudding. heavy and indiEest-
ible. was sold In halfpenny slabs. The
shout
who wants some pudding nice and bot,
'Tis now the time 10 try IL;
Just taken from the smoking pot,
And taste before you buy IT,"
The cry. "One-a penny, two-a-penny, hot
cross buns!" Is no longer heard on Good
Friday. though still part Of a child's game.
IL is considered one OF the best examples
of English cumulative metre being repeat ted