Morning journal and courier., 1893-06-10
NEW HAVEN CONN, SATURDAY MORNING, JUNE 1o 1ses -

lies against either cheek. Above the fore
 head the hair falls straight almost to tn,
 brows, but is then frizzled and curled un til 1t stands upward and outward lik, monstrous matted chevaux de frise.
 The nearest approach to e home smons the posters is where the coster is fairly well-to-do, and owns the donkey and car or couple or three. In these extrenel, rare instances you will often find the cos ter, his wife or mate, their children and the donkeys in one basement room togeth CT. But the character of the mans and the woman's work keep them upon ths street. They eat ct ohesp chop houses and coffee stalls. Their evenings are passed at the tap broom, the 'tpenny gaff" shows, thu rst-pit and the cheap music halls
 Boys and girls leave their parents and mate at from fourteen to sixteen years They take furnished rooms iR the costel districts of Leather Lane, Drury Lane Shoreditch, Old street road, Narylebons Lane, Dockhead, Bethna1 Green, White chapel, Oamberwsll and the like, and ar. at once full fedged costsrs. Children art born to them, and are "mindedn for tho first year or two. Then they take thei, chances for life and education in the slums At six or seven they accompany their pa rents, or are hired out to other oostsrs In few years more, some fancied sliah or too severe beating occurs, or-the COS ter youth or lass have met their affinity and they are away for themselves without partings or regrets.
 They are all, men and women, confirmed and hopeless gamblers in petty way Frequently they will back their favorit. chaffnches, which are trained to fight. al aa frer a 1rfr nrr Nr, ha 1ras of everything they possess. do not be lieve there is Q coster in London who haI not at sometime been a years labor and thrift behind his body and the clothes upon it from illluck at gambling. Some go to the dogs completely from 1t. Ther they commit suicide composedly from 1t This very curse of their character ens bled me to become one of them for SC long as liked. had unsvailingly tried all means of which was capable to be come familiar with them. While cheery and friendly enough, they would never be their real selves in my presence. Bu, I kept among them doggedly about "the joyous neighborhood of Covent Garden market, where from three to four thousand may daily be seen, until opportunity al last came.
 I used to saunter for hours about the famous market in the early morning. On certain May morning of last year found among the peas-shellers under the market colonnades, opposite the ancient TsEistock hotel, one of the women, comedy enough for a wonder among these who are gene rally indescribable hags, shelling in des- perate sort of way and crying as though her heart would break. More tears than pennies fell in her bowl, and the old Jeza- ha1s all har orffa tho faoh ion of women, aiding to her misery by taunting her with the foolishness of her marriage, which had evidently gone smiss. When these taunts became insunerable she would quietly punch one or another of their heads, when there would be 8 little savage scufaing and then she would re- sumo her tears and peas. I could zee she was a costsr woman; and in 6 few minutes waiting | gathered enough to know that the weeping -peas sheller had run away from coster father and mother, married @ coster youth of fancy" or sporting proclivities, and that the latter, possessed of frenzy over some chafinch or dog, had stripped the pair, time after time, of donkey, cart and home belong. ings, ss often lost all; and, worae yet, had become so infamous among his kind that in all London he could not borrow @ half orowR to start anew, usually an easy thing for c coster to do, nor so much ss ''thr'- and drown his despondenoy. That very morning Becky, the weeping peas sheller, had tragically left her inccrrigible husband 'sfor good sndnil;" and at that very mo- ment the latter, known as "Slumpsy Jem" for his ill-luck and .inoorrigibllity, was turning away from gibing ooster groups, one after another, the picture of irretriev- able despair.
 The language of these folk is simple un- printable, not because of the costers' in- tentional obscenity and profanity, ss they have the deepest pride in their own speech and ways. "Slumpsy Jem" himself qusiled under the fusillsde that morning. He slunk away like one pursued, and I fol. lowed him. Half way down Southampton street he made last effort to retrieve him. self by begging g loan from "Jenny Will Hams, the Minder"-a hinder of whips for cers' carters who crowd that thoroughfsre between the Stand and the market. Jen- ny was "up to snuff" and beat him off with her whips. Then haplunged into the Strand at run; squirmed among and through the laundering vehicles, St. Paurs way, to Waterloo Bridge; here halted a moment or I could not have overtsken him; and then started doggedly towards the Surrey side He afterwards told me il was for "a header" into the Thames.
 But soon ran alongside him, and be fore he was half way to the middle of the bridge had him by the shoulder, and then, telling him he could attend to the little matter he had in mind just as we'll later iu the day, marched him, a willing and won dering prisoner, to cheap Rril,-house ir the Strand for breakfast. Even an ont cast costermonger filled with good food and in company where the ehink of silver is, is different sort of fellow than one just on the point of T'takipg header" of Waterloo Bridge But he could do little else than bulge his eyes, and after much emotional effort epurt out his astonishmeni in:
 "Gor bfi me, but 'sre's gol"
 : It was stil greater ''go" when, 8 half hour later, had him help me ransack eve " foul pawn shop in the Ainories, and we gathered up all the poor shreds of theil home-bslongipgs, even to his own brilliant Sunday "kingsman," or neckcloth, the veritable four shilling begging" chaffinch which had been his downfall, and Becky'f famous ostrich plume, tn. erst pride aud envy of Shoreditch; and after such char woman's scrubbipg and securing as the place had never bsfore known, got the broken home together again iu the self same spot befcre St. Paul's bslls had struck the mid day chimes.
 "Gawd strike me lucky! hit's likeiiel palius than the Lud May'r's. One gszs O h'itd put h'out poor donah's (dsrling. mis tress, wife) h'eyes-Gor bli me, sol wouldI" was Siumpsy's batting apostro phs, ss we mounted a four-psnny bus clty ward way, though the dazsd coster wal still ignorant of our destination.
 We were soon at Drury Lane. I knew an ale house, hard by Long Acre where the peas shelters drowned their woes wher their work was done, and sometimei danced and fought. Sure enough JennJ was there, still weeping over pot of foul ale and q cold sausage; but the greates Ego" of all was these costers' meeting drenshsd in tears, drowned in a full "gsl lon O bitter" for parting cheer among th, now enthusiastic pess-shsllsr companions and storm swept with "God bn mesl' ''Strike me deads, or Iuckeysl" and othel still more unctious costsr oaths. Tn "poor domains h'eyes" were quite 'spu out" on seeing her little, and loved If lit tie, home rebuilt as if by magic, and al the ruefuf prophecies of her nagging com panions so marvelously put to naueht and to do the poor soul justice her grati tude and delight were inexpresaibly great CT to discover that the magic, the tots cost of which had been but three pound H- T. T. Il