University of Virginia Library

THE LIFE OF A COSTER-LAD.

One lad that I spoke to gave me as much of
his history as he could remember. He was a
tall stout boy, about sixteen years old, with a
face utterly vacant. His two heavy lead-
coloured eyes stared unmeaningly at me, and,
beyond a constant anxiety to keep his front
lock curled on his cheek, he did not exhibit the
slightest trace of feeling. He sank into his
seat heavily and of a heap, and when once
settled down he remained motionless, with his
mouth open and his hands on his knees — almost
as if paralyzed. He was dressed in all the slang
beauty of his class, with a bright red handker-
chief and unexceptionable boots.

"My father" he told me in a thick unim-
passioned voice, "was a waggoner, and worked
the country roads. There was two on us at
home with mother, and we used to play along
with the boys of our court, in Golding-lane, at
buttons and marbles. I recollects nothing more
than this — only the big boys used to cheat like
bricks and thump us if we grumbled — that's
all I recollects of my infancy, as you calls it.
Father I've heard tell died when I was three
and brother only a year old. It was worse luck
for us! — Mother was so easy with us. I once
went to school for a couple of weeks, but the
cove used to fetch me a wipe over the knuckles
with his stick, and as I wasn't going to stand
that there, why you see I aint no great schol-
lard. We did as we liked with mother, she
was so precious easy, and I never learned any-
thing but playing buttons and making leaden
`bonces,' that's all," (here the youth laughed
slightly.) "Mother used to be up and out very
early washing in families — anything for a
living. She was a good mother to us. We
was left at home with the key of the room and
some bread and butter for dinner. Afore she
got into work — and it was a goodish long time —
we was shocking hard up, and she pawned nigh
everything. Sometimes, when we had'nt no
grub at all, the other lads, perhaps, would give
us some of their bread and butter, but often our
stomachs used to ache with the hunger, and we
would cry when we was werry far gone. She
used to be at work from six in the morning till
ten o'clock at night, which was a long time for
a child's belly to hold out again, and when it
was dark we would go and lie down on the bed
and try and sleep until she came home with the
food. I was eight year old then.

"A man as know'd mother, said to her, `Your
boy's got nothing to do, let him come along with
me and yarn a few ha'pence,' and so I became
a coster. He gave me 4d. a morning and my
breakfast. I worked with him about three
year, until I learnt the markets, and then I and
brother got baskets of our own, and used to
keep mother. One day with another, the two
on us together could make 2s. 6d. by selling
greens of a morning, and going round to the
publics with nuts of a evening, till about ten
o'clock at night. Mother used to have a bit
of fried meat or a stew ready for us when we
got home, and by using up the stock as we
couldn't sell, we used to manage pretty tidy.
When I was fourteen I took up with a girl.
She lived in the same house as we did, and I
used to walk out of a night with her and give
her half-pints of beer at the publics. She were
about thirteen, and used to dress werry nice,
though she weren't above middling pretty.
Now I'm working for another man as gives me
a shilling a week, victuals, washing, and lodging,
just as if I was one of the family.

"On a Sunday I goes out selling, and all I
yarns I keeps. As for going to church, why, I
can't afford it, — besides, to tell the truth, I
don't like it well enough. Plays, too, ain't in
my line much; I'd sooner go to a dance — its
more livelier. The `penny gaffs' is rather more
in my style; the songs are out and out, and
makes our gals laugh. The smuttier the better,
I thinks; bless you! the gals likes it as much
as we do. If we lads ever has a quarrel, why,
we fights for it. I was to let a cove off once,
he'd do it again but I never give a lad a
chance, so long as I can get anigh him. I
never heard about Christianity, but if a cove
was to fetch me a lick of the head, I'd give it
him again, whether he was a big 'un or a little
'un. I'd precious soon see a henemy of mine
shot afore I'd forgive him, — where's the use?
Do I understand what behaving to your neigh-
bour is? — In coorse I do. If a feller as lives
next me wanted a basket of mine as I wasn't
using, why, he might have it; if I was working
it though, I'd see him further! I can under-

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stand that all as lives in a court is neighbours;
but as for policemen, they're nothing to me,
and I should like to pay 'em all off well. No;
I never heerd about this here creation you
speaks about. In coorse God Almighty made
the world, and the poor bricklayers' labourers
built the houses arterwards — that's my opinion;
but I can't say, for I've never been in no
schools, only always hard at work, and knows
nothing about it. I have heerd a little about
our Saviour, — they seem to say he were a
goodish kind of a man; but if he says as how
a cove's to forgive a feller as hits you, I should
say he know'd nothing about it. In coorse the
gals the lads goes and lives with thinks our
walloping 'em wery cruel of us, but we don't.
Why don't we? — why, because we don't.
Before father died, I used sometimes to say
my prayers, but after that mother was too busy
getting a living to mind about my praying.
Yes, I knows! — in the Lord's prayer they says,
`Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgives them
as trespasses agin us.' It's a very good thing,
in coorse, but no costers can't do it."