Sinks of London Laid Open | Page 5

houses besides.
This grand cadging rendezvous, then, is under the superintendence of a
deputy, and is kept up in his name; he is assisted by his wife and under
deputy (men-servants), and a few female domestics. This man--that is,

the leader of the band--hails we believe from Cambridgeshire. He is of
a slight make, with a shrewd cast of the eye. Formerly he figured in a
gentleman's family, and has still much of the air and dress of a lackey:
he is nevertheless well adapted for his situation; is affable and free,
gambles, and is the companion of the lodgers in the house, but knows
them not in the street. When any of the inmates chance to meet him in
one of their alms-seeking rambles, and present their hat, to see if he
will set an example to unwilling people, he never drops in more than
one poor penny; his wife, however, is considered a trump (a generous
woman), and never has the collection-box held to her, but invariably
lets fall a tanner, to shew that she is a Gemman's wife. These people
have the reputation of being honest: anything intrusted to them, of
whatever value, is certain of being returned. Robbery and petty thefts
are here very rare, and fights are never allowed in the house, if the
landlord is at home. There are two kitchens, one for the males and the
other for the females: the men are not permitted to visit the women, and,
until after eleven at night, the time the women's kitchen is cleared, very
few of the latter are allowed to disturb their masculine neighbours;
those who have that privilege, are the select few, who are pleased to
term themselves wives. There are sleeping apartments, too, for the
different sexes, and rooms for those who pass as married people; and
when any of the fair part of the inmates happen, in their perambulations,
to meet with a friend of the opposite gender, and find, as they
sometimes do, that it will be necessary to have a little private
communion before they part, the landlord has so far sympathized with
such persons, as to provide a room or two for their particular use. In
short, this place, besides being a common lodging house, adds to it that
now very necessary convenience--a brothel.
There are considerably more than one hundred beds in this house, made
of wood and iron, distributed three and six in a room; the single ones
are fourpence, and the double ones sixpence; and when we add the
profits of this to that of the other two establishments, it must be allowed
that the whole must amount to a gentlemanlike sum.
It is now our duty to enter this abode; and though accustomed to those
retreats of vice and crime, we actually did pay a visit to this very house,

one Saturday evening, and there remained until Monday morning,
taking, from first to last, careful notes of the most extraordinary
characters and their ways, in order that our first sketch might be a
correct picture of the manner in which these outcasts of society spend
the last, the best, and the first part of the week.
Well, then, on Saturday afternoon, upon a certain day, we directed our
steps to that well known spot of this mighty part of the world--the
Rookery, the appropriate title given to that modern Sodom, St. Giles's.
On entering this region of sin, we, of course, had the usual difficulties
of foot-passengers to encounter, in picking and choosing our way
among the small but rich dung heaps--the flowing channels and those
pitfalls, the cellers, which lie gaping open, like so many man-traps,
ready to catch the unwary traveller. At length, however, we reached No.
13, ---- Street, which was pointed out to us by a damsel standing in one
of the many groups which are usually collected there, discussing the
queries of that city, as being the habitation that we were in search of.
[Illustration]
CHAPTER III.
THE CADGING HOUSE.
As this is the first attempt that has been made to describe a Cadging
House, we perhaps may be excused in being somewhat particular. The
outside of this dwelling was more cleanly and decent than we had been
led to expect. The window of the low front room, which was large and
rather bowed, still retained the remains of its former shop-like
appearance, was modestly screened in the inside by a green curtain; and
the step of the door was nicely scoured and sanded.
On entering, we were struck with the establishment-like appearance of
the room. Rows of common tin tea-pots were ranged along the dresser.
As for the shelves, they literally lined the walls, well filled with plates,
dishes, and tea-ware. The landlady came forward to meet us, a