Living London; its work and its play, its humour and and its pathos, its sights and its scenes; . d eager for a carouse on shore, the mencrowd about him, and insist on his drinkingat their expense. Presently one of theirnumber, swiftl_\- and unobser\-ed, slips intothe seamans tankard some bro\ powderfrom a folded paper. Scarcely has he finishedthe doctored draught ere the sailor growsunaccountab!y sleepy and stupefied ; vaguelypiotesting, he is led out of the house by hisnew-found companions, and is hustled downsome quiet court or upon one of the riverstairs—spots as deserted at this hour asSa
Living London; its work and its play, its humour and and its pathos, its sights and its scenes; . d eager for a carouse on shore, the mencrowd about him, and insist on his drinkingat their expense. Presently one of theirnumber, swiftl_\- and unobser\-ed, slips intothe seamans tankard some bro\ powderfrom a folded paper. Scarcely has he finishedthe doctored draught ere the sailor growsunaccountab!y sleepy and stupefied ; vaguelypiotesting, he is led out of the house by hisnew-found companions, and is hustled downsome quiet court or upon one of the riverstairs—spots as deserted at this hour asSalisbury Plain. Here he is pinioned,brutalh beaten, and robbed b_\- his associatesof everything he possesses ; for he has fallen CRnilXAL LOXDOW 17 into the hands of a Thames-side snulfergang of terribly e\il repute. Should thesnuff he has swallowed leave him still capable the street, two fij^urcs emcr;j;e from a doorway,and, with noiseless tread, _i;ive chase. Oneof them clambers upon the back axle ofthe vehicle, and, stretchint; outa lean, sinew\- arm, with as-tounding skill and strength. •of resistance or of raisint; an alarm, theseruffians may even flin^ him headlong intothe river—whence his body will be recovered,a day or two later, to furnish yet anothertragic m\ster} of the Thames. A consummate!} clever thief is thebrilliantly-attired young lad\ who may bemet almost daily in one or other of the West-End main thoroughfares, languidl}- regardingthe shop-keepers wares. Yesterday after-noon, for instance, she spent in drixing ina smart turn-out from one jewellers shopto another in quest of a half-hoop stone she made no purchase anywhere,her taste is really less exigent than might besupposed, for in two instances, at least, sheleft the shop with a stolen ring snugl\-hidden awa\- in the palm of her left glo\e. To-da)-, on foot and in a totally differenttoilette, she enters an Oxford Street boot-makers with a request for something daintyin the wa_\ of Parisia
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookpublisherlondo, bookyear1902
