“Cat’s and Dog’s Meat!”
several hats; but, though he may often be met with more than one in his possession, he is now seldom seen with more than one on his head. Calling the price before the quantity, though quite a recent innovation, or more probably the revival of an old style, is almost universal. The cry of “Fine warnuts, ten a penny,” is now “A penny for ten, fine warnuts,” or “A penny for ’arf a score, fine warnuts.”
The cat’s meat man has never, like some of his colleagues, aspired to music, but apparently confines himself to the one strident monosyllable. It has been stated, by the way, that the London cats, of which it seems there are at present some 350,000, annually consume £100,000 worth of boiled horse. Daintily presented on a skewer, pussy’s meat is eaten without salt; but, being impossible of verification, the statistics presented in the preceding sentence may be taken with a grain.
“Soot” or “Sweep, ho!” The sweep, accompanied by two or three thinly-clad, half-starved, and generally badly-treated apprentices, who ascended the chimneys and acted as human brushes, turned out in old times long before daylight. It was owing to the exertions of the philanthropist, Mr. Jonas Hanway, and before the invention of the jointed chimney sweeping machine, that an Act was passed at the beginning of
