"This is 'Jack Barley's "Convivial Pup,"' Sir," said the cabman to me as I climbed out of the "hansom." "This is the finest rat-pit in Lunnon, Sir."
A SOIREE AT A RAT PIT.
I had often heard of Mr. Barley before, and now I saw him face to face, a most villainous and repulsive looking beast with a scarcely healed cicatrice in his jaw, and a couple of bleary holes under his black brows, miscalled eyes. Mr. Barley was famous in his way, and enjoyed distinction among a certain class. None could tell the breed of a dog, the age of a spaniel, the pluck of a terrier, or the gouging and milling abilities of a middle weight bruiser, with Professor Barley. In such matters his judgment was final and conclusive along the Thames bank for some distance.
The proprietor escorted us through a small bar, which was ornamented with the usual sporting emblems found in low London tap rooms, and after descending a stone stairs, I found myself in a room beneath the ground floor, with small circular benches ranged in a cramped fashion to the ceiling. On these seats about one hundred men, of all grades in the sporting class, were seated. There were a few "gentlemen," God save the mark, a brace of attorney's clerks, an officer of some line regiment, and the rest of the audience were of a miscellaneous character.
There was a rat pit below the benches, a square enclosure with a board fence about four feet high, enclosing it, the boards being whitewashed, and the flooring of the pit having sawdust scattered over it.
The only light in this dreary and subterraneous den came from six greasy, unvarnished tin lanterns, in which half a dozen of cheap tallow candles were fixed, and these flickered and sputtered with great malevolence on the rascally faces of the men who swarmed around the pit.
I heard a squealing noise, and I saw a lad bring in a long and huge flat wire cage, which was swarming with gray, black, and brown rats. Way was made for the youth to enter the pit with his cage of live rodents. Jumping in he opened the cage, and thrusting his forearm fearlessly through the door he drew forth, one by one, over fifty large and ferocious rats and threw them in a heap in the pit. These animals ran about in a confused way for a few minutes, and looked with an almost human and beseeching look into the murderous faces which were gathered around the pit. Then another cage was handed to the young man, and the same ceremony was performed again until there were one hundred and five rats in the centre of the pit.
