48 THE FISH MAfiKET AND THE FISH TRADE. 



and these heaps are disposed of seriatim by Mr. Seymour and his excellent 

 assistants. The buyers have strict injunctions to step outside the red- line, 

 and if they step beyond it are met by the mingled ire and satire of the sales- 

 man. It takes a lot of ire and satire, however, to pierce the hides of their 

 habitues at the fish markets, and the sale is constantly interrupted by the 

 wild incursions into the forbidden space, and the consequent angry objur- 

 gations of the presiding genius. Driven back again and again, once more 

 they fill the breach ; Jew face, Greek face, Italian face, and Caucasian face, 

 eagerly and intently bent on the heaps before them, from which the dead 

 fish turn up ghastly eyes as though reproachful of such uncalled for zeal. 

 Some of the bidders had their hands upon their knees and their mouths 

 open, bidding away with a ferocious frenzy, not visible in buyers in any 

 other kind of business. Scarcely a single one of those present wore a 

 coat ; some even disdained a vest ; while all of them had that peculiar 

 contempt for neck gear which certain American citizens once evinced at the 

 appearance upon a comrade of what he irefully designated a " biled shirt." 

 And this, although the morning was cold and dark, with a bitter bite in the 

 atmosphere suggestive of chills, and aches and rheumatism. In fact here 

 one may fiud that curious class of people which is represented in every large 

 city, who never wear coats, for it is safe to assume that a man who could go 

 without a coat on such a morning must have a constitutional objection to 

 coats altogether, and doubtless regards every kind of sartorial adornment as 

 a blunder, which shows that this class has philosophically progressed farther 

 than, or not so far as, the ordinary civilised man. The auctioneer seemed to 

 have a well-founded distrust of some personages in the crowd, who, while 

 not bidding for any fish, kept very close to certain outlying heaps. These 

 were repelled by occasional sharp reminders to the effect that the auctioneer 

 had his eye upon them, for which piece of information these characters 

 showed becoming gratitude. Behind the grand army of hawkers, and acting 

 as a sort of camp followers to them, were a number of ragged sharp-looking 

 boys. As the main body pressed forward these followed on close behind, 

 and I was assured by one of the officials that it was their habit to stoop behind 

 the bidders at the auction and deftly rake away certain fish from between 

 their legs. These marauders are the hardest to watch, on account of their 

 small size and singular deftness in their profession. Withered, yellow, ragged 

 waifs, they are like " Joe," or the " Artful," and in their own line probably 

 quite as dexterous as the latter cool young gentleman. They are probably 

 so prevalent at the markets in some measure because the inspector and his 

 assistants are clad merely in civilian costume. There is nothing like the 

 policeman's majestic uniform to strike panic into the juvenile heart inclined 

 to err, and although through the morning a few tall policemen were looking 

 stolidly on at the proceedings, it is yet no part of their duty to attend the 

 sales, a circumstance which, for the sake of the small boys before mentioned, 

 it might perhaps be as well to remedy. The auctioneer is assisted by a 

 sturdy clerk, whose efforts, other than his clerical ones, are of considerable 

 assistance in keeping the motley assemblage in order, and there are, besides 

 an assistant auctioneer and clerk engaged in disposing of the fish .... 

 Kanged round the walls on either side are a succession of troughs of stone, 

 with sea-water laid on. These are let to hawkers and fishmongers at the 

 small sum of 5s. weekly, and in them is carried on the work of cleansing and 

 preparing the fish for cooking. As soon as a hawker purchases his lot of 

 fish he transports it to these troughs, aud in an incredibly short space of 

 time has it cleansed. This process is going on simultaneously with the 

 auction, and forms a sort of accompaniment to the hurried scalings of the 



