MUSCID^ — FLIES. 299 



twenty or thirty miles silling them to get that money, and 

 then the next day we was tired. 



"The silling of papers is gradual falling off. I conld go 

 out and sill twenty dozen wonst where I couldn't sill one 

 now. I think I does a very grand day's work if I yearns 

 a shilling. Perhaps some days I may lose by them. You 

 see, if it's a very hot day, the papers gets dusty ; and be- 

 sides, the stuff gets melted and oozes out; though that 

 don't do much harm, 'cos we gets a bit of whitening and 

 rubs 'em over. Four years ago we might make ten shillings 

 a day at the papers, but now, taking from one end of the 

 fly-season to the other, which is about three months, I think 

 we makes about one shilling a day out of papers, though 

 even that ain't quite certain. I never goes out without 

 getting rid of mine, somehow or another, but then I am 

 obleeged to walk quick and look about me. 



" When it's a bad time for silling the papers, such as a 

 wet, could day, then most of the fly-paper boys goes out with 

 brushes, cleaning boots. Most of the boys is now out hop- 

 ping. They goes reg'lar every year after the season is give 

 over for flies. 



" The stuff as they puts on the paper is made out of boiled 

 oil and turpentine and resin. It's seldom as a fly lives more 

 than five minutes after it gets on the paper, and then it's as 

 dead as a house. The blue-bottles is tougher, but they don't 

 last long, though they keeps on fizzing as if they was trying 

 to make a hole in the paper. The stuff is only p'isonous for 

 flies, though I never heard of anybody as ever eat a fly- 

 paper." 



A second lad, in conclusion, said : "There's lots of boys 

 going selling 'ketch-'era-alive oh's'from Golden-lane, and 

 White-chapel and the Borough. There's lots, too, comes 

 out of Gray's-inn-lane and St. Giles's. Near every boy who 

 has nothing to do goes out with fly-papers. Perhaps it ain't 

 that the flies is failed off that we don't sill so many papers 

 now, but because there's so many boys at it." 



A third, of the lot the most intelligent and gentle in his 

 demeanor, though the smallest in stature, said : 



" Pve been longer at it than the last boy, though I'm only 

 getting on for thirteen, and he's older than Pm ; 'cos Pm 

 little and he's big, getting a man. But I can sell them 

 quite as well as he can, and sometimes better, for I can 

 holler out just as loud, and I've got reg'lar places to go to. I 



