8 CAPTAIN COOK 



Grocer and Draper." Light-heartedly, he en- 

 tered the doorway. 



The shop of the worthy William Saunderson 

 did not, at least in the year 1745, present a par- 

 ticularly inviting appearance. The doorway 

 had not known the touch of a paint-brush for an 

 incalculable number of years. The interior was 

 as gloomy as the crypt of a monastery. As soon 

 as one's eyes got accustomed to the darkness, one 

 could see on the right a counter on which lay 

 side by side a majestic Cheshire cheese, piles of 

 dried herrings — still drier from being where 

 they were — thick sides of bacon, unidentifiable 

 sweets and a heap of other commodities, all 

 growing old gracefully in this gastronomical 

 temple at Staithes. On the left was the haber- 

 dashery and drapery counter. Ancient slippers 

 kept company with cotton bonnets and skeins of 

 wool, which the gloom of several generations 

 had despoiled of their pristine colours, endow- 

 ing them in return with an anaemic and indefin- 

 able shade. Upon the shelves which filled the 

 wall behind the counter were arranged several 

 pieces of cloth, whose tidiness revealed how 

 rarely they were moved. 



Mr. William Saunderson was a worthy pro- 

 prietor of such an imposing establishment. He 



