No. 471: Hearn Street, EC2
Hearn Street, London, EC2. Photo © Roger Dean 2011
The World of London in Blackwoods Magazine – John Murray, August 1841:
Who would suppose, for example, that those young men at the corner, dressed in the height of the Cockney fashion, bedizened with mosaic jewellery, and puffing their cigars, are members of the swell mob – thieves, in short, and pickpockets? They are exchanging cards: truly so they are; but, if you observe, the cards are pawn-brokers’ duplicates of the plunder of the preceding day – yet you say it is impossible: they are young, of genteel address, and look like gentlemen; how is it you can detect their dishonest calling? At this moment a policeman is turning the corner – mark with what instinct of self-preservation the crumpled duplicates are crammed into their respective pockets …
[ I am indebted to www.victorianlondon.org for the above extract from Blackwoods Magazine. R.D.]
leave a comment