TEI | London Labour and the London Poor, volume 3 | ID: 5x21ts300

London Labour and the London Poor, volume 3

Mayhew, Henry

1851

Poor Harp Player.


	A POOR, feeble, half-witted looking man, with the appearance of far greater age than he represented himself, (a common case with the very poor), told me of his sufferings in the streets. He was wretchedly clad, his clothes being old, patched, and greasy. He is wellknown in London, being frequently seen with a crowd of boys at his heels, who amuse themselves in playing all kinds of tricks upon him.
	I play the harp in the streets," he said, "and have done so for the last two years, and should be very glad to give it up. My brother lives with me; we"re both bachelors, and he"s so dreadful lame, he can do nothing. He is a coach-body maker by business. I was born blind, and was brought up to music; but my sight was restored by Dr. Ware, the old gentleman in Bridge-street, Blackfriars, when I was nine years old, but it"s a near sight now. I"m forty-nine in August. When I was young I taught the harp and the pianoforte, but that very soon fell off, and I have been teaching on or off these many years—I don"t know how many. I had three guineas a-quarter for teaching the harp at one time, and two guineas for the piano. My brother and I have 1s. and a loaf a-piece from the parish, and the 2s. pays the rent. Mine"s not a bad trade now, but it"s bad in the streets. I"ve been torn to pieces; I"m torn to pieces every day I go out in the streets, and I would be glad to get rid of the streets for 5s. a-week. The streets are full of ruffians. The boys are ruffians. The men in the streets too are ruffians, and encourage the boys. The police protect me as much as they can. I should be killed every week but for them; they"re very good people. I"ve known poor women of the town drive the boys away from me, or try to drive them. It"s terrible persecution I suffer—terrible persecution. The boys push me down and hurt me badly, and my harp too. They yell and make noises so that I can"t be heard, nor my harp. The boys have cut off my harp-strings, three of them, the other day, which cost me 6 1/2d. or 7d. I tell them it"s a shame, but I might as well speak to the stones. I never go out that they miss me. I don"t make more than 3s. a-week in the streets, if I make that.

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Table Of Contents

This object is in collection

Edwin C. Bolles papers

Temporal

1851

Permanent URL

http://hdl.handle.net/10427/15186

ID:: 5x21ts300
Component ID:: tufts:UA069.005.DO.00079
To Cite:: TARC Citation Guide EndNote
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	Title Page
	Chapter I: The Destroyers of Vermin The Rat-Killer Rats A Night at Rat-Killing Jimmy Shaw Jack Black The Sewerman The Penny Mouse-Trap Maker Flies 'Catch-Em-Alive' Sellers The Fly-Paper Maker Of Bugs and Fleas Her Majesty's Bug-Destroyer Black-Beetles Beetle Destroyers Crickets
	Our Street Folk - Street Exhibitors Punch The Fantoccini Man Guy Fawkeses Guy Fawkes (Man) Guy Fawkes (Boy) An Old Street Showman The Chinese Shades Exhibitor of Mechanical Figures The Telescope Exhibitor Exhibitor of the Microscope Peep-Shows Acrobat, or Street-Posturer The Street Risley The Strong Man The Street Juggler The Street Conjurer Statement of another Street Conjurer The Street Fire-King, or Salamander The Snake, Sword, and Knife-Swallower Street Clown The Penny-Gaff Clown The Canvas Clown The Penny-Circus Jester Silly Billy Billy Barlow Strolling Actors Ballet Performers The Tight-Rope Dancers and Stilt-Vaulters Street Reciter Blind Reader Gun-Exercise Exhibitor - One-Legged Italian
	Chapter III: - Street Musicians 'Old Sarah' 'Farm-Yard' Player Blind Performer on the Bells Blind Female Violin Player Blind Scotch Violoncello Player Blind Irish Piper The English Street Bands The German Street Bands Of the Bagpipe Players Scotch Piper and Dancing-Girl Another Bagpipe Player French Hurdy-Gurdy Player, with Dancing Children Poor Harp Player Organ Man, with Flute Harmonicon Organ Italian Pipers and Clarionet Players Italian with Monkey The Dancing Dogs Concertina Player on the Steamboats Tom-Tom Players Another 'Tom-Tom' Player Performer on Drum and Pipes
	Chapter IV: - Street Vocalists Chapter IV Street Negro Serenaders Statement of another Ethipian Serenader Street Glee-Singers Street Ballad-Singers, or Chaunters The Whistling Man Whistling and Dancing Boy 'Whistling Billy'
	Chapter V: - Street Artists Chapter V Street Photography Statement of a Photographic Man The Penny Profile-Cutter Blind Profile-Cutter Writer Without Hands Chalker on Flag-Stones
	Chapter VI: - Exhibitors of Trained Animals The Happy Family Exhibitor The Original Happy Family Exhibitor of Birds and Mice
	Chapter VII: Skilled and Unskilled Labour - Garret-Masters Chapter VII The Doll's-Eye Maker
	Chapter VIII: - The Coal-Heavers Chapter VIII The Coalbackers The Coalmeters The Coalporters
	Chapter IX: - Ballast-Men Chapter IX The Ballast-Getters The Ballast-Lightermen The Ballast-Heavers Meetings of the Ballast Heavers' Wives
	Chapter X: - Lumpers Timber-Dock Labourers The Timber and Deal Trade
	Chapter XI: Account of the Casual Labourers Chapter XI The Dock-Labourers The London Dock The West India Docks The St. Katherine's Dock
	Chapter XII: Cheap Lodging-Houses
	Chapter XIII: On the Transit of Great Britain and the Metropolis Chapter XIII The Mercantile Marine Turnpike-Roads and Stage-Coaches The Railways Inland Navigation
	Chapter XIV: London Watermen, Lightermen, and Steamboat-Men Chapter XIV The Thames Watermen The Lightermen and Bargemen Steam Navigation
	Chapter XV: London Omnibus Drivers and Conductors Chapter XV Origin of Omnibuses Omnibus Proprietors Omnibus Drivers Omnibus Conductors Omnibus Timekeepers Hackney-Coach and Cabmen Hackney-Coaches and Cabs Introduction of Cabs
	Chapter XVI: Character of Cabdrivers Chapter XVI The Watermen Suggestions for Regulating the Trade Account of Crime Amongst Cabmen
	Chapter XVII: Carmen and Porters Chapter XVII The Carrying Trade The London Carmen The Porters, &c.
	Chapter XVIII: London Vagrants Chapter XVIII Characteristics of the Various Classes of Vagrants Statements of Vagrants Statement of a Returned Convict Lives of the Boy Inmates of the Casual Wards of the London Workhouses Increase and Decrease of Number of Applicants to Casual Wards of London Workhouses Estimate of Numbers and Cost of Vagrants Routes of the Vagrants London Vagrants' Asylums for the Houseless Asylum for the Houseless Poor Description of the Asylum for the Houselss Charities and Sums Given to the Poor
	Chapter XIX: Meeting of Ticket-of-Leave Men