of the condiments greatly relished by the chilled labourers and others who regale themselves on street luxuries, are "pea-soup" and "hot eels." Of these tradesmen there may be now in the streets on a Saturday. As the trades are frequently carried on by the same party, I shall treat of them together. The greatest number of these stands is in , St. Luke's, about . In warm weather these street-cooks deal only in "hot eels" and whelks; as the whelk trade is sometimes an accompaniment of the others, for then the soup will not sell. These dealers are stationary, having stalls or stands in the street, and the savoury odour from them attracts more hungry-looking gazers and longers than does a cook-shop window. They seldom move about, but generally frequent the same place. A celebrated dealer of this class has a stand in , Clare-market, opposite a cat's-meat shop; he has been heard to boast, that he wouldn't soil his hands at the business if he didn't get his a day, and his on a Saturday. Half this amount is considered to be about the truth. This person has mostly all the trade for hot eels in the Clare-market district. There is another "hot eel purveyor" at the end of , Tottenhamcourt- road, that does a very good trade. It is thought that he makes about a day at the business, and about on Saturday. There was, before the removals, a man who came out about every afternoon, standing in the New-cut, nearly opposite the Victoria Theatre, his "girl" always attending to the stall. He had or lamps with "hot eels" painted upon them, and a handsome stall. He was considered to make about a day by the sale of eels alone, but he dealt in fried fish and pickled whelks as well, and often had a pile of fried fish a foot high. Near the

I may add, that even the very poorest, who have only a halfpenny to spend, as well as those with better means, resort to the stylish stalls in preference to the others. The eels are all purchased at early in the morning. The parties themselves, or their sons or daughters, go to , and the watermen row them to the Dutch eel vessels moored off the market. The fare paid to the watermen is for every lbs. purchased and brought back in the boat, the passenger being gratis. These dealers generally trade on their own capital; but when some have been having "a flare up," and have "broke down for stock," to use the words of my informant, they borrow , and pay it back in a week or a fortnight at the outside, and give for the loan of it. The money is usually borrowed of the barrow, truck, and basket-lenders. The amount of capital required for carrying on the business of course depends on the trade done; but even in a small way, the utensils cost They consist of fish-kettle and soup-kettle, holding upon an average gallons each; besides these, basins and cups and spoons are required, also a washhand basin to wash the cups, basins, and spoons in, and a board and tressel on which the whole stand. In a large way, it requires from to to fit up a handsome stall. For this the party would have " fine kettles," holding about gallons each, and patent cast-iron fireplaces (the outfit only admits of the bottoms of tin saucepans being used as fireplaces, in which charcoal is always burning to keep the eels and soup hot; the whelks are always eaten cold). The crockery and spoons would be in no way superior. A small dealer requires, over and above this sum, to go to market with and purchase stock, and the large dealer about The class of persons belonging to the business have either been bred to it, or taken to it through being out of work. Some have been disabled during their work, and have resorted to it to save themselves from the workhouse. The price of the hot eels is a halfpenny for or pieces of fish, and -parts of a cupfull of liquor. The charge for a half- pint of pea-soup is a halfpenny, and the whelks are sold, according to the size, from a halfpenny each to or for the same sum. These are put out in saucers.

The eels are Dutch, and are cleaned and washed, and cut in small pieces of from a half to an inch each. [The daughter of of my informants was busily engaged, as I derived this information, in the cutting of the fish. She worked at a blood-stained board, with a pile of pieces on side and a heap of entrails on the other.] The portions so cut are then boiled, and the liquor is thickened with flour and flavoured with chopped parsley and mixed spices. It is kept hot in the streets, and served out, as I have stated, in halfpenny cupfulls, with a small quantity of vinegar and pepper. The best purveyors add a little butter. The street-boys are extravagant in their use of vinegar.

To dress a draught of eels takes hours— to clean, cut them up, and cook them sufficiently; and the cost is now (much lower in the summer) for the draught (the being the expense of "shoring"), for lb. of flour to thicken the liquor, for the parsley to flavour it, and for the vinegar, spices, and pepper (about quarts of vinegar and ounces of pepper). This quantity, when dressed and seasoned, will fetch in halfpennyworths from to The profit upon this would be from to ; but the cost of the charcoal has to be deducted, as well as the salt used while cooking. These items amount to about

The pea-soup consists of split peas, celery, and beef bones. pints, at a quart, are used to every gallons; the bones cost , carrots , and celery —these cost ; and the pepper, salt, and mint, to season it, about This, when served in halfpenny basinfulls, will fetch from to , leaving profit. But from this the expenses of cooking must be taken; so that the clear gain upon gallons comes to about In a large trade, kettles, or gallons, of pea-soup will be disposed of in the day, and about draughts, or lbs., of hot eels on every day but Saturday,—when the quantity of eels disposed of would be about draughts, or lbs. weight, and about gallons of peasoup. Hence the profits of a good business in the hot-eel and pea-soup line united will be from to per week, or more. But there is only man in London does this amount of business, or rather makes this amount of money. A small business will do about lbs. of eels in the week, including Saturday, and about gallons of soup. Sometimes credit is given for a halfpennyworth, or a pennyworth, at the outside; but very little is lost from bad debts. Boys who are partaking of the articles will occasionally say to the proprietor of the stall, "Well, master, they nice; trust us another ha'p'orth, and I'll pay you when I comes again;" but they are seldom credited, for the stall-keepers know well they would never see them again. Very often the stock cooked is not disposed of,

The dealers go out about half-past in the morning, and remain out till about at night. Monday is the next best day to Saturday. The generality of the customers are boys from to years of age. Newsboys are very partial to hot eels—women prefer the pea-soup. Some of the boys will have as many as halfpenny cupfulls consecutively on a Saturday night; and some women will have halfpenny basinsfull of soup. Many persons in the cold weather prefer the hot soup to beer. On wet, raw, chilly days, the soup goes off better than usual, and in fine weather there is a greater demand for the hot eels. dealer assured me that he once serve gentlemen's servants with twentyeight halfpenny cupfulls of hot eels after another. servant had , and the other cupfulls, which they ate all at standing; and of these customers was so partial to hot eels, that he used to come twice a day every day for months after that, and have cupfulls each day, at noon and in the evening. These persons were the best customers my informant ever had. Servants, however, are not generally partial to the commodity. Hot eels are not usually taken for dinner, nor is pea-soup, but throughout the whole day, and just at the fancy of the passersby. There are no shops for the sale of these articles. The dealers keep no accounts of what their receipts and expenditure are.

The best time of the year for the hot eels is from the middle of June to the end of August. On some days during that time a person in a small way of business will clear upon an average a day, on other days ; on some days, during the month of August, as much as a day. Some cry out "Nice hot eels—nice hot eels!" or "Warm your hands and fill your bellies for a halfpenny." man used to give his surplus eels, when he considered his sale completed on a night, to the poor creatures refused admission into a workhouse, lending them his charcoal fire for warmth, which was always returned to him. The poor creatures begged cinders, and carried the fire under a railway arch. The general rule, however, is for the dealer to be silent, and merely expose the articles for sale. "I likes better," said man to me, "to touch up people's noses than their heyes or their hears." There are now in the trade almost more than can get a living at it, and their earnings are less than they were formerly. party attributed this to the opening of a couple of penny-pie shops in his neighbourhood. Before then he could get a day clear, take day with another; but since the establishment of the business in the penny-pie line he cannot take above a day clear. On the day the of these pieshops opened, it made as much as lbs., or half a draught of eels, difference to him. There was a band of music and an illumination at the pieshop, and it was impossible to stand against The fashionable dress of the trade is the "Jenny Lind" or "wide-awake" hat, with a broad black ribbon tied round it, and a white apron and sleeves. The dealers usually go to Hampton-court or Greenwich on a fine Sunday. They are partial to the pit of Astley's. of them told his waterman at the other morning that "he and his good lady had been werry amused with the osses at Hashley's last night."