And what is true of the coffee is true of the
coffee-house. Working-men, in the main, frequent
these places, and greasy, dirty places they are, with
out one thing about them to cherish decency in a
man or put self-respect into him. Tablecloths and
napkins are unknown. A man eats in the midst of

[{THE EAST INDIA DOCKS.}]

the debris left by his predecessor, and dribbles his
own scraps about him and on the floor. In rush
times, in such places, I have positively waded,
through the muck and mess that covered the floor
and I have managed to eat because I was abomina
bly hungry and capable of eating anything.

This seems to be the normal condition of the

[[233]]

p232 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p233w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p234

v?