BILLINGSGATE REFINED

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2230, 17 August 1914, Page 8

BILLINGSGATE REFINED

fish ■■■porters; revolt against ■h-:. :; BAD LANGUAGE, j■„' ;'-It';is hard to'obtain ready, belief in a- polite/-Billingsgate, .which . r.evolts-r----eyen coarse; language; remarks a writer in the "Daily-News," apropos of a story of certain jfish porters, who objected to the. well-loaded language of a,hustling,overseer.. The classic story,..of ; tho fish market has been;recalled.,to show ;that Billingsgate is still .where ; it was, and as direct and lusty-: as -ever.- -It. appears a-fish cutter. :was feeling its way up-Thamos in foggy weather. "Ahoy!" cried:the.skipper; "'-.'."'' : ."'' ' ' '■' :'; "Hul-Io!" came a voice from the, unseen shore. :,-,.-; • '■',-'>'. ;; "Where are. wo ?,'■' called the skipper. ■ :"Liine'us! ,; .sa!d the instructive' voice.. On jvent' the .'fish cutter. Off Wapping the_'.'directi6n ,; ind place grow vague' again, and once more' the snip was properly: advised; After another spell the ship again; hailed the unseen. "Ahoy." '.'Hul-lo^p-oI", came a hearty : reply from somewh'erol : '/';. ?'■' •cried- tho-. skipper; and an: insolent shower offish blubber at once fell'about him. .■;"lt's'-'all ri|ht, ■Bill;''' said the" Old Man. .qnietlyStb'his mate; ''•• "We're there 1':..".v ,: ; ■ ■'••■ ~;..; ;;., ~., "■ ■ In'a little;. : :cating7hou'se in Crooked Lane' by the'; Custom .House, : wherq sporting calendars aro wrongly, punctuated by-..last, summer's dead. flies,- a "Daily... News'*,; man. sat opposite a young fish-porter, whose solid leather helmet, was under the table. . He was taking'coffe*.copiously from' a' basin. The ■place''is "easily recognised. Its mustard; is: in.: .broken cups, and it' smells noft yeaTs of bloaters cooked on a gas-grill./ .The story 1 of the' revolt of; the .fishuporters ,'was mentioned. porter, looked 'up frcm;:thetb6fr!r ho was- reading; ".'lAre you asking'for. information, or aro you so-funny you-can't help yourself?" was theVsurprisiiig.question he put. : He was'assured that facts, and facts only, ;wero: wanted for wholesome instruction.' "Well, that's all right," said ho, his book. {It was protected with ;,thick brown paper, and it was.'.. '.'Stowe's. Survey.") He brushed some: dry fish T scales from his book-cover while thinking the matter over. "We're' changed,'of.course, like the rest of the public. We've;, got > new generation at.work; m.the market," said this surprising porter, ''and our' kids are different from what we. were.. We have to bear em in muid, same as you do yours Of-;course, -I. can understand why, the ?'fV ; .?™_P°.rter was assort of a hearty chap. He was m a. hurry, his load was wetand heavy, and he didn't have-much time; Same ;as us. ; But times-have changed. ... ..." ■ ■- :• . .