Music Of The Waters - online book

Sailors' Chanties, Songs Of The Sea, Boatmen's, Fishermen's,
Rowing Songs, & Water Legends with lyrics & sheet music

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	MUSIC OF THE Waters.                 315
	the buttons off his uniform and presented them to the ladies present, because one of them had admired the work­manship of them. A party of six of the sailors finding themselves one day at some little distance from the town, hailed a four-wheeled cab and, in spite of the remonstrances of the driver, insisted upon all getting in; when they reached their destination the man demanded his fare—six shillings. " No, no," said one of the Chinamen, " big car, two pennies, little car, one penny;" and to the extreme disgust of the cab-driver and the keen delight of some passers-by, he pro­ceeded to dole out six coppers. It took some persuasion on the part of some Englishmen, who interested themselves in the proceedings, and a great many remarks not compli­mentary to the sons of the Celestial Empire from the driver, to induce the sailors to give the proper amount. They had been accustomed to daily rides in the tram-cars, for which they paid twopence, and appeared to resent as an injustice the additional fare for "the small car." I was walking one day in the old part of Newcastle, when I was accosted by one of them with, " Please, will you tell me where is the boot hill t" For a minute or two I was puzzled ; then it dawned upon me he meant the shoe stairs, a quaint flight of steps bordered with antique-looking boot and shoe shops that is one of the curiosities of old Newcastle. I directed him—we were only about two minutes' walk from the place—and after he had gone I followed him to see what he was doing; and on my arrival I beheld him seated outside one of the shops, the centre of an admiring crowd of men, women, and children, the latter amusing themselves with his pigtail, whilst the proud owner of the shop knelt in front of him making strenuous efforts to fit the Chinese Jack with a pair of his best hob-nailed boots. Remembering the story of the cab, I wondered whether, when it came to paying, there would be any difficulty. Presently the fit of a pair seemed