He was terribly squalid,--terribly; and when I had
a glimpse of his face, it well befitted the rest of his development,--
grizzled, wrinkled, weather-beaten, yet sallow, and down-looking, with a
watchful kind of eye turning upon everybody and everything, meeting the
glances of other people rather boldly, yet soon shrinking away; a long
thin nose, a gray beard of a week's growth; hair not much mixed with
gray, but rusty and lifeless;--a miserable object; but it was curious to
see how he was not ashamed of himself, but seemed to feel that he was one
of the estates of the kingdom, and had as much right to live as other
men. He did just as he pleased, took the best place by the fire, nor
would have cared though a nobleman were forced to stand aside for him.
When the steamer's bell rang, he shouldered a large and heavy pack, like
a pilgrim with his burden of sin, but certainly journeying to hell
instead of heaven. On board he looked round for the best position, at
first stationing himself near the boiler-pipe; but, finding the deck damp
underfoot, he went to the cabin-door, and took his stand on the stairs,
protected from the wind, but very incommodiously placed for those who
wished to pass. All this was done without any bravado or forced
impudence, but in the most quiet way, merely because he was seeking his
own comfort, and considered that he had a right to seek it. It was an
Englishman's spirit; but in our country, I imagine, a beggar considers
himself a kind of outlaw, and would hardly assume the privileges of a man
in any place of public resort.
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