Streets. - It may by some be considered superfluous to give any directions for the guidance of foot passengers in the streets, but in a city where the traffic is so large, and the press and hurry so great, as is the case in London, a few words of caution will be found not to be without their use. The first thing to recollect is, that people who are only bent of pleasure should give way to those who clearly have some business object in view. What is called in America mere "loafing" should always be avoided. Not only is the "loafer" always in everybody's way, but he is invariably the favourite mark for the pick-pocket. However attractive the shop-window of which the idler wishes to take stock, the watch and other pocket property must always be carefully guarded. Perhaps no custom contributes more to the support of London thieves than the practice in which many ladies indulge of carrying their purses in their hands. Be very chary of strangers who accost you in the streets. It is possible that they only wish to know the time or to ask the way. It is, however, quite as likely that they belong to the great fraternity of sharpers and swell mobsmen, and are only paving the way to the ultimate transaction of business. A street row or crowd should always be avoided. Visitors to London in the spring, when cleaning and repainting are the fashion, should be on their guard against wet paint. Coal-flaps and gratings of all kinds should be distrusted. A butcher with his tray, a sweep with his brush, a carpenter with his saw protruding from his basket, and a scavenger ladling mud into his cart, must be treated with the greatest respect - they will treat you with none. Scarcely less dangerous are the ladies and gentlemen who persist in swinging umbrellas, parasols, and sticks about to the common danger, without the slightest idea of the damage they may do.
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First published in the UK by Scholastic Ltd, 2016
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