A., of His Majesty's regiment; B.,
officer of such a battalion of His Majesty's so-and-so regiment; C., D.,
and all the rest of the alphabet, once grand officers in His Majesty's
service, now dust here as the royal majesties they served are dust
elsewhere. Went over to the ancient grave-digger, who was shovelling out
in a weakly manner decayed coffin, skull, ribs, bones, fat earth - so fat
and greasy-looking, so alive with horrible worms. He was so very old and
infirm that, after a shovelful or two, he leaned against the grave side
and _peched_ like a horse with the heaves.
"How much did he get for digging a grave?"
"Sometimes a shilling, sometimes one and six, or two shillings,
accordin' as the people were poor or better off."
"How were wages going?"
"Wages were not so high as they had been in the good times before the
famine. A man sometimes got three-and-six or four shillings then; now he
got two shillings."
"And board himself?"
"Oh, yes, always board himself."
"Some people now want a man to work for a shilling and board himself,
but how could a man do that? It takes two pence to buy Indian meal
enough for one meal. You see there would be nothing left to feed a
family on."
A stout, bare-legged hizzie appeared now, and kindly offered the old man
a pinch of snuff out of a little paper to overcome the effects of the
smell, and keep it from striking into his heart.
