printing four-sheet bills, two bill-stickers
would work together. They had no settled
wages per week, but had a fixed price for their
work, and the London bill-stickers, during a
lottery week, have been known to earn, each
eight or nine pounds per week, till the day of
drawing; likewise the men who carried boards
in the street used to have one pound per week,
and the bill-stickers at that time would not
allow any one to wilfully cover or destroy
their bills, as they had a society amongst
themselves, and very frequently dined together
at some public-house where they used to
go of an evening to have their work delivered
out untoe 'em.'"

All this His Majesty delivered in a gallant
manner; posting it, as it were, before me, in
a great proclamation. I took advantage of
the pause he now made, to inquire what a
"two-sheet double crown" might express?

"A two sheet double crown," replied the
King, "is a bill thirty-nine inches wide by
thirty inches high."

"Is it possible," said I, my mind reverting
to the gigantic admonitions we were then
displaying to the multitude—which were as
infants to some of the posting-bills on the rotten
old warehouse—"that some few years ago the
largest bill was no larger than that?"

"The fact," returned the King, " is
undoubtedly so." Here he instantly rushed
again into the scroll.

"'Since the abolishing of the State Lottery
all that good feeling has gone, and nothing
but jealousy exists, through the rivalry of
each other. Several bill-sticking companies
have started, but have failed. The first party
that started a company was twelve year ago;
but what was left of the old school and their
dependents joined together and opposed them.
And for some time we were quiet again, till
a printer of Hatton Garden formed a company
by hiring the sides of houses; but he was
not supported by the public, and he left his
wooden frames fixed up for rent. The last
company that started, took advantage of the
New Police Act, and hired of Messrs. Grisell
and Peto the hoarding of Trafalgar Square,
and established a bill-sticking office in
Cursitor-street, Chancery-lane, and engaged some
of the new bill-stickers to do their work, and
for a time got the half of all our work, and
with such spirit did they carry on their
opposition towards us, that they used to give us in
charge before the magistrate, and get us fined;
but they found it so expensive, that they could
not keep it up, for they were always employing
a lot of ruffians from the Seven Dials to
come and fight us; and on one occasion the old
bill-stickers went to Trafalgar Square to
attempt to post bills, when they were given in
custody by the watchman in their employ,
and fined at Queen Square five pounds, as they
would not allow any of us to speak in the
oftice; but when they were gone, we had an
interview with the magistrate, who mitigated
the fine to fifteen shillings. During the time
the men were waiting for the fine, this
company started off to a public-house that
we were in the habit of using, and waited for
us coming back, where a fighting scene took
place that beggars description. Shortly after
this, the principal one day came and shook
hands with us, and acknowledged that he had
broken up the company, and that he himself
had lost five hundred pound in trying to
overthrow us. We then took possession of
the hoarding in Trafalgar Square; but Messrs.
Grisell and Peto would not allow us to post
our bills on the said hoarding without paying
them—and from first to last we paid upwards
of two hundred pounds for that hoarding, and
likewise the hoarding of the Reform
Clubhouse, Pall Mall.'"

His Majesty, being now completely out of
breath, laid down his scroll (which he ap-
peared to have finished), puffed at his pipe,
and took some rum-and-water. I embraced
the opportunity of asking how many divisions
the art and mystery of bill-sticking comprised?
He replied, three—auctioneers' bill-sticking,
theatrical bill-sticking, general bill-sticking.

"The auctioneers' porters," said the King,
"who do their bill-sticking, are mostly
respectable and intelligent, and generally well
paid for their work, whether in town or
country. The price paid by the principal
auctioneers for country work, is nine shillings
per day; that is, seven shillings for day's
work, one shilling for lodging, and one for
paste. Town work is five shillings a day,
including paste."

"Town work must be rather hot-work,"
said I, "if there be many of those fighting-
scenes that beggar description, among the bill-
stickers?"

"Well," replied the King, "I an't a stranger,
I assure you, to black eyes; a bill-sticker
ought to know how to handle his fists a bit.
As to that row I have mentioned, that grew
out of competition, conducted in an uncompromising
spirit. Besides a man in a horse-and-shay
continually following us about, the
company had a watchman on duty, night and
day, to prevent us sticking bills upon the
hoarding in Trafalgar Square. We went
there, early one morning, to stick bills and
to black-wash their bills if we were interfered
with. We were interfered with, and I gave
the word for laying on the wash. It was laid
on—pretty brisk—and we were all taken to
Queen Square: but they couldn't fine me. I
knew that,"—with a bright smile—"I'd only
given directions—I was only the General."

Charmed with this monarch's affability, I
inquired if he had ever hired a hoarding
himself.

"Hired a large one," he replied, "opposite
the Lyceum Theatre, when the buildings was
there. Paid thirty pound for it; let out places
on it, and called it 'The External Paper-
Hanging Station.' But it didn't answer. Ah!"
said His Majesty thoughtfully, as he filled
the glass, "Bill-stickers have a deal to