Small speculators, not otherwise in a state of insanity, settled
themselves in the town, and tried the desperate experiment of opening a
shop; spent their little capital, put up the shutters, and disappeared.
The old market-place still showed its list of market-law's, issued by
the Mayor and Corporation in the prosperous bygone times; and every
week there were fewer and fewer people to obey the laws. The great
empty enclosure looked more cheerful, when there was no market held,
and when the boys of the town played in the deserted place. In the last
warehouse left in a state of repair, the crane was generally idle; the
windows were mostly shut up; and a solitary man represented languishing
trade, idling at a half-opened door. The muddy river rose and fell with
the distant tide. At rare intervals a collier discharged its cargo on
the mouldering quay, or an empty barge took in a load of hay. One bold
house advertised, in a dirty window, apartments to let. There was a
lawyer in the town, who had no occasion to keep a clerk; and there was
a doctor who hoped to sell his practice for anything that it would
fetch. The directors of the new railway, after a stormy meeting,
decided on offering (by means of a Station) a last chance of revival to
the dying town.
Pages:
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74