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many? Who ever went into a place to count the shops? Ever so
many. Six? Perhaps. A library? Why, of course (indignant
again). Good collection of books? Most likely - couldn't say
- had seen nothing in it but a pair of scales. Any
reading-room? Of course, there was a reading-room. Where?
Where! why, over there. Where was over there? Why,
there! Let Mr. Idle carry his eye to that bit of
waste-ground above high-water mark, where the rank grass and
loose stones were most in a litter; and he would see a sort
of long ruinous brick loft, next door to a ruinous brick
outhouse, which loft had a ladder outside, to get up by.
That was the reading-room, and if Mr. Idle didn't like the
idea of a weaver's shuttle throbbing under a reading-room,
that was his look out. He was not to dictate, Mr.
Goodchild supposed (indignant again), to the company.
"By-the-bye," Thomas Idle observed; "the company?"
Well! (Mr. Goodchild went on to report) very nice company.
Where were they? Why, there they were. Mr. Idle could see
the tops of their hats, he supposed. What? Those nine straw
hats again, five gentlemen's and four ladies'? Yes, to be
sure. Mr. Goodchild hoped the company were not to be
expected to wear helmets, to please Mr. Idle.
Beginning to recover his temper at about this point, Mr.
Goodchild voluntarily reported that if you wanted to be
primitive, you could be primitive here, and that if you
wanted to be idle, you could be idle here. In the course of
some days, he added, that there were three fishing-boats,
but no rigging, and that there were plenty of fishermen who
never fished. That they got their living entirely by looking
at the ocean. What nourishment they looked out of it to
support their strength, he couldn't say; but, he supposed it
was some sort of Iodine. The place was full of their
children, who were always upside down on the public
buildings (two small bridges over the brook), and always
hurting themselves or one another, so that their wailings
made more continual noise in the air than could have been
got in a busy place. The houses people lodged in, were
nowhere in particular, and were in capital accordance with
the beach; being all more or less cracked and damaged as its
shells were, and all empty - as its shells were. Among them.
was an edifice of destitute appearance, with a number of
wall-eyed
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