Excerpt from Cockneys in California: A Piece of Golden Opportunity in One Act

Chiffins holloas outside, and then enters, R., carrying on his back his son, Walker, a warming pan in either hand, he is followed by Mrs. Chiffins, who carries an infant in her arms.

Chif. Hol-loa-a-a! Ah! nobody hears me - nobody's coming! - It's useless holloaing any longer. There's not an omnibus, a cab, or even a wandering policeman to be found in this desolate place. Mrs. Chiffins, my dear, it's my opinion that we're all lost - every individual of this interesting little group.

Mrs. C. Oh! dear Chiffins, don't say so.

Chif. It's a melancholy fact, though. We're so utterly lost, that I doubt if that active and intelligent officer, Forrester, armed with a search warrant could possibly find us in this forest.

Mrs. C. Why don't you shout again, then?

Chif. I've been shouting, Mrs. Chiffins, till I have nearly shouted the last particle of voice out of my manly bosom.

Mrs. C. Then, what is to become of us?

Chif. That's precisely what I don't know.

Mrs. C. For my part, I wish I had never quitted my little shop at Hoxton.

Chif. Hah! You have no spirit of enterprise, Mrs. Chiffins, you would have been quite content to spend your life dispensing brandy-balls, peg-tops, gingerbread and ballads, to the rising generation of Hoxton.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.