CHAPTERX-STEPHENBLACKPOOL
IENTERTAINaweakideathattheEnglishpeopleareashard-workedasanypeopleuponwhomthesunshines。Iacknowledgetothisridiculousidiosyncrasy，asareasonwhyIwouldgivethemalittlemoreplay。
InthehardestworkingpartofCoketown；intheinnermostfortificationsofthatuglycitadel，whereNaturewasasstronglybrickedoutaskillingairsandgaseswerebrickedin；attheheartofthelabyrinthofnarrowcourtsuponcourts，andclosestreetsuponstreets，whichhadcomeintoexistencepiecemeal，everypieceinaviolenthurryforsomeoneman\'spurpose，andthewholeanunnaturalfamily，shouldering，andtrampling，andpressingoneanothertodeath；inthelastclosenookofthisgreatexhaustedreceiver，wherethechimneys，forwantofairtomakeadraught，werebuiltinanimmensevarietyofstuntedandcrookedshapes，asthougheveryhouseputoutasignofthekindofpeoplewhomightbeexpectedtobeborninit；amongthemultitudeofCoketown，genericallycalled\'theHands，\'-aracewhowouldhavefoundmorefavourwithsomepeople，ifProvidencehadseenfittomakethemonlyhands，or，likethelowercreaturesoftheseashore，onlyhandsandstomachs-livedacertainStephenBlackpool，fortyyearsofage。
Stephenlookedolder，buthehadhadahardlife。Itissaidthateverylifehasitsrosesandthorns；thereseemed，however，tohavebeenamisadventureormistakeinStephen\'scase，wherebysomebodyelsehadbecomepossessedofhisroses，andhehadbecomepossessedofthesamesomebodyelse\'sthornsinadditiontohisown。Hehadknown，tousehiswords，apeckoftrouble。HewasusuallycalledOldStephen，inakindofroughhomagetothefact。
Aratherstoopingman，withaknittedbrow，aponderingexpressionofface，andahard-lookingheadsufficientlycapacious，onwhichhisiron-greyhairlaylongandthin，OldStephenmighthavepassedforaparticularlyintelligentmaninhiscondition。Yethewasnot。Hetooknoplaceamongthoseremarkable\'Hands，\'who，piecingtogethertheirbrokenintervalsofleisurethroughmanyyears，hadmastereddifficultsciences，andacquiredaknowledgeofmostunlikelythings。HeheldnostationamongtheHandswhocouldmakespeechesandcarryondebates。Thousandsofhiscompeerscouldtalkmuchbetterthanhe，atanytime。Hewasagoodpower-loomweaver，andamanofperfectintegrity。Whatmorehewas，orwhatelsehehadinhim，ifanything，lethimshowforhimself。