braziers (for whose purposes coke would not do so
well); and the next sort of cinders, called the _breeze_, because it is
left after the wind has blown the finer cinders through an upright
sieve, is sold to the brick-makers.

Two other departments, called the "soft-ware" and the "hard-ware," are
very important. The former includes all vegetable and animal
matters--every thing that will decompose. These are selected and bagged
at once, and carried off as soon as possible, to be sold as manure for
ploughed land, wheat, barley, &c. Under this head, also, the dead cats
are comprised. They are, generally, the perquisites of the women
searchers. Dealers come to the wharf, or dust-field, every evening; they
give sixpence for a white cat, fourpence for a colored cat, and for a
black one according to her quality. The "hard-ware" includes all broken
pottery, pans, crockery, earthenware, oyster-shells, &c, which are sold
to make new roads.

"The bones" are selected with care, and sold to the soap-boiler. He
boils out the fat and marrow first, for special use, and the bones are
then crushed and sold for manure.

Of "rags," the woolen rags are bagged and sent off for hop-manure; the
white linen rags are washed, and sold to make paper, &c.

The "tin things" are collected and put into an oven with a grating at
the bottom, so that the solder which unites the parts melts, and runs
through into a receiver. This is sold separately; the detached pieces of
tin are then sold to be melted up with old iron, &c.

Bits of old brass, lead, &c., are sold to be melted up separately, or in
the mixture of ores.

All broken glass vessels, as cruets, mustard-pots, tumblers,
wine-glasses, bottles, &c., are sold to the old-glass shops.

As for any articles of jewelry, silver-spoons, forks, thimbles, or other
plate and valuables, they are pocketed off-hand by the first finder.
Coins of gold and silver are often found, and many "coppers."

Meantime, every body is hard at work near the base of the great
dust-heap. A certain number of cart-loads having been raked and searched
for all the different things just described, the whole of it now
undergoes the process of sifting. The men throw up the stuff, and the
women sift it.

"When I was a young girl," said Peg Dotting--

"That's a long while ago, Peggy," interrupted one of the sifters: but
Peg did not hear her.

"When I was quite a young thing," continued she, addressing old John
Doubleyear, wh