Retitled 'Tramps' in collected editions of the series
Dickens had strong feelings on the subject of begging and mendicity (see 'The Begging-Letter Writer', HW, Vol. I, 18 May 1850), and while openly describing in the present article some of his favourite Kent haunts and scenery, also reveals knowledge of the ploys used by tramps and beggars to extract donations from other pedestrians. In David Copperfield (1850), Dickens had described how the young David is robbed on the road to Dover by a young tinker who beats his female companion. 'The trampers', David recalls, '...inspired me with a dread that is yet quite fresh in my mind' (Ch. 13).
Read more...