The Great Trouble

As Eel passes under Blackfriars Bridge, lost in his thoughts, another mudlark named Ned throws a cat into the Thames. Eel rescues the cat, names her Little Queenie, and demands to know why Ned would do such a thing. When Ned cites this as “just a bit of mischief” (16), Eel wonders if Ned also considered it “mischief” to tell Fisheye that Eel is alive. Eel takes the cat back to his rooms at the Lion Brewery.

He passes through Covent Garden, where the smell of food reminds him that his fortunes have turned since the previous winter; he no longer suffers from hunger. He reminds himself to remain alert because Fisheye has many spies. Eel resolves to stick to the neighborhoods that Fisheye doesn’t frequent. When Eel is almost home, he sees a woman named Mrs. Lewis. Her baby, Fanny, is sick. Mrs. Lewis is dumping a bucket of vomit and excrement into the “cesspool” in the cellar, a room where all the inhabitants dump their waste. Because the room is almost full, “night-soil men” will soon have to be summoned to empty it. Eel recalls that Jake briefly worked as a night-soil man but quickly quit, unable to forget the story of a worker who died in one of the pits.

Mrs. Lewis wants to call a doctor, and Eel recommends Dr. Snow, whom he calls “a real scientist” (19). Eel has been working for the doctor, who is experimenting with anesthesia, which he used to aid Queen Victoria in giving birth the previous year. Mrs. Lewis is impressed. Eel sends his well-wishes to Mrs. Lewis’s other daughter, “Ribbon Annie,” causing Mrs. Lewis to joke about how all the children in the Golden Square have nicknames. She asks about Eel’s real name, but he refuses to tell her.

Eel encounters a girl named Florrie Baker. He brags that he gets water delivered at the Lion Brewery and cites a preference for a different water pump, though he can’t say why he likes it better. Eel reports his intention to train Little Queenie to hunt rats before offering her to Florrie, on whom he has a crush. She declines and tells him that she will soon start work as a scullery maid now that she is almost 13. She is optimistic about her position, but Eel worries that she won’t have time to see him. Eel hurries off to work, causing Florrie to call him “the busiest lad in Soho” (23) and wonder what he does with his earnings. He promises to one day use this money to buy her an Italian ice, which pleases her.

Thursday, August 31

Abel Cooper, the foreman at Lion Brewery, complains about the heat and claims that there is “bad air” or “miasma,” which brings disease. Eel wonders how he and the rest of the mudlarks survive if bad smells indicate disease. Though Eel prefers the heat to the iciness of winter, he admits that the air has been particularly foul recently. “Hugzie” Huggins, the nephew of the Lion’s owners, tells Eel that his Uncle John wants to see Eel. Eel is suspicious and nervous. When he gets to John Huggins’s office, a tin box of Eel’s possessions (including several coins) is on the desk. John accuses him of stealing the coins, but Eel calmly explains that he earned the money by doing odd jobs after his work at the Lion is done. John cannot understand why Eel needs more money than what he earns at the Lion. Eel quickly concocts a story about wishing to buy finer clothes.

John inquires about “irregularities” in Eel’s accounts, but Eel knows that these are due to Hugzie’s theft. Hugzie has accused Eel while the other Huggins brother, Mr. Edward, is away on business and is unable to defend Eel. (Eel recalls that Mr. Edward and Mr. Cooper gave him this job after Jake introduced them. Eel quickly proved himself a speedy messenger, earning Mr. Cooper’s praise and Hugzie’s enmity. Eel now feels indebted to Jake for this opportunity.) John reluctantly agrees to Eel’s request that he speak to the tailor, Mr. Griggs, who will vouch for Eel’s honesty. Eel hurries to fetch the tailor, but as soon as he reaches the house, he knows that something is wrong.

Eel initially thinks that the tailor shop deserted and the unusual absence of the kind Mr. Griggs strikes him as eerie. Then he sees the two Griggs children, Bernie and Betsy, who are five and seven years old, respectively. Bernie is crying. Their dog, Dilly, who is much beloved by Mr. Griggs, sits under Betsy’s chair.

Betsy states that Eel will have to return later because her father is unwell. Worried that he will find himself without a job or a home if he doesn’t speak to Mr. Griggs, Eel gives the children two halfpennies to buy Italian ices. He goes upstairs and finds Mr. Griggs writhing in pain. The man has vomited “strange masses of tiny white particles, like rice” (40): an indication of cholera, or the “blue death.”

Uncertain of what to do next to save his job, Eel visits Dr. John Snow, but his limited contact with the doctor leaves him doubtful that the man will help. He typically deals with Dr. Snow’s housekeeper, Mrs. Weatherburn, whom he avoids whenever possible. Florrie approaches Eel with Betsy and Bernie in tow; she is annoyed that he encouraged the children to go out on their own. They got lost and were nearly trampled by a horse; now they are wailing while Dilly barks noisily. Florrie convinces Eel to take the children to Dr. Snow’s house to see the animals.

Florrie asks after Eel’s tense mood, and he tells her of John’s accusation. She immediately suspects Hugzie. She also cautions him against antagonizing people who are more powerful than he is. She suggests speaking to Mr. Griggs, and Eel tells her that Griggs is unwell but does not reveal the seriousness of the tailor’s illness. Florrie asks why Eel has been saving money, but he is evasive.

The children are impressed with the quietness and cleanliness of Sackville Street, where Dr. Snow lives. Eel brags that Dr. Snow owns a whole house; he is proud that such a gentleman employs him. He explains how he met Dr. Snow in Covent Garden. The doctor was buying a guinea pig, and when the animal almost escaped, Eel recaptured it. After several weeks’ trial, the doctor decided to employ him, although stern Mrs. Weatherburn warned him that he would be arrested if he tried to take advantage of the doctor. Eel suddenly worries that he shouldn’t have brought the children here.

Eel cautions the children to be on their best behavior as they enter Dr. Snow’s yard. The children are in awe of Dr. Snow’s animals, and Eel praises Florrie for the idea. She emphasizes that friends can be trusted with secrets. Eel explains that Dr. Snow uses the animals to experiment with chloroform, a chemical that causes a temporary slumber for those who need dental work or surgery. Dr. Snow used this to help Queen Victoria through childbirth the previous year. Eel emphasizes that despite this experimentation, Dr. Snow is kind to his animals. He experiments on himself, too.

The children fill the animals’ water dishes while Florrie draws them a sketch of the creatures. Eel asks Florrie to take the children home; he still needs to talk to Dr. Snow and will never be able to return to the Lion if he cannot clear his name. Florrie cautions him against trying to sleep in Dr. Snow’s yard; even if the doctor is kind, fine people don’t care about lower-class children. Sleeping there could risk Eel’s job, which he needs even more now that his employment at the Lion is under threat. Eel promises that he has a safe place to go, though he isn’t certain his “old haunts” will be safe from Fisheye.

When Eel asks to see Dr. Snow, the intensely loyal Mrs. Weatherburn speaks at length about her employer’s importance. Eel’s confidence wavers and he wonders why Dr. Snow would care about someone like him. Instead of asking for the doctor’s help, he only asks for his weekly pay, even though it is not enough to protect his secret.

Eel walks back towards the Thames, feeling defeated and worrying that he might be spotted by one of Fisheye Bill’s many associates. He is reassured that Queenie will be safe, as Abel Cooper has taken a liking to her. The bad smell in the air reminds him of Abel’s warning about miasma. He returns to the river to go mudlarking, despite knowing that he will never earn four shillings by the next day.

Eel is struck by the unusually bad smell of the Thames. He recalls walking by the river with his father as a child; Eel’s father would sometimes give pennies to young mudlarks, whom he pitied. Eel misses his father and reflects that his life is divided into two time frames: the time before and the time after his father’s death.

Suddenly, “Nasty Ned” knocks Eel down from behind, angry that Eel is mudlarking on what Ned considers to be his territory. Eel flees toward Blackfriars Bridge and Thumbless Jake. He earns a penny before spending a sleepless night worrying over his insufficient funds. He thinks about how he first met Thumbless Jake as a new mudlark; Jake threatened to wring Eel’s neck if Eel got in Jake’s way.

Friday, September 1

The next morning, Eel travels to the boardinghouse of a stern woman named Mrs. Miggle. After putting on an act of thankfulness and sorrow, he gets her to agree to let him pay half of this week’s rent for his younger brother, Henry (the “secret” to which Eel has alluded). He promises to pay the full amount plus an extra penny the next week. He asks if anyone has been seeking him; Mrs. Miggle says no and warns Eel to keep out of trouble.

Henry is happy to see Eel and hopes to leave “mean” Mrs. Miggle. Eel worries that Mrs. Miggle will turn Henry over to Fisheye for money; Henry, with his sweet and innocent looks, would be a valuable asset whom Fisheye would exploit to run confidence games. The brothers have breakfast together, but Eel doesn’t dare walk Henry to school, for fear that they will be seen together. Proud of his improved writing skills, Henry gives Eel a note with many misspellings; the note wishes Eel a happy birthday. Eel had almost forgotten about his birthday; his narration states, “[I]t was about to be the worst [birthday] anyone could imagine” (69).