Zealand

4. Of Water

While we ate, we talked of many things, and I remembered to eat slow like Mother told me, so to enjoy it longer. I still had some left when Captain finished, and I savoured my last bites while he explained how to figure the tides and changing currents by watching the river. Then with my last crumbs gathered and eaten, I sat back to listen.

My belly rumbled again, but in a different way. More urgent, and I wondered where he does it. Maybe around to the back, like at the mews. Maybe a pot like Mother used when she was ill.

"You appear troubled, lad."

I nodded, considering how to say it – trying to figure what was proper. "I need to go, sir."

"Go? Are you not pleased here?"

"Oh, I am pleased, sir. Very well pleased. I ain't afore been in such a grand place, nor had such fine food. And aside from Mother, you're the nicest person I ever did meet." I placed a hand on my belly and winced. "But I need to go relieve this."

"Yes, yes, of course. I should have thought. I ought to have offered before we sat." He rose from the table and beckoned me to follow. Then opening a door, he revealed a small room with a low shelf and beside it a window. As he lifted a trappe-door[1] on the shelf to uncover a hole, he said, "There ye be, lad. The clean sponges are in that box, and –"

"Sponges, sir?"

"To clean your – yourself after, lad. This basin is to wet the sponge, and the used ones go in this vinegar-water to soak. That bucket is to wash your hands; the chip of soap is there." Then pointing to the window, he continued, "And you can watch the boats on the river while you attend your business."

As soon as he left and closed the door, I hurried to untie the rope at my waist, drop my breeches and sit. Then between my legs, I saw the river waves lapping below, and I thought of this cleverness – no need for gong-fayers[2] to take it away.

A while later and much relieved, I found Captain with a basin on the low table beside the hearth, and as I approached, he looked up and said, "This will be yours to do, lad, so watch close. We use the last of the hot water from the kettle to rinse these clean. Mind well these spaces between the tines of the forks; food often lodges here, making a fit place for illness to grow."

"Shall I do this now, sir?"

"No, watch this time, then the next, I shall watch you."

When he finished, he nodded toward the hearth. "I separated the wood to extinguish the flames. You can now rake the coals and char wider to offer it no chance to relight while we are away."

I took the small rake and squatted. "Away? Are we going sailing again?"

"Aye, this afternoon, lad – when the current is better – up the river to Chelsea for apples, pears and prunes. But this morning, it is up the hill to buy you some new shoes. With them bound together in that manner, you could trip on one of the loose ends, and on the barge, the fall might be overboard."

I looked down at them between my bent knees. "Mother said not until my feet stop growing. Afore then, it's what we find."

Captain chuckled. "Aye, lad, but what we find will be new from my cobbler. Then while your shoes are in the making, we will cross to the clothing merchants along Monmouth Street for new breeches, hose, shirts and a jerkin.[3] And you need a hat to keep the sun off your head and out of your eyes."

<><><>

The sun was well up in the sky ahead of us as Captain and I walked along Thames Street back toward Billingsgate, my new hat on my head. He had allowed that, but my new clothes I carried bound into a bundle. As much as I wanted to wear them, I saw his reasoning that I bathe first.

Then my mind had gone to the gong in the river, thinking if others have latrines like his, it's not fit to bathe there. When I suggested this to him, he relieved my pother, telling me there's a bathing room in the house.

As we walked, we talked about other things, but during a silence, I thought again about bathing, and growing concerned, I asked, "Do we fetch the water up from the river?"

"Nay, lad. Nay, the river is foul. My water comes down the hill from Clerkenwell through wooden pipes, and it sits in a cistern in the garret."

"Oh, so we fetch it down from there."

"Aye, in a manner."

Relieved again, I returned to questioning him about the tides and currents, and time went fast, surprising me when we reached the wharf and his house.

He unlocked the door and led me in, and after he had set his sack on the table, he pointed. "I have thought to have you sleep in that corner, lad. There is a fine mattress maker in Chelsea – goose feathers, not chicken. The same in their tickings, so you should be comfortable."

"Feathers! Mother told me she slept on feathers when she was younger, and how much better they were than hay."

"Indeed, very comfortable." He paused and tilted his head. "Have you not slept on feathers?"

"No, sir. We had sacks of hay from the stables below. But for a farthing, the groom traded them for fresh when they fell flat."

"You lived above stables?"

"We did, sir. In the mews behind Tavistock Street."

Captain nodded, remaining silent for a long while, then he said, "But to now and here. Come, I will show you the bathing room and explain its use."

He opened another door and bade I follow him in. Along the far wall sat a box lined with bright copper, and he reached down into it to fetch a piece of brass. "Place this in the hole to keep the water, and when you have finished, remove it, that the water drains down into the river."

I was about to ask how I climb to the garret to fetch the water, when he said, "Move this handle to bring the water down from above."

As the water flowed into the box, I said, "Just like it does from the tap in Fleet Street." I watched it for a while in silent wonder, then I looked up at Captain and added, "But here, we have no need for buckets nor to wait in the long line. Is this what all the wealthy people have?"

"Some may, lad, though I had seen no others until one in a Dutch ship we captured. I had this one crafted in its fashion."

"Oooh! You captured a Dutch ship. How did you do that?"

"Later, lad." Captain pointed to the flowing water. "I will leave you to bathe first, then while we sail up to Chelsea, I will tell you."

Notes:
[1] Trappe-dore was the early-modern English spelling, then trappe-door.
[2] Gong-fayer is one of the words used at that time for the 'night people' who cleaned the latrines and carried away the contents.
[3] A short, close-fitting men's jacket popular in the 16th and 17th centuries.