title: Dickens's London (Literary Travellers)
author: Peter Clark
description: <div>PETER CLARK has divided his interests between Middle East studies and Britain in the nineteenth century. He was born in Sheffield in 1939 and has degrees from the Universities of Keele and Leicester and worked for the British Council for thirty years, mostly in the Arab world. He has led cultural tours in Syria and Turkey. He has written books on Henry Hallam, Marmaduke Pickthall and Wilfred Thesiger, edited The Lefties Guide to Britain (Politico's, 2005), co-edited The Iraqi Marshlands, A Human and Environmental Study (Politico's, London, 2002) and has translated eight books - six fiction and two history - from Arabic.. His last book published is Istanbul in the 'Cities of the Imagination' series, published by Signal Books, Oxford, 2010. He is currently writing a book on Damascus for the same publisher. An occasional broadcaster and a regular reviewer of books for Asian Affairs, he is a cultural consultant, a Founder Trustee of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction and chairman of the Frome Society for Local Study.<BR></div>
zlib_text: THE SEVEN POOR TRAVELLERS
  1
  THE SEVEN POOR
  TRAVELLERS
  by Charles Dickens
  
  THE SEVEN POOR TRAVELLERS
  2
  CHAPTER I--IN THE OLD CITY
  OF ROCHESTER
  Strictly speaking, there were only six Poor Travellers; but, being a
  Traveller myself, though an idle one, and being withal as poor as I hope to
  be, I brought the number up to seven.  This word of explanation is due at
  once, for what says the inscription over the quaint old door?
   RICHARD WATTS, Esq. by his Will, dated 22 Aug. 1579, founded
  this Charity for Six poor Travellers, who not being ROGUES, or
  PROCTORS, May receive gratis for one Night, Lodging, Entertainment,
  and Fourpence each.
   It was in the ancient little city of Rochester in Kent, of all the good
  days in the year upon a Christmas-eve, that I stood reading this inscription
  over the quaint old door in question.  I had been wandering about the
  neighbouring Cathedral, and had seen the tomb of Richard Watts, with the
  effigy of worthy Master Richard starting out of it like a ship's figure