Louisa Chamberlain was next charged that she did wilfully and unlawfully obstruct the highway in Commercial Street, on the 3rd instant with a barrow of bananas. Louisa was the most typical out-and-out Englishwoman we had ever soon. She stood in the dock, bareheaded, and broad hipped, as comely, honest amd straight a woman as ever bore fine children. The police constable who charged her was a tall, furtive, sallow rascal, the only bad specimen we had yet seen in the court. He said that he had seen Louisa's barrow outside Lockhart's restaurant for nearly 10 minutes, and had arrested her (It is a by-law that hawkers must keep moving.) She had several previous convictions against her, the last of which was only a fortnight ago.
She was asked what she had to say, and gave this account of herself. - "I was shoving barrow round all morning sir, cause I knew he was watching me, and about 3 oclock I felt proper done up, (it was during the hot spell) so I slips into Lockhart's and asks lass there to get cup a tea ready. I slips in a little later and drinks it up quick sir, and out again to mo barrow. I wasn't gone three minutes sir. Ten minutes after sir, he comes up to me and says, 'Here, quod for you, I've copped you again,' and drags me through the streets sir." Then her voice rose in deep angry complaint "'He's got it in for me sir, I got four children at school to keep and I lost my man in the war, he gets me for ten shillings nearly every week sir, and I has to lose a day to come down here sir. Here'm I trying to keep off the rates sir, an its dam hard work sir, shoving a great barrow an shouting." Her voice rose to an indignant shout. Dogberry looked at her with wooden and uncomprehending eyes and said "You know they wouldn't bring you here unless they had cause to, its no good telling me that you know." He asked if there had ever been any charge against her of a different character, and whether her statements about home and children were correct.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.