Lizerunt by Arthur Morrison — Read

Somewhere in the register was written the name Elizabeth Hunt; but / seventeen years after the entry the spoken name was Lizerunt. Lizerunt / worked at a pickle factory, and appeared abroad in an elaborate and / shabby costume, usually supplemented by a white apron. Withal she was / something of a beauty. That is to say, her cheeks were very red, her / teeth were very large and white, her nose was small and snub, and her / fringe was long and shiny; while her face, new-washed, was susceptible / of a high polish. Many such girls are married at sixteen, but Lizerunt / was belated, and had never a bloke at all.

Billy Chope was a year older than Lizerunt. He wore a billycock with a / thin brim and a permanent dent in the crown; he had a bobtail coat, with / the collar turned up at one side and down at the other, as an expression / of independence; between his meals he carried his hands in his breeches / pockets; and he lived with his mother, who mangled. His conversation / with Lizerunt consisted long of perfunctory nods; but great things / happened this especial Thursday evening, as Lizerunt, making for home, / followed the fading red beyond the furthermost end of Commercial Road. / For Billy Chope, slouching in the opposite direction, lurched across the / pavement as they met, and, taking the nearer hand from his pocket, / caught and twisted her arm, bumping her against the wall.