about three in the
morning
The very wealthy and the very poor are to be found within its precincts -- also the very good and the very bad . Its slums are black and awful ; but it also contains some of the finest public buildings , some of the most massive and comfortable houses , and without any exception the largest and greatest docks , in the world . All nationalities come to Liverpool . It sees life from beyond the seas , it has a population of people always coming and going -- Americans who go to the theatre in London and arrive in Liverpool about three in the morning , on their return to their own country ; Irishmen , Scotchmen , dwellers in Africa ; in fact , people from all parts of the civilized world find their way to Liverpool , to return from thence by way of the sea to their native lands . On certain days in the week the hotels and lodging-houses are packed to overflowing ; the different piers present scenes of activity and bustle ; the great ships come and go , and the people come and go with them -- Liverpool is passed through and forgotten . That is the case with those fleeting crowds who so largely contribute to its trade and prosperity ; but the _ habitue ' _ of Liverpool , the man who spends his days there , is a totally different order of being . The stranger sees the great city most generally through mist and fog ; he regards the pavements as rough and slippery ; he thinks the public buildings large , but ugly .