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It was said that the practical need of the force did not seem to justify the carrying
of firearms or cutlasses. Their choice was the truncheon, which was in use by the former
parish constables as a sign of authority. It had the same function when carried by senior
officers of the MP-force. On p.641 we see Bucket using the truncheon for this reason, "I
am Inspector Bucket of the Detective, I am; and this", producing the tip of his convenient
little staff from his breast-pocket, "is my authority When carried by the patrolmen,
it was meant as a weapon.
Chapter X, "The Law-writer", tells us more about the so-called quiet uniform. In
front of Krook's house, in which the law-writer Hawdon/Nemo is found dead, we find a
police officer taking care that no unauthorized persons sneak in. Dickens lets him "stand
there, unmoved, with his shining hat, stiff stock, inflexible great-coat, stout belt and
bracelet beating the palms of his white gloves one against the other*.
Melville describes the uniforms as, a suit of blue cloth, the coat of the
'swallow-tail' fashion with a row of bright white buttons. The collar, worn over a high
leather stock, was of the stiff, stand-up pattern, with an embroidered loop bearing the
letter and number of the individual in the division. The stock was fastened with a brass
buckle, and the unfortunate policeman's head was held as tightly as in a vice, making it
impossible to look round without turning the whole body. His trousers were of the peg-
top fashion, and his boots a pair of half-Wellingtons clumsily made". We are already familiar
with Melville's description of the top hat. From his description we can now understand
why the policeman in front of Krook's house stood there, unmoved!
4b Bucket, the officer
The first time we meet Bucket he is introduced to us as a detective, but throughout
the story he is also referred to as the officer. When Snagsby meets Bucket in Tulkinghorn's
office, better said, discovers him there in a dark corner, Bucket is "in black", outfitted
with a hat -- not with a chimney-pot -- and a stick. When we meet Bucket again and again,
he never seems to wear a uniform. Napoleon Bonaparte once said, "Clothes make the man".
Bucket's clothes don't make him an officer. What does make Bucket an officer is his
attitude, not his outfit nor his actual occupation. This is because we never see Bucket
concerned with the diverse duties as outlined in the M.P.A. which there are: to prevent
obstructions of the Highway, to control public houses, coffee-houses and cook shops, to
limit gaming, bear-baiting and cock-fighting, to prohibit drunken behavior, soliciting and
other street offenses.
His attitude? An insight on the supposed attitude of officers is offered to us by the
journalist J. Grant in 1838 (Tobias, p.84). Grant wrote that from time to time the officer's
mind had to be impressed with the idea that he had to make himself acquainted with all
parts of the streets, the courts, thoroughfares, outhouses etcand that he was also
expected to possess such knowledge of the inhabitants of each house as would enable him
to recognize their persons.
