Ways and Means
Taken from a Northampton Newspaper, 1796
Ways and Means, - A literal Fact, - A labouring man, in Salford, has a wife, who, like some of her sex, is rather fond of a drop of the good creature, but withal very industrious, having sacrificed rather freely to the Jolly God last week, was under the necessity of pawning her husband's clean shirt : it being wanted on Sunday morning to change poor Hodge's linen, she was much distressed how to get it back; when she was suddenly struck with the singular idea of depositing in the iron gripe of the pawn-broker, a leg of mutton, intended for their Sunday's dinner - accordingly the leg walk'd off to the broker's, and proved a good shift to redeem the shirt. Dinner hour approaching, she was once more in a dilemma, and the mutton being thus in durance, it would have puzzled Mr.Pitt himself to get out of it. Honest Nell, however, with an imagination as fertile as may be, instantly washed Hodge's dirty shirt, dried and ironed it, away she ran to the pawnbroker's, paid the interest, left the shirt for the mutton, and had it smoaking hot on the table by noon !
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17-02-2006, 07:38 PM
