Real Life In London, Volumes I. and II.
part content themselves now-a-days by merely inviting strangers to look
at their goods; but Barkers are still to be found, stationed at the
doors of Mock Auctions, who induce company to assemble, by bawling “Walk
in, the auction is now on,” or “Just going to begin.” Of these mock
auctions, there have been many opened of an evening, under the imposing
glare of brilliant gas lights, which throws an unusual degree of lustre
upon the articles put up for sale. It is not however very difficult to
distinguish them from the real ones, notwithstanding they assume all the
exterior appearances of genuineness, even up to advertisements in the
newspapers, purporting to be held in the house of a person lately gone
away under embarrassed circumstances, or deceased. They are denominated
Mock Auctions, because no real intention exists on the part of the
sellers to dispose of their articles under a certain price previously
fixed upon, which, although it may not be high, is invariably more than
they are actually worth: besides which, they may be easily discovered by
the anxiety they evince to show the goods to strangers at
~366~~the moment they enter, never failing to bestow over-strained
panegyrics upon every lot they put up, and asking repeatedly--“What
shall we say for this article? a better cannot be produced;” and
promising, if not approved of when purchased, to change it. The
Auctioneer has a language suited to all companies, and, according to his
view of a customer, can occasionally jest, bully, or perplex him into
a purchase.--“The goods must be sold at what they will fetch;” and
he declares (notwithstanding among his confederates, who stand by as
bidders, they are run up beyond the real value, in order to catch a
flat,) that “the present bidding can never have paid the manufacturer
for his labour.”
In such places, various articles of silver, plate, glass and household
furniture are exposed to sale, but generally made up of damaged
materials, and slight workmanship of little intrinsic value, for the
self-same purpose as the Razor-seller states--
“Friend, (cried the Razor-man) I'm no knave;
As for the razors you have bought,
Upon my soul! I never thought
That they would shave.”
“Not shave!” quoth Hodge, with wond'ring eyes,
And voice not much unlike an Indian yell;
“What were they made for then, you dog?” he cries.
“Made! (quoth the fellow with a smile) to sell.”
Passing the end of White Horse Yard--“Here,” continued Tom, “in this
yard and the various courts and alleys which lead into it, reside
numerous Girls in the very lowest state of prostitution; and it is
dangerous even in the day time to pass their habitations, at all
events very dangerous to enter any one of them. Do you see the crowd
of squalid, half-clad and half-starved creatures that surround the old
woman at the corner?--Observe, that young thing without a stocking is
stealing along with a bottle in one hand and a gown in the other; she is
going to put the latter _up the spout_{1} with her
1 Up the spout, or up the five--Are synonimous in their
import, and mean the act of pledging property with a
Pawnbroker for the loan of money--most probably derived from
the practice of having a long spout, which reaches from the
top of the house of the Pawn-broker (where the goods are
deposited for safety till redeemed or sold) to the shop,
where they are first received; through which a small bag is
dropped upon the ringing of a bell, which conveys the
tickets or duplicates to a person above stairs, who, upon
finding them, (unless too bulky) saves himself the trouble
and loss of time of coming down stairs, by more readily
conveying them down the spout.
~367~~ accommodating _Uncle,_{1} in order to obtain a little of the
enlivening juice of the juniper to fill the former.”
1 Uncle, sometimes called the Ferrit, or the Flint--Cant
terms for Pawnbroker, though many of these gentlemen now
assume the more reputable appellation of Silversmiths. They
are willing to lend money upon all sorts of articles of
household furniture, linen, plate, wearing apparel,
jewellery, &c. with a certainty of making a very handsome
profit upon the money so circulated.
There are in this Metropolis upwards of two hundred and
thirty Pawnbrokers, and in some cases they are a useful and
serviceable class of people; and although doubtless many of
them are honest and reputable persons, there are still among
them a class of sharpers and swindlers, who obtain licences
to carry on the business, and bring disgrace upon the
respectable part of the profession. Every species of fraud
which can add to the distresses of those who are compelled
to raise temporary supplies of money is resorted to, and for
which purpose there are abundance of opportunities. In many
instances however the utility of these persons, in
preventing a serious sacrifice of property, cannot be
denied; for, by advancing to tradesmen and mechanics
temporary loans upon articles of value at a period of
necessity, an opportunity of redeeming them is afforded,
when by their industrious exertions their circumstances are
improved. Many of them however are receivers of stolen
good.s, and, under cover of their licence, do much harm to
the public. Indeed, the very easy mode of raising money by
means of the Pawnbrokers, operates as an inducement, or at
least an encouragement, to every species of vice. The
fraudulent tradesman by their means is enabled to raise
money on the goods of his creditors, the servant to pledge
the property of his employer, and the idle or profligate
mechanic to deposit his working tools, or his work in an
unfinished state. Many persons in London are in the habit of
pawning their apparel from Monday morning till Saturday
night, when they are redeemed, in order to make a decent
appearance on the next day. In low neighbourhoods, and among
loose girls, much business is done by Pawnbrokers to good
advantage; and considerable emolument is derived from women
of the town. The articles they offer to pledge are generally
of the most costly nature, and the pilferings of the night
are usually placed in the hands of an Uncle the next
morning; and the wary money-lenders, fully acquainted with
their necessities, just lend what they please; by which
means they derive a wonderful profit, from the almost
certainty of these articles never being redeemed.
The secresy with which a Pawnbroker's business is conducted,
though very proper for the protection of the honest and
well-meaning part of the population, to shield them from an
exposure which might perhaps prove fatal to their business or
credit, admits of great room for fraud on the part of the
Money-lender; more particularly as it respects the interest
allowed upon the pawns. Many persons are willing to pay any
charge made, rather than expose their necessities by
appearing before a Magistrate, and acknowledging they have
been concerned in such transactions.
Persons who are in the constant habit of pawning are
generally known by the Pawnbrokers, in most instances
governed by their will, and compelled to take and pay just
what they please. Again, much injury arises from the want of
care in the Pawnbroker to require a proper account, from the
Pledgers, of the manner in which the goods offered have been
obtained, as duplicates are commonly given upon fictitious
names and residences.
Notwithstanding the care and attention usually paid to the
examination of the articles received as pledges, these
gentlemen are sometimes to be duped by their customers. We
remember an instance of an elderly man, who was in the habit
of bringing a Dutch clock frequently to a Pawnbroker to
raise the wind, and for safety, generally left it in a large
canvass bag, till he became so regular a customer, that his
clock and bag were often left without inspection; and as it
was seldom deposited for long together, it was placed in
some handy nook of the shop in order to lie ready for
redemption. This system having been carried on for some
time, no suspicion was entertained of the old man. Upon one
occasion however the Pawnbroker's olfactory nerves were
saluted with a smell of a most unsavoury nature, for which
he could by no means account--day after day passed, and no
discovery was made, till at length he determined to overhaul
every article in his shop, and if possible discover the
source of a nuisance which appeared rather to increase than
abate: in doing which, to his utter astonishment, he found
the old man's Dutch clock trans-formed into a sheep's head,
enclosed in a small box similar in shape and size to that of
the clock. It will scarcely be necessary to add, that, being
in the heat of summer, the sheep's head when turned out was
in a putrid state, and as green as grass. The Pawn-broker
declared the old gentleman's works were out of repair, that
he himself was out of tune, and eventually pledged himself
never to be so taken in again. After all, however, it must
be acknowledged that my Uncle is a very accommodating man.
“My Uncle's the man, I've oft said it before,
Who is ready and willing to open his door;
Tho' some on the question may harbour a doubt,
He's a mill to grind money, which I call a spout.
Derry down.
He has three golden balls which hang over his door,
Which clearly denote that my Uncle's not poor;
He has money to lend, and he's always so kind,
He will lend it to such as leave something behind.
Derry down.
If to music inclin'd, there's no man can so soon
Set the hooks of your gamut to excellent tune;
All his tickets are prizes most carefully book'd,
And your notes must be good, or you're presently hook'd.
Derry down.
Shirts, shoes, and flat-irons, hats, towels, and ruffs,
To him are the same as rich satins or stuffs;
From the pillows you lay on, chairs, tables, or sacks,
He'll take all you have, to the togs on your backs.
Derry down.
Then ye who are needy, repair to your friend,
Who is ready and willing your fortunes to mend;
He's a purse full of rhino, and that's quite enough,
Tho' short in his speech, he can shell out short stuff.
Derry down.
What a blessing it is, in this place of renown
To know that we have such an Uncle in town;
In all cases, degrees, in all places and stations,
'Tis a good thing to know we've such friendly relations.
Derry down.
“Surely,” said Tallyho, “no person could possibly be inveigled by her
charms?”
~369~~ “They are not very blooming just now,” answered his Cousin--“you
do not see her in a right light. It is impossible to contemplate
the cases of these poor creatures without dropping a tear of pity.
Originally seduced from a state of innocence, and eventually abandoned
by their seducers, as well as their well-disposed parents or friends,
they are left at an early age at large upon the world; loathed and
avoided by those who formerly held them in estimation, what are they to
do?--It is said by Shakespeare, that