The lowly farthing?
laurentyvan
Posts: 4,243 ✭✭✭
I was never too sure of the purchasing power of the British farthing, although I was sure it was small; how small can be found
in these lines from Robert louis Stevenson's "A Portrait":
I am a kind of farthing dip,
Unfriendly to the nose and eyes;
A blue-behinded ape, I skip
Upon the trees of Paradise.
I should collect all the metaphors and analogies I find in literature that are coin-related-there have to be some beauts...
in these lines from Robert louis Stevenson's "A Portrait":
I am a kind of farthing dip,
Unfriendly to the nose and eyes;
A blue-behinded ape, I skip
Upon the trees of Paradise.
I should collect all the metaphors and analogies I find in literature that are coin-related-there have to be some beauts...
One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics
is that you end up being governed by inferiors. – Plato
is that you end up being governed by inferiors. – Plato
0
Comments
And this, it's somewhat comical that the robber was quite annoyed to be offered 'but a farthing', and slapped the money from her hand......
The Old Bailey provides some quite interesting reading on crimes of the time. Of note, the theft of any item which put a person "in fear" would result in death for the assailant, even if the amount were but a farthing........sadly, we've spiraled downhill quite a bit, eh?