Mornings at Bow Street: A Selection of the Most Humorous and Entertaining Reports which Have Appeared in the 'Morning Herald'Wight, J. (John)
General
Mornings at Bow Street: A Selection of the Most Humorous and Entertaining Reports which Have Appeared in the 'Morning Herald'
Wight, J. (John)
Crime -- England -- London
"May it please your worship," said Mr. Richard Stewart--an elderly,
well-fed man, of a jolly and pleasant countenance--"May it please your
worship, I keeps a stand in Covent-garden Market, and have done so any
time these ten years; and Mr. Ephraim's stand is next to mine. Now, your
worship, on Wednesday morning I'd a hamper o' pork up out o'
Hertfordshire; and so I opened the hamper; and, at the top on it, lay a
nice head; off of as sweet a pig as ever suck'd; and I takes the head, and
holds it up; and, says I, 'Here's a bootiful head!' says I. 'Did ever any
body see such a handsome un?'--And sure enough, your worship, it was the
most bootiful as ever was; and would have done anybody's heart good to see
it--it was cut so clean off the quarter (drawing his finger slowly and
scientifically across the brawn of his own neck,) and was so short i' the
snout, and as white as a sheet it was, your worship; quite remarkable
handsome. And so I said, says I, 'Look here! Did ever anybody see sich a
picture?' holding it up just in this manner. With that, 'Ah!' says Mr.
Ephraim, says he, 'now my dream's out--I dreamt last night that I saw two
pigs' heads together, and there they are!'--meaning my head and the pig's
head, your worship. Well, I took no notice o' that, but I goes me gently
behind Mr. Ephraim, and slides the pig's head by the side of his head,
claps my own o' the other side--all a-row--with the pig's i' the middle,
your worship; and says I to the folks, says I, 'Now, who'll say which is
the honestest face of the three?' With that, your worship, all the folks
fell a laughing, and I goes myself quietly back again to my stall. But
poor Ephraim fell in such a passion!--Lord! Lord! it were a moral to see
what a pucker he were in!--he danced, and he capered, and he rubbed his
whiskers--though I verily believe the pig's head never touched him--and he
jumped and fidgeted about all as one as if he was mad, till at last he
tumbled into the orange-chest, your worship, of his own accord, as it
were; and that's the long and short of it, your worship, as my neighbours
here can specify."
His worship having listened attentively to these conflicting statements,
decided that the defendant had acted indecently in insulting the
religious feelings of the plaintiff; though, at the same time, the affair
was hardly worth carrying to the sessions, and therefore he would
recommend the plaintiff to be satisfied with an apology.
The defendant expressed the greatest willingness to apologise--"For," says
he, leaning over the table, and sinking his voice to a whisper, "I asked
another Jew what could make Mr. Ephraim in such a passion, and he told me,
your worship, that if you get a rale Jew and rub him with a bit o' pork,
it's the greatest crime as ever was."
Plaintiff and defendant then retired, and the matter was compromised.
[Illustration]
AN IRISH TAILOR.
Edward Leonard was charged with having assaulted Mary, the wife of Thomas
Reid.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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