The English Rogue: Continued in the Life of Meriton Latroon, and Other Extravagants: The Second PartHead, Richard
General
The English Rogue: Continued in the Life of Meriton Latroon, and Other Extravagants: The Second Part
Head, Richard
Rogues and vagabonds -- England -- Fiction
Warned by this disaster, I was very fearful to enter into any more
Orchards, and indeed had I met no Remora in my proceedings, yet this
trade would soon have failed, for not long after the Apples were all
transplated out of the Orchard into the Cellar, and winter began to
hasten on apace. And now hunger which will not be treated withal without
bread, began to reign Lord and King in our family; the Chandler would
let us have no more cheese for chalk, nor peny loaves for round O’s, we
had made a black poast white already with our score, and his belief
would extend no further to trust us for any more: nay the very
Ale-house-keeper (to whom we were such constant customers) was now grown
such a Nullifidian, that he would not believe us for small-beer,
wherefore we were forced to make a vertue of necessity, and to prevent
starving, our houshold goods marched away one after another; the first
thing that we sold was the Cup-board as the most unnecessary thing in
all the house, having no victuals to put therein; soon after followed
the Table as an appendix to it, for seeing the Table will hold no
victuals thereon for us to eat, we in revenge thereof did eat up the
Table; That (with some joynt-stools belonging to it) being devoured and
gone, our stomacks were so hot that it soon melted away the pewter
dishes; for we considered with our selves that good meat might be eaten
out of wooden platters; then followed the napkins and table-cloaths, for
we were not so much cloyed with fat meat but that a little linnen would
serve to wipe the greace off of our fingers; in fine this pinching
hunger was the _Habeas corpus_ that removed all our goods out of the
House unto the Brokers, and now our dwelling place corresponded with our
bellies, being alike both empty.
In this comfortless condition we remained for the space of three days,
having neither money nor any thing to make money of; being thus sadly
necessitated, my father and I set our witts upon the Tenter-hooks which
way to recruit our decayed estate, many inventions we had for that
purpose, and present necessity urged us to make a speedy use of one of
them, which not long after we brought to pass in this manner.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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