St. Tammany farmer., 1888-03-17
PAWNEO HIS TEETH.


pAWNeO no UeeuUe
A Ussssal Incident Wissssssa ~ Rs
Verssr - . Faws shep.
Tho ancient chap who exclaimed
''Aine honor is in pawn!' was double
discounted and beaten BY the man who
entered . pawnshop on South Clark
street. near Polk, last week and threw
upon the showcase . set OF false teeth.
saying:
..What'n you give me on these?"
The oblising pawnee. which appella-
ton he should not resent, scrutinized
the teeth with the cold eyes Of man
Of business. There was . good deal OF
gold filing in them-the teeth. not the
eye.
"A DOLLAR" he said.
20. come now. That's not fair.
Those teeth have t25 worth Of gold in
them at least, to say nothing Of the
teeth themselves. Make it five and TN
leave them"
''Once more for al tell you that We
never loan more than that on teeth. /
have . whole showcase full Of unre-
deemed molars. any set Of which you
can have for fifty centa"
20. rats! Gimme the dollar"
The money was handed the impccu-
nious and toothless one. who departed
mumbling between his denuded jaws at
the heartlessness Of the. world in gem
eral and pawnbroksrs in particular.
The pawnee said:
1--WE have some trade in that sort OF
pledge. but l haven't \ showcase full OF
unredecmed ones. as told him. ! never
knew Of but two pawners who didn't
redeem their teeth. One was . woman.
Queer pledge? Well. rather. but We
have them stranger than that. Tho
other day . man ran in here and sat
down in that chair at the end Of tine
counter. Before l could ask him what
he wanted he pulled up his trouser-leg
and began unscrewing an artificial leg.
l had only known Of one other case
where such a pledge was given 1t .
pawn-office. That was by soldier at
the close Of the war. The man who
came in here carried . crutch in his
hand. and was determined to raise a
loan on his leg. Igot it for q and the
customary 10 per cent. = month. He
redeemed It last night On another
occasion q man tried very hard to OBJ
tain loan Of e25 on a glass-eye OF a
very peculiar shade. He had had il
made especially for him SO that it would
match his other eve. but that very fact.
of course. reduced the chances OF our
doing any thing with it in case he for.
feited the pledge. 1t is both amusing
and affecting 10 observe the ehagvia
and disappointment exhibited BY people
who try to raise considerable loan on
articles whose value has been raised
in their estimation through long use
or loving association. Old heirlooms
which are almost priceless within
the family circle are comparatively
without value in the pawnshop. Not
long ago an old German lady came
in here with two solid brass kitchen
utensils-old-country make. l don't
know what they were for. but they
would delight the housekeeper's heart.
She expected to realize sum nearly
equal to what the articles must have
cost when new, and when told heI
that l could loan nothing at all on them
she was terribly insulted. Another
woman brought in an immense collec
ton of family photographs. which sh'
imagined could be hooked for tidy
sum. A certain line Of heirlooms. o
course. we can find room fOr-thost
such as might find buyer on accoun
Of their utility and sesthetic quality
but the vast majority Of things Of tina
sort are absolutely without exchang'
value. have seen some terrible scenes
In my time I have seen men ant
women. crazed with hunger or drink
strip Of every stitch Of clothes they
could decently spare in order to obtair
money to satisfy their hunger or thirst
have given many q dollar out OF m.
own pocket rather than take necessary
clothing from person really in need
and have refused to take the gar
ments from a person whom ! knew
would spend the money for drink.
remember seeing man pawning
cradle and blankets in the front Of ths
store, in order to get money to drink
while his wife, with the babe at he1
breast, was in tho rear trying to rails
money on some household treasures b
procure sustenance for herself AMI
child. There is great deal OF noto
riety brought to the pawnbroker bust
ness by disreputables and blacklegs en-
gagged in it, but it can be carried on II
q legitimate way just as any other call
ing s."-CAicago Tines.
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