Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1895-06-23
FEMALE MONEY LENDERS.
They are Very Common Among
the Poor Of London.
A HERO IN KNIcKHRBocKHRs.
The Courage OF hoy who
Thousht lie was Going to
he Hurled.


LoNDON. Juno ~.
Perhaps YOU win be surprised when
I tell you that there are such people
as women money-lenders, Ra some OF
my poor parlshioners know TO their
cost, remarked q Woodworking london
curate to the writer recently
These women-there are two In my
parlah-out-shylock shylock. Two
pence IL the usual charge for the loan
OF shilling for week, or. rather
often Il ds not week. but for a shill-
Ing borrowed any time through the
week Is. "a. is expected on the fol-
lowing Saturday.
Women are their only customers,
and they make very few bad debts,
as those who borrow generally do so
without their husbands knowledge.
and consequently are only TOO anxious
to repay az soon az they arc able. or
else the lender would soon threaten
TO split to their husbands. Resides.
some OF these people are 40 In tho
habit of borrowing two or three shilI-
ings every week that they are afraid
" thoy ala not repay the borrowed
money on the Saturday. their borrow
Ing powers would be at an end.
For u sovereign lent n shilling N
week interest is charged until tho
money y all repaid, and not less than
two shillinga woek Is taken by way
OF instolmont towards repayment OF
the loan, II amy week tho instnlment
Is missed, the interest must be paid,
ana no reduction IN made In the inter
est as the principal In reduced
\ woman ~ often onloled into tnlklnr,
ZONE article OF nn0ry from the irre-
prepsible tollymen, thinking she viii
be able To pay for the article nv tho
easy" inHtallmont plan. 40 rllblv on
rloined TO her Getting behind for two
or three weeks In her payments. tho
circuit draper threatens 10 summon hor
husband. 10 avoid this. tho woman
goes TO tho money lender, who "ubliges''
ncf WIN sovereign, on condition
mat Ahe ropnNs three shilllngH n week
lor zen weeks, one case came under
NY notice where a woman borrowed
lllrty HhllllngH to clear on tnllymnn
RMS happened In January, and Il wAa
not TIL the woman received some money
oul OF club the following Christmas
thnt the principal was repaid An this
time the money lender had been in re-
celpt OF eighteen pence weekly In the
shape Of interest.
IL is not often that these female
usurera win lend moro than a sovereign
NJ Time, However, IN the case OF u
person DYING and pending tho benefit
OF insurance money being received,
they VIII lend three or four pounds
tn tho borrowed family, frequently de-
mnndlnE rs much IN n pound for tho
use Of four for week,
ono Of the moncy-lendors 10 whom 7
rcter deals only with female hnwkora
ana Htreet-Bellora owing 10 Tho pre-
cnriouHncsa OF their calling, these 200.
pic constantly lind themselves without
the whorowlthal 10 purchase their
stook-in-trado. on Friday evening
90 many as ton 10 lrteen women viii
borrow sums varying from hVo "
thirty Nhilllnga In order 10 mako their
purchases at the early markets on the
Following morning on n Saturday
evening, towards midnight the money
lcndor nnlSes the rounds of her clienta'
Htall4, often taking every penny from
tho stakeholder which forces the
hawkcr TO trade on Sunday morning.
think the only time female
money lcndcr is really appreciated In
when Hhe goes to court 10 pay the hnc
N some tcrmag0nt, whose presence be-
fore the magistrate n policeman has
thought necessary TO the well-bclng Of
the nclghhOrhood, In such cases the
lender gets promise from the unfor-
tunatc womnn's husband 20 repay the
money borrowed and interest. She
also demnndh u fec OF shilling for
her expenses attending the court l1-
fore she starts, so that In case the de-
llnquunt In discharged or sent TO prison
she VIII not be out Of pocket
II hardly seems credible, but one Of
these mOney-lenderu can neither read
nor write, keeping account OF an money
due to her In her head with unfaillng
accuracy, This woman N an unbe-
llevor In the stability Of banks, and
always carries her Htnck-ln-trado on
her person. II not uncomfortable sum.
seeing that one week, she told me, nho
had lent flJ0 In odd ahlilingn.
L. Il