The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1901-02-15
ODD MONEY IN MAINE.
THE OLD TIMERS STILL RECKON IN
YORK SHILLINGS.

| guage than any other city TX Maine. In
the autumn, when the choppers are going
to the woods, and again In midsummer
when the drives come out, the little city
Is filled with babel Of tongues that is
not eQualed anywhere in New England
except in Fall River, Mass. These peo-
| pie not only talk in strange language
but they compute the prices of the goods
! they buy In denominations that are un-
familiar. One evening a French Cana.
dian walked into a crowded grocery store
after a round of salt pork
You will to me sell 20 pounds 10 salt
pork" said he in his best English.
Yes" replied the trader. Anything
elser'
"No. Eet ISIS pork that ah'm bin want.
How muchT
Eight cents q pound-$1.60 for the
lot"
Zone dollar sekty! oui oui! How
much heem be7 Ah'm no comprehen.
VOLTA"
Eight francs" replied the grocer.
Slight francs-oui, vralment! Ah'm
pay hem now," said the Frenchmnn. He
took dollar in paper and 80 cent piece
and 10 cent piece in silver from his
pocketbook and gave them to the trader,
saying as he went out:
"Send heem oop."
Later In the evening an old farmer
who was ON his way home from Bangor
to Argyle put his head in at the open
door, saying:
LET me have a pound Of your shil.
ling tea"
I'm sorry to say that I'm all out of 30
cent tea." replied the trader, "but l can
sell you some that Is a lot better for 62
cents"
'All right" said the farmer. MAKE II
three and ninepence. / guess l can
stand it."
As the evening grew late and trade fell
OF the grocer lighted his pipe and sat
down upon stool back of his desk.
Its queer about these two men," said
he. ITO hear 'em talk you'd think one
was native Frenchman and the other
was a blooming Englishman, but they
amt. One was born in Quebec and has
lived In Oldtown for more than 20
years. The other Is Of Plymouth rock
stock and was born In the house where
he now lives more than 60 years ago.
They are both citizens and vote at every
election. They are fairly we'll educated,
too. but neither of them can talk United
States when he comes to counting money.
Both Of them know all about our cur
rency, 80 you can't cheat them for half a
cent, but when they have to put the
names f'value into words they go away
back for more than a century and talk
the lingo Of their forefathers. I humor
their whims and get good part of their
trade, because II l talked shillings and
pence to the farmer or francs and SOUS
to the lumberman they'd quit me right
away. Both Of them seem to think they
hold a monopoly on the outlandish lingo
and resent any interference.
What makes the business seem strange
to me Is that congress fixed upon dollars
and cents as the standards of value more
than 100 years ago, and not over 800 new
Frenchmen have come over to Canada
since Quebec was captured by Wolfe's
troops In 1859, and yet both men cling to
their old methods Of talk as If II was the
latest thing out. I rather think their
children and grandchildren will have the
same habit. What's bred in the bone is
sure to come out In the flesh.
The most troublesome case I ever
had, and I've lots Of them on my hands
now. was an old fellow named Hall. He
was Yankee born and Yankee bred, but
he not only talked English money, but
actually thought English money and cast
his interest In pounds, shillings and
pence. He was generally easy enough to
get along with until he came to the shil-
hngs. Then unless you explained and
specified In every item he went as mad
as halter and refused to trade with
you until You told him what he wanted to
know. He was terribly down on what he
called the York shilling
You know when the states fixed the
exchange value of an English shilling
New York counted shillings to a dollar,
while all of the New England states
made u shillings equal to dollar. Right
away after this the trouble began and
continued red hot for many years. All
over New England a shilling was worth
10 % cents, while Its value In New York
was only 1871 cents, or a ninepenee in
New England money. Years ago when
this old man Hall was skipper of a lum-
Der schooner he had taken a cargo to
New York and sold it for so many shil-
lngs, causing loss Of Is per cent on the
cargo, which ate up the profits and left
the captain badly in debt. He never got
over 1t. Whenever anybody said York
shilling to him, he few in a rage and fair.
ly frothed at the mouth. He had a
shock during one of these fits and died
the next day.
Until the time Of the civil war;" said
the grocer, more than half Of the people
hereabout talked and thought in money
of the English denominations. A dollar
was generally called ty its right name,
but $1.25 was always seven and six, and
$3.50 was shillings.
"In many cases, such as three and nine
pence and seven and ninepence, a cent
was split in two, requiring the use of
half cent coin. In orde: to check the half
cent habit the mint stopped coming half
cents. But this practice went on the
same as ever, the purct aser paid over the
money retaining the talf cent in every
transaction. For example, II you owed
me a ninepence, which was equivalent to
1914 cents, you gave ME IL cents, which
squared the bill, but IL you didn't have
the exact change and passed me out a
quarter of dollar, handed IL cents
back to you and kept ID cents for myself.
1t was always a wise plan for a man to
carry a lot Of small change In his pocket
when he went out among the men who
talked shillings and pence"
when are the people going to get over
these foreign ways7" asked bystander.
"Never, wholly, think" was the de-
Hberate answer. at takes longer to Grad
icate a habit than It does to acquire 1t.
The English speaking race have talked
In pounds and shillings for more than
800 years. Some of lis Americans will
continue to talk it until the year 1000 or
longer."-Boston Globe.
a OIevcF 6Cncme.
al Stoehr, while spending q summer
In the country, boarded at the residence
Of an old granger in Clermont county,
who had decided views of his own on
every subject under the sun. One day a
lightning rod peddler came along and per-
suaded the old man to allow him to affix
rods on one of his barns. The old fellow
owned two barns and had lightning rods
put upon one building as an experiment
The second day after the rods were
placed In position a heavy August thun-
derstorm swept over that part Of the
country and fash Of lightning rent the
sky and the bolt struck one of his new
rods. The barn was not injured in the
least, and the farmer wept for joy.
THAT saves me money, be goshr' he
exclaimed.
"Of course It does" answered Stoehr.
II suppose you'll have rods put upon the
other barn at once7"
mot by dern sightw answered the
old man. "Pm going to have them rods
moved over to the other barn. Lightnin
never strikes twice in the same place,
y know!-CipcinnatiE Enquirer.