Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1910-03-16
GUINEAS AND POUNDS
More Than the Mere Shilling Diff
ference Between Them.
MONEY CASTE IN ENGLAND.
The Pound Is Straight Business Mon
ey, but the Guinea Is the Gentieman's
Money-A Nice Distinction In Charges
and In Payments.

"funnN tnlnE. Salu the writer. VINO
had just received check for 70 IS
from London. chow the editor over in
England paid me in guineas, not in
English pounds. In fact. it would be
an insult if the editor had simply paid
me e..
They've two kinds of money over
there One kind is straight business
money An even e. would have meant
i'm effect that l had performed a rou-
tine job of some kind. such as compil-
ing n table of statistics for the editor,
and that was being paid for mechan- /
ical labor
But the editor adds an extra shil- /
ling to every pound he pays me. This /
means that l am not supposed to have /
performed any labor ut all. but to have /
created work OF art and submitted
this work OF art-otherwiSe literature
for arts sake.
MY check is written Two guineaS,'
and the envelope in which it is sent
me is addressed John Smith, Esq
This in effect is second recognition
that have submitted a piece of liter
airy art. Yet the figures on the check
l. -
keeping.
IF Ia been on the staff of the pc
riodical my salary would be paid me
in pounds sterling, for then I'd be
supposed to be working for pay and,
according To English ideas, no longer
/ gentleman.
These two kinds OF money. -uineas
and pounds. show up in many curious
ways. All professional men are paid
In Cuineas II you are running big
private school you make a charge in
guineas for tuition. and parents OF
your pupils pay you in guineas be-
cause you're supposed to be merely
engaging in an altruistic. philanthropic
project OF building Drawn and brain
for Britain. But you pay the teachers
In your school in pounds sterling, for
they're supposed to he working for
pay. not for love.
IF you're 4 doctor you make your
bills for professional services out in
guineaS. BarriStcrs are paid in gum
cas-. Horse race prizes are given in
guincas for all gcntlcmens races.
"The most curious mixture of all is
!
mixture of commercial and profession
al ideas. The charge Of u parish is
known as living and is paid in
pounds sterling, but if Il wedding or a
christening takes place in the parish
the clergyman receives Il personal fee,
always guineas instead of pounds.
,, artists are paid in guincas. The
late James MacNein Whistler. who had
, delightful habit of turning a Keen
wit on friends and making enemies
thereby, was once paid for a work of
art in pounds sterling. delicate i'm
plication that Whistler was Il daubel
, and Il tyro
Two trades are paid in guincas fol-
goods purchased, but other trades arr
paid in pounds sterling. These trades
:, are the interior decorator and the jew
> eler The jewelers. goods are suppoS
~ ed to be works of art, and such com
mercial articles as watch chains an'
= watches are priced in guineas. CeI
tain swell and exclusive London tai
lors, to whom you have to be intro
~ duced, by the way, charge you i
y guineas for the coats and trousers the
IN consent to make for you.
., directors of companies were fol
~ merry paid in guincas for their atten,
-, ance. They are now paid in pound
70 sterling, but when Il pound sterling
N. in minted gold it isn't a pound sterlm
any more. but a sovereign.
The idea is that directors Of cor
panies are always feed in gold, and ;
sh sovcreigns only are coined now the
ng are paid in sovereigns. The only @
ill ception is the directorate of the Ban
a of England The members of Il
or board are paid in golden guincaS. pa
no Of Il small store kept in the bank III
sit dated in the early years of the In
) | century.
"a gentleman wagcrs with
friends in guineas. He buys a hunt
. or n pony polo from a friend in Gu
cas-, but in pounds from horse tr;
or. But if he is buying Il work hon
- from a friend and equal he pays
pounds sterling.
,, "If a gentleman wagerS with Il boz
& maker at race track he posts his
=. I'm pounds. If he tries to hrcak
bank at Monte Carlo he puts m
'> waGers on the roulette wheel in .
twenty franc pieces and speaks Of
- winnings or LOSSES in pounds stcrli
while he mentions his WINNINGS
losses at bridge. paid in gold, in :,
. cas-
, There are hundreds of delicate
. tinctions in British etiquette In
matter of money. One Of The II
curious is that of n certain Lon