In Chapter Three, Ishmael describes the noxious liquor, and fraudulent servings, to be found in taverns like the Spouter-Inn:
"Abominable are the tumblers into which he pours his poison. Though true cylinders without - within, the villainous green goggling glasses deceitfully tapered downwards to a cheating bottom. Parallel meridians rudely pecked into the glass, surround these footpads' goblets. Fill to this mark, and your charge is but a penny; to this a penny more; and so on to the full glass - the Cape Horn measure, which you may gulp down for a shilling."
I was a bit surprised to see the unit of currency mentioned. Did mid-century Americans still refer in slang to (I assume) nickels as 'shillings'? Or was international currency accepted more freely than it is today?
Posted by Alan Allport at November 18, 2005 12:25 PMI don't have it at hand, but I've seen the something similar in family documents from the nineteenth century. In this case, the word is "pound", which may have lingered in reference to the quantity of tobacco once used as a medium of exchange, or maybe to Sterling.
Posted by: Ben Brumfield at November 19, 2005 09:09 AMMelville
In case people haven't seen it, there's a nice piece about H.M. on _The Nation_ site
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20051205/gornick
cheers,
Henry
Posted by: Henry Larsen at November 22, 2005 01:04 PM