The Project Gutenberg EBook of Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 147,
August 19th, 1914, by Various

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Title: Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 147, August 19th, 1914

Author: Various

Editor: Owen Seaman

Release Date: October 19, 2008 [EBook #26969]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PUNCH, VOL. 147, AUG. 19, 1914 ***

Produced by Neville Allen, Malcolm Farmer and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

PUNCH,

OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.

VOLUME 147.

AUGUST 19th 1914.

* * * * *

Illustration: A QUICK CHANGE OF FRONT.

* * * * *

THE NATURE OF A MORATORIUM.

"It's a big ship" (I could overhear Ethel's voice through the open
nursery window). "I know perfectly well it is. It's one of the
Cunarders."

"Well, you're quite wrong then," (this from Jack). "It was passed
through Parliament. You can't pass a ship through Parliament."

"It's the sister ship to the _Lusitania_--so there!"

Joan's thoughtful voice intervened.

"I can tell you what it is," she said. "It's a place for burying
people--a sort of big tomb where they put dead kings. There's one at
Windsor."

Curiously enough I was myself at the moment rather puzzled as to what it
was and how it worked.

"Do you know, William," I said to my host, "that you are owing me ten
pounds and I've got to get home to-day, and I've no money?"

"Oh, but I shan't pay it now," he replied shamelessly.

"Why not?"

"I'm going to put a Moratorium on you. I don't know, of course, if
that's quite the correct phrase. The thing is new to me. But at least I
can see how it works. You had better try James. He owes you five, and he
never reads the papers, so he may not have heard of it."

I went at once into the library, where I found James making up a parcel
of three half-sovereigns to send to his bank. No one is going to accuse
James of hoarding gold.

"About that fiver," I began.

"Ah, yes. I was just coming out to talk to you about that before you
went," said he. "Now that I'm sending all this stuff to the bank I'm
just afraid