And so on, proving that the clergy had not refused the friendly offer, and were fully as ready as the tradesman to avail themselves of this means of giving vent to their wants and requirements.
Houghton would occasionally do a little business to oblige a friend, though it is fair to assume that he participated in the profits:—
*** For a friend, I can sell very good flower of brimstone, etc., as cheap or cheaper than any in town does; and I’ll sell any good commodity for any man of repute if desired.
——I find publishing for others does them kindness, therefore note: I sell lozenges for 8d. the ounce which good drinkers commend against heartburn, and are excellent for women with child, to prevent miscarriages; also the true lapis nephriticus which is esteemed excellent for the stone by wearing it on the wrist.
——I would gladly buy for a friend the historical part of Cornelius a Lapide upon the Bible.
Besides the above particular advertisements, the paper frequently contained another kind, which to us may appear singularly vague and unbusinesslike, but which no doubt perfectly answered their purpose among a comparatively minute metropolitan population, the subjects of William III. We allude to general advertisements such as these:—
Last week was imported
- Bacon by Mr Edwards.
- Cheese by Mr Francia.
- Corral Beads by Mr Paggen.
- Crabs Eyes by Mr Harvey.
- Horse Hair by Mr Becens.
- Joynted Babies by Mr Harrison.
- Mapps by Mr Thompson.
- Orange Flower Water by Mr Bellamy.
- Prospective Glasses by Mr Mason.
- Saffron by Mr Western.
- Sturgeon by Mr Kett.
If any desire it other things may be inserted.
In similar style a most extraordinary variety of other things imported are advertised in subsequent numbers, including crystal stones, hops, oxguts, incle, juniper, old pictures, onions, pantiles, quick eels, rushes, spruce beer, sturgeon, trees, brandy, chimney backs, caviar, tobacco-pipes, whale-fins, bugle, canes, sheep’s-guts, washballs and snuff, a globe, aqua fortis, shruffe, quills, waxworks, ostrich feathers, scamony, clagiary paste, Scotch coals, sweet soap, onion seed, gherkins, mum, painted sticks, soap-berries, mask-leather, and so on, for a long time, only giving the names of the importers, without ever mentioning their addresses, until at last a bright idea struck this gentleman, who seems to have been one of those vulgarly said to be before their time, but who are in fact the pioneers who pave the way for all improvements; and so the Collection was enriched with the following notice:—