“Have you seen the town?” asked Clink, civilly; “there is a very fine market.”
“Yes, I have seen the market,” answered Jack. “I went into it to buy a slave, but I did not see one that I liked.”
“Ah!” said Clink; “and yet they had some very fine articles.” Here he pointed to the poor little woman, and said, “Now that’s a useful body enough, and I had her very cheap.”
“What did you give for her?” said Jack, sitting down.
“Three pitchers,” said Clink, “and fifteen cups and saucers, and two shillings in the money of the town.”
“Is their money like this?” said Jack, taking out his shilling.
When Clink saw the shilling he changed colour, and said, very earnestly, “Where did you get that, dear sir?”
“Oh, it was given me,” said Jack, carelessly.
Clink looked hard at the shilling, and so did the fairy woman, and Jack let them look some time, for he amused himself with throwing it up several times and catching it. At last he put it back in his pocket, and then Clink heaved a deep sigh. Then Jack took out a penny, and began to toss that up, upon which, to his great surprise, the little brown man fell on his knees, and said, “Oh, a shilling and a penny—a shilling and a penny of mortal coin! What would I not give for a shilling and a penny!”
