a court case reported in The Times in July 1803, which revolves around the marvellously named crime of âsucking the monkeyâ.
An attorney called Johnson was suing a carrier called Ottadfield (sic) for the price of a 36-gallon cask âof porter, of superior quality, called Brown Stoutâ, which he had bought as a present for his mother and had paid to have delivered to her in Barnsley by wagon. The cask arrived safely but on the way north âan accident happened to it, which now and then took place, namely the sucking the monkey.â Someone had inserted a straw or tube into the cask through a hole bored into it with a gimlet and sucked out all the rich and doubtless deliciously alcoholic contents. All that arrived in Barnsley was what The Times called the âcaput mortuumâ, the empty cask. The beer was described in court as âremarkably fine old porter and very strongâ and âexcellent brown stoutâ. Johnson was awarded £5 2s 2d damages for the loss of the porter and the cost of the cask, the carriage and the booking.
he hee...... :lol:
An attorney called Johnson was suing a carrier called Ottadfield (sic) for the price of a 36-gallon cask âof porter, of superior quality, called Brown Stoutâ, which he had bought as a present for his mother and had paid to have delivered to her in Barnsley by wagon. The cask arrived safely but on the way north âan accident happened to it, which now and then took place, namely the sucking the monkey.â Someone had inserted a straw or tube into the cask through a hole bored into it with a gimlet and sucked out all the rich and doubtless deliciously alcoholic contents. All that arrived in Barnsley was what The Times called the âcaput mortuumâ, the empty cask. The beer was described in court as âremarkably fine old porter and very strongâ and âexcellent brown stoutâ. Johnson was awarded £5 2s 2d damages for the loss of the porter and the cost of the cask, the carriage and the booking.
he hee...... :lol:
