Sketches by Boz

Chapter 23

THE PAWNBROKER'S SHOP

Of the numerous receptacles for misery and distress with which the

streets of London unhappily abound, there are, perhaps, none which

present such striking scenes as the pawnbrokers' shops. The very

nature and description of these places occasions their being but

little known, except to the unfortunate beings whose profligacy or

misfortune drives them to seek the temporary relief they offer.

The subject may appear, at first sight, to be anything but an

inviting one, but we venture on it nevertheless, in the hope that,

as far as the limits of our present paper are concerned, it will

present nothing to disgust even the most fastidious reader.

There are some pawnbrokers' shops of a very superior description.

There are grades in pawning as in everything else,