“…placed his wife on a large oak chair with a rope or halter of straw round her neck. He then spoke… “I have to offer to your notice my wife, Mary Anne Thomson… she has been to me only a born serpent. It is her wish as well as mine to part forever… I took her for my comfort and the good of my home, but she has become my tormentor, a domestic curse, a night invasion and a daily devil.”
Having detailed his wife’s apparent faults, Thomson then gave an account of her virtues:
“She can read novels and milk cows… she can make butter and scold the maid; she can sing Moore’s melodies and plain her frills and caps. She cannot make rum, gin or whisky but she is a good judge of the quality from long experience in testing them.”
Thomson’s initial asking price was 50 shillings – but after an hour without offers, he eventually agreed to accept 20 shillings and a Newfoundland dog. The buyer was another farmer, Mr Henry Mears, who left Carlisle with his purchase.
Source: The Annual Register, vol. 3, 1832. Content on this page is © Alpha History 2019-23. Content may not be republished without our express permission. For more information please refer to our Terms of Use or contact Alpha History.