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STORY Of BENJAMIN POPE, ESQ.
THE USURER.
Mr. Pope died in the Fleet Prison, London, on the 2d of August 1794 in the 67th year of his age, after suffering imprisonment eleven years and three months.
He was originally a tanner in Southwark, by London; and dealt so largely and extensively in this branch, that his stock in trade was for many years supposed to be worth sixty or seventy thousand pounds.
In the latter part of his time in this trade, and when he was well known to be worth so much money as to be called Plumb Pope, he took to the lending of money, discounting, buying annuities, mortgages, &c.
In this branch of business it appears Mr. Pope was not so successful as in his former trade; for the name of Pope the Usurer every now and then appears in the proceedings of our courts of law when our sages in the law commonly differed widely from Mr. Pope, in their opinion of his practices in this branch of business.
The most remarkable, and the last instance of this sort, was, when he was cast in Ten thousand Pounds damages for some usurious or illegal practices in some money-transactions with Sir Alexander Leith. This was generally thought a smart sentence, and perhaps the well known and well scouted character of the man contributed not a little towards it. Mr. Pope himself thought it so oppressive and unjust, that he never in his life, afterwards left off complaining loudly of it, and even printed a case, setting forth the great hardship and loss he suffered.
At first Mr Pope, to be up with his plaintiff, went abroad to France with all his effects and property, where a man of his advanced years, ample fortune, and without any family but his wife, a most worthy and respected woman, might certainly have lived very comfortably: But Mr. Pope abroad was removed from his friends and customers; and his money being idle, which (illegible text) considered by him as a great misfortune (illegible text) come home; and, to shew his (illegible text)
