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A Tythe Pig No Bad Sight. Anonymous, 18th C, Engraving. Subject: Doctor’s Wealth, Tythe Laws.
A Tythe Pig No Bad Sight.
The well fed rich Doctor now Dinner is o’er,-
In his Arm Chair gives way to an Afternoon’s snore,
His Belly is fat, and his Countenance ruddy,
High living’s his practice, the Tythe Laws his study.
The Curate may starve; while to slumber inclin’d
He dreams of the Riches to Doctorship join’d:-
Farmer Hodge brings a Pig to avoid Tythe Law strife,
And presents little Squeak to the Doctor’s fair Wife.
To rouze him from sleep, and his Eyes to regale,
She tickles his Nose with the Young Grunter’s Tail;
Shou’d he start with her tickling & wake in a fright,
You’ll allow a Tythe Pig is not a bad sight.
I find this one to be a bit confusing, because what I know of tithing law is all bound up in religion.
Adding to my confusion is the cat clawing at marriage bans. Is the presenter of the pig in need of the doctor’s approval to get married?
I can’t figure out why marriage banns would be with the doctor in the first place, that was the vicar’s territory.
That nice farmer seems to be ogling the doctor’s wife who appears to be much younger than the esteemed doctor.
Caine:
Well, I’ve come across a couple versions of this scene where it’s a parson rather than a doctor receiving the tithe.
Here’s one from the British Museum and one from History Workshop by Oxford University.