"herring broth"

[Mark A Mandel]

On Tue, 3 Jun 2003, George Thompson wrote:

#As a contribution to our researches into food history, I offer the following:
#
#John Middleton was indicted for an assault on Mary Gibson.  The
#prosecutrix is a married woman of reputation, a native of Ireland.
#On Sunday the 2d. inst. the prisoner came into her apartment, where
#she and her husband were at breakfast, and enquired if she could not
#give him some herring-broth.  Conceiving this to be a gross national
#as well as personal insult, the prosecutrix threw the contents of the
#slop-bowl in his face, and he departed to all appearance perfectly
#satisfied.  [Later, he meets her in the street, as she is leaving
#church, and kicks her,] telling her at the same time that he was
#giving her a little herring-broth.  [6 months.] New-York Commercial
#Advertiser, August 18, 1807, p. 2, col. 4 - p. 3, col. 1

I note that "prosecutrix" is evidently used as the feminine not of
"prosecutor", but for what today would be called "plaintiff".

-- Mark A. Mandel