Sir Alistair Chichester is in the habit of quaffing two pints of bitter at The Thane of Thoth every afternoon from 3 to 4 p.m., excepting Sundays. Each pint costs a quid tuppence. (Sir Alistair, of course, is indifferent to the pecuniary setback of his libations. He lives, after all, in Chichester Towers on the splendid interest of his ancestral bequeathment.)

Question: Suppose Sir Alistair stoops to charitable giving? He contributes what he otherwise would fritter away in defrayal of his quotidian refreshment to, let us say, Saint Mordred’s Institution for the Afflicted. How much would Sir Alistair’s contribution, accrued in the lapse of thrice a fortnight, permit Miss Primley, the headmistress of Saint Mordred’s, to squander on ready-to-wear apparel?

(Copyright 2018 James Mansfield Nichols. All rights reserved.)