I have but ninepence in ready money, but I can draw for a thousand pounds.

The line contrasts immediate cash on hand (“ninepence in ready money”) with access to credit or funds via a bill of exchange (“draw for a thousand pounds”). It captures a familiar early‑modern financial reality: a gentleman might be temporarily cash-poor yet still command substantial resources through reputation, connections, or credit instruments. As a remark attributed to Addison, it is often used to illustrate the difference between liquidity and solvency, and—more pointedly—the social power of credit: wealth can function as promise and trust as much as coin. The wit lies in the disproportion between the tiny sum and the grand claim, exposing how status can substitute for cash.