¶ All these aboue wryten for the most part walke about Essex, Myddlesex, Sussex, Surrey, and Kent. Then let the reader iudge what number walkes in other Shieres, I feare me to great a number, if they be well vnderstande.
[leaf 27, back][159]Here followyth their pelting speche.[159]
HEre I set before the good Reader the leud, lousey language of these lewtering Luskes and lasy Lorrels, where with they bye and sell the common people as they pas through the countrey. Whych language they terme Peddelars Frenche, a vnknowen toung onely, but to these bold, beastly, bawdy Beggers, and vaine Vacabondes, being halfe myngled with Englyshe, when it is famyliarlye talked, and fyrste placinge thinges by their proper names as an Introduction to this peuyshe spéeche.
- Nab, a head.
- Nabchet, a hat or cap.
- Glasyers, eyes.
- a smelling chete, a nose.
- gan, a mouth.
- a pratling chete, a tounge.
- Crashing chetes, téeth.
- Hearing chetes, eares.
- fambles, handes.
- a fambling chete, a rynge on thy hand.
- quaromes, a body.
- prat, a buttocke.
- stampes, legges.
- a caster, a cloke.
- a togeman, a cote.
- a commission, a shierte.
- drawers, hosen.
- stampers, shooes.
- a mofling chete, a napkyn.
- a belly chete, an apern.
- dudes, clothes.
- a lag of dudes, a bucke of clothes.
- a slate or slates, a shéete or shetes.
- lybbege, a bed.
- bunge, a pursse.
- lowre, monye.
- mynt, golde.
- a bord, a shylling.
- halfe a borde, sixe pence.
- flagg, a groate.
- a wyn, a penny.
- a make, a halfepeny.
- bowse, drynke.
- bene, good.
- benshyp, very good.
- quier, nought.
- a gage, a quarte pot.
- a skew, a cuppe.
- pannam,[160] bread.
- cassan, chéese.
- yaram,[161] mylke.
- lap, butter milke or whey.
- [leaf 28] pek, meate.
- poppelars, porrage.
- ruff pek, baken.
- a grunting chete or a patricos kynchen, a pyg.
- a cakling chete, a cocke or capon.
- a margery prater, a hen.
- a Roger or tyb of the buttery, a Goose.
- a quakinge chete or a red shanke, a drake or ducke.
- grannam, corne.
- a lowhinge chete, a Cowe.
- a bletinge chete, a calfe or shéepe.
- a prauncer, a horse.
- autem, a church.
- Salomon, a alter or masse.
- patrico, a priest.
- nosegent, a Nunne.
- a gybe, a writinge.
- a Iarke, a seale.
- a ken, a house.
- a staulinge ken, a house that wyll receaue stolen ware.
- a bousing ken, a ale house.
- a Lypken, a house to lye in.
- a Lybbege, a bedde.
- glymmar, fyre.
- Rome bouse, wyne.
- lage, water.
- a skypper, a barne.
- stromell, strawe.
- a gentry cofes ken, A noble or gentlemans house.
- a gygger, a doore.
- HARMAN. ROGUES: THEIR PELTING SPECHE. bufe, a dogge.
- the lightmans, the daye.
- the darkemans, the nyght.
- Rome vyle, London.
- dewse a vyle, the countrey.
- Rome mort, the Quene.
- a gentry cofe, a noble or gentleman.
- a gentry morte, A noble or gentle woman.
- the quyer cuffyn,[162] the Iusticer of peace.
- the harman beck, the Counstable.
- the harmans, the stockes.
- Quyerkyn, a pryson house.
- Quier crampinges, boltes or fetters.
- tryninge, hanginge.
- chattes, the gallowes.
- the hygh pad, the hygh waye.
- the ruffmans, the wodes or bushes.
- a smellinge chete, a garden or orchard.
- crassinge chetes, apels, peares or anye other frute.
- to fylche, to beate, to stryke, to robbe.[163]
- to nyp a boung, to cut a pursse.
- To skower the cramprings, [leaf 28, back] to weare boltes or fetters.
- to heue a bough, to robbe or rifle a boeweth.
- to cly the gerke, to be whypped.
- to cutte benle,[164] to speake gently.
- to cutte bene whydds, to speake or geue good wordes.
- to cutte quyre whyddes, to geue euell wordes or euell language.
- to cutte, to saye.
- to towre, to sée.
- to bowse, to drynke.
- to maunde, to aske or requyre.
- to stall, to make or ordaine.
- to cante, to speake.
- to myll a ken, to robbe a house.
- to prygge, to ryde.
- to dup the gyger, to open the doore.
- to couch a hogshead, to lye downe and sléepe.
- to nygle, to haue to do with a woman carnally.
- stow you, holde your peace.
- bynge a waste, go you hence.
- to the ruffian, to the deuell.
- the ruffian cly the, the deuyll take thée.
¶ The vpright Cofe canteth to the Roge.[165]
The vpright man speaketh to the Roge.
VPRIGHTMAN.[166]
Bene Lightmans to thy quarromes, in what lipken hast thou lypped in this darkemans, whether in a lybbege or in the strummell?
HARMAN. THE VPRIGHT COFE CANTETH TO THE ROGE.
God morrowe to thy body, in what house hast thou lyne in all night, whether in a bed, or in the strawe?
ROGE.
I couched a hogshead in a Skypper this darkemans.
I layd[167] me downe to sléepe in a barne this night.