“The Budge it is a delicate trade, And a delicate trade of fame; For when that we have bit the bloe, We carry away the game: But if the cully nap us, And the lurres from us take, O then they rub us to the whitt, And it is hardly worth a make. But when that we come to the whitt Our Darbies to behold, And for to take our penitency, And boose the water cold. But when that we come out agen, As we walk along the street, We bite the Culley of his cole, But we are rubbed unto the whitt. And when that we come to the whitt, For garnish they do cry, Mary, faugh, you son of a wh—— Ye shall have it by and by. But when that we come to Tyburn, For going upon the budge, There stands Jack Catch, that son of a w—— That owes us all a grudge And when that he hath noosed us And our friends tips him no cole O then he throws us in the cart And tumbles us into the hole.”—(pp. 5, 6.)
[37] We quote from four out of the five tracts contained in the volume. The title of the tract we do not quote is ‘Hanging not Punishment enough,’ etc., London, 1701.
On the last page of this short tract (which consists of eight pages) we are promised:
“In the next Part you shall have a fuller description.”
3. Street Robberies consider’d; The reason of their being so frequent, with probable means to prevent ’em: To which is added three short Treatises—1. A Warning for Travellers; 2. Observations on House-breakers; 3. A Caveat for Shopkeepers. London, J. Roberts. [no date] Written by a converted Thief.
Shepherd is mentioned in this book as being a clever prison breaker (p. [6]). There is a long list of slang words in this tract. The following are only a few of them:
- Abram, Naked
- Betty, a Picklock
- Bubble-Buff, Bailiff
- Bube, Pox
- Chive, a Knife
- Clapper dudgeon, a beggar born
- Collar the Cole, Lay hold on the money {xxiii}
- Cull, a silly fellow
- Dads, an old man
- Darbies, Iron
- Diddle, Geneva
- Earnest, share
- Elf, little
- Fencer, receiver of stolen goods
- Fib, to beat
- Fog, smoke
- Gage, Exciseman
- Gilt, a Picklock
- Grub, Provender
- Hic, booby
- Hog, a shilling
- Hum, strong
- Jem, Ring
- Jet, Lawyer
- Kick, Sixpence
- Kin, a thief
- Kit, Dancing-master
- Lap, Spoon-meat
- Latch, let in
- Leake, Welshman
- Leap, all safe
- Mauks, a whore
- Mill, to beat
- Mish, a smock
- Mundungus, sad stuff
- Nan, a maid of the house
- Nap, an arrest
- Nimming, stealing
- Oss Chives, Bone-handled knives
- Otter, a sailor
- Peter, Portmantua
- Plant the Whids, take care what you say
- Popps, Pistols
- Rubbs, hard shifts
- Rumbo Ken, Pawn-brokers
- Rum Mort, fine Woman
- Smable, taken
- Smeer, a painter
- Snafflers, Highwaymen
- Snic, to cut
- Tattle, watch
- Tic, trust
- Tip, give
- Tit, a horse
- Tom Pat, a parson
- Tout, take heed
- Tripe, the belly
- Web, cloth
- Wobble, to boil
- Yam, to eat
- Yelp, a crier
- Yest, a day ago
- Zad, crooked
- Znees, Frost
- Zouch, an ungenteel man
- &c., a Bookseller
“The King of the Night, as the Constables please to term themselves, should be a little more active in their employment; but all their business is to get to a watch house and guzzle, till their time of going home comes.” (p. 60.)
“A small bell to Window Shutters would be of admirable use to prevent Housebreakers.” (p. 70.)