The notorious characters mentioned, are a "ruffler[BW]; a upright man[BX]; a hoker or angglear[BY]; a roge[BZ]; a wylde roge[CA]; a prygger of prauncers; a pallyarde[CB]; a frater[CC]; a Abraham man[CD]; a fresh water mariner, or whipiacke; a counterfet cranke[CE]; a dommerar[CF]; a dronken tinckar[CG]; a swadder or pedler; a jarke man, and a patrico[CH]; a demaunder for glymmar[CI]; a bawdy basket[CJ]; a antem morte[CK]; a walking morte; a doxe; a dell; a kynchin morte; and a kynchen co."

From such a list, several instances of the tricks, as well as specimens of the language of the thieves of the day, might with ease be extracted, did not the limits of my little volume compel me to refrain from entering at large into this history of rogues; a restriction I the more regret, from its containing several passages illustrating the manners of that period, and which would be found of material use towards explaining many of the allusions met with in our early English dramas and now but imperfectly understood.

"¶ Prygger of Prauncers. (Sign. C. iii. b.)

"A prigger of Prauncers be horse stealers, for to prigge signifieth in their language to steale, and a prauncer is a horse, so beinge put together, the matter is plaine. These go commonly in jerkins of leather or of white frese, & carry little wandes in their hands, and will walke through grounds and pasturs, to search and se horses mete for their purpose. And if thei chaunce to be met and asked by the owners of the grounde what they make there, they fayne straighte that they have loste theyr waye, and desyre to be enstructed the beste way to suche a place. These will also repayre to gentlemens houses, and aske theyr charitye, and will offer theyr seruice. And if you aske them what they can doe, they wil saye that they can kepe two or three geldinges, and waite vppon a gentleman. These haue also theyr women that, walkinge from them in other places, marke where and what they see abrode, and sheweth these priggars therof, when they meete, whych is wythin a weeke or two. And loke, where they steale any thynge, they conuey the same at the leaste three score miles of, or more. There was a gentleman, a verye friende of myne, rydynge from London homewarde into Kente, hauinge within three myles of his house busynesse, alyghted of his horse, and hys man also, in a pretye village, where diuers houses were, and looked about hym where he myghte haue a conuenyent person to walke his horse, because he would speak we a farmer that dwelte on the backe side of the sayde village, little aboue a quarter of a myle from the place where he lighted, and had his man to waight vpon hym, as it was mete for his callynge: espieng a priggar there standing, thinkinge the same to dwel there, charging this prity prigginge person to walke his horse well, and that they might not stande still for takynge of colde, and at his returne (which he saide should not be longe,) he would geue him a peny to drinke, and so wente about his busines. Thys peltynge priggar, proude of his praye, walketh hys horses vp and downe, till he sawe the gentleman out of sighte, and leapes him into the saddell, and awaye be goeth a mayne. This gentleman returning, and findyng not his horses, sente his man to the one ende of the village, & he went himselfe vnto the other ende, and enquired as he went for hys horses that were walked, and began somewhat to suspecte, because neither he nor his man coulde neyther see nor fynde him. Then this gentleman diligently enquired of three or foure towne dwellers there whether any such person, declaring his stature, age, apparel, and so manye linamentes of his body as he coulde call to remembraunce. And vna voce, all sayde that no such man dwelte in their streate, neither in the parish that they knewe of, but some did wel remember that suche a one they sawe there lyrkinge and huggeringe[CL] two houres before the gentleman came thether and a straunger to them. J had thought, quoth this gentleman, he had here dwelled, and marched home mannerly in his botes: farre from the place he dwelt not. J suppose at his comming home he sente such wayes as he suspected or thought mete to search for this prigger, but hetherto he neuer harde any tidinges againe of his palfreys. J had the best gelding stolen out of my pasture that J had amogst others, while this boke was first a printing."

At the end of the several characters, the author gives a list of the names of the most notorious thieves of his day, a collection of the cant phrases used by them, with their significations; and a dialogue between an uprighte man and a roge, which I shall transcribe:—

"The vpright Cose canteth to the Roger.
The vprighte man spaketh to the roge.

Man.Bene lyghtmans to thy quarromes in what lipkē hast thou lipped in this darkemanes; whether in a lybbege or in the strummell?
God morrowe to thy bodye, in what house hast thou lyne in all night whether in a bed, or in the strawe?
Roge.J couched a hogeshed in a skypper this darkemans.
I laye me down to sleepe in a barne this night.
Man.J towre ye strummell tryne vpon thy nabcher & togman.
I see the straw hange upon thy cap and coate.
Roge.J saye by the Salomon J wyll lage it of with a gage of bene bouse then cut to my nose watch.
J sweare by the masse J wyll wash it of with a quart of drinke, then saye to me what thou wilt.
Man.Why, hast thou any lowre in thy bouge to bouse?
Why, hast thou any money in thy purse to drinke?
Roge.But a flagge, a wyn, and a make.
But a grot, a penny, and a halfe-penny.
Man.Why where is the kene that hath the bene bouse?
Where is the house that hath the good drinke?
Roge.A bene mort hereby at the signe of the prauncer.
A good wyfe here by at the signe of the hors.
Man.J cutt it is quyer bouse J bousd a flagge the laste darkemans.
J saye it is small and naughtye drynke, J dranke a groate there the last night.
Roge.But bouse there a bord, and thou shalt haue beneship.
But drinke there a shyllinge, and thou shalt haue very good.
Tower ye, yander is the kene, dup the gygger, and maund that is beneshype.
Se you, yonder is the house, open the doore, and aske for the best.
Man.This bouse is as benshyp as rome bouse.
This drinke is as good as wyne.
Now J tower that bene bouse makes nase nabes.
Now J se that good drynke makes a dronken heade.
Maunde of this morte what bene pecke is in her ken.
Aske of this wyfe what good meate shee hath in her house.
Roge.She hath a cacling chete, a grunting chete, ruff pecke, cassan, and popplarr of yarum.
She hath a hen, a pyg, baken, chese and mylke porrage.
Man.That is beneshyp to oure watche.
That is very good for vs.
Now we haue well bousd, let vs strike some chete.
Nowe we haue well dronke, let vs steale some thinge.
Yonder dwelleth a quyere cuffen it were beneshype to myll hym.
Yonder dwelleth a hoggeshe and choyrlyshe man it weare very well donne to robbe him.
Roge.Nowe, bynge we a waste to the hygh pad, the ruff-manes is by.
Naye, let vs go hence to the hygh waye, the wodes is at hande.
Man.So may we happen on the harmanes and cly the jarke, or to the quyer ken and skower quyaer cramprings and so to tryning on the chates.
So we maye chaunce to set in the stockes, eyther be whypped, eyther had to prison-house, and there be shackeled with bolttes and fetters, and then to hange on the gallowes.
[Rogue.]Gerry gan the ruffian clye thee.
A corde in thy mouth, the deuyll take thee.
Man.What! stowe you bene cofe and cut benar whydds; and byng we to some vyle to nyp a bong, so shall we haue lowre for the bousing ken and when we byng back to the deuseauye, we wyll fylche some duddes of the ruffemans, or myll the ken for a lagge of dudes.
What! holde your peace, good fellowe, and speake better wordes; and go we to London to cut a purse, then shal we haue money for the ale-house, and when we come backe agayne into the countrey, we wyll steale some lynnen clothes of one hedges, or robbe some house for a bucke of clothes."

I have been induced, from the curiosity and rarity of this tract, to extend my account of it farther, perhaps, than many of my readers may think reasonable, and shall, therefore, only add a specimen of Harman's poetry, with which the original terminates.

"☞ Thus J conclude my bolde beggar's booke,
That all estates most playnely maye see;
As in a glasse well pollyshed to looke,
Their double demeaner in eche degree;
Their lyues, their language, their names as they be;
That with this warning their myndes may be warmed
To amende their mysdeedes, and so lyue vnharmed."

Another tract of the same description is noticed in Herbert's Ames (p. 885.) as printed so early as in 1565. A copy of the second edition in the Bodleian Library, possesses the following title:—"The Fraternitye of Uacabondes. As wel of ruflyng Vacabondes, as of beggerly, of women as of men, of gyrles as of boyes, with their proper names and qualities. With a description of the crafty company of Cousoners and Shifters. Whereunto also is adioyned the xxv orders of Knaues, otherwyse called a Quartern of Knaues. Confirmed for euer by Cocke Lorell[CM], &c. Imprinted at London by Iohn Awdeley, dwellyng in little Britayne streete without Aldersgate. 1575." This, although much shorter than Harman's, contains nearly the same characters, and is therefore thus briefly dismissed. An account of it, drawn up by the editor of the present volume, may be found in Brydges' British Bibliographer, vol. ii. p. 12.