Prigs on their four bones should chop whiners,[n] I swear:
That long over Newgit their Worships may rule,
As the High-toby, mob, crack and screeve[o] model school;
For if Guv’ment was here, not the Alderman’s Bench,
Newgit soon ’ud be bad as “the Pent” or “the Tench.”[p]
Note.—We subjoin a Glossary of Mr. Cracksman’s lingo:—
[a] Prison. Ladies of a certain description. [c] Comrades or fast friends. [d] Thieves speak of themselves as “family-men.” [e] Warders. [f] Night. [g] Meat and drink. [h] A greenhorn. Tricks of the trade. [j] Talking slang. [k] Imprisoned. [l] Up to prison ways. [m] Writing. [n] Thieves should pray on their knees. [o] Highway-robbers, swell-mobsmen, burglars, and forgers. [p] Slang names for Pentonville Model Prison, and Milbank Penitentiary.
Punch. January 31, 1857.
Fancy Portrait of a Bishop Fill-pots.[37]