Sinks of London Laid Open: A Pocket Companion for the Uninitiated, to Which is Added a Modern Flash Dictionary Containing all the Cant Words, Slang Terms, and Flash Phrases Now in Vogue, with a List of the Sixty Orders of Prime Coves
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Sinks of London Laid Open: A Pocket Companion for the Uninitiated, to Which is Added a Modern Flash Dictionary Containing all the Cant Words, Slang Terms, and Flash Phrases Now in Vogue, with a List of the Sixty Orders of Prime Coves
Cant; English language -- Slang -- Dictionaries; London (England) -- Description and travel; London (England) -- Social life and customs; Vice
Jack thumped away to a seat, clapped his pot of beer upon the table,
and threw down his hat alongside. He then very gravely took out of his
mouth a tolerable sized quid of tobacco, and, having safely deposited
that treasure in his jacket pocket, sent, the next moment, a torrent
of Virginian juice below the bars. These preliminaries being over, he
proceeded to rummage forth the contents of his bag; and among the odds
and ends, hauled out a substantial piece of the wing of an ox, and
showed that his cruise had not been a bad one. With this goodly
blunter of the keen edge of hungry appetite securely clutched in his
fist, it may be supposed that the jack-knife did not lag behind;
indeed, he had evidently enjoyed many a north-easter, for his
appetite appeared to be of that sort which brooks no delay; never once
allowing him to answer the many questions that were addressed to him,
as "What cheer to-day, Jack?" &c., or so much as to give his grinders
one moment's rest, save, and only then when he took a hearty pull at
Messrs. Perkins and Co.
This highly-refreshing task being over, he handed a portion of his
grub, and a draught of porter, to a decently-dressed young man, who
had apparently nothing to chew, save his own thoughts. Then drawing
from his pocket his old crony--the pipe, and stretching forth his
timber toe, to feel as it were at home, commenced addressing the young
fellow as follows. And here let us remind the reader, that it will be
impossible for us to describe a dialogue among this class, which is of
the lowest of the low, in the language of polished society; we will
therefore, in lieu of the emphatic words with which they generally
garnish their conversation, use the delicate but meaning dashes ----
----.
"Harry," says the tar, "have you not been at work to-day, that you
look so devilish blue?" (working, by the bye, is the honest word used
by those honest people for begging, they having as correct an idea of
what is meant by respectable terms as their more respectable fellow
men).
"Work! Aye," replied Harry, "I went out this morning with Williams. We
worked all the way to Piccadilly, then down the Haymarket, along Pall
Mall, and were, just beginning with some ladies in the Park, when we
were stopped by a policeman, and very nigh got tapped, and ---- ----
if I could raise heart to cadge any more."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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