The English Rogue: Continued in the Life of Meriton Latroon, and Other Extravagants: The Second PartHead, Richard
General
The English Rogue: Continued in the Life of Meriton Latroon, and Other Extravagants: The Second Part
Head, Richard
Rogues and vagabonds -- England -- Fiction
An ancient Gentleman one day brought a suit of Cloaths to our Shop to be
made, who that he might have them the warmer, had bought two yards of
Bayes to cotton his breeches in the inner-side; my Master thought that
was too good for such an use, and therefore took it to himself, and
supplyed the place with old painting Cloath. It happened afterwards the
Gentleman wearing those Cloaths, going to _Islington_, as he went over a
stile, a snag or cleft of the same took hold of his Breeches and rent a
great slash or gap in them, that quite discover’d my Masters theft; for
right against the hole, was the picture of a Devil with a muck-fork in
his hand, which made the gentleman to admire how the Devil he should
come there; searching further he found more of his fellows, and all of
them with muck-forks in their hands, tormenting of _Dives_ in the
flames; this put him in a great rage, to consider how that by the
knavery of the Taylor, he should carry _Hell-fire_ in his Breech;
ripping the other Slop, there was the _Prodigal_ on Horse-back, his
journy into a far Country, Hawks and his Whores, his feeding husks with
Swine, with his returning to his Father, and the killing the fatted
Calf, wherefore in great rage he came to my Master, calling him knave,
thief, and a great many other names, such as came first to his tongues
end; my Master desired him to be quiet, told him it was stole off his
Shop-board, but for his part, he wish’d if he had it that he might find
it in the _Hell_, meaning the _Hell_ under his Shop-board, which was the
receptacle for all stoln goods.
Now those pieces which were condemned to this _Hell_, were termed
Cabadge, and we never made any Cloaths either for men or women, in which
he snipt not some pieces from them; sometimes out of a Suit and Cloak,
enough to make a Boy a payer of breeches, or a doublet, and sometimes
enough for breeches and doublet too. Then we drave a trade with the
Sadlers, for peices of Cloaths to make seats for Sadles. The Cabadge of
course Cloath was to make dust-cloaths for the legs of Country
Plough-men, wollen caps, and mittens for old women; all was fish that
came to net. When a Gentleman bought a suit and cloak of good cloath, if
my Master could but perswade four or five more to buy of the same, out
of them all he would steal a suit and cloak for himself. Then for womens
cloaths, the cabadge of cloath of silver, brancht Sattin, and the like,
went for pin-cushions, pin-pillows, womens purses; and if black,
Church-wardens caps. Cabadge of Tabbee, coloured Taffaty and Sarcenet,
for facings of the hands of doublets, _&c_, when we set on gold and
silver lace, we should stretch it so, that in four or five yards we
would get a quarter of a yard, which with old silver buttons and such
like stuff, went for ends of gold and silver; and sometimes in rich
laces we would rub them so on our knees, that in eight or nine ounces,
half an ounce would come off, which went also to the encrease of ends of
gold and silver.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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