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
11 _Whipjacks_ are such as travel about from town to town under the
notion of Shipwrackt _Seamen_, with a counterfeit licence to beg, which
licence they call a _Gybe_, and the seals to it _Jarks_; their talk is
all of Sea-voyages, but the end of their Land-voyage is for what they
can get, and to rob Booths at Fairs, which they call _Heaving of the
Booth_, at which they are very expert.
12 _Counterfeit Cranks_ are such as pretend themselves to have the
_Falling-sickness_, and by putting a piece of white soap into the corner
of their mouths, will make the froath to come boyling forth to cause
pitty in the beholders; they stare wildly with their eyes to appear as
if distracted, and go half naked to move the greater compassion. These
_Cranks_ have likewise their meetings, and their wenches at command.
13 The _Dummerar_ is Cousin-German to the _Cranks_, for as the one
counterfeits the _falling-sickness_, so this counterfeits dumbness,
making a horrid noise instead of speech by doubling his tongue in his
mouth, but if you give him nothing, he can then open his mouth to curse
you privately. This _Jack_ hath also his _Jill_, upon whom he spends his
_Loure_ at the _Bowsingken_.
14 A _Jackman_ is one that can write and reade, yea some of them have a
smattering in the _Latine_ tongue; which learning of theirs advances
them in office amongst the _Beggars_, as to be _Clark of their Hall_, or
the like. His employment is to make _Gybes_ with _Jarkes_ to them, which
are counterfeit licences with seals, by which he gets store of money to
make himself drunk withal.
15 The _Patrico_ is their Priest, every hedge is his Parish, and every
wandring Rogue and Whore is his Parishioner. His service is onely
marrying of couples, by bidding them go together and multiply, and fill
the world with a generation of vagabonds.
16 _Irish Toyls_ are lusty Rogues who go about with a wallet at their
back, in which they carry pinns, poynts, laces, and such like, and under
colour of selling such wares commit many villanies.
17 A _Swigman_ is a degree higher than an _Irish toyle_, as a Tavern
exceeds an Ale-house, for he carries a pack behind him in stead of a
wallet, and is stored with more sorts of ware than the other, yet
differs little from him in honesty; they both pay tribute to the
_Upright man_, as to their chief.
18 _Glymmerars_ are such as travel up and down with licences to beg,
because their houses have been consumed with fire, for _Glymmer_ in the
_Canting tongue_ signifies fire. They use a very sad tone in their
begging, and tell a lamentable story how the fire destroyed their Barns,
Stables, &c. by which lying tales they get store of _Loure_ to buy _Bub_
at the _Bowsingken_.
19 _Curtals_ are so called because they wear short Cloases, being of the
same nature as the Rogues described before.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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