The Fleet: Its Rivers, Prison, and MarriagesAshton, John
History
The Fleet: Its Rivers, Prison, and Marriages
Ashton, John
Fleet Prison (London, England); Fleet, River (England)
"But I forgot;--the Stranger and his Chum,
With t'other to, to _Barth'l'mew Fair_ are come;
Where, being seated, and the Supper past,
They drink so deep, and put about so fast,
That 'ere the warning Watchman walks about,
With dismal Tone repeating,--Who goes out?[147]
'Ere St. _Paul's_ Clock no longer will withold
From striking Ten, and the Voice cries,--All told.[148]
'Ere this, our new Companions, every one
In roaring Mirth and Wine, so far were gone,
That every Sense from ev'ry Part was fled,
And were with Difficulty got to Bed;
Where in the Morn, recover'd from his Drink,
The new _Collegian_ may have Time to think;
And, recollecting how he spent the Night,
Explore his Pockets, and not find a Doit.
"Too thoughtless Man! to lavish thus away
A Week's Support in less than half a Day;
But 'tis a Curse attends this wretched Place,
To pay for dear bought Wit in little Space:
The Time shall come, when this new Tenant here,
Will in his Turn _shule_ for a Pot of Beer;
Repent the melting of his Cash too fast,
And snap at Strangers for a Nights Repast."
[Footnote 114: Where the _Fleet Market_ is now, there was, a
few Years since, a Ditch, with a Muddy Channel of Water. The
Market was built at the expense of the Lord Mayor and Court of
Aldermen, who receive the Rent for it.]
[Footnote 115: The Doorkeeper, or he who opens and shuts the
_Jigg_, is call'd the _Jigger_.]
[Footnote 116: Billiards is a very common Game here.]
[Footnote 117: Fine Ale drank in the Coffee-Room, call'd the
_Alderman_, because brew'd at Alderman _Parson's_.]
[Footnote 118: A _Runner_, is a Fellow that goes Abroad of
Errands for the Prisoners.]
[Footnote 119: A common Cant word for Mumping.]
[Footnote 120: Persons who give any considerable Offence, are
often try'd, and undergo the Discipline of the Pump. The
Author was one of these in a drunken Frolick, for which he
condemns himself.]
[Footnote 121: A spacious Place, where there are all Sorts of
Exercises, but especially Fives.]
[Footnote 122: A Publick Place, free for all Prisoners.]
[Footnote 123: Where those lie who can't pay their Master's
Fee.]
[Footnote 124: There are several of those _Jiggers_ or
Doorkeepers, who relieve one another, and when a Prisoner
comes first in, they take a nice Observation of him, for fear
of his escaping.]
[Footnote 125: A cant Word for giving some Money in order to
shew a Lodging.]
[Footnote 126: Which is One Pound Six Shillings and
Eightpence, and then you are entitled to a Bed on the Master's
Side, for which you pay so much per week.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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