Argot and Slang. Albert Barrere

      Nineteenth Century.

       AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A THIEF IN THIEVES’ LANGUAGE.

       Table of Contents

      By J. W. HORSLEY,

       Chaplain of H. M. Prison, Clerkenwell.

      Translated into the Language of French Thieves.

      I was born in 1853 at Stamford Hill, Middlesex. My parents removed from there to Stoke Newington, when I was sent to an infant school. Some time afterwards I was taken by two pals (companions) to an orchard to cop (steal) some fruit, me being a mug (inexperienced) at the game. This got to my father’s ears. When I went home he set about me with a strap until he was tired. He thought that was not enough, but tied me to a bedstead. You may be sure what followed. I got loose, tied a blanket and a counterpane together, fastened it to the bedstead, and let myself out of the window, and did not go home that night, but met my two pals and dossed (slept) in a haystack. Early next morning my pals said they knew where we could get some toke (food), and took me to a terrace. We went down the dancers (steps) to a safe, and cleared it out. Two or three days after I met my mother, who in tears begged of me to go home; so I went home. My parents moved to Clapton, when they sent me to school. My pals used to send stiffs (notes) to the schoolmaster, saying that I was wanted at home; but instead of that we used to go and smug snowy (steal linen) that was hung out to dry, or rob the bakers’ barrows. Things went from bad to worse, so I was obliged to leave home again. This time I palled in with some older hands at the game, who used to take me a parlour-jumping (robbing rooms), putting me in where the windows was open. I used to take anything there was to steal, and at last they told me all about wedge (silver-plate), how I should know it by the ramp (hall-mark—rampant lion?); we used to break it up in small pieces and sell it to watchmakers, and afterwards to a fence down the Lane (Petticoat Lane). Two or three times a week I used to go to the Brit. (Britannia Theatre) in Hoxton, or the gaff (penny music-room) in Shoreditch. I used to steal anything to make money to go to these places. Some nights I used to sleep at my pals’ houses, sometimes in a shed where there was a fire kept burning night and day. All this time I had escaped the hands of the reelers (police), but one day I was taken for robbing a baker’s cart, and got twenty-one days. While there I made pals with another one who came from Shoreditch, and promised to meet him when we got out, which I did, and we used to go together, and left the other pals at Clapton.

      Je suis né en 1853 à Stamford Hill, Middlesex. Mes parents, de lago, allèrent se pioler à Stoke Newington, et l’on m’envoya à une école maternelle. Peu de temps après, deux de mes fanandels me menèrent à un verger pour grinchir des fruits, mais je n’étais qu’un sinve à ce flanche. Mon dab apprit la chose, et quand je rentolai à la caginotte il me refila une purge avec une courroie jusqu’à plus soif. Pensant que ce n’était pas assez, il me ligota au pieu. Vous vous doutez de ce qui arriva. Je me débarrassai des ligotes, attachai un embarras à une couverture que je fixai au pieu, et je me laissai glisser par la vanterne. Je ne rappliquai pas à la niche cette nogue-là, mais j’allai retrouver mes deux fanandes et je pionçai dans une meule de foin. Au matois mes fanandels me bonnirent qu’ils conobraient où nous pouvions acquiger de la tortillade et me menèrent à une rangée de pioles. Nous dégringolons les grimpants. Nous embardons dans un garde-manger et nous le rinçons. Deux ou trois reluis après, je me casse le mufle sur ma dabuche, qui, en chialant, me supplie de rappliquer à la niche, ce que j’ai fait. Mes parents alors ont déménagé et sont allés à Clapton. Alors on m’a envoyé à l’école. Mes camerluches balançaient des lazagnes au maître d’école disant qu’on me demandait à la niche, mais au lieu de cela nous allions déflorer la pictouse ou rincer les bagnoles des lartonniers. Les choses allèrent de mal en pis et je fus obligé de redécarrer de la niche. Cette fois je me mis avec des fanandes plus affranchis, qui me menaient avec eux rincer les cambriolles, me faisant enquiller par les vanternes ouvertes. Je mettais la pogne sur toute la camelote bonne à grinchir, et enfin ils me firent entraver tout le truc de la blanquette, et comment je la reconobrerais par la marque; nous la frangissions en petits morceaux et nous la fourgattions chez des boguistes et ensuite chez un fourgue qui demeurait dans la Lane. Deux ou trois fois par semaine je suis allé au Brit. de Hoxton ou au beuglant de Shoreditch. Je grinchissais n’importe quelle camelote pour affurer de la thune afin d’aller à ces endroits. Des sorgues, je pionçais dans les pioles de mes fanandels, quelquefois sous un hangar où il y avait un rif qui riffodait jorne et sorgue. Cependant, j’avais échappé aux pinces de la riflette, mais un reluis j’ai été pomaqué pour avoir rincé une bagnole de lartonnier et enflacqué pendant vingt et un reluis. Lago j’ai eu pour amarre un autre qui venait de Shoreditch et je lui ai promis un rendez-vous pour quand nous serions défouraillés; alors nous sommes devenus amarres d’attaques et nous avons laissé les autres zigues à Clapton.

      At last one day we was at St. John’s Wood. I went in after some wedge. While picking some up off the table I frightened a cat, which upset a lot of plates when jumping out of the window. So I was taken and tried at Marylebone Police Court and sent to Feltham Industrial School. I had not been there a month before I planned with another boy to guy (run away), and so we did, but was stopped at Brentford and took back to the school, for which we got twelve strokes with the birch. I thought when I first went there that I knew a great deal about thieving, but I found there was some there that knew more, and I used to pal in with those that knew the most. One day, while talking with a boy, he told me he was going home in a day or so. He said his friends was going to claim him out because he was more than sixteen years old. When my friends came to see me I told them that they could claim me out, and with a good many fair promises that I would lead a new life if they did so. They got me out of the school. When I got home I found a great change in my father, who had taken to drink, and he did not take so much notice of what I done as he used. I went on all straight the first few moons at costering. One day there was