Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-06-08
JARGoN OF ENGLISH TRAMPs.
It Dates From the Reformation and is
a Picturesque Language.

From the London Referee.
The English government is going to con-
slider the vagrant. Nagrancy has engaged
the attention of the authorities ever since
1t started In the wholesale line with the
reformation. In good Queen Bess' days
a vagrant was whipped for being one for
the first time. he had portion of his right
ear cut OFF If he repeated the performance
and II he was convicted a third time he
was sent on a long journey from which
there is no possibility of return. Milder
statutes came with the Georges. Our
present vagrant act was pa ssed in 1924 and
amended In 1898 The vagrant has not been
amended at all,
Tramping runs I'm families I have traced
100 years. and found that FIVE generations
OF them had been born In the workhouse
and all had been lifelong vagabonds. 80,
The jargon of the genuine tramp Is In
teresting. 1t dates from the days Of the
reformation. when the abolition of the mon
astertes flung thousands of people on the
roads, and they tramped from town to.
town with the gypsies and the Italian fair
folk They picked up Romany and Italian
words which remain today I'm "the can't,
language, which is that OF thieves, tramps,
beggars, stroiling players and show folk,
Some of the 1argon of vagabondage can
be traced to other and even more Interest,"
Ing sources. Long before the days when IL
was known as pedlers' French In the coun-
try and St. Giles Greek In London IL had
adopted Hebrew words from the Jew hawk
ers and fences. Flemish Dutch and Span
ish words brought to IL by the disbanded
soldiers who had fought in the low coun-
U ana In Spain and Wallachian and
Greek words brought to the high roads and
fairs OF England BY the gypsies OF eastern
Europe and added to the common stock
The language of vagrancy is more pictur-
plenty OF interesting characters amour
them male and female. You are II is
true, not likely to learn much of them
unless you know enough OF their jargon to
cfaim comradeship. Then you will find they
are full OF humorous anecdote, and CHEEKY
Optimists withal
They are a conservative people and IL is
interesting to note that many of the words
which were tramps' language when Har-
man compiled his dictionary in L56O are In
the trampS and thieves yernacular at this
very second that ticks from the clock. The
boosting ken" of the sixteenth century Is
the boosting KEN of the twentieth The
beak. a constable. has become the
oeak' MAGISTRATE: Dudes" clothes.
cheese, autem" is still church. and
mort, slightly altered is woman and an
'autem mort" or church woman. a wife.
Satee sold are still pence, and the
tnIer ana the vagrant still reckon I'm Italian
Tray saltee" Is three pence -chinker
saitee Is five pence, eight pence is otter
saree. nine pence Is 'nobba saltee" and
ten pence Is 'dacha saltee"-Itaiian ire
cinque. otto. move, dieci-six pence Ia some
times tester" which was its oficiaI
name In the days of Henry VIII and a
sn,iilng Is beong. italian. bianco-white.
Rome. which meant good or chief Is
today rum" In the language of the road
m EhzaDeths time the queen was the
..! home mort, and London was Rome
vile" In buskers' slang. the manager of
a theater or show is To-day 1.-THE rum Gull. %
The tramps are an ancient fraternity IL
they are forced OF the road Into labor coIo-
MES; l wonder II their Venerable Jargon will
gradually pass away. 4 don't think so. be-
cause II Is a secret language, and at no
Time VIII the tramp find q secret language
more useful than when ne and HIS fei-
lows are In difficulties can imagine no
dimculty greater to the true born tramp
than hard work !. --F