§ He maunds Abram, he begs as a madde man
¶ Bung, is now vsed for a pocket, heretofore for a purse
¶ Chates, the Gallowes: here he mistakes both the simple word, because he so found it printed, not knowing the true originall thereof, and also in the compound; as for _Chates_, it should be _Cheates_, which word is vsed generally for things, as _Tip me that Cheate_, Giue me that thing: so that if you will make a word for the Gallous, you must put thereto this word _treyning_, which signifies { xix} hanging; and so _treyning cheate_ is as much to say, hanging things, or the Gallous, and not _Chates_.
§ Gilkes for the gigger, false keyes for the doore or picklockes
§ A Feager of Loges, one that beggeth with false passes or counterfeit writings
¶ Nigling, company keeping with a woman: this word is not vsed now, but _wapping_, and thereof comes the name _wapping morts_, whoores.
¶ Smellar, a garden; not smelling cheate, for that’s a Nosegay
“And thus haue I runne ouer the Canter’s Dictionary; to speake more at large would aske more time then I haue allotted me; yet in this short time that I haue, I meane to sing song for song with the Belman, ere I wholly leaue him.” [Here follow three Canting Songs.] Sign. E 1, back—E 4.
“And thus hath the Belman, through his pitifull ambition, caused me to write that I would not: And whereas he disclaims the name of Brotherhood, I here vtterly renounce him & his fellowship, as not desirous to be rosolued of anything he professeth on this subiect, knowing my selfe to be as fully instructed herein as euer he was.”—Sign. F.
In the second Part of his _Belman of London_, namely, his _Lanthorne and Candle-light_, 1609, Dekker printed a Dictionary of Canting, which is only a reprint of Harman’s (p. 82–4, below). A few extracts from this _Lanthorne_ are subjoined:
“This word _canting_ seemes to bee deriued from the latine _verbe canto_, which signifies in English, to sing, or to make a sound with words,—that is to say, to speake. And very aptly may _canting_ take his deriuation, a _cantando_, from singing, because, amongst these beggerly consorts that can play vpon no better instruments, the language of _canting_ is a kind of musicke; and he that in such assemblies can _cant_ { xx} best, is counted the best Musitian.”—_Dekker’s Lanthorne and Candle-light_, B. 4. back.