Pray continue your history," said I to the jockey, "only please to do so in a language which we can understand, and first of all interpret the sentence with which you began it." "I told you that my grandfather was a shorter," said the jockey, "by which is meant a gentleman who shortens or reduces the current coin of these realms, for which practice he was scragg'd, that is, hung by the scrag of the neck.

And when I said that my father was a smasher, I meant one who passes forged notes, thereby doing his best to smash the Bank of England; by being lagg'd, I meant he was laid fast, that is, had a chain put round his leg and then transported." "Your explanations are perfectly satisfactory," said I; "the three first words are metaphorical, and the fourth, lagg'd, is the old genuine Norse term, lagda, which signifies laid, whether in durance, or in bed, has nothing to do with the matter.

What you have told me confirms me in an opinion which I have long entertained, that thieves' Latin is a strange, mysterious speech, formed of metaphorical terms, and words derived from various ancient languages.

Pray tell me, now, how the gentleman, your grandfather, contrived to shorten the coin of these realms ?" "You shall hear," said the jockey; "but I have one thing to beg of you, which is, that when I have once begun my history you will not interrupt me with questions; I don't like them, they stops one, and puts one out of one's tale, and are not wanted; for anything which I think can't be understood, I should myself explain, without being asked.

My grandfather reduced or shortened the coin of this country by three processes.