24. To the Hundreds of Drury I write

                  No 24.       1

To the Hundredsⁱ of Drury I write,
and the rest of my flashy companions,
To the buttocks^i* that pad it all night
      To pimps whores bawds and their stallions
To those that are down in the whit ⁱⁱ
      Rattling their darbiesⁱⁱⁱ with pleasure,
Who laugh at the rum^iii* culls they’ve bit,
While here they are snacking^iv their treasure.

                                  2
This time I expect to be nubb’d^v
      My duds^vi are grown wondrous seedy^vii
I pray you now send me some bub,^viii
      A bottle or two, to the needy.
I beg you won’t bring it yourself
      The hangman is at the Old Bailey
I’d rather you'd send it by half
      For, if they twig^ix you, they’ll nail^x you.

                                  3
Moll Spriggins came here t’other night,
      She tipp’d^xi us a jorum^xii of diddle,^xiii
Garnish is the prison’rs delight,
      We footed away to the fiddle,
Her fortune at diving,^xiv did fail,
      For which she had chang'd habitation
But now the whore pads in the jail
      And laughs at the fools of the nation.

                                   4
This time I expect no reprieve,
      The sheriff’s come down with the warrants,
An account now behind us we leave
      Of our friends, education and parents,
Our bolts are knock'd off in the whit,
      Our friends to die penitent pray us,
The Nubbing cull^xv pops from the pit^xvi
     And into the tumbril^xvii conveys us.

                                 5
Through the streets as our wheels slowly move
      The toll of the death bell dismays us,
With nosegays and gloves we are decked,
      So trim and so gay they array us,
The passage all crowded we see,
      With maidens that move us with pity;
Our air all admiring, agree
      Such lads are not left in the City.

                                 6
Oh! then to the tree I must go,
      The judge he has ordered that sentence.
And then comes a gownsman you know,
      And tells a dull tale of repentance,
By the gullet we’re ty’d very tight,
      We beg all spectators, pray for us,
Our peepers are hid from the light,
      The tumbril shoves off and we morrice.
                         ——————

i. Hundreds— the wretched Courts Lanes and Allie in St Giles
i*. Miserable haggard Prostitutes.
ii. Whit— Tothill Fields Prison
iii. Darbies— Irons. 
iii*. Rum Culls—those whom they robbed
iv. Snacking — dividing—spending.
v. Nubb’d— Hanged
vi. Duds— Cloaths.
vii–Seedy—Worn out.
viii. Bub—Drink.  Liquor.
ix. Twig—See
x. Nail—Seize. Not for Bringing the liquor but because
                             you are known –“want you.”
xi. Tipp’t— Gave 
xii. Jorum— Pot—bowl— 
xiii. Diddle— Punch—mixed liquor— &c  
xiv. Diving—Picking of Pockets.
xv. Nubbing. Cull—Jack Ketch.
xvi. Pit— — Goal.
xvii. Tumbrill— Cart

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