od, he might
think himself fortunate if his annoyances were confined to the shouts and
cries of the populace. The obnoxious hat was often snatched from his head
and thrown into the gutter by some practical joker, and then raised,
covered with mud, upon the end of a stick, for the admiration of the
spectators, who held their sides with laughter, and exclaimed, in the
pauses of their mirth, "_Oh, what a shocking bad hat!_" "_What a shocking
bad hat!_" Many a nervous poor man, whose purse could but ill spare the
outlay, doubtless purchased a new hat before the time, in order to avoid
exposure in this manner.

The origin of this singular saying, which made fun for the metropolis for
months, is not involved in the same obscurity as that which shrouds the
origin of _Quoz_ and some others. There had been a hotly contested
election for the borough of Southwark, and one of the candidates was an
eminent hatter. This gentleman, in canvassing the electors, adopted a
somewhat professional mode of conciliating their good-will, and of bribing
them without letting them perceive that they were bribed. Whenever he
called upon or met a voter whose hat was not of the best material, or,
being so, had seen its best days, he invariably said, "_What a shocking
bad hat you have got; call at my warehouse, and you shall have a new
one!_" Upon the day of election this circumstance was remembered, and his
opponents made the most of it, by inciting the crowd to keep up an
incessant cry of "_What a shocking bad hat!_" all the time the honourable
candidate was addressing them. From Southwark the phrase spread over all
London, and reigned for a time the supreme slang of the season.

_Hookey Walker_, derived from the chorus of a popular ballad, was also
high in favour at one time, and served, like its predecessor _Quoz_, to
answer all questions. In the course of time, the latter word alone became
the favourite, and was uttered with a peculiar drawl upon the first
syllable, and a sharp turn upon the last. If a lively servant girl was
importuned for a kiss by a fellow she did not care about, she cocked her
little nose, and cried "_Walker!_" If a dustman asked his friend for the
loan of a shilling, and his friend was either unable or unwilling to
accommodate him, the probable answer he would receive was, "_Walker!_" If
a drunken man was reeling about the streets, and a boy pulled his
coat-tails, or a man knocked his hat over his eyes to make fun of him, th