ere kind of

[Mher]

Hi, people. I have three questions at once for the given sentence.

1. What is "ere kind of" supposed to mean?
2. What is meant by "cattymount"?
3. What is the meaning of "rough-looking"?


"What do you mean by yowling in that ere kind of style, like a cattymount?" said a fourth; and hereupon I was seized and shaken without ceremony, for several minutes, by a junto of very rough-looking individuals."
(http://poestories.com/read/premature)

 

[Mrfatso]

I might be wrong but these are my thoughts.
1) "ere kind of", may be "that there kind of", in some dialects of English "that there" is a common way to refer to something.
2) Yowling is commonly the word used to describe one type of the calls of a cat, cattymount must be a way of referring to a cat in Poes day.
3) Rough refers an unrefined, thuggish person.

A way to paraphrase it today might be.

"What do you mean by yowling like a cat, said a fourth; and I was seized and shaken without ceremony, for several minutes by a group of thugs"

 

[Mher]

I might be wrong but these are my thoughts.
1) "ere kind of", may be "that there kind of", in some dialects of English "that there" is a common way to refer to something.
2) Yowling is commonly the word used to describe one type of the calls of a cat, cattymount must be a way of referring to a cat in Poes day.
3) Rough refers an unrefined, thuggish person.

A way to paraphrase it today might be.

"What do you mean by yowling like a cat, said a fourth; and I was seized and shaken without ceremony, for several minutes by a group of thugs"

Are you sure about "thugs"? Given what comes next, I think "rough-looking" here means something like "tired" or maybe "unrefined" but not "thuggish."

 

[Mrfatso]

Are you sure about "thugs"? Given what comes next, I think "rough-looking" here means something like "tired" or maybe "unrefined" but not "thuggish."

The Oxford dictionary entry for rough gives one of the definitions of rough as the following.

1chiefly BritishA disreputable and violent person:the rear of the column was attacked by roughs

From the entry here: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/rough

Although it is noted as chiefly British, Poes style is as you know close to some British usage as in the 19th century there was not as much difference between BrE and AmE as there is today.

However after reading the part of the short story perhaps thuggish looking, or disreputable looking would be a better way to phrase it.

 

[JMurray]

not a teacher

cattymount
http://theprematureburialbypoe.wikispaces.com/cattymount

 

[Mher]

not a teacher

cattymount
http://theprematureburialbypoe.wikispaces.com/cattymount

Thank you so much, JMurray. The page which you have provided is very helpful.