A FLEMISH ACCOUNT

I wonder that some better scholar than myself should not have explained the phrase "Flemish account;" but though I cannot quote authority for the precise expression, I may show whence it is derived. To *flem*, in old Scotch (and in old English too, I believe), is to "run away;" in modern slang, to "make oneself scarce," "to levant." *Flemen* is an outcast, an outlaw. It is easy to understand the application of the word to accounts. Your querist should consult some of the old dictionaries.