“Asking pardon doesn’t cure the bump.”[97]--[_Martinique._]
[97] In the Creole of Guyana this proverb exists in a very curious
form: _Ago pa guéri maleng_.--“the excuse doesn’t cure the hurt.” M.
Alfred de Saint-Quentin in his work upon this remarkably fantastic and
melodious Creole dialect, says that _Ago_ is the only word of purely
African origin he has been able to find in the Guyana patois. On the
Gold coast _ago_! is a warning cry: “Take care!--clear the way!” The
Guyana slaves retained the word in a different sense. The negro who
accidentally jostles anybody, still exclaims _Ago!_--but it now means
“Beg pardon,” or “Excuse me!”