— That they should neither learn to read nor write, that he may have them the better under command.
V. — That they should appear every morning by nine, on the parade, to receive necessary orders.
VI. — That none should presume to follow the scent but such as he ordered on that party.
VII. — That if any one gave them shoes or stockings, they should convert them into money to play.
VIII. — That they should steal nothing they could not come at, for fear of bringing a scandal upon the company.
IX. — That they should cant better than the Newgate birds, pick pockets without bungling, outlie a Quaker, outswear a lord at a gaming-table, and brazen out all their villainies beyond an Irishman.
37. Cell.
38. Newgate.
39. A woman whose husband has been hanged.
40. A dancing-master.
41. “Nothing, comrades; on, on,” supposed to be addressed by a thief to his confederates.
42. Thus Victor Hugo, in “Le Dernier Jour d’un Condamné,” makes an imprisoned felon sing:
“J’le ferai danser une danse
Où il n’y a pas de plancher.”
43. Thieves in prison.
44. Shoplifter.
45. Pickpocket.
46. Handkerchiefs.
47. Rings.
48. To the pawnbroker.
49. Snuff-boxes.
50. Pickpocket.
51. The two forefingers used in picking a pocket.
52. Pickpocket.
53. Pick a pocket.
54. No inside coat-pocket; buttoned up.
55. Scissors.
56. Steal a pocket-book.
57. Best-made clothes.
58. Thief.
59. With my hair dressed in the first fashion.
60. With several rings on my hands.
61. Seals.
62. Gold watch.
63. Laced shirt.
64. Gentlemanlike.
65. Easily than forged notes could I pass.
66. Favorite mistress.
67. Police.
68. Taken at length.
69. Cast for transportation.
70. Fetters.
71. Turnkey.
72. Gipsy.
73. Pickpockets.
74. This song describes pretty accurately the career of an extraordinary individual, who, in the lucid intervals of a half-crazed understanding, imposed himself upon the credulous inhabitants of Canterbury, in the year 1832, as a certain ”Sir William Percy Honeywood Courtenay, Knight of Malta;” and contrived — for there was considerable “method in his madness”— to support the deception during a long period. The anachronism of his character in a tale — the data of which is nearly a century back — will, perhaps, be overlooked, when it is considered of how much value, in the illustration of “wise saws,” are “modern instances.” Imposture and credulity are of all ages; and the Courtenays of the nineteenth are rivalled by the Tofts and Andrés of the eighteenth century. The subjoined account of the soi-disant Sir William Courtenay is extracted from “An Essay on his Character, and Reflections on his Trial,” published at the theatre of his exploits: “About Michaelmas last it was rumored that an extraordinary man was staying at the Rose Inn of this city — Canterbury — who passed under the name of Count Rothschild, but had been recently known in London by the name of Thompson! This would have been sufficient to excite attention, had no other incidents materially added to the excitement. His costume and countenance denoted foreign extraction, while his language and conversation showed that he was well acquainted with almost every part of this kingdom. He was said to live with singular frugality, notwithstanding abundant samples of wealth, and professions of an almost unlimited command of money. He appeared to study retirement, if not concealment, although subsequent events have proved that society of every grade, beneath the middle class, is the element in which he most freely breathes. He often decked his person with a fine suit of Italian clothing, and sometimes with the more gay and imposing costume of the Eastern
