he
western world. The number of these wretched creatures is so great, that
authority, weary of contending with them, has left them to take their own
course, and the public to guard their own sapeks and goods. These
worthies work, as a matter of preference, in the houses of repose and the
inns. Their _modus operandi_ is this: Two of them, associated together
for the purpose, hawk about various articles of merchandise, boots,
skin-coats, bricks of tea, and what not. They offer these for sale to
travellers. While one of them engages the attention of the destined
victim, by displaying his goods and bargaining, the other ferrets about
and pockets whatever he can lay his hands on. These rascals have
inconceivable skill in counting your sapeks for you, in such a way as to
finger fifty or a hundred or more of them without your having the
slightest notion as to what is going on. One day, two of these little
thieves came to offer for our purchase a pair of leathern boots.
Excellent boots! said they; boots such as we could not find in any shop
in the whole town; boots that would keep out the rain for days; and as to
cheapness, perfectly unexampled. If we missed this opportunity, we
should never have such another. Only just before they had been offered
1200 sapeks for them! As we did not want boots, we replied that we would
not have them at any price. Thereupon the acting merchant assumed a
lofty tone of generosity. We were foreigners; we should have them for
1000 sapeks, 900, 800, 700. "Well," said we, "we certainly don't want
any boots just now, yet, doubtless, as you say, these are very cheap, and
it will be worth while to buy them as a reserve." The bargain was
accordingly concluded; we took our purse, and counted out 700 sapeks to
the merchant, who counted them over himself, under our very eyes,
pronounced the amount correct, and once more laid the coin before us. He
then called out to his companion who was poking about in the court-yard:
"Here, I've sold these capital boots for 700 sapeks." "Nonsense," cried
the other, "700 sapeks! I won't hear of such a thing." "Very well," said
we; "come, take your boots and be off with you." He was off, and so
quickly, that we thought it expedient to count our sapeks once more;
there were a hundred and fifty of them gone, and that was not all; while
one of these rascals had been pocketing our money under our very nose,
the other had bagged two great iron pins that we had dr