sharpers, you must not only
expect, but deserve to be cheated by them for your
credulity; for who would go with his eyes open into a den of
thieves, but in expectation of being robbed? Or, who would
herd with sharpers, and not expect to be cheated? We would
therefore advise the stranger in London to shun these
reptiles of the creation, fraught with guile, and artful as
the serpent to delude. Beware of their conversation, avoid
their company, take no notice of their tricks, nor be caught
by their wheedling professions of friendship; listen not to
any of their enticements, if you would preserve your peace
and property; be not fond of making new acquaintance with
persons you do not know, however genteel in appearance and
behaviour, for many a villain lurks under the disguise of a
modern fine gentle-man; and if any stranger asks you to play
with him for money, set him down in your mind as a Sharper,"
and leave the room immediately.

~33~~and at last became so great an adept in the profession, that at
the early age of thirteen years he was unanimously elected captain of
an organized band of juvenile depredators, some much younger, none older
than himself, who for a considerable length of time set at defiance the
vigilance of the police. These young fry carried on a long protracted
successful war of extermination against ladies' reticules. One urchin,
watching her approach, would lay himself across the path she must pass,
and it frequently happened that she tumbled over him; a grab was then
made at the reticule, the watch, and the shawl, with which the young
villains generally got clear off. Others, in detachments of two or
three, would hover about the door or window of a tradesman's shop, cut
out a pane of glass, and abstract some valuable trinket; or watch the
retirement of the shopkeeper into his back-room, when one of the most
enterprizing would enter on hands and knees, crawl round the counter
with the stillness of death, draw out the till with its contents, and
bear off the spoil with impunity. One night, however, luckily for the
public, the whole gang was made prisoners of, and dispersed to various
gaols, each delinquent being ordered a severe flogging and solitary
confinement. Availing himself of this indulgence, the Captain had
watched the opportunity of approximating towards Tallyho, and was
detected, as we said before, in the exercise