I saw a lobby lighted with gas, I looked in at the key-hole.
If I saw anything worth lifting I 'screwed' the door--I'll teach you
how to do it--seized the things, into the cart with them, and off to
the next place. Now big Davey goes out about the same time as you, and
he knows a bloke with a cart, and so you may do very well all winter at
that game; but be sure to leave off by nine o'clock as you would get it
very hot if caught after that time!"

"Well! I shall see big Davey, perhaps, but don't you think 'highflying'
would suit me better, although I know little about it?"

"Oh! that's above your mark, a 'highflyer' is a bloke who dresses like
a clergyman, or some gentleman. He must be educated, for his game is to
know all the nobility and gentry, and visit them with got-up letters,
and that kind of thing, for the purpose of getting subscriptions to
some scheme. A church-building or missionary affair is the best game.
There is only one good 'highflyer' in the prison. I knew him get
150_l._ from a gentleman in Devonshire once, and he thinks nothing
of getting 30_l._ of a morning."

Finding my friend so communicative and apparently so experienced in the
various branches of his profession, I took advantage of every
convenient opportunity to ascertain from him the meaning of the slang
terms which my comrades made use of when conversing together, but
through ignorance of which I was often unable to understand exactly
what they were talking about. On another occasion I accordingly asked
him the meaning of a number of these terms which I had thus heard
bandied about from time to time amongst them. On asking him about
'macing' he replied--

"Macing means taking an office, getting goods sent to it, and then
'bolting' with them; or getting goods sent to your lodgings and then
removing. I'll tell you a game that you might try now and again as you
have a chance, and that is 'fawney dropping,' you know 'fawney' means a
ring. Well, you must have a 'pal,' and give him a 'snyde' ring with a
ticket and the price marked on it. When you are walking along the
street and see a likely 'toff' to buy the ring, your 'pal' goes on
before and drops it, you come up behind him, and in front of the
gentleman you pick up the ring, which is ticketed, say five pounds.
Well, you turn to the 'toff' and say to him that you have found a ring
which is entirely useless to you, as you never wear these articles, and
ask him to purchase it. He will most li