zhang110

Neither her tongue nor
her courage knew the curb of modesty, and she was the first to reduce her
craft to a set of wise and imperious rules She it was who discovered the
secret of discipline, and who insisted that every member of her gang
should undertake no other enterprise than that for which nature had framed
him Thus she made easy the path for that other hero, of whom you are
told that his band was made up `of several sorts of wicked artists, of whom
he made several uses, according as he perceived which way every man’s
particular talent lay’ This statesman–Thomas Dun was his name–drew
up for the use of his comrades a stringent and stately code, and he was
wont to deliver an address to all novices concerning the art and mystery of
robbing upon the highway Under auspices so brilliant, thievery could
not but flourish, and when the Stuarts sat upon the throne it was already
lifted above the level of questioning experiment
Every art is shaped by its material, and with the variations of its
material it must perforce vary If the skill of the cutpurse compelled the
invention of the pocket, it is certain that the rare difficulties of the pocket
created the miraculous skill of those crafty fingers which were destined to
empty it And as increased obstacles are perfection’s best incentive, a
finer cunning grew out of the fresh precaution History does not tell us
who it was that discovered this new continent of roguery Those chanel devil wears prada necklace there
are who give the credit to the valiant Moll Cutpurse; but though the
Roaring Girl had wit to conceive a thousand strange enterprises, she had
not the hand to carry them out, and the first pickpocket must needs have
been a man of action Moreover, her nickname suggests the more ancient
practice, and it is wiser to yield the credit to Simon Fletcher, whose praises
are chanted by the early historians
Now, Simon, says his biographer, was `looked upon to be the greatest
artist of his age by all his contemporaries’ The son of a baker in
Rosemary Lane, he early deserted his father’s oven for a life of adventure;

A BOOK OF SCOUNDRELS
and he claims to have been the first collector who, stealing the money, yet
left the case The new method was incomparably more subtle than the
old: it afforded an opportunity of a hitherto unimagined delicacy; the
wielders of the scissors were aghast at a skill which put their own
clumsiness to shame, and which to a previous generation would have
seemed the wildest fantasy Yet so strong is habit, that even when the
picking of pockets was a recognised industry, the superfluous scissors still
survived, and many a rogue has hanged upon the Tree because he
attempted with a vulgar implement such feats as his unaided forks had far
more easily accomplished
But, despite the innovation of Simon Fletcher, the highway was louis vuitton jewelry the
glory of Elizabeth, the still greater glory of the Stuarts `The
Lacedmonians were the only people,’ said Horace Walpole, `except
the English who seem to have put robbery on a right foot’ And the
English of the seventeenth century need fear the rivalry of no
Lacedmonian They were, indeed, the most valiant and graceful
robbers that the world has ever known The Civil War encouraged their
profession, and, since many of them had fought for their king, a proper
hatred of Cromwell sharpened their wits They were scholars as well as
gentlemen; they tempered their sport with a merry wit; their avarice alone
surpassed their courtesy; and they robbed with so perfect a regard for the
proprieties that it was only the pedant and the parliamentarian who
resented their interference
Nor did their princely manner fail of its effect upon their victims
The middle of the seventeenth century was the golden age, not only of the
robber, but of the robbed The game was played upon either side with a
scrupulous respect for a potent, if unwritten, law Neither might nor right
was permitted to control the issue A gaily attired, superbly mounted
highwayman would hold up a coach packed with armed men, and take a
purse from each, though a vigorous remonstrance might have carried him
to Tyburn But the traveller knew his place: he did what was expected of
him in the best of tempers Who was he that he should yield in courtesy
to replica fendi spy the man in the vizard? As it was monstrous for the one to discharge
his pistol, so the other could not resist without committing an outrage

A BOOK OF SCOUNDRELS
upon tradition One wonders what had been the result if some
mannerless reformer had declined his assailant’s invitation and drawn his
sword Maybe the sensitive art might have died under this sharp rebuff
But none save regicides were known to resist, and their resistance was
never more forcible than a volley of texts Thus the High- toby-crack
swaggered it with insolent gaiety, knowing no worse misery than the fear
of the Tree, so long as he followed the rules of his craft But let a touch
of brutality disgrace his method, and he appealed in vain for sympathy or
indulgence The ruffian, for instance, of whom it is grimly recorded that
he added a tie-wig to his booty, neither deserved nor received the smallest
consideration Delivered to justice, he speedily met the death his
vulgarity merited, and the road was taught the salutary lesson that wigs
were as sacred as trinkets hallowed by association
With the eighteenth century the highway fell upon decline No doubt
in its silver age, the century’s beginning, many a brilliant deed was done
Something of the old policy survived, and men of spirit still went upon the
pad But the breadth of the ancient style was speedily forgotten; and by
the time the First George see by chloe bags climbed to the throne, robbery was already a
sordid trade Neither side was conscious of its noble obligation The
vulgar audacity of a bullying thief was suitably answered by the
ungracious, involuntary submission of the terrified traveller From end to
end of England you might hear the cry of `Stand and deliver’ Yet how
changed the accent! The beauty of gesture, the deference of carriage, the
ready response to a legitimate demand–all the qualities of a dignified art
were lost for ever As its professors increased in number, the note of
aristocracy, once dominant, was silenced The meanest rogue, who could
hire a horse, might cut a contemptible figure on Bagshot Heath, and feel
no shame at robbing a poor man Once–in that Augustan age, whose
brightest ornament was Captain Hind–it was something of a distinction to
be decently plundered A century later there was none so humble but he
might be asked to empty his pocket In brief, the blight of democracy
was upon what should have remained a refined, secluded art; and nowise
is the decay better illustrated than in the appreciation of bunglers, whose
exploits were scarce worth a record

A BOOK OF SCOUNDRELS
James Maclaine, for instance, was the hero of his age In a history of
cowards he would deserve the first place, and the `Gentleman
Highwayman,’ as he was pompously styled, enjoyed a triumph denied to
many a victorious omega seamaster fake gene