University of Virginia Library

“Quid domini facient, audent cum talia fures!”

“It is a greater offence to steal men's labors, than their
clothes.”

“The character of men may be known from the company
they keep. The receiver is as bad as the thief.”

“Step that man—stop that man!”

“There was one old gentleman in a claret colored coat,
with a lean, pale, solemn expression of countenance, who had
all the appearance of a broken down lawyer making a brief
for a speech at a club meeting. After considering him attentively,
I recognized in him a diligent getter up of miscellaneous
works and political tracts, that bustled very well off
with the trade. I was curious to see how he manufactured
his wares. He made more stir and show of business than
any one of the others; dipping into various books, fluttering
over the leaves of manuscripts, taking a morsel out of one, a
morsel out of another, “line upon line, precept upon precept,
here a little and there a little.” The contents of his book
seemed to be as heterogeneous as those of the witches cauldron
in Macbeth. It was here a finger, and there a thumb,
toe of frog and blind worm's sting, with his own gossip poured
in like “baboon's blood” to make the medley “slab and good.”

“If the boy steal adroitly, give him credit; but, if he be
detected in a plagiarism, lick him.”

“When I see a barrister defending and eulogizing a palpable
criminal, I cannot help asking my brethren on the bench,
whether his license had not better be taken away.”

“Ton d' apameibomenos prosephe cry—own thatu stoleit.”

“Bring me no more reports.”

“Blitzer vongallowshoots tutite foghris footerno.”

“Pere caballero, ymd debe saber que aunque un tacano no

---

201

Y por eso se llama el hombre quien roba con talento, en
nuestro Castellano “El Robador Experimentado,” en Frances
“Le Voleur Parfait,” en Italiano, “Il Ladro Astuto,” y en
Ingles Steal-well.”

“E giusto il vostro sdegno
Qui vi sono de ladri—Examiniamo
Processiamo.”

“Ah birba, birba
Ecco la sul ponte, oh se potessi
Arrampicarmi.”

“Vous m'accusez d'etre voleur—Vous me condamnez, et
peut être je serai pendu, et qu'est ce que j'ai fait? I'avais
besoin d' un chapeau, et j'ai mis mes mains sur le chapeau de
mon voisin, un chapeau dont il n'avait pas besoin, et pour
lequel il a donne peut être deux piastres. Et mon très honorable
juge, vous avez vole les idèes de vos amis; vous avez
publie des livres dans lesquels, il n'y est pas une idèe originale,
pas meme une expression qui n'appartient pas a vos amis—
Mais c'est un emprunt avec vous, et moi je suis voleur selon
vos regles de justice. Oh juge sage, eclairè, honorable.”

“Wyauarchysox haughhiho gibletxg worryworrywo.”

“Hong hien long grit fuz! hong, hang, hung.”

“Who steals my brains, steals trash.”

“The receivers of property embezzled, knowingly, are
subject to the same punishment as the thief.”

“And be it further enacted, that in all cases of theft, larceny,
or robbery, which shall come before the court of errors
aforesaid, for trial, judgment, or direction, and the members of
the said court shall be divided thereon; the defendant shall
not be sent either to Auburn or Sing Sing, unless the Lieut.
Governor, presiding in said court, shall under seal, certify that
he does not know a case of a man untried, who in the eye of
God, and of common morality, is a worse thief than the prisoner
at the bar.