A SHARPER. 145 



exposed to the sudden gales and rolling seas of the Northern 

 and German Oceans. Frequently to save their lives, they 

 are compelled to abandon their nets, fish and all. Sometimes 

 boats with their crews go forth to return no more, nor even 

 to be again heard of in this world ; and at other times they 

 are driven to distant ports for safety, losing their tackle and 

 time, and having to make their way back with scanty supply 

 of provision to the port from which they sailed, and probably 

 losing their chance of fishing for the whole season. 



Would it be believed that the herring fisher, humble as his 

 situation in life appears, is occasionally the object of a 

 regular and systematic plan of swindling ? A few years ago, 

 a fellow made it his occupation and business to waylay these 

 poor men as they returned home from the fishing-stations 

 with their hardly-earned money in their pockets. His plan 

 was to get into conversation with them, and after walking a 

 mile or two along the road with them, to take generally one, 

 but sometimes two, into a whisky-shop, of which there are 

 plenty on every Highland road, under the pretence of 

 treating them to a dram. Then, as opportunity offered, he 

 produced a small fiask from his pocket, which he said 

 contained a sample of some rare whisky (having previously 

 represented himself as a spirit-merchant travelling for 

 orders), and as a special favour gave the fisherman a glass of 

 its contents. It was no sooner swallowed, however, than the 

 man became powerless and almost insensible ; upon which 

 the fellow quietly emptied the pockets of his victim and 

 walked off, leaving him to recover as he could : which event 

 in most instances did not take place for some hours after- 

 wards. If in going out he met with the keeper of the 

 whisky-shop, he told him that the man was asleep from 

 fatigue, or made some such excuse to escape suspicion. In 

 this manner the fellow robbed above twenty fishermen of the 

 whole proceeds of their fishing before the country got too hot 

 for him ; when he went off by the coach arid was no more 

 heard of. The whole proceeding was described to me by one 

 of his victims (at present in my service), who was robbed of 

 about five pounds, and notwithstanding the cruelty of the 

 case, I could not help being amused at the coolness with 

 which the swindler appears to have turned the poor fellow's 

 pockets inside out, the man all the while being quite 

 conscious of what was going on, though utterly unable to 

 move or speak. To add insult to injury, too, on going out 



