GAME LAWS. 427 



successive rewards, for one lady's lap-dog that was per- 

 haps not worth ten shillings. If a dog is not " chanted" 

 before he becomes all but starved, they kill him, and 

 sell the skin ; unless it should so happen that they have 

 orders from " gentlemen" ! ! for dogs an opportunity 

 of starting him for Scotland, Ireland, &c. or can 

 find an immediate purchaser, who will give a few 

 shillings more than the skin would produce. If " hard 

 up" for " blunt," however, some of them will go and 

 sell the dogs in the streets, as soon as possible after they 

 have caught them : but, of course , in a diametrically 

 opposite part of the town from where they found them. 

 Here they sometimes cheat their own society : but of 

 this they think nothing, and will even rob one another. 

 " Dog rob dog," is their slang, and standing motto. 



All thieves have the knack of instantly quieting even 

 the fiercest watch dogs, by throwing them a kind of 

 narcotic ball. This they call " puddening" them. By 

 means of which recipe, some of the " Fancy" go 

 journeys, to execute particular orders at a long distance 

 from London. Be very cautious, therefore, before whom 

 you boast about the goodness of your dogs ; or what 

 you feel a pride in, may be the very means of your 

 losing them ; because when " fancy men," in any line 

 of " business," have orders to execute, they will assume 

 all trades and disguises, and thus ingratiate themselves 

 with the very servants of your household, in order to 

 " suck" them for information. The following circum- 

 stance is a specimen of their town manoeuvres : 



In the month of May last, Mr. Lang, of the celebrated shooting 

 gallery and excellent gun repository in the Haymarket, lost a favourite 

 setter. He posted handbills, offering two guineas reward ; on hearing 

 of which a man came and told him the reward was not enough -, but 



