254 FIELD-NOTES FOR THE YEAR. CH. XVIII. 



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 and 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 the 

 swindler told the landlady that he was sorry to say 

 the fisherman had got quite drunk, notwithstand- 

 ing all the efforts he had made to prevent it and 

 all the good advice he had given him. When at 

 length the poor fellow recovered his senses and 

 power of speech, he found it quite impossible to 

 persuade his wife and friends that he had not wil- 

 fully and advisedly got drunk and squandered his 

 money. However, at last the fair one was pacified, 

 though not much comforted ; her husband's inno- 

 cence being proved by the testimony of others who 

 had been robbed in a similar manner, and by the 



