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



him that the man was asleep from fatigue, or made 

 some such excuse to escape suspicion. In this man- 

 ner 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, notwithstanding all the efibrts 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 wilfully and advisedly got drunk and squan- 

 dered his money. However at last the fair one was 

 pacified, though not much comforted, her husband's 

 innocence being proved by the testimony of others 

 who had been robbed in a similar manner ; and by 



