CHAP. XXX.] PUNISHMENT OF A THIEF. 217 



receive twenty lashes on the spot. They were given with 

 a small rattan in the middle of the street, not very severely, 

 as the executioner appeared to sympathise a little with the 

 culprit. The disgrace seemed to be thought as much of as 

 the pain; for though any amount of clever cheating is 

 thought rather meritorious than otherwise, open robbery 

 and housebreaking meet with universal reprobation. 



