Page:Pleasing and entertaining history of the famous Moll Flanders.pdf/5

5 put the child in the right road again. Another time, I took out of a shop at Stephney two rings a diamond and a plain one; and afterwards stole a silver tankard from an ale house, which I sold to good advantage. I had now become acquainted with a regular gang of thieves, and committed many depredations along with them; but at length two of them were apprehended, condemned and one of them hanged—the other was transported. I had the good fortune to escape, and my name soon became famous among the thieves—none was so great as Moll Flanders. Soon after this affair, I stole a bundle of plate from a lady’s house that took fire, and in the confusion got clear off. Being an excellent pick pocket as well as a strumpet, I took from a cull after I had made him drunk, his gold watch and pocket book, and left him in a sound sleep. One time, as I was going along the street through Covent Garden, there was a cry of stop thief, and I was seized and haughtily insulted by a silk mercer and his servants, but the real thief being taken a few minutes after, I got L150 damages off the mercer. No person could he more dexterous than I at stealing gold watches from the ladies, either at park, playhouse, or church; at gaming, too, I was very expert; I one time cleared 73 guineas in a night. At Ipswich I robbed a Dutchman of a portmanteau, by pretending to be his wife in an inn, and got a large quantity of gold and silver. I one time went into a milliner’s shop in Cheapside, and pretended that I wanted to buy half a dozen of Holland shifts. She showed me