Page:The London Guide and Stranger's Safeguard.djvu/226

210 lies in not being able to give our proofs, or instances, of their evil deeds, with the names attached to them; for these two reasons, among a multitude of others: 1. That the endeavours of hoaest men, to extricate themselves from difficulties into which they have unavoidably fallen, partake so much of the arts and practices of the swindlers to get into them, that we might by possibility confound one of the former with a hundred of the latter,—a thing by no means congenial to our feelings: 2. That those rogues-ingrain not unfrequently experience such reverses of fortune, that they face about in the world, look up, and bring actions to recover damages for defamation against their detractors. We seek none of these.

To swindle,—to take away by undue means, not to be called robbery, but which is, in effect, robbery, is the detinition of the term which designates the men we are going to treat of.

They are known, in the various situations into which they are thrown, from the honest fair trader, by the presumption of their views, as regards trade in particular; to which they are almost (but not quite) exclusively attached; but in fact, to whatever they pretend, it is in a fever;—in manner boisterous, forward, petulant, and