was considerably older than myself. He was
of a bold, enterprising spirit, of great bodily
strength, and a most skilful pickpocket. He
was good at everything in his profession, and
always gave me fair play; but we sometimes
did" (that is to say, swindled) "our comrades
—even Barney's own brother. Barney put
me up to his tricks, and he and I agreed to
travel to England together, and share the
fruits of our unlawful occupation. It was
when in company with, and encouraged by
the daring acts of this man, that I first
attempted a pocket in open daylight."

Haggart's age was sixteen when he left
Edinburgh for England by the Jedburgh
coach, in company with Barney M'Guire and
his brother. They were all very well dressed,
and the younger M'Guire's task was to bring
one other pair of fingers into the business,
and to yield up to his two companions all that
part of his earnings, of which it was in their
power to defraud him. If he stole a pocket-
book filled with bank-notes and passed it to
Barney, Barney and David would divide the
notes and laugh at their young comrade for
having made a prize of nothing but old
letters. If Barney or David seized a prize
they would account for the pounds to one
another and then represent to their companion
that they had only a few shillings to divide.

How touchingly did they by this proceeding
show that there may be a friend that
sticketh closer than a brother. In speaking of
a later period of his life, when Barney had
been transported beyond the seas, David
writes in intervals of prayer, while he enjoys
life, soothed by the approbation of respectable
clergymen,—"Poor Barney, got a free passage
to Botany Bay for fourteen stretch. He was
a choice spirit and a good friend to me. We
spent many a joyous, merry hour together,
for I had no thought and no sorrow till I lost
Barney."

Apropos, of a robbery of bank-notes from
the breeches-pocket, Mr. Haggart, on the
brink of the grave, has some advice to give
his readers which we quote in the original
Latin: " The keekcloy is easily picked. If the
notes are in the long fold, just tip them the
forks; but if there is a purse or open money
in the case, you must link it."

On the way to England, when at Lockerby,
to attend the fair, they found John Richardson,
an active constable from Dumfries, in
the town. This made them circumspect, but
they went in the evening to the principal inn
and were put into a room where a drover and
a farmer, bewildered by beer, sat opposite
each other, at a large table, and were
quarrelling. They meddled enough to insure a
fight between the disputants, and, during the
scuffle, eased the former of twenty-three
pounds and a pocket-book. "This done," says
our hero, "I immediately called the waiter in
a violent passion, paid him for a bottle of
porter we had had, abused him for putting
us into a room with such company, and
decamped all in a minute. Young M'Guire
had taken some skins with a few shillings
in each, which he shared with us; but we
told him nothing about our stake." Then
the friends and the brother went to
Langholm Fair, where, having made a strict
survey, David writes, "we were convinced that
we were the only prigs in the gaff." They
determined therefore not to mar their market
by creating an outcry for small losses, but
to content themselves with one or two rum lils
(well-filled pocket-books) if they could be had.

Young M'Guire found a gentleman whom
he had seen with a great pocket-book in his
hand,—he was sure there were hundreds in
it. He kept it in his breast-pocket, or suck.
The theft was committed. Young M'Guire
snib'd the lil and passed it to Barney, who
made off.

Here, again, Mr. Haggart has a recipe at
the service of his readers: "Picking the suck
is sometimes a kittle job. If the coat is
buttoned, it must be opened by slipping past.
Then bring the lil down between the flap of
the coat and the body, keeping your spare
arm across your man's breast, and so slip it
to a comrade; then abuse the fellow for
jostling you."

For this service, M'Guire the younger—
thanks to a happy stroke of art on the part
of his brother—received nothing. "When,"
says the autobiographer, "we foregathered
with Barney, he showed us the dumbie stuffed
with cambric paper, and he quizzed his
brother for having given us so much trouble
luke. But when Barney and I got by
ourselves he showed me the blunt, which
consisted of a hundred pounds in ten pound
notes, and a hundred and one pounds in
twenty shilling notes. I never was happier
in my life than when I fingered all this money."

In Carlisle the travellers put up at the
best inn, and contented themselves for a time
with morning rides and evenings at the
gambling-houses. Barney was an excellent
card-player, and to him David Haggart was
indebted for the great proficiency he
afterwards arrived at, in the use of cards, dice,
billiards, and legerdemain tricks.

A robbery at Carlisle caused the lodgings
of these gentlemen to be entered by the
police in their absence, and their trunks to be
removed. This obliged them to order new
suits of clothes. In two days they were made
and nicely packed up at the tailor's shop.
The gentlemen called for them, and ran
off with the parcel while the master of
the shop retired to fetch his waistcoat-patterns.
Thus provided with a change of clothes,
the travellers resumed their journey. At
Morpeth Fair they found a great many
prigs, and particularly one school of six,
from York. Scotland and Ireland observed
two Yorks at work on a gentleman, who had
screaves in his benjy cloy, that is to say bank-
notes in his waistcoat-pocket. "One of the
Yorks succeeded in raising the screaves to