The hero of this strange episode was one James Mackoull, a hardened and, as we should say nowadays, an "habitual" criminal. He was one of the most extraordinary characters that have ever appeared in the annals of crime. His was a clear case of heredity in vice, for his mother had been a shoplifter and low-class thief, who had married, however, a respectable tradesman; all her children--three sons and two daughters--had turned out badly, becoming in due course notorious offenders. One of them, John Mackoull, was well educated, and the author of a work entitled "The Abuses of Justice," which he brought out after his acquittal on a charge of forgery; another brother, Ben Mackoull, was hanged for robbery in 1786. James Mackoull began early, and at school stole from his companions. He studied little, but soon became an expert in the science of self-defence, and, being active and athletic, took rank in due course as an accomplished pugilist. His first public theft was from a cat's-meat man, whom he robbed by throwing snuff in his eyes; while the man was blinded, he cut the bag of coppers fastened to the barrow and bolted. Henceforth he became a professional thief, and with two noted associates, Bill Drake and Sam Williams, did much business on a large scale. One of his most remarkable feats was his robbery from the person of a rich undertaker, known as "The Old Raven," who was fond of parading himself in St. James's Park, London, dressed out in smart clothes and wearing conspicuously exposed a fine gold watch set with diamonds. Mackoull knew that on most days "The Old Raven" entered the park from Spring Gardens at 4 p.m., so he timed himself to arrive a little earlier. He waited till the undertaker had passed him, then pushed on in front, when he turned round suddenly, and, clutching the watch with one hand, knocked his victim's hat over his eyes with the other. Fearing detection for this theft, which caused considerable noise, Mackoull thought it prudent to go to sea. He entered the Royal Navy, and served for two years on board H.M.S. _Apollo_ as an officer's servant. His conduct was exemplary, and he was presently transferred to H.M.S. _Centurion_, on which ship he rose to be purser's steward. He was discharged with a good character after nine years' service afloat, and returned to London about 1785 with a considerable sum of money, the accumulations of prize-money and pay.