‘When some of the journeymen Butchers that used the house, found that I
wanted a place, they says, “Oh, we’ll get you a place!” And they
actually took me to a sight of places, in Newgate Market, Newport Market,
Clare, Carnaby—I don’t know where all. But the wages was—ha, ha, ha!—was
not sufficient, and I never could suit myself, don’t you see? Some of
the queer frequenters of the house were a little suspicious of me at
first, and I was obliged to be very cautious indeed how I communicated
with Straw or Fendall. Sometimes, when I went out, pretending to stop
and look into the shop windows, and just casting my eye round, I used to
see some of ’em following me; but, being perhaps better accustomed than
they thought for, to that sort of thing, I used to lead ’em on as far as
I thought necessary or convenient—sometimes a long way—and then turn
sharp round, and meet ’em, and say, “Oh, dear, how glad I am to come upon
you so fortunate! This London’s such a place, I’m blowed if I ain’t lost
again!” And then we’d go back all together, to the public-house, and—ha,
ha, ha! and smoke our pipes, don’t you see?
‘They were very attentive to me, I am sure. It was a common thing, while
I was living there, for some of ’em to take me out, and show me London.
They showed me the Prisons—showed me Newgate—and when they showed me
Newgate, I stops at the place where the Porters pitch their loads, and
says, “Oh dear, is this where they hang the men? Oh Lor!” “That!” they
says, “what a simple cove he is! _That_ ain’t it!” And then, they
pointed out which was it, and I says “Lor!” and they says, “Now you’ll
know it agen, won’t you?” And I said I thought I should if I tried
hard—and I assure you I kept a sharp look out for the City Police when we
were out in this way, for if any of ’em had happened to know me, and had
spoke to me, it would have been all up in a minute. However, by good
luck such a thing never happened, and all went on quiet: though the
difficulties I had in communicating with my brother officers were quite
extraordinary.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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