means to recover the property I had so foolishly lavished; that I was fully entitled to resume all such purses of my manufacture as should come within my reach. True, ’twas so long ago, that many, nay, most of them, would be worn out; but this was no reason why I should be a loser; as they were worn out I must take those which had been bought to replace them. One must indemnify oneself in such cases as best one may. I accordingly examined every purse that I could fish out of people’s pockets: some were clearly my manufacture, or at all events, unmistakeably, purses which had been purchased in their place. These I declared a lawful prize. Others I was not quite so certain about; but ere I could settle the point satisfactorily to my mind, the owner was out of sight, and I could not go running about after people all over the town. By this means I had also the satisfaction of re-entering into possession of a considerable portion of that money which, as I had coined it, was undeniably my own, and which, though it had been regularly proclaimed, was still so highly thought of as to continue in active circulation. This sort of thing went on successfully for some time, and was pleasant enough. I went about to all the fairs and festivals, disguised, sometimes as a gentleman, sometimes as a Jew pedler, sometimes as this, sometimes as that; and my hand became so expert by degrees,
