This system of tutorage is by no means uncommon, nor is it confined to the male sex.
I remember reading some time back, in the police reports, of a woman who had entrapped _eight or ten children_ from their parents, had trained them up, and sent them out thieving; nor was it until one of these infantile depredators was taken in the act of stealing, that this was made known, and the children restored to their homes.

Here we see eight or ten children, probably from the neglect of their parents, enticed away, no doubt by the promise of a few cakes, or of some other trifling reward, and in imminent danger of becoming confirmed thieves, from which they were rescued by this providential discovery of their situation; and we know not how many children may have been led to evil practices in like manner.
I will give another instance which occurred at the office at Queen Square .-- A female, apparently no more than nineteen years of age, named Jane Smith, and a child just turned of five years old, named Mary Ann Ranniford, were put to the bar, before Edward Markland, Esq., the magistrate, charged with circulating counterfeit coin in Westminster and the county of Surrey, to a vast extent.
It appeared that the elder prisoner had long been known to be a common utterer of base coin, in which she dealt very largely with those individuals who are agents in London to the manufacturers of the spurious commodity in Birmingham.

She had been once or twice before charged with the offence, and therefore she became so notorious that she was necessitated to leave off putting the bad money away herself; but so determined was she to keep up the traffic, that she was in the habit of employing children of tender years to pass the counterfeit money.

On one occasion two Bow Street officers observed her at her old trade, in company with the child Ranniford.

The officers kept a strict eye upon her movements, and saw her several times pass something to the little girl; and she, by the direction of her instructor, went into different shops (such as hosiers, where she purchased balls of worsted, pastry-cooks, tobacconists, and fruiterers), where she passed the bad money, and received in return goods and change.