There was reason to believe, he said, that several considerable robberies had been recently committed by means of children like the prisoner, who stole in and remained concealed until midnight, when they gave admission to the robbers.

The police should have their eyes upon him." The other instance is from a report of one of the sessions in London:-- "William Hart, an urchin _seven years of age_, was indicted for stealing twenty-two shillings in money, numbered, from the person of Mary Conner.

The prosecutrix stated, that on the day named in the indictment, she took twenty-five shillings to get something out of pledge, but as there was a crowd in Mary-le-bone, assembled to witness a fight, she was induced to join the mob.

While standing there she felt something move in her pocket, and putting her hand outside her clothes, she laid hold of what proved to be the hand of the prisoner, which she held until she had given him a slap on the face, and then she let him go; but on feeling in her pocket she discovered that the theft had actually been committed, and that only three shillings were left.

A constable took the urchin into custody, and accused him of robbing her of twenty-two shillings.