But it was in conflict with the jewellers that Vaux best proved his
mettle. It was his wont to clothe himself 'in the most elegant attire,'
and on the pretence of purchase to rifle the shops of Piccadilly.
For this offence--'pinching' the Cant Dictionary calls it--he did his
longest stretch of time, and here his admirable qualities of cunning
and coolness found their most generous scope. A love of fine clothes
he shared with all the best of his kind, and he visited Mr Bilger--the
jeweller who arrested him--magnificently arrayed. He wore a black coat
and waistcoat, blue pantaloons, Hessian boots, and a hat 'in the extreme
of the newest fashion.' He was also resplendent with gold watch and
eye-glass. His hair was powdered, and a fawney sparkled on his dexter
fam. The booty was enormous, and a week later he revisited the shop
on another errand. This second visit was the one flash of genius in a
somewhat drab career: the jeweller was so completely dumfounded, that
Vaux might have got clean away. But though he kept discreetly out of
sight for a while, at last he drifted back to his ancient boozing-ken,
and was there betrayed to a notorious thief-catcher. The inevitable
sentence of death followed. It was commuted after the fashion of the
time, and Vaux, having sojourned a while at the Hulks, sought for a
second time the genial airs of Botany Bay.
His vanity and his laziness were alike invincible. He believed himself
a miracle of learning as well as a perfect thief, and physical toil
was the sole 'lay' for which he professed no capacity.
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