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