At the same moment the
person robbed said to him--'But, sir, you have taken my purse, give it
to me.'--'The devil I have,' replied Molin with an air of affected
surprise, 'are you quite sure?' Then looking attentively at it--'By
heavens! I thought it was mine. Oh! sir, I ask your pardon.'
"At the same time he returned the purse, and all the bystanders were
persuaded that he had done it involuntarily. This is being _fly_,
or I know nothing about it.
"At the time of the great fog, Molin and a _pal_ named Dorle were
stationed at the environs of the Place des Italiens. An old gentleman
passed, and Dorle stole his watch which he passed to Molin. The darkness
was so great that he could not discern if it were a repeater or not, and
to ascertain this, Molin pressed down the spring: the hammer instantly
struck on the bell, and by the sound the old man knew his watch, and
instantly cried out--'My watch! my watch! pray restore me my watch,
it belonged to my grandfather, and is a family piece.'
"Whilst uttering these lamentations, he endeavoured to go in the
direction whence the sound had proceeded, to get his watch as he
expected and hoped to do. He came close up to Molin, who, under cover
of the dense fog, put his hand with the watch in it close to the old
gentleman's ear, and pushing the spring again, said, whilst the watch
was striking--'Listen then to its sounds for the last time;' and with
this cruel advice the two thieves then went away, leaving the worthy
undone elderly to bewail his loss.
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