e of the law arises from
the fact that our jurists have not made a proper study of the criminal
nature. Grod made the cobra, the cruel wolverine, and the
thrice-cruel tiger; we study the animals and deal with them
adequately; but some of us do not study our human cobras and
wolverines and tigers. I scarcely ever knew of a case of a convict who
would not moan about his own injuries and his own innocence. Even when
these men, whose criminality is ingrained, are willing to own their
guilt, they will always contrive to blame the world in general and
society in particular. It is almost amusing to hear a desperate thief,
who seems no more able to prevent himself from rushing on plunder than
a greyhound can prevent itself from rushing on a hare, complaining
that employers will not trust him. It is useless to say, "What can you
expect?" The scoundrel persists in crying out against a hard world
which drove him to be what he is.

Some ten years ago the arch-rascal among English thieves was living
quietly in a London suburb; he used to solace himself with high-class
music, and he was very fond of poetry. This dreadful creature was a
curious compound of wild beast and artist. During the day he went
about with an innocent air; and the very police who were destined to
take him and hang him learned to greet him cordially as he passed them
in his walks. They thought he was "a sort of high-class tradesman."
Now, when this cheery little man with the decent frock-coat and the
clean respectable air was sauntering on the margin of the breezy heath
or walking up by-streets with measured sobriety, he was really marking
down the places which he intended to plunder. Here his trained pony
should stand; here he would make his entrance; that bedroom door
should be fastened inside; this lock should be picked. The wild
predatory beast drove the police to despair, for it seemed as if no
human being could have performed the feats which came easy to the
robber. The hard earning of good men went to the rascal's store; the
cherished household gods, the valued keepsakes of innocent women were
transferred callously to the melting-pot. He went coolly into bedrooms
where the inmates were asleep; had any one awaked, there would have
been murder, and the murderer would have decamped long before the door
could be broken open. Now my point is this--the wretch whom I have
described never ceased to inveigh against the wrongs of society. Two
unhappy women served h