Tear their clothes for an appearance of distress.
Beggars assemble in a morning, and agree what route each shall take. At some of the houses, the knives and forks chained to the tables, and other articles chained to the walls.
Mendicant Pensioners.
Some who have pensions as soldiers or sailors were among those who apply by letters for charity; one sailor who had lost a leg is one of the most violent and desperate characters in the metropolis.
Among beggars of the very worst class there are about 30 Greenwich pensioners, who have instruments of music, and go about in parties.
A marine who complained that he had but 7l. a year pension, said he could make a day’s work in an hour in any square in London.
A pensioner who had 18l. a year from Chelsea, when taken up for begging had bank-notes concealed in his waistcoat, and on many of that description frequently 8s. 10s. or 12s. are found, that they have got in a day.
Chelsea pensioners beg in all directions at periods between the receipts of their pensions.
A Chelsea pensioner who receives 1s. 6d. a day is one of the most notorious beggars who infest the town.
A Greenwich pensioner of 7l. a year, gets from 5s. to 10s. for writing begging letters.