> On the other hand, the people he refers to as pickpockets and cat burglars are rarely thieving guilds, but simply racial or ethnic others. “In Finland, the fe

> On the other hand, the people he refers to as pickpockets and cat burglars are rarely thieving guilds, but simply racial or ethnic others. “In Finland, the fellows who steal seal skins, pick the pockets of bear-skin overcoats, and talk Cant, are termed Lappes.” Lappi = Lapland, the northern region of not just Finland but Sweden and Norway, and lappalaiset is a derogatory term for the Sami people who live there. That said, there are no seals anywhere near Finnish waters (except a few very rare freshwater seals) and neither has wearing a "bearskin coat" even been close to a normal thing.