George Barrington was an Irish pickpocket, popular London socialite, Australian pioneer, and author. His escapades, arrests, and trials were widely chronicled in the London press of his day. For over a century following his death, and still perhaps today, he was most celebrated for the couplet “True patriots all; for be it understood, We left our country for our country’s good” The attribution of the line to Barrington is considered apocryphal since the 1911 discovery by Sydney book collector Alfred Lee of the 1802 book in which the line first appeared.
George Barrington
George Barrington caught picking the pocket of Count Orlov, Covent Garden Theatre
George Barrington being tried at The Old Bailey, 17 September 1790
Pickpocketing is a form of larceny that involves the stealing of money or other valuables from the person or a victim's pocket without them noticing the theft at the time. It may involve considerable dexterity and a knack for misdirection. A thief who works in this manner is known as a pickpocket.
Pickpocketing
"Dandy PickPockets Diving: Scene Near St. James Palace" (1818) by I. R. Cruikshank
Two pickpockets attempting to rob a Japanese tourist couple in Colmar, France. The tourists were alerted before the theft could be completed.
18th-century engraving showing pickpocket George Barrington being apprehended in action