Cabbage - [kab-ij] Chiefly British
1. a. cloth scraps that remain after a garment has been cut from a fabric and that by custom the tailor may claim.
2. slang - verb. To steal; pilfer: He cabbaged whole yards of cloth.
Cove - (kəʊv) Brit, Austral
1. old-fashioned , slang - a fellow; chap.
Cabbaging Cove: A scoundrel keen on pilfering [from the annals of not-so-distant history]!
About the Cabbaging Cove
“Costumes of all Nations”
And all without having to come into contact with a single pesky foreigner!
Costumes of all Nations. W. Duke, Sons & Co., 1888.
(Source: openlibrary.org)
‘Pesky Foreigner.’
Fascinating - click through!