The Child of Waterloo, or, The Horrors of the Battle-Field — page 124: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE CHILD OF WATERLOO. 121 the stranger. Here’s the room, sir. I'l) send in the gal to light the fire.” ‘‘This, then, is the room,” said the mendicant, surveying it; ‘“‘the fact is, you see, this young lady has been well brought up, and her friends won’t like that she should disgrace herself by forming all sorts of low connections; and Heaven knows what mischief she may do to herself and other people, espe- cially to children.” ‘‘ Is she vicious?” ‘““Why, you can hardly call it vicious; but mischievous and dangerous she certainly is, and very cunning—very cunning, indeed.” ‘‘Oh, indeed, I can vouch for that, for I never saw a better instance,” said the landlord. The landlord now left the room, and the girl soon entered, and in a very short time a good fire was blazing in the room, and the mendicant threw himself into a chair, and such a train of thoughts seemed to come over him, that for some time he was barely sensible of anything that happened near him. However, that matters not—his senses were easily recalled at the slightest sound that could be made; he much resembled some cat that was dozing, but that was always prepared at a moment’s warning to jump up and spring upon its prey. He had, too, taken the precaution to lock the door, and hence no attempt could be made at an escape, had she been prepared to make one; but as it was, she was much dejected at the failure of the attempt she had so successfully begun, and she now thought that there could be no use in making another, as nothing but stratagem would have any chance of success; if she could do anything like that, then indeed she might, but the mendicant kept too good a lookout to offer her a chance, CHAPTER XXIV. Henry Morton, followed by Rafferty Brolickbones, rode on for some miles without any intermission, without even exchang- ing asingle word. The day, as we have said, began to brea at the time he left the old poacher, and now it was broad day- light, and they could see over many miles of country. At the top of a hill, the road ran over the hill itself; Henry Morton drew up and breathed his horse, while he gazed around him in every direction. Rafferty Brolickbones, too, ascended the hill; and drew up by the side of Henry. The sun had some time risen, and all the country around was now easily distinguishable, and any moving being was detected with certainty within the range of vision. The mists had now in a great measure cleared off, the green fields and shady folinge could be seen, that fell, too, in great luxuriance, beauty and variety of color. The hedge-rows divided the country uround in different shapes and sizes, giving a beautiful diversified ap- pearance to the surface. They both looked long and carefully over the landscape in comicbooks. com