The Child of Waterloo, or, The Horrors of the Battle-Field — page 177: what you’re looking at

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

174 THE CHILD OF WATERLOO. “* Lor’ bless me, if vou would but hear me out, now; I was go. ing to say, as I said to myself, that was all.” “‘Oh, I beg your pardon.” ‘* Me talk of anybody to nobody; I think I see me. I do be- lieve I am just about the very last person in the whole world who ever says anything about nobody to everybudy. No, Misa Morton, no; if you was to say to me, ‘Mrs. Jenkins,’ says you, ‘TI will now tell you all what has happened to me, and what is oing to happen; it would sinkin my bosom, it would, and no y would know nothing.” ‘Such discretion,” said Mabel, ‘‘is a great virtue, and I be- lieve it to be rare, too.” At this moment, and before Mrs. Jenkins could, as the Metho- dist parsons say, improve.upon the occasion, so as to present to herself even a ghost of a chance of worming some of her history out of Mabel, there came a sudden and violent knock at the street door, and then a ring at the area bell, which was sufficient to break the wire. ‘‘ Bless my heart and life! what can that be?” The door was opened by the dirty apology for a servant, and in another moment Long, the officer, came into the room. ‘‘ News! news!” exclaimed Mabel, ‘* you have news for me ?” ‘“*T have, indeed.” ** And—and have they come—they have come?” ‘‘They have not. But the news I bring you is, that the man whom you charged with your abduction from your friends, has managed to escape from prison.” ‘* Escape ?” ‘Yes; and the magistrate has taken up an opinion now that you would be gone from here; and that, in fact, you and he are in league together, in some way.” ‘‘Let him come,” said Mabel, with offended pride, ‘ and he will find me here; cr, if I am thought so harshly of, let bim cast me into some prison where he will know [ cannot, a weak girl as 1 am, escape from.” ‘‘ Bless us and save us!” shouted Mrs. Jenkins, ‘‘ what does it all mean? Tell me; I don’t know anything about it. Do tell me--do you want me to burst? What is it.eh? What is it. Mr. Long? What is it all about, my good man? Who’s escaped ? who hasn’t come, what’s it all about, eh ?—eh ?—tell me ?” ‘‘Good God! woman,” cried the officer, ‘‘ will you hold your tongue? neither I nor Miss Morton here, can yet in a word edge- ways.’ | ‘“‘T hold my tongue!” “Yes, you. Now do, for Heaven’s sake! What is it to you, I should like to know? It can be no affair of yours, so do, my dear madam, suffer me to talk with Miss Morton quietly.” Mrs. Jenkins looked unutterable things, but she said nothing; and then the officer turning to Mabel, added: ‘“*Do not be at all alarmed at the turn affairs have taken; I still defended you; and it wasin consequence of the state of jrritation into which the magistrate had thrown me, that I comicbooks. com