Black Bess; or, The Knight of the Road — A Tale of the Good Old Times — page 97: what you’re looking at

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

BLUKESIN: A ROMANCE. , 99 upon the crater of a volcano, expecting every moment an eruption.” ‘“Your nerves are out of order. Once let Jonathan place the girl im my hands, and I will answer for it, that you have no further trouble with that affair.”’ “Do so, Steggs,” said Lord Donmull, as he clasped his rascally accomplice by the hand. ‘ Do that, and you may name your own reward !”’ CHAPTER LXIV. JONATHAN WILD IS IN A VERY BAD WAY INDEED. Tue four men Levee had left to attend to Jonathan Wild, while he with the rest galloped off after the fugitives, held 2 brief consultation as to what they had better do. One after another they examined the prostrate body of the great thief-taker. He was to all appearance dead. : wery httle blood, though, could be seen upon the road. There was an ugly wound inthe upper part of his jaw, but whether sufficient to cause death was rather a de- batable matter. The subject under dispute was not so much whether Jonathan was dead or whether they should obey Levee’s orders and take him to Little Newgate, but rather in what way he should be conveyed there. It seemed pretty conclusive that one of the four would have to surrender his horse, for Jonathan’s steed, when it reared and threw him, dashed off along the road toward London before any one could stop him. Now they were all equally disinclined to do this, but as there appeared to be no prospect of settling the dispute by other means they agreed to draw lots. The job fell upon one of the men named Matthew Flood, as ferocious a villain, perhaps, as ever graced the gallows at T'yburn, which interesting event occurred in a little more than a twelvemonth after these events. This Matthew Flood, then, upon finding that the lot fell upon him, uttered some very diabolical and awful curses, which it is by no means our intention to repeat. However, he had to submit. Jonathan’s body was lifted rather roughly on to the back of this horse. Not one of these four men had been without suffering some brutality or other at his hands, and now that he was in such a condition as to make it impossible for him to defend himself, they paid off some of the grudges they had against him. To be sure it was very cowardly of them, but then what could be expected from such base spirits ? Ina Mazeppa-like fashion Jonathan was placed upon the back of the horse, and bound to it, partly with the men’s belts, and partly with the rope they always carried about them. The chief part of this tying business came to Flood’s share, and the way in which he knocked Wild about was really awful to behold. , At length all was ready, and the strange cavalcade set out on their return to London. Matthew Flood walked by the side of the horse. The thef-taker gave no signs of life. In this way, then, they some hours after arrived at the door of Wild’s house in Newgate-strect. Flood had not walked the whole of the distance, but induced his companions to share that duty with him. St. Sepulchre’s church chimed half-past two as one of the men hammered loudly at the door. The man on the lock allowed them to enter. Still exhibiting no sign of returning conscicasness, Wald was carried upstairs, and put into a bed-room on the second-floor, which he, whenever he slept on a bed, used as a sleeping-chamber. One of the four men had started off for Ebenezer Snoxall, to whom the reader has been introduced already. He was not very pleased to be aroused from his slumbhers at that unreasonable hour, but when he was made the recipient of the very startling intelligence that the great Jonathan was dead, he hurried on his clothes without another word, and was out in the street in a trice. Qn reaching Jonathan’s bed-side he made a long and careful examination of him, and the nature of the hurts he had received. Then he shook his head, SS oT ee Sea Ree swe ee ner rr A a-Si = * How do you bring it n?”’ asked Flood. “Ha! I—a—rea ” ‘““Where is he?” cried a rather thick voice at this moment, and a female of huge proportions rushed into the room. ‘* Whereis the lamb? Oh! oh!” The large female flung herself upon the bed, and began howhng at a great rate. “Qh! my poor lamb,” she said, “‘my poor lamb. Have they murdered you at last? Ob! I’m a lone widder ncw . These last words will at once have the effect of inform- ing the reader of the kind of relationship that was sup- posed to subsist between her and Jonathan. Yes; she was the great thief-taker’s wife. She would have doubtless earlier than this made the acquaintance of the reader, but the fact is, about a month before this narrative commenced, a rather serious quarrel had taken place between Wild and his spouse, which ter- minated by her being kicked into the street by her lord and master, and being strictly forbidden ever to cross his threshold again. This injunction she had obeyed until this particular evening, when, having imbibed suflicient cordial compounds to raise her courage, make her forgiveful, and rather amorous, she very boldly and in despite of all opposition, forced her way in. Upon being told Jonathan was out, and having satisfied herself by searching the place that such was really the case, she sat down in the thief-taker’s own sauctum, and announced, with many expressive yet not elegant flowers of speech, ber intention to wait there until the ‘ dear lamb”? came home. There was something exceedingly droll about the idea of : yemorseless villan hke Jonathan being called a amb! Most certainly there was nothing lamb-hke im his cis- position, except in comparison with hers. A. man who is thus spoken of by his biographer :— “The name and memory of Jouathan Wild will be ever held in abhorrence. .... The single history of the arts, deception, cruelty, perfidy, aud crimes of this man filled a volume, aud should we occupy more room 10 our epitome than may be deemed necessary, we have only .o observe, that scarcely would the whole catalogue of other crimes exposed in our chronology, centred in one man, produce a parallel with this conyplete thief-taker and finished thief.” But bad as he may have been, yet it seems to be on all hands conceded that this woman, whom the above-quoted historian describes as being well known ‘“‘as one of the most notorious pickpockets and abandoned prostitutes on the town,” was 2 very great deal worse, and the fact that she made him what he was, and first led him into crime, is pretty well established. Such was the woman, then, who pretended to be so overcome with grief at Jonathan’s decease. They were a precious pair. In vain did Mr. Snoxall entreat the lady to remove from her position, and allow him to ascertain whether he was really dead. She answered him only with renewed howls, which so disgusted Flood that he left the room at once. Tho idea of attempting to remove her by main force never found a place in the apothecary’s mind for a moment ; he had too much dread of her fistic powers. But a result ensued which was yather unexpected. Jonathan was not dead! No, despite the really dangerous wound, and all the harsh treatment he had endured at the bands of his own men, hfe was not extinct. The caresses of Mary Milliner, for such was the name of the woman who passed as his wife, aroused him, Only partially though did he regain his faculties, and the consequence was he fell into a very natural mistake. Feeling some one above him he made sure it was au enemy, a foe making an attack upon his life. Without, then, waiting to see who it was—ag for the correctness of his supposition, he had no doubt whatever about that—he uttered a terrible roar which would have befitted some wild and ferocious denizen of the wilder- ness, and springing up, he clutched the unfortunate woman round the neck with a grip like that of an iron vice. So suddenly was the pressure applied, that she bad no time to utter a cry for help. EN nn a oe ee in Oe Se 6 eS Se EE. WP Ss are uw cComiclboooks (SO) 5}