Spring-Heel'd Jack, The Terror of London — page 289: what you’re looking at

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

| * 7 SPRING-HEEL’D JACK: 291 THE TERROR OF LONDON, Ee — —— — —_——-=— ee me a : al eloquent, and as much to the purpose as ever words could ‘have been ;.and the old gentleman read there, in her red face, what he would have to expect when he got home. He knew his dinner would consist of tongue, and plenty of it, too—the tongue Tomkins. He dropped his eyes to the ground, and “What an angel of a temper,” said our hero. “Poor old gentleman, I pity him. What’s in- dependence, luxury, to a man with a Mrs. Tomkins for a wife? I suppose she pays her first visit to the back parlour. Egad! but I will of Mrs.|meet her there, if I can make my way up to the house without being seen. [Ill just take a | survey.” moved on with a very desponding cast of counte- | Jack again looked over the paling towards the nance, thoughtfully swinging the tin can in! house, and minutely examined the place. which was the poor jack that had occupied Tomkins the whole morning to catch. “Tm in luck’s way,” thought the old man. ‘“Sport’s been dull. I’m in a pretty pickle; and I expect—damn it! what a thing it is to have a scolding wife.” And he relapsed into a train of melancholy thought. Mrs. Tompkins, however, could not remain silent till they reached their dwelling ; and she paused yet once again when they got in sight of a Bey little villa that lay slightly back from the road. “Mr. Tompkins,” she said, in that hushed sort of whisper that tells, but too forcibly, of the effort to keep down the smouldering passions, ‘““we are just athome, sir. Your words—your conduct have so unnerved me that I do not feel equal to the task of saying to you what I would say. No sir; but thank heaven! my shat- tered nerves will soon be repaired — this hysterical feeling will soon pass away, atter I have sat down a moment to compose myself. And by the time you have made yourself decent, Mr. Tomkins, I shall be pre- pared to let you understand, in plainer lansuage, what I think of your vile conduct. Now, sir,” she added, pointing to the house, ‘““oo in, sir; let the servant see the beast you have made of vourself, sir. Go in before me, sir, and don’t disgrace me, sir. You are the _laughingstock of the whole parish, sir; you are a villian, sir—a wicked, cruel, unfeeling old rascal! Me fifty-six! Oh! I shall faint at the thought! I must take something to save me from going into hysterics.” “Go to the devil, if you like!” said Tomkins, dashing past her, and entering the little green sate of the garden which surrounded the white walled villa. “The base creature!” cried Mrs. Tomkins, looking after him. ‘‘ But he shall learn who's master, himorme. Oh, I'll let him see, I'll let him see. The fif What a blessing it is I’ve got a little of the best brandy in the box be- hind the sereen in the back parlour. That will give me nerve, that will open my mouth. Go to . the devil, eh? No, I won’t, Mr. Tomkins ; but Vl go to a spirit, for all that, and then you'll think the very devil’s in me, see, if you don’t.” And shaking her hand at the little green gate, the passionate woman kicked it wide open, and flounced through the orifice into the little carden. As she glided along the narrow walk, sweep- ing the box edging on either side with her dress, a rather strange-looking face peered over the top of the green paling, and twinkling eyes watched her form till it entered the house, then Jack’s merry laugh rang out on the still air, ee ees CONTIG! ‘It won’t do to try it from this side,” he mut- tered, ‘“‘for there is nothing to break the view from the house; but, if I mistake not, the thing can be easily enough done from the back. Yes, that little hedge of thorns will do nicely.” _Chuckling to himself, Jack retraced his steps about twenty yards, and stood at the end of the row of green palings and the boundary of Mr. Tomkins’ garden. Here commenced a piece of land, used for nothing in particular and everything in general, for the stunted grass was here and there decked with a piece of broken china or brickbat and articles of rubbish, which Jack more than sus- pected had been flung over the palings by the happy couple at different times. Entering this, after taking a survey both up . and down the road, Jack kept close along the fencing of the garden till he had passed one house, and then he stretched up his head and looked over. The vegetation at the back of the house was thick and rank. Small trees had grown straggling for the want of cutting, and a general air of neglect was about the place. | Tompkins was too much engaged with his fishing to attend to his garden, and the lady of the house paid little heed to anything but the black bottle kept in the large box behind the screen in the back parlour. ! The boughs intersecting each other formed, an unbroken hedge in front of the paling, and Jack saw at a glance that there was little pros- pect of his being seen from the house, as the unclipped branches rising high above the wooden boundary would effectually shield him from observation. Rolling the ample folds of his cloak up around him, so as to prevent it catching on the top of the pales, where the ingenious but not less cruel heart of man had driven several iron spikes, he placed his hand upon a spot where some of these rusty pieces of iron had rotted away, and giving a spring, went clean over them, and dropped on the other side between the paling and the bushes. : “So far, so good,” said Jack, placing his’ hat straight on his head, which had been knocked away by astraggling twig of white thorn. “ Now to get to the back parlour—that’s the thing.” He looked through the interstices of the branches, towards the window of the room in question. One side of the window was partially opened, and by slightly shifting his position, Jack was enabled to see into the room. All he saw there at present, however, was a tall screen, covered with pictures, and which was opened half across the room. “Good again!” said Jack. “ For, if the old te . — —— SL Gy