The Mysteries of London, Vol. IV — page 303: what you’re looking at

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

a ee oe 29S TIIT MYSTERIES OF LONDON. —— ia a = feront,—for ho cherished—dearly, deeply cherished lhorse, and stretched bleeding and gasping on the a scheme of vengeance. And the day and thie hour for carrying it into execution arrived at last. It was, indeed, on the anniversary of the memo- rable morning of his degrading punishment, that a grand review took place in Iiyde Park. Certain German pauper Princes were on a visit to this coun- try,—princes who received annual incomes from tho English Treasury, heaven only knows for what set. vices performed—and whose very travelling exponses to and from the Court of St. James’s wero duly paid from the public purse ;—for those contemptiblo petty sovercigns of Germany are as mean as they are poor, nnd as proud as they aro both mean and poor! Woll, it was on tho occasion of the presence of tivo or threo of those princely beggars in the British metropolis, that the grand review took place. <All tho troops quartered in or near London were marched shortly after ten o'clock in the morning to Wydo Park; and as the dey was remarkably fine, the spectacle was brilliant and imposing. The Duke of Wellington, the German Princes, and gereral Genoral-officers, attended by a numerous staff, shortly afterwards appeared upon the ground: and the road was thronged with spectators, The review commenced in the usual manner: tho entire force, infantry and cavalry, was drawn up to recrive the Duke, tho Princes, and their companions 3—and after the inspection and the ‘marching past,’ various evolutions and maneeuyres were practised. Aslam fight was then ordered; and the troops wero accords ingly separated for tho purpose into two divisions. The appearance of tho dragoon regiment in which Leonard Mitchell served attracted general notice, not only on account of the reputation it had acquired of containing somo of tho finest men in the British armny, but likewise in sansequence of its discipline and its perfection in the evolutions already prac- tiscd. But had some searching eye scanned cach individual countenance, there was one in that regi- ment which would havo rivetted tho gaze: for, though strikingly handsome, there was then upon that countenance an expression of fiend-like satis- faction and sardonic triumph—and the portentous gaze, the curling lip, and the dilation of the nostrils onthe part of the dragoon thus alluded to, would haye convinced tho observer that the man’s thoughts were intent on some sinister design. And now tho sham-fight commences ;— and there ig advancing and retreating by turns—and there aro echelons and deployings, and other evo- Intions—until a genoral attack commences on the nide of the assailing party. Tho dragoons are armed with their carbines; and Teonard Mitchell grasps his weapon with an ardour—an affection—a species of gratitude, as if it were about to render him some signal service. Tho order is given to firo; and the carbines vomit forth volumes of white, vapoury smoke, which in a moment envelopes the entire corps, But from tho midst of the cloud a piercing ceream—a seream of mortal egony—breaks forth ; and then, as the smoke moves slowly away on the lazy wing of the partial brocze, ejaculations of horror and dismay announce that some accident has occurred. Allis now confusion; but a report spreads through tho dragoon regiment, and thence circulates like wildfiro amidst the troops and the spectators, that Lord Satiuct has been wounded in the sham-fight. And true enough was tho rumour; for there lay the young nobleman, fallen from his green sward! The surgeon hastily proceeded to render all the assistance that human skill could administer: but the aid was vain and useless—the victim was mortally wounded by a bullet which had entered his back—and, without uttering an in- telligible word, he shortly expired in the surgeon's arms. And now a cad and heart-rending scene took place: for the parents and the sisters of the murdered nobloman were upon the ground—and they hastened to tho spot, guided by the common rumour which had appalled them, but which they hoped to find incorrect, or at all events fearfully exagrerated. They discovered, however, that it was, alas! too truc; and the gala day was turned into one of bitter mourning for them. The review was broken up—and tho troops wore marched away to their respective barracks; whilo the spectators crowded to behold the sad procession that bore the corpse of the young noble to the family mansion in the neighbourhood, During tho return of the dragoon regiment to its quarters, those of Leonard’s comrades who were near him frequontly bent suspicious and enquiring glances upon him: but his countenance afforded no indication of guilt. Ile noither appeared tri- umphant nor downcast—neither nervous nor afraids and the soldiers who thus beleld his calm and tranquil demeanour, were shaken in the idea which they had formed in respect to tho authorship of the morning’s tragedy. The moment tho dra- goons entered the barracks, every cartouchs-oox was examined; but in none was found aught save blank cartridges. The suspicions of tle officers had guaturally fallen upon Leonard Mitchell; and ‘it was deemed necessary to place him under arrest until the coroner should havo instituted the usual enquiry. But he energetically declared his inno- cence; and those who were tho most ready to sus- pect him, were staggered by the sincerity which secmed to characterise his protestations, and by thu indignation which he manifested at tho crime im- puted to him, On the ensuing day tho inquest was held; and the result was favourable to Mit- chell. No particle of ovidence appeared to tell against him, unless indeed it were tho fact that he had been flogged n year proviously through the instrumontality of tho deceased nobleman. But nono of Leonard’s comrades who wero examined, could aver that they had ever heard him use a threatening expression in respect to Lord Satinet —no, not even in his cups, when tho truth is so likely to slip from a man’s lips and the real stato of his feellngs to be proclaimed by tho tongue. That the nobleman’s death was the result of an accident, was an alternative that could scarcely be adopted: for it was almost impossible that a ball- cartridve could have been mistaken for a blank one. Thus, thouch nota tittle of testimony could be brought against Leonard Mitchell,—and though ho was discharged from custody,—yet in the minds of all the officers and of many of his comrac4s, there still dwelt a suspicion with rogard to him. An open verdict was returned by tho jury,—to the effect that ‘tho deceased had met his death bya ball discharged from a carbine, but whether by accident or guilty intent, and by what hand, was unknown.” A few duys afterwards the remains of tho young nobleman were consigned to the tomb; end the Tory newspapers, in passing an culogiatn upon his character, grouped together such a variety EConnicloooks (SO)