The Mysteries of the Court of London, Vol. 5 — page 331: what you’re looking at

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

. @ . r é ° a aT IT SOI Ia ae I SIE a na AP AGP aT a a CT, 318 | THE MYSTERIES OF THE COURT. } a eee ee ee ee ae Seo “They were—and very poor. My mother died,as { “ Wo,will meet again. Carry it we}l in your mind; { have already told you; and then my father went | —thia day month, and at this sane hour too—nine to Italy, where I was brought up by him until heé | o'clock in¢dhe evening—we williacet in London. See. died ulso.” _ | that-you keep this appointment : it may, or it may “ And what wero his circumstances in Italy P” 9 | not be important, TF it is, s0 much tho better: . “Tolerably good, Indeed, ho obtained a compe- | not, there will be no harf: done.” tency. But again I implore you-——" “ But you have named no Y place whore we are to “fave you made any endeavour to find out the | meat.” man Thompson to whom your father alluded i in his} True!" said the woman: and then she appeared last. words ?” to reflect for upwards of a fninute. “Tell mo the | “T have made ing uiries, and inserted advertise- waco of your abode,” sshe suddenly exclaimed. ments—but all in vain.’ Deveril at once named the villa in the neighbour- “Thompson f’ said the woman in a musing tone. | hood pt the Regent’s Park. a “Most probably the manager of tho strolling troop| “ !” gaid the woman. ‘One month hence, to which your father belonged—and évidently ac- | day for day. and hour for hour, will I bo at your quainted with a sucret which your father meant to | dwolling. And now farewoll.” reveal upon his death-bod. -Now, this Thompson | Having thus spoken, the strange creature ab- shall be found out, if he is above ground. Though | ruptly took her departure; and in a few moments I wander all over England, wearing out zn vary Deveril heard the cottage door close behind her. life in the search, he shall be found. ;-J wal ho We will no make any farther attempt to dnalyzo discover the living man, or tle grave in whicl: he ia | the § lictiig emotions which ‘this scene left in the buried !” mind of our young heto: they can bo better ima- The woman spoke with a resolute ene ot and a| gined than described. Exhausted in ev ery sinse, sternness of purpose that filled Deveril with aston-} ho eoon fell asleep through very woariness; and ishment, as well as excited his curiosity to. the | opened not hia eyes again until the morning. Ho most torturing degree of suspense. Who was this | rose, considerably rofreshod and invigorated hy the strange being that accident had thrown in his way ? | uninterrupted slumber which he had enjoyed; and how was it that sho had taken so sudden an interest ; having dressed hfmself, he liberally rewarded the in his affairs? why should she wander about the | good-hearled pédsants for all the kind attentions he world in search of the man Thompson ? What | had received at their hands. Ho then walked across earthly concern could abe have in the affair f All (go Gainsborough, whence he repaired to London by these questions did Deveril put. to himself, but with- | the earliest and roadiost means that presented them- out the possibility of answering they "by moans of | selves. any conjecture of his own. Suddenly a thought struck him. Was the ¢vhole thing a stratagem on her part to obtain money from him ? was she pre- tencling this deep interest in his affairs with the hope of making a draft upon his purso P Hs resolved to put her to the test. “You seem to feel an intorest in me,” he said; “and you speak of travorsing the land to discover something that intimately concerns mo? As a matier of course, you expect that i ahall pay your expenses——”’ “ Sigence, boy !” oxdlaimed the woina with a ‘look | of such ineffable scorn that ho was at. oncd con- vinced he had gono entirely on tho wrotig tack; and his suspicions on that head wore quieted: in a moment. “Do you think this is an affair of filthy lucre to me?” she asked, bending. ipon - him a | strange wild look: ‘or do you imagine that because I am clad thus miscrably, and look a imeré wander: CHAPTER LXVI. a ; vi SIGN OF TR “ BILLY-GOAT. Md It was between nino and {En o's tock abl night, when William Deveril and Mr. Gunthorpe alighted from a private carriage in tho immediate vicinity of old St. Pancias Church; and as they had proviously | renderod theniselveq*ucquainted with tho position of Apar. ‘Town, by consulting the thap of Landon, they had little troublo in making out its actual site. They crossed the canal bridge, and i inquiring of a person whom they met which was the sign of the Billy Goat, were duly" directod thither. On reaching the low boosing-ken, such uprosrious sounds of uncouth inerritno@t, mingled with horrible ixiprecations, come forth, that Deveril caught Mr. Gunthorpo by the axm, saying, “ My dear sir, 1 think you had mixth better not venture into this horrible place.” « Nonsenso, nonsense!” exclaimed Mr. Gun- thorpe. .“It is much worte for a young man like you—alrnost a boy, I thight snay—to pénetrato ‘nto such a den. But it is necessary—and wo will go together. -Conie—follow me.” Thus speaking, Mr. Gunthorpe pushed open the folding-doors of #he public-house, and walked in, Deveril close at his heels. “Pell them wagabones in the parlour there,” ex- claimed. Solomon Patch, “not to make such f ing beggar, I dm affecting sympathy on your behalf. for the sake of extracting the coizi frdm: your pockot ? William Deveril, you utterly mistake mo. Such is not my motive. Biit what is, I do. 3 intend to explain now :”—and she tose to depare. “ You cannot mean to uve: mo in this frightful state of suspense Phe said... “I do indoed perceive that there is a grave and @ serious mesuin? at the ebottom of all this; apd you. can well understand that my curiosity i is painfully gxicited. “ “Tam sorry that t I cannot‘ grality if. It would]. . | dono goed’ now. You ‘aitipt Teelrain your feelings. ee, a ae ie aie = a: op OG Ob be ae - a a a er eT Go about your avo iteoever they may be, cussed row. Here's genelmen come in; and who and wheresoever they midy fie; and ‘think no more | knows bet thcy haved mind to take a bottle sal wine Of gas fog one-whole-month!”,~ in a quict comfortable manner ?” “iM For one whole month!" echoed Dovoril. “And]- But as he spoke, the landlord of the Billy Goad tar , | cyed the visitors suspiciously, as if he thought they —_——-———— f ( ce a AS Se Se a SSS SG COMIC OOO© SS (CO)