The Mysteries of the Court of London, Vol. 5 — page 82: what you’re looking at

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

| ® THE MYSTERIES OF THE COURT. ms ee ee ee eo Soe eg ow pee +a GO: os. 2 aye eee ee ee served Madge, who keenly and skilfully read tho real feeling whiéh had inspired the Cannibal gt the moment. “Hongur bo hanged!” said Chiffin surlily: then immediately adopting a more conciliatory tune, he €9 ¢ Stor! stop, my lady!” oxesaimed old Solomaun, [= “=? Giese =s = oe. ee: evidently not wishing to let a good bargain slip out of his hafhds, “ I-—I—<don’t mind saying forty— \ | and that’s'¢he very outside.” “Give me, over the things, you oll seoundt O,” hastened to obsegve, “ Bu come, Lady Bess, if, said Lady Bess, more good-naturedly than angrily, thero’s anything you can really put in my way, I) “Iam rosolved not to fifty.” shan’t refuse to accopt it; and it might make us better fricnds.” ®. , “Very good: I will explain myself prosently,” replied tho femulo highwayman: fur at this moment ‘old Solomon Patch entered the room. He was an ill-looking man—shabbily dressed, of sordid appearance, and with a sneaking slyness in -the expression of his countenance. The lovo of gain was as clearly traced in every line of those angular fengures and that wrinkled faco ae if his charactor had been written @hercon; and it required no great depth of observation to porceiye that there was searccly any villany from. which Solomo& ePatch would shrink so long as he beheld the certainty of a commensurate reward. : “Am F intruding P” ho asked, as ho slowly and hositatingly cntered tis roomg-this deferential question not being addressed to either Chiflin or Madge, but to the amagonian beauty.° “ Intruding—no!”’ she gxclauncd. ‘All I want you to do is to take these trinkets which I picked up on tho road last night, and give mo what accord- ing to ydur ideas you think they are werth.” Thus speaking, Lady Bess, with an indifferent and care- less air, took from her pocket a watch and chain and three or four finger-rings. “I might have added some beautiful diamond studs to this little parcel of jewellery if I had chosen,” sho observed with a smilc upon tho fulness of her ripe and luscious lips: “but I let the poor frigiftened fellow keep them.” Who shoe was thus speaking, the watoh and rinys which she had laid upon tho table had sud- denly become tho objects of an carncst and intenso gaze on tho part of Madge Somers, who at once recognized them as having belonged to her guest of the preceding night—young Lé&d Saxondale. Chiffin the Cannibal was also contemplating tho | trinkcts—not Secauso he knew thom, for he.did nut : bim by some lady to whose son he is guardian; and —but because it was in the man’s nature to feel an | interost in anything that was the produce of plunder : at Icast. or other illicit proceedings. Lady Bess was her- self looking carelessly at the samo objects at the mument ; and thercforo she did not perceive tho attention with which Madge Somors was fixing her , | fan: no maftor how. Well} this Mr. Marlow Jias eyes on them. part with them under tho Solomon Patch continued turning the watch and chain over and over in his hand: then he examine the rings ono after the other: then he recurred ¢s the watch—opening it, examining the works, and in short scrutinizing it most minutely in evbry point. At longth, after several fruitless attempts to beat down Lady Bess in her price, he gavéNher tho fifty pounds she demafided afd walked off with the spoil. “ Now,” said Chiffin, as soon as Solomon Patch had quitted the room, “what about this little business that you have been talking of? Some- thing that you and I cah do together, you know, and which is to mako us better friends than we have yot bean?” 8 a “Qh! you must not think,” exclaimed Lady Bess, somowhat haughtily, “that I want to curry favour with you, Chiflin. But if I should be ablo to let you into a good thing,” sl& added with her wonted frankness of humour, $perhaps you will in future adopt*a more civil tone towards me ?” “Well, I don’t know but what I should give you my vote if tho whole lot of us that frequent Sol Patch’s were tgclect acaptain. So you sco I hav'n’t really any particular dislike to you, Lady Boss:”— and as Chiffin thus spoke ho endeavoured to look as pleasant as possible. “There!” said Madge, addressing herself to tho femalu highwayman: “I ain sure after that you won't refuse to throw a good thing in Chiflin’s way.” Not I!” exclaimed Lady Boss. “ And now then to the point. Somowhero near Edmontoa there lives a- lawyer named,Marlow. He ia very rich— thihke a preat deal*of himself—and bedecks his porson with vory valuable jewellery. Ife hus got a diamond ring on his finger that was presented tu this ring is said to be worth two hundred guineas Then his watch is set round with bril- liants—@o has a splendid diamond pin in his shirt- fgil—and in his pétket-book he always carries a good rourd sum in bank-notes. Now, all these par- ticulars I have ascertained direct frown his coach- gone to a party to-night; and I have positive infor- Solomon Patch took them off tho table, and bent down towards the light in order to examino them as‘ mation that he has got all his splendid jewellery closely as ypssible with a view to "ascertain their , about him—because it is to a first-rate house at tho valuc: then aftor a long &nd carof fl scrutiny, he West lind that ho®has gzone—indecd tu the very said in a stammering, hesitating mayner, “ Well, I | lady’s to whose son bo is guardian. In a word, don’t know—I always like to deal with your lady- | betwoen twelve and one o'clock this night if is my ship—you aro so good and gencrous: but I really ; intentiqn to case hin of those splenclid jewels as couldn’t say moro than thirty pouncs—and that! well as his purse and pocket-book, on the road to would be quite a stretch, to oblige yuu.’ | idmonton.” “Oh! never mind,” sail Lady Bess carelessly: | “And you want mp to help you, I suppose P” “Ido not intend to take less than fifty—and as 8 asked the Cunnibal, with a grim smile of satistaction ; am in no particular want of monoy at this moment, | at the prospect thus held forth. ; . . i oany ae a =a aa eae eahytes egy eee ee Bae OF eae? Segkp | 2.2) eS 0 @p-di - Me, Le i= [ will keep the trinkets tif I am. Or perhaps IT! « Precisely 60,” returned Lady Bess. “ But all may take a gallop down to Gravesend one of: ,these | tho assistance you need render will bo merely a fine mornings and see what your brother {sracl will | pretencd just for the sake of keeping up ap- offer.” ® ° pearances.” \ . * S892 ger "ate os 5 COLMUG OOO) SS (CO)