The Mysteries of the Court of London, Vol. 7 — page 89: what you’re looking at

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

a ~ Ss a THE MTSTERIES OF THE COURT. within tho range of our own experience, we have met persona professing Christianity of a viler stump of’ rascality, and capable of more unmiti- gated scoundreliain, than ever we discovered a Jew to be guilty of. Mr, Samuel Emanuel was the proprictor, as we have said, of an immense clothing mart. He bad speat thousands and thousands of pounds in ad- vertising it, and had puffed himself up into an amazing notoricty. Not wooden hoarding about London that was not covered with his placards, Jf you took your seat in an omnibus, a shower of little booka, neatly stilched, would suddenly rain 1m upon you: and on picking one up, you imme- diately recognised the supegb frontage of Mr. Samuel Erqanuel’s establishment in the form of a wood-ent yon the cover. If you went for o walk in the flelds in the environs of London, your eye would catoh the name, eulling, and udsress of Mer, Samucl Emanuocl upon every fonce and on every dead wall. If you looked in the advertising columns of newspapers, your cya wuuld suddenly rest. on a string of ill-measured lines, by courtesy called “poetry ;” and if you had tho eurivsity or patience to read the wretched dogegrel, you would thence evolve a scries of the most ‘extravagant puffs of Mr. Samuel Emanucl’s ostabliahment. There could be no doubt in your mind that while Mr. Bamuel Emanuel eonsidered the Sovercign to be-the first personage in the reulin, be entertained the pleasing ocunviction that he himeolf was the second. Talk of your first-rate authors —your eminent artists, or your great sculptore—talk of your renowned warviora by sea or by land—what was any one of these in comparison with the far- famed Mr. Samuel Enianuel ? And yet, if you walked into his estabhshment and beheld this great personage, you would find him to be as unpropusseesing a fellow as you could possibly meet in a day's walk. BSearcely of the middle height—-il] made and ungainly —he sought to set hineselt’ off by all (he accessories of his own tailoring craft. No trouser-pattern in hia own window would be more outrazeous than the one selected fur his pantaloons. *Ho would wear a | dress-coat, with rich velvet cullak and lappvels, as carly as eight o'clock in the morning; and his waistooat would be of the gaudiest sulk pattern. As for his neckerchief, 1t would be suro té cor- respond in its flauntiny vulgarity with the rest of | his attire, and would be fastened in front with some inconcotvably outrageous breast-piu-- perhaps an enormous earbuncle clutehed in a gulden fist. Festooning over his gaudy waistcoat, thers would be three or four watch-chains of diffurent fashions aad degrees of massivencss ; and his dirty, stumpy, ili-shaped fingers, with very burrible waile, would be devorated with enough rings tv fille suall tray, auch as those whose cuntente purebasers gre in- vited to iaspect in jewellers’ shops. As for his cuuntenanoce, it Rad all the prominency of profile characteristic of bis race,--but with an expreseiun of mingled hardneng and meanness, af lew paltry cunning and avarigieus groed —toyether with @ faculty for the sudden ssswaption of a eoaray vul- gar wmsclesce, that might readily be supposed to characterize sueh an individual. His wife was a perfyt, ginutess, with large : 78 why not bad Israelites aq well an good ones: We | coarse features—an enormously stout shape—~end will even go farther—and we will affirm: that an air of brazen effrontery which she seldom took the trouble to subdue. There waa a certain showi- ness about her—a sort of Flemish mare kind of handsaemeness, which to some littl extent was striking; und Mr. Emanuel considered her one of the finést specimens of the female sex. For thie uxoriousness he wae rather to be honoured than otherwise ; and therofore we record it gs no impue tation to hie detriment. . In respect to the ag itgelf, we need only observe that it was splendidly fitted up—that the shup-windows were of the largest sised plate- glass—ihat the lamps were almost endlessly mul- tiplied --and that as the show-rooms were crammed with goods, so the yariuus shopmen were well nigh countloss in each particular deperftnent. Hut. truth compels us to add thet the garments which Mr. Samuel Eroanucl bad for sale, were very much like - himsulf'—dashing und fing, but infyiusically mean and trumpery. Indeed, the cheapest of his articles would prove the dearest bargain that a pur- chaser could possibly possess himself’ of; they were very much after the samme description as Rebaz Pindar's razora, which were wade to soll, and not to cub: for Mr. Emanuel’s garments were made for disposal, and not for wear. To this establishment was it that, at about eleven in the forenoun of the day after the twins’ removal to their new lodging, Christina bent her way, in company with her brother. He however remained oulside while she entered; but just within the door she etopped short, unJer the influonre of a sudden timidity which geized upon her. At the game moiwent she heard voiosg speaking: but (pose who wore thus engaged in conversation, were eonccaled fram her view, as she was hidden from their’s, by an array of gaudy dressing-gowns fur rentlemen, hung upon frames go contrived as to show off the particular fit and appearance of the several garments. Christina could not for the life of ber move anothor atep forward at the ine stant: she was overwhelmed with basfulness— there was n sickening sensation at her hoart —for she felt as if she were there under almost mendi- cant circumstances. It was no wonder that the delicate sensibilities of the young girl were thus poiynantly touched by the sew poation to which My. Preston's flight had reduced her; and tears starting rnto her eyes, she wag compelled to linger where she was in order to control and franquillize her feelings, She thus unavoidably became a listener to some portion of the discourse which Was going on behind the array of dressing-gowns- “Well, Mr. Sulomons,” said a coarse masouline voice, spenking with the half patronising, half stern acvents of authority, “eo far sq good. But we must think of at least a hundred other meaus ot' keeping the Emporium incessantly before the public. Ab! by the bye, have you cen about some ragged buy or wretched-loeking woman, to fling a stone at the pane which got accidentally craved yesterday P” “ Yous, sir—it 1s all right,” answered Mr. Bolo- mous, who, we may as well af uneo ipform our rendera, was Mr. Bmacuel’s priacipal aod ountidea- tial clerk. “I succeeded yauterday in getting bald of the meat pitiable object that evar was sean in fe- mnle shape; end abe gill be ig the street present! . ee oe ee Pe Gf ee ee eee eee oe 8 ee eee ee eee a ED EP EEL a ee yD rom = = hea — = eae ag eon > ee age? ee ee ee ee oe _—- NOG