The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 128: what you’re looking at

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

that man of God—thst religieys ald .inpnator whe ipsseehed of Jesus riding on an ass and kept, tup ‘earriagee—-that worldly hypocrite who denogneed, riches frora the pulpit and received twenty thousapd .teyeay from the labour, tojl, and industyy of the ‘people—that hoary old sinner who voted for Sab- .bath-Bills while he kept a mistress. and fattened ;apon the fruite of his dgyghter’s adyltery and hamo,—this old Bishop it was who stergly bade the. starving woman “go and work for her bread ang not bring up.her children in idleness!” Then the mae of God passed on his way, ta: auch with anather prelate and deplore the ingfi- ‘ciency of the laws tg put down mendicants—nor itrouble himself as to what the real. meaning of ithe Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus may be. ' Pregently there passed down, Whitehall two young officers arcm.in-arym, — two of those aristocratic ijackaaapes who den the red coat ere thay are well foasened from their titled mammas’ aprop-strings, and whose commissions in the army are procured iby purchase! These lace-bedizened monkpys were senoking cigars—leering insolently at eyery pretty \girl they met—fanoying themselves irresiatible. in ithe trumpery gaud of their flaming apparel—and ithinking it an excelient joke because they had bees locked up al) night in a wateh-house for stealing i:knockers from front-doors. Hnumbly sid the eldest hay of the starving family accost these gallant ‘gentlemen who seemed to be laughing so good. humonredly : but the moment he dared to present ‘the ragged and famished spectacle of his personal appearance to the noble notice of those lordlingg, ‘the one turned aside in disgust as if he sniffed the foul air of a pestilence, and the other lboked ‘anxiously pound for a constable. In fjne, they passed on without even throwing the poor boy a ‘balf-penay ;—2ed within an hour they each jost.a thonsand ponnds at cards and dice! Soon afiexwards the humble curate who saluted the Bishap withguch profound respect, and regeived so haughly ap acknowledgment in return, — that same curate Who Preacted three sermons eve Sanday aod attendéd to the duties of a large pari for forty pounds a-year,—returaed slowly down Whitehall. He caught sight of the poor family —he paused and pat his hand into his pocket, Heaven knows there was little engngh there; and what thege was he needed for his ows poor family athome, But he drew forth a shilling ;—and an a tear trembled apon the lash of the worthy man, he presented it to Mrs. Melmoth, saying in a tone tremulous with emotion, “My poor woman,.I am sorry—rvery sorry thas Ican spare you no mors,. Batre” ° ' And, aa his heart. grew too fal) fox farther utters ance, the hambie curate—the real mipister of the lowly Jesus—burried away to bide his feelings and eseape the ontpourings of gratitude which fole lowed his sublime benevolence, Then tha Malmath family broke their fast;—and the bread which the poor mother ate way. moistened with her tears, as-¢he coptrasted in her, mind the behaviour of the pompous Bishop and that of the hard-working, balf-etazyed, and spjrit-brokeq curate. On rxetaming the statien which she bad c for her pitgous purgnit in Whitehall, Min. Mel was speedily wrapt in a mournful spvetie—from, which she was awacened by a private soldier who eccogted her. He was a fing, handsome fellow, Ws whnse noble farm set off the uniform which he wor to far greater adventaga than jf it bad beep ombtel. Bahed by the insignia af an officer ;—-and his fatal. lectual countenance, ngrked with,an giz of desisian. contrasted strongly with fhe iguoble, dissipated, and effaminate looks of the two lordlings who had from the comma sp. addressed Mra, . Prople huc one of natusalé elmoth jn a kind manner; nQ and, having uttered a few touching words of ay, , pathy, he put in her hand all the mangy he possessed pence —a few ha —~and walked rapidly away. Yet that man bore upon his back—hepeath the King’s. uniform—the deep scars and the long wails indelibly, imprinted on his flesh by the accursed gat-o’-ning- tails;—aud he waa likewise a marked man in, Kin tment, because he had been once. caught reading - a book written jn praise of the Freach. Revolu- | tian ! Tha curate’s and the private soldier’s money was all that the. Melmothe obtained on the-segond day of their mendicant lifes;—and in the evening they te- turned. to the law ladging-hopae where for a few pence they obtained shelter. The children spon slept: but the.unhappy, alaapst heapt-bmken mothex was seme hours before she could close her eyes in slumber. And ere a feverish and yeat came aver har, she tried to pray—hnt she ooyld not! No ~—pha. could not bring herself to pray: for she bagan to doubt the existence of a God. Neyer, never in all her life had she committed a deed of which she was ashamed : g good daughfr had she been—a good wife and mother had she proved ;—and wherelore, then, was she thus cruelly persecuted? Why.was she.doemed to behold her children less gazed for by the wozld than a wretched poodie-dog /—wherefore. was she eo completely crushed, weighed down, and averppwered hy an appalling sense of utter migery, that she wished herself dead-r;apd alrpady felt,. pec of suicidg creeping into her brain, accom- panied hy terrible ideas of murder in respect f9 her childrep. No—she could not pray; she had no hope Ipft—scarcely any faith ;—and without faith in yen.and hope that it will hear the proffirad prayer, how dould, she forage hey lips to frame the pious intercession 7 ; : And even if she coultl have prayed, Oh! what a place was itto pray in! Within the.fpur walls of a low reqm, blackened by smoke, and filled with gn atmosphere that seemed stagnant in its pestilential. density, were crowded together the vilest specimeng ‘ofall vile characters and the most miserable of the immense brotherhood of wretchedneas, While the qandle was still burning the logks of liceytious qffsopiery which the wamen wore and the. ferocious aspect of the men filled Mrs. Melmoth with mingled diagpst and slacm;—and whe the light was ¢x- tinguished, the ribald discourse that was still con- Gaued for sqme time, seemed to derive fresh harrore from the darkness. And then she pictured to, herpalf thas the time must come when her boys wopld grow .up,.te be as cuffian-like ag those men— ‘gnd¢ her daughters 5 shameless end abandoned as those wamep ! Qh! how could prayers ascend from quch a place to the throne of the Bternal?—how equld Quman.lips venture to offer up either thanks | givings or entreaties from .such a polluted atmo sphere? On the morrow the mendicant family issaed foray agasin—aod om this day did they glean from the some houss previously. This private soldier—g man ( { “ | , AOOLK ———_/ 7. co