The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 172: what you’re looking at

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

- —S———— te —_ =] ee Py shee 8 eee ee ee ES ne reste THE MYSTERIES OF THE COURT. 161 SCL AUAMTANTRNNIRN a Nh | Te 7 ita ras. —— hberally—gave me his address in London—and to me; and I disposed of all my curiosities. But told me to call upon him. This interview gave a I was terribly disappointed at the pettiness of new impetus to my fertile fancy. I phar ad the price which I obtained for them. I really self with all sorts of curiosities,—a piece of the thought that I was playing an excellent game with true cross which a Cardinal had given me in Rome the credulity of the curiosity-dealer,—uatil on —a fragment of the holy coat which is preserved grumbling at his terms, he gave me to understand at Treves, and which fragment a monk whom I it was the ideas he was paying for, and not the made tipsy had sacrilegiously torn off for my things themselves—for those he knew to be all ' special gratification -—-the veritable cannon-ball humbugs. Then I laughed heartily—he laughed which struck the spire of St. Stephen’s at Vienna | likewise—and the end of it all was he offered me and knocked it on one side, when the Turks besieged a regular engagement. I remained with him for that city—the bullet which slew Nelson at Trafal- | about six months, helping him with the ingenuity ger—the identical pen with which Napoleon signetl of my original ideas, and becoming ivitiated in the treaty of Amiens,—in short, I cannot enume- | many of the myateries of his craft. He taught rate the curiosities, ancient and modern, with | me, for instance, how tu get up old pictures; and which I provided myself while on my journey to | I learnt that he constantly employed six artiste to London. Then, on arriving there, instead of call- | paint him originals of Rubens, Vandyko, Titian, ing on the old purveyor whom I[ had encountered | Greuso ——” et the tile-kiln, I went straight to the shopin| “Originals?” ejaculated Ben Limber. Wardour Street, which he had happened tonamé; “Why, of course!—weren’t they to be sold as No. 73 —Fourtu Sexiss. ee SSS SP SSeS Spa co Lf G OVO) (CO Lf