The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 378: what you’re looking at

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THE MYSTERIES OF THE COURT. 367 mous folds of the reptile—he dared not inour the chance of becoming the victim of so horrible a doom. His decision was therefore taken in favour of a continued residence at the cavern. . The remainder of that day passed without any incident worthy of importance; and when the sun was sinking towards ite western couch, the Barker began to prepare his barricade as usual. The night went by without producing any subject for alarm—though for the first several hours the man could not close his eyes in slumber. At length sleep stole upon him, induced by a drowsi- ness which he could not possibly shake off; and he slumbered on until he was awakened by the sounds of a strange music resembling that of a flageolot, but with harsher and more discordant notes. The beams of morning were penetrating through the interstices of the barrier at the mouth of the cavern; and the Burker, starting up, rubbed his eyes,—at the same time fancying that be had heard the music only in a dream. But no :—the sounds still continued ; and hastening to remove some of the upper stones of the barrier, the Burker beheld a spectacle which for a moment filled him with joy, and the next instant struck him with unspeakable horror. CHAPTER CLVII. THE ITINERANTS.— THE COBRA. At a little distance from the cavern, several Hindoo natives, male and female, were seated upon the grass. They were in number perbaps a dozen ; and it was tho sight of these human beings which inspired the man with hie first feeling of joy. But a little apart from the group sat a hideous-looking old. Hindoo, with half-a-dozen cobra di capelios dancing in front of him. Bebind him stood a younger man, who was playing on the pipe, or flageolet, to the music of which the hideous reptiles were thus disporting. All of a sudden the old man caught up a sneke in each hand, and suf- fered the reptiles to coil themselves up his arme: then he took up two more, which he placed round his neck; and the remaining two he encouraged to twist themselves about his legs. The hoods of the serpents were expanded: bat all the time that they twirled and coiled and twisted about the man’s half-naked form, their heads and necks sustained a continuous oscillating motion, evidently in obedi- ence to the influence of the music, Jt was this spectacle which so speedily turned the Burker’s first feeling of joy into a cold shuddering horror. Averting his eyes from that portion of the scene, he examined more attentively the other persons belonging to the group. They consisted of young men and women, all the latter being of an ex- ceeding beauty. These females were dressed in short white skirts; and they had bands of linen over the bosom and passing round the back: but the interval between these slight zones, or corsets, and the skirts themselves, was left entirely bare. Their liubs were mudelled to the most admirable symmetry: they were nearly ali of tall figure; and their shapes were faultless. The linen bands: rounded development to the bust itself; and in this particular they were as well formed as in their general symmetry. They were near enough for the Burker to distinguish the lustre of their fine dark eyes, as well as the pearly whiteness of the teeth that shone between the rich lips like white seeds in the midat of a fruit of luscious redness. They were lounging in voluptuous attitudes upon the grass, laughing and chatting gaily with their male companions, and now and then bestowing a look upon the old man who was exhibiting his feats with the reptiles. But to those beholders the feate themselves were evidently no novelty; and therofore the Burker imagined that tho snake- charmers and the dancers all belonged to one party, and that the former (that old man and the young one with the flageolet) were merely prac- tising their performances, That these girls and their male companions were itinerant dancers the Burker bad no doubt: for he had seen such parties before, during his journey trom Calcutta to Inder- abad. That the itinerants would prove friendly dis- posea towards him he had sufficient hope: but that they at present suspected there was any looker-on at their proceedings he had no reason to fancy. He was about to throw down the barrier and reveal himeelf, when the dancers, as if with one accord, all started up and begsn to practise their own special performances. The Burker thoaght that he would wait until they had finished ; and he accordingly remained a still ua- seen spectator of all that was progressing. The dance began, slowly at first—the girls evi- dently practising the most voluptuous movements of their forms. Nothing could be more sensual than their attitudes and their movements,—which they made their countenances, especially tho eyes, follow as it were with a kindred expression. The young men who danced with them, imitated them in these respects: for nothing can exceed the licen- tiousness of these dances on the part of those pro- fessional itinorants in Hindostan. At length the dance was concluded; and the performers threw themselves in voluptuous languor upon the grass: but still the old man continued his feate with the serpents—while the younger one sustained the strange discordant music of the flageolet. The Burker was now upon the point of throwing down the barricade and revealing him. self to the itinerants,—when all of a sudden a ter. rific how}, or rather ferocious yell, burs¢ upon every ear; and forth from an adjacent thicket darted an enormous tiger, apparently leaping with a single bound for at least a dozen yards. With the wildest shrieke the women sprang to their feet—while fearful cries of horror and alarm pealed from the lips of the men. Flight became general, with the single exception of the old snake-charmer; for it was upon him that the tiger pounced with that terrific bound which it made. CEncircled as he was with the twisting snakes, was he thus seized by the ravenous animal, and borne off, yelling fearfully, into the thicket whence the brute hademerged. The Burker sank down in his cavern, horrified at this scene : but in a few moments the evidences of the old man’s avuny ovased—death had no doubt put a termina- over the bosom were éo arranged, by crossing each | tion to his trizhtful sufferings—and he was feedins other in the middle of the chest, to give the fall the bloodthirsty maw of the tiger. aa Cr (COLL G OOO SS} (COLL