The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 252: what you’re looking at

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

THE MYSTERIES OF THE COURT, on the face of had feature of the heaven. But the lynx-eyes of the difficulty in embracing every premises; and thus did he proceed without delay or hesitation in the prosecution of hie tack. Besides, it was evident enough, from his that he had been well quisite implements for house-breaking ; and in this still cilent. His club was under his arm—onoe hand carried the Isntern—the other, thrust into a pocket, elatched a pistol: eo, that should anything : | door: there a 245 ingly entered it—and tried another door at the extremity. This also proved to be open; and that it was s0, must be attributed to an oversight on the part of Dr. Ferney himself—for this door com- municated with a suite of apartments which the physician was almost invariably in the habit of keeping carefully closed. Where was it, then, that the Cannibal thus found himself? In the museum of physiological ; and waxen effigies. For a moment, as the light of the lan- tern revealed these horrors to the Cannibal’s gaze, he was seized with the consternation of terror: but this effect was not likely to remain long upon the mind of such a hardened, te, eare- nothing individual as he;—and the feeling was therefore quickly succeeded by one of curiosity. He stopped short, and looked around him. Here an Egyptian mummy, standing upright in its coffin-like box, met his view through the glass corpse, embalmed by Ferney’s own hand, and wrapped in a shroud, glared upon the Cannibal with its dull glassy eyes. Wherever his looks settled, it was to alight upon some hideous object—eome ghastly spectacle—or some monstrous curiosity. He passed on mto the adjacent room, impelled by a fecling which he himself could scarcely understand. Here an array of em- balmed heads upon a shelf first arrested his gase settled on a skull grinning on a table. He looked around: two waren ge as life—representing human shapes afflicted with dire and loathsome diseases —eppeared in their glase-fronted cases. also of transparent glass, containing infant moz- ere in another part of the room; and a ton, with one of its fleshiess arms nded, next arrested his attention. But, Ah! what other object did this gigantic atomy to be keeping guard ?—was that a living standing in a coffin-like case, and scen giaes door? or was it some fresh lied in the raiment of a Chiffin, still impelled by that same feeling of curiosity, drew nearer; and holding up his lantern, threw ite rays completely this object im its receptacle. Dismay and terror seised upon him: a subdued of con- sternation escaped his lipe—for it was Ralph Fare- field that seemed thus to be gusing forth at the Cannibal ! The club fell from Chiffin’s hand; and it was a marvel that the other still retained the lantern: but the handle thereof did his fingers clutch with convulsive force, as if some intuitive pre- vented him from losing the light which showed him that pale countenance on which his dism@ed and horrified looke were rivetted. Yes: there ti ae TE 2, 3 | stood Ralph Farefield—to all appearance as if he: had not been dead a day—the same as Lady Saxondale had seen him when, a few months back, she was introduced to the mysteries of this museum. There he stood—that same Ralph Fare- field whom Chiffin had known upwards of nine- it |.teen years ago,—dressed, too, in the garb he was accustomed to weer, and with. nothing to indicate that he was dead save the wax-like pallor of his countenance and the dull fixed stare of the glassy eyes! There he stood—the corpee of that man who had been one of Chiffin’s earhest patrons in ane ° a ES oa Sty rd (COL (C DOO CS (COL