The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 204: what you’re looking at

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

THE MYSTERIES OF THE COULT. 193 gr ae [wrs. prace.] masonry over-head—loosening the mortar as well as ‘the was able round the key-stone of the arched ceil- ing. The task was by no means easy: for the mor- tar had hardened into the callosity of the granite- blocks which it held together—the position in which ‘Warren was forced to labour was an awkward one— and the dust of the disturbed lime fell into his eyes. Nevertheless he tailed courageously on in spite of these digadvantages; and in half-an-hour a large stone next to the central one was dislodged. The first breach having been made, materially facilitated the ensuing operations; the key-stone itself was soon semoved—and by ten o’clock a considerable excava- tion was formed in the middle of the ceiling, 20 that the Magsman could feel with his hand the lower side of a flagstone in the pavement of the cell overhead. To raise this flag was no easy matter. It was ne- ceesary to clear away all the masonry adhering to But at length this labour was accomplished; and the Magsman, to his infinite joy, found the flag yield to his vigorous upward pressure. He moved it away from the mouth of the aperture which he had thus formed; and, without any diffi- culty, the adventurous Mageman passed through that opening into the cell immediately abovehis own, He dared not take the candle with him—for if any off- cial of the prison should happen to be passing along Newgate Street and observe a light streaming from the loop-hole of a room which he knew to be occupied at the time, a suspicion that something wrong was going on would instantly be followed by a search—the result of which must, as a matter of course, prove fatal to the Magsmans en In the dark, therefore, did he hastily grope about the cell into which he nad thys worked his way :— and, to his joy, be discovered that it contained an those parts where it joined the circumjacent stones, | iron bedstead similar to the one which had served fm ales Ened toe sere bie pee, him as a scaffolding below. Tilting it up lengthwaye comicloooks. conn