The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 175: what you’re looking at

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and terrified at beholding the unceremonious visitors. But almost instantaneously recovering the dignity which was natura! to her, she rose from the sofa—drew the morning-wrapper hastily over her bosom—and said in a haughty tone, “ Who are you?” “The lady says who are we, Jack,” observed one of the men, looking in a leisurely way at his com- panion. “TI should think she ought to suspect you at any rate, by that hang-dog wisage of your’n.” “It ’ud be a heavy bribe, master, that ’ud make me call you ’ansom, at all ewents,” was the reply, delivered in a half-sulky, half-subdued tone-of me- nial dependence. “ Again I ask who are you?” said Mrs. Fitzher- bert; though her fears had already suggested the reply to the question. “ Well, ma’am,” observed the individual who had first spoken, and who was dressed with a shabby kind of ffashiness, “I won’t keep you in no manner of uncertainty on this ere pint. My name's Nathan Crimp, and my office is in Chancery Lane. That's my man; and his name’s Jack. What his t/other name be, I don’t know—and don’t think he does his-self.” “I presume, then, that you are an officer ” sald her throat and suffocate her as she thus ven- tured to give utterance to the cruel suspicion that involved a crowning misfortune. “Lord bless you, ma’am,” exclaimed Mr. Crimp, “I thought you knowed all along who we was, and only asked just by way of a matter of form lite. I'm sure if ’'d suspected fora moment that you was in the dark as to our identity, I should have put you up to that dodge the wery first moment. ‘But when your flunky down in the hall there said that he’d come up and announce us, I told him not Co trouble his-self, but just show us which room you was in, and we'd announce ourselves. And so me and my man Jack there, we stole in as quiet as mice, so as not to disturb you, ma’am—which was wery considerate on our part, seeing that Rigden won't pay us a bit the more for doing the thing genteelly.” “Then am I to understand that Mr. Ridgen has had recourse to extreme measures?” said Mrs. Fitzherbert, with difficulty restraining” a violent outbarst of hysterical grief. - “ Rigden always does, ma’am,” replied Mr. Crimp, who was the most garralous sheriff's-officer ever known. “ He’s asharp ’un, ma’am—a preshus sharp ’un—isn’t he, Jack ?” “'Wery, master,” growled the individual thus ap- pealed to. “Rigden ain't a man to stand still while there’s anythink to be got by going on a-head.” “By goles, you're right there, my boy,” ejacu- sated Mr. Nathan Crimp. “And now, ma’am,” he said, adopting a mincing tone of excruciating politeness, as he put. his hat under his arm and produced a piece of paper of very ominous form and aspect,—“ perhaps you'll be so kind as to pay me the sum of two thousand pounds and seven- teen shillings, debt—together with four guineas, costs ——” | To cut the matter short at once, sir,” inter- vupted Mrs. Fitzherbert, «I have not the slightest means of settling this liability. You must there- fore place an execution in ‘the house—and I will forthwith apply to my friends.” hand or a discharge on the t’other. “Beg pardon, ma‘am,” observed Crimp; “but you altogether mistake the uaztur’ of this here busi- ness. Don’t the lady, Jack 2?” “No wonder—since you’ ve took all this time ta | explain it,” said the man, with sulky laconism. “Well, I'm blowed!” exclaimed Mr. Crimp crushing his hat under his arm with the sudden | paroxysm of excitement into which his follower's | audacious observation threw him. “ Who the devil would have thought that the lady didn’t understand the thing all along? Here's a ea-sea., and all in order, ma’am: and now if you'll be so obleeging es to come along with me to Chancery Lane——” A light broke in upon the brain of the unhappy lady—and the half-stifled shriek which burst from her lips cut short the garrolity of Mr. Nathan Crimp. Until within the last minute she had fancied that the officer’s purpose was merely to put an execution into the house—a process towhich | she had not been altogether a stranger in her life- time: but now that she found her personal freedom: to be actually compromised and that it was her arrest which was contemplated, a sudden coldness. | struck to her heart—and unable altogether to sub- due her feelings, she gave vent to that expression of anguish which interrupted the garrulity of the | Mrs. Fitzherbert, her heart appearing to rise into | bailiff - Falling back upon the sofa whence she had risen on discovering the presence of the intruders, Mrs. Fitzherbert actually thrust her handkerchief into her mouth to crush the emotions that were strug- gling for hysterical ebullition ;—and -Mr. Nathan Crimp, under the impression that she was about to faint away, rushed forward—pulled a brandy- flask from his pocket—and was about to make an attempt to pour some of the burning finid down the throat of the elegant lady of quality, when his man Jack caught him by tho arm, growling 2 savage remonstrance in his ear at the same time. ‘ Fhis little bye-play on the part of the bailiff and his follower had the effect of reminding Mrs. Fits- hetbert of the necessity of maintaining her dig- nity in the presence of those men ;—and, crushing’ her emotions with an almost superhuman effort, she turned towards Crimp, saying, “If I make you a handsome present, will you allow this process to stand over till to-morrow ?” “It can’t be done, ma‘am,” was the prompt reply. “You see, the caption’s made, and can’t be un- made save and except by payment on the von My man Jack is a witness to the caption being made aforesaid— and he can’t un-vitness it, as the sayin’ is. Them's the dificulties, ma’am.” “Bnt you will at least grant me a fow hours to send to my friends’ and procure the money ?” said Mrs. Fiteherbert, her tone becoming less impe- tious and her manner more conciliatory as the precise details of her position developed them- selves one after another in all their painfal and permex re reality. ell, ma’am, I don’t mind leaving my man Jack to keep you company for an hour or so, while you send round to your friends,” observed Mr. Nathan Crimp, after a few moments’ consideration. “But you see, I can’t lose sight on you altogether —or else you ceases to be in custody, and that’s as good as flight and escape on your part, whereby Rigden could go and fix the Sheriff for the whole debt.” ¢ oa (COU ‘ mms ¥ neo a (C DOO (CO