The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 188: what you’re looking at

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

instantaneously. Then onward would he go—pro- ceeding from tomb to tomb as before, —now paus- ing to examine the ground between—then atrain- ing his eyes to examine the appearance of some grave in the distance,—now giving vent to a sudden feeling of anguish in profound sobe—then remaining dumb, as if all his senses, all his facul- ties were for the time absorbed in that influence which shed its mysterious and appalling spells upon him. Ob! surely, surely the doom of that monster- man was very terrible!—surely he was some s0- cursed being fulfilliug a destiny of no common order! But let us follow him now, as he pursues his way from one tumular elevation to another. The moon is shining in all her silver purity— the stars are keeping company with the vestal of the night. Into the strongest relief are thrown the salient features of the scene: into the darkest gloom are the shades flung. The striking con- trast of the argentine brilliancy and the sombre depth is ever inseparable from a night thus splen- didly moonlit ;—and amidst the light, the silence, and the picturesque aspect of the whole scene, the dark form of that man moving from grave- stone to grave-stone has something ominous in its appearance. Bat, Ah! how he pauses again: and this time "tis not to listen—’tis not in terror. No — tis because he distinguishes a new-made grave —and he looks well to the nature of the inter- vening objects to assure himself how he may ap- proach it in security. As on the former occasion, he moves cautiously from tomb to tomb until he is close up to the verge of the mound so recently raised. It stood within a foot of a low tumular structure, the sides of which were of brick-work supporting a large stone horizontally placed and whereon an inscription was placed. Lying flat with his face downwards upon this monument, the midnight desecrator of churchyards was enabled to grope with his hands all about the immediate vicinage of the newly-made grave,—and at length finding a wire, for which he was evidently searching, he fingered it so delicately as to prevent the slightest vibration, and then clipped it asunder with the pair of scissors which he invariably car- ried about his person. This being done, he fearlesaly descended from the neighbouring tomb—detached a large portion of the wire—threw the piece away—and then began to hollow ont the grave to which an occu- pant had eo recently been assigned. It now appeared as if an infernal energy in- spired him. Like Samson when pulling down the edifice ppon his own head and the head of his persecutors, the monster-man seemed to ac- quire from some mysterious and superhuman source an amount of strength equivalent to the task which he had in hand. The perspiration poured off him—his garmente were almost saturated with the moisture. As the moonlight streamed upon his countenance, the veins upon his brow appeared like knotted cords beneath his skin. Straining at every nerve —aweating at every pore—the monster-man pur- sued his toil, shovelling up the earth with incre- dible speed, and all the while swayed by a terror leat he should be detected im the horrible work ! 175 At length the coffin was reached—the spade struck upon the lid—and the sound was as hollow as if the dead inside had spoken in sepulchral tones—a little more earth to shovel out—and then the way was cleared for the raising of the coffin. This was speedily accomplished ;—and when the long, narrow, sinister-shaped thing lay upon the mound of soil that had been thrown out, the monster-man forced off the lid with his spade. This was the work of a few moments; then the winding-sheet was torn away—and upon the marble countenance of an elderly man did the moonlight pour its silvery flood. Yes—the corpse was that of a man long past the prime of life, and whose appearance must have been venerable during his latter years. Hoe had not been dead many dsys—nor buried many hours: indeed, he looked as if he were but serenely sleeping—for as yet there was nothing loathsome in the aspect of the corpse. For a fow moments—nay, for upwards of a minute—did the monster-man gaze intently upon the face of the dead: and then sa desperate struggle seemed suddenly to arise within his own breast—increasing all in an instant to a frightful pitch, as the sea when the squall] sweeps over it is lashed up into surging billows quick as the eye can wink. Was he battling with the wild hurricane of some passion claiming the mastery over him ?— was he fighting against some ferocious craving which was rapidly acquiring strength and power was he warring with some demoniac instinct from which all his better feelings revolted? Yes —1it must have been so: for he writhed fearfully —he twisted his form about as ff it were a huge piece of rope that was thus undulating—he seemed like a piece cut out of a monstrous snake, and in which the vitality still manifested itself by torturing convulsions. Then dreadful moans escaped him, mingled with suffocating sobs: then he dashed his hands violently against his brow— then he clenched his fingers in his hair. But the infernal passion gained upon him—the hellish influence was rapidly asserting {ts com- plete mastery. One desperate struggle more—one last tremendous effort to fling off the serpent- coils that were closing in around him,—one final attempt to breathe a prayer,—and then " -———Oh! then all that followed was hideous and horrible in the extreme: for suddenly seizing upon the spade which lay at his feet, the monster- man raised it savagely—brandished it ferociousby —and then began to mutilate the corpse with a spite as diabolical and a malignityas infernal as if he were a fiend avenging his own fall upon the human race! And now the wretch gnashed his teeth—and ground them to d sacked his lips, whioh were parched with a burning thirst: then his tongue lolled out, and the foam gathered round his mouth, becoming bloody in a short time with the cracking of those lips so painfully parched. And the man’s eyes glowered like those of a demon,—yes, glowered and glared like red-hot cinders set in those sockets where eyes were won’ to be! And still he continued to hack and hewW the corpse : still he pursued the infernal pastime. His loathing and repugpance had all disappeared—or a rather had changed into a delirious pleasure, and COMINCOOOKS. COM