The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 61: what you’re looking at

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

46 And now over the apper portion of ber dress passed the heavy enid ‘han of the corpse—and oa tw her bosom was continue! the lasthsome, .ter- tible eoutact. At the same time that the pre eeuce of the dead was thus upan the ample, firmn, and exuberant contours which had .so often heaved in amorous sport aud so frequently pillowed the head of sume fuvoured lover,—at the same mu- ment, we say, that the hanil of the corpue thus alowly began to wauder over the ‘luxuriant gidbe that palpirated nv longer in wantoa enjuyment, but was motionicss as the breast uf the marble statue, —at the same instant was it the horrified woman Lecame sware‘that the dead*hody of the murdered man was stil] drawing itself cluser and oluser te her side | Aud then it really appeared to her as if a screawn tose up to the very tip of her tongue, but was stopped by the clused portals furmed by her com- pressed lips s—and thus still did her murtal anguish coutinue to grow the mure excruciating from her alter inability to give expressivn to it. Frum her busoin the hand passed slowly—Ah! aud with a revulting touch like that of a slimy serpent—aloug the neck of the tortured wanan, as she thus ‘lgy aivtiuuless on the Hoor. ‘Over her chin weot the hand—then it pas-cd gradiently upon her left cheek—and all this while the corp-e was drawioy cluse up to her right side! Aclength the hand quitsed her couuteuance —and the arm wound itwelf by deyrees about hor neck, the dead body turning itself cowards her the while! And now the corpse raised itself cuffiuiantly to stoop over and place its culd c untensuce in Gan-. eact with the cheék of the nuillliner;—and fhe acm chas circled her neck, appeared to ‘press her luvingly. O heaven;! who oan describe the hide- gusuess—the revolung loathsomencsas—the m): tal hurroc of that uooatural embrace? But, as if the cup of gall, and filth, and abomination shonld be fied even w the overtluwiug,—as if there should be nothing required to render this monstrous drama as culupiete iu all 3 details a4 possible,—aud as if this furetaste of posthumous punishment wereto be crowned with all the horrors conceivable by mortal imagination, —the gurpse slowly, ‘bat surely aud cesuiutely, glued its lips tu the mouth of the mil. liner and sent with its awful caress an ice-chill throughout ber whole frame. The powers of juinan endurance were now tested to the extrene—the strength of the human intellect was tried to the last degree. A tecrible revulsion ensued all in a manent: the limbs of the woman recovered their pawe.: of mniovement—her jaws were uolocked—and with a cry of mingled horror and an- guish she started up. The light of moruiug was streaming in between the cortains; aod as the milliner cast her eyes wildly around her, they encountered the face of Peter Grumley’s corpse, lying precisely in the same spot aud in the same position as when it had fallen from the chair. Then Mra. Brace knew that she had been labouring ander the influence of a horrible night-mare—a long dream made up of such frigttful incidents that the memory thereof must inevitably follow her to the grave, even should her life extend to the utter- most stretch of human existence! The truth was that when she had sunk down upon the carpet under the influence of the terror caused by the belief that she béh#U-the countenance of'a.corpes at the winfow, the partial ‘ which hafthas esized upon her yielded to (he effects of utter exhaustion o mind and ‘body; anile degp‘slumber ‘fell apoa ‘her eyes. So marvel, then, was it if the dreall tragedy of the night haunted ber m tthe dreams which accompa- nied ‘her sleep ;—anti the frightful activity of her dis- ordered fancy displayed its power m the appalling vision which we lsave detailed ao minttely. But though now réleased‘from the terrors of that vhocking night-mere, dite. Brace stil] found hervelf in the presence df the ‘trementious embarrassment whioh her ctime had created. Ste lodkell at her watch: it was half-past six .o’dlock in ‘the moraing! The night was gone—and nothing was Wane to dis- pose of the corpse. Sudh-was her reflection ;—and ‘then game the maddening cooviction that she could uot poss.b)y make away with it unless by the assis tance uf one or more ol’her damestica. But‘to place ‘herself in their power——Alr! better have remained | at the mercy of Peter Grumley and have been epared } ‘the remorse and ‘the @augers attendant upon the ctime of murder’! But what was she to Gof—how was ‘she to -act? ‘It was useless‘to repine ‘any more: the ‘past could uot be recalled ~and it ‘beeame tmpenousty neces- Bury to xndopt measures for the security df‘the futare Upon the body she stood gaging for some minutes wile these thuughts passedl ‘through ‘herimmd ;~—and whe no‘iunger experienced avy feelings of terror—fer it is not by tiny -light thut marderers are afraid ! But what was she%o tu? A ‘hundred ‘times in a minute dit! she ask lrerself tins queation; and ne | satiefactory answer could whe give. it ‘length dhe reason! with ‘herself tlrtt nothing could now be Gone ‘for some ‘huurs —that she must convesl the-carpee-as well as she could until-urenext night—and .ip the meantime there wonld be ample leisure to resolve ; upon the-mast prudent cauree to be‘then adopted. | Having thus succeeded in lodkimg at ‘her positien with more calmness and deliberation ‘than ehe had | hitherto ‘been enabletl to exli to her assistance from the moment the Bow Street Officcr fell a corpee at her feet, the milliner resolved to conceal the body is ‘her ‘bath-room adjoining. ‘Ste however found it ne ; easy task‘to drag sv ‘hue a inass into that place: | but at length she accomplishett this task ; and, locke ing the door, she feltthat-‘she could begin to-breathe more freely. She now hantened ‘to lay aside ber garments, whieh | she had worn xil night; but when-she upproached | the mirror, sie reoviled in horror and dismay at the ; ghastly cuuntevance that was reflected therein. And ‘yet those fextures were her own—and it was no spectral face which touked at-berthrough themedium of that glass! But, great heavens! what an fect had this ons nigitt of sufering, terror, guilt,and anguish produced upon the milliner! Tler eyes were-sunken and hol- low—her lips were i:vid—her face was cadaverous where the rouge luy 10¢ upontt—uand-upon the checks that paint addeil to the ghasfhness ¢f ‘her looks, “Tis will not do,” marmured Mrs. Brace'to ‘bee- ‘self: “ary appearance will exettc’ the vtrangest eus- picions! Nothiug bat my ‘sccustemed bath will ellectually revive me!” Aud to take this bath dt was nesessury ‘to suturn into the place whither ebe ‘had ‘ragged the corpee: but as tue beams uf mortimg grew'brighter within the rooms, all superstitious terrors evaporated from (1 nr ed 5. itp a et nw aise C) COLIMIG DOO (CO