The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 255: what you’re looking at

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

a erate | ae = ae 244 THE MYSTBRIES OF THE COURT. and luscious banquet for the Cholera, whenever | which was abominably sickly and fetid, and where that most terrible missionary of Death shall revisit | a miserably ahrivelled old man, with a greasy fur the British capital. Yes—thbere they are allowed to | cap on his head and the aleeves of his filthy shirt exist, not only by the bloated, rapacious, and be- | tucked up to his very shoulders, was superintending eottedly ignorant Corporation of London, but what | the operations of the sausage-machine, On a board is worse still, by the Government which is supposed | fixed against the wall and supported with one leg ag to exercise a paternal supervision over all the most | prop, was a pile of pieces of meat of the most dis. Tital intereate of the people. gusting description. They certainly were not green {nto that pandemonium of pestilence was it that | with putridity; but they were black with the un- dady Beas thus entered; and making her way,— | wholesome blood and gore clotted upon them. Just dut not without several pauses to conquer a the very moment that Lady Bess opened the :.ausea, which seized upon her, and many slips over | door, the old man was taking up in his hands a the slimy substances under foot,—towards a place | quantity of these loathsome morsels and tossing where three or four men were busy in attending to | them into the receiver of the machine. Lady Beas ihe cauldrons, she asked for Mr. Shakerly. The | turned aside, thinking that she must beat a retreat, uien desisted for a few moments from their opera- | and abandoning her object, flee away from this horri- tions to have a good stare at Lady Bess, whose | ble place where every sense was offended or outraged. beautifully shaped figure in its elegant costume wag | ‘Hullo! who’s that there?” exclaimed the old lavught out into strong relief by the lurid light of | man: then as Lady Bess, conquering her repug- che furnaces. They were at first surprised at secing | nance for the tenth time since she had entered the pach a fashionably-attired young gentleman appear | knacker’s yar:, turned towards him, he raised one within those precincts: but their wonder was an- | of his bloodstained hands to his cap, saying, * Beg hanced into amazement as the conviction stole upon | pardon, sir, but didn’t twig at once that it was a them that this handsome and exquisitely dressed | swell cove. My eye!”. he suddenly ejaculated, now young gentleman was indeed a wory beautiful and | discerning her sex: “who be you, ma'am? Why, lady, the rich contour of whose form | it’s that famous Lady Bess I’ve heerd talked of when could not be altogether concealed by the artificss of | I've been once or twice up at old Sc) Patch’s. the male toilet. Ain’t you Lady Bese >” “Wall I'm blowed, Bill,” said one aside toanother,; “I am—and I wish to have some conversation “i this isn’t a rum go. Ake don’t come to con- | with you.” | wast for cat’s-meat.”” “At your service, ma’am. i'leaso to shut the ““No--or for esssages necther,” was the response. | door, and we can talk ag comfortable here as any- “You wanta the old yn, me’'am-——or had I ought | where else.” ia say atx 7” “T gould not,” replied the amasonian lady. “I “Whichever you like, my good man,” answered | hava no donbt that your avocation is lucrative beady Bees, “provided you will only tell me if I | enough, and that you do not like to be disturbed at could see your master :”~-for sho was most anxious | it. But I can make it worth your while if you wiil to escape as soon as possible from the intolerable | just wash yourself a bit, put same decent clothes an, atmosphere of that place. and meet me in a quarter of an hour at any pubiio- “Where be the old un?” asked one of the men | house in the neighbourhood where we can have « ef his camrades: and then with a stout staff that he | roum to ourselves and a bottle of wine.” held in his huge hands he stirred up the whole} ‘Well, that’s an offer not to be refused,” returned esething contents of the cauldron, which sent forth | old Shakerly: “pertickler the making it worth a cloud of the sickliest vapour, so that volume after | my while. So it’s abargain. But F'm sorry you volume of the pestilential exhalation rolled over the | look so disgusted at what I’m doing: it’s quite as- well-nigh stifled Lady Bans. tonishing to me. Now aurely there’s nothink t» “I think he be in the sassage-room,” replied the | make you turn up your pretty nose at that sassage- men who had just been particularly appealed to: | meat. Them’s the primest pieces cut out of a« and as he spoke he lifted up in his hands an enor- | couple of ‘osses as fresh as can be. Why, I gives mous piece of horaeflesh eo putrid that it was green | the heart and livers in with ’em, and that’s the all over, and tossed it into the cauldron: then with- | reason my sassage-meat is in such request. There out even so much as wiping his hands down his | isn’t a slap-bang or small eating-house in London greasy blood-stamed smock, he took out his tobacoo | that doesn’t send to me for sassage-meat. And I’) bog, drew forth a quid, and thrust it into his mouth. | tell you a secret too——But answer me first; d’ye “Will you tell your master that a person wishes | ever cat sassage-rolls at the pastry-cooks ?” to seo him? or if you will tell me where I can find| Lady Bess made a gesture of impatience, and re- him, I shall be obliged P’—and Lady Bess spoke | treated to the threshold of the door. with ill-disguised loathing and disgust, for she could| “Well, if you have you've enjoyed ’em no doubt,” endure the hideous scene 20 longer. continued the old man; “and if you havn't you've “He be cv yonder,” was now the answer | missed a treat. Let me tell you, Lady Bess, thas which ber question recsived; and the individual | there’s many a fine pastry-cook as sells his sassage- who gave it, pointed to a part of the building where | rolls at tuppence or thrippence which is a deuced. Fut s compasatively faint light wan seen through good customer to me. My meat, mixed up with the dingy windows, pork—the proportions generally one to three—gives Gady Beas hastened to traverse the yard; and as |e rich favour, and a firmness too which you can’é | gna drew near the place indicated, the sounds of a get in pure pork sassages.” crasy mechanism in whirring motion met her ears. ‘I must really request that you will make your Gae opened the door, and found herself on the | preparations at once,” said Lady Be:s incffably iw Gereahold of a small low room, the stracsphere of | gusted: “for m7 tine is precicus.” GON GoOO SS CO