The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 173: what you’re looking at

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

—_" ee OP — - | = —— ae es oe = . let out the whole secret. IIT a! Re Ee na eT Te: a, AG I 162 originals 7”? demanded Mr. Bealby, somewhat in- dignantly. “And then too, my friend the curiosity-dealer taught me how to make mum- mies ” . “Make mummies?’ cried Ben Limber, again in astonishment. “‘Yea—to be sure!” exclaimed Mr, Bealby. “I myself got up a couple of mummies in so artistic a manner that a member of the Archwological Society proved in a neat and interesting speech of about six hours’ duration, that they were at least four thousand years old; and there wag not a dis. sentient from this opinion. You see that mummy there, in the glass caseP I can assure you it was not in existence four months back; and this morn- ing a gentleman belonging to that very Society, and who is considered to be one of ite brightest ornaments—although he é¢ deaf and half.blind-— was thoroughly convinced that it is the oldest mummy ever brought into this country. He is to bring me twenty pounds for it to-morrow: but the worst of it, Ben,” added Mr. Bealby, lowering his voice somewhat, “is that I owe fifteen pounds to my landiady; and she will teke very good care to receive the money from the old archsmologist, or else she won't let that blessed mummy go out of the place.” “How long did you stay with your curiosity dealer?” asked Ben Limber: “or perhape I ought rather to have inquired why you left bim P” “Why, you see, the public curiosity is variable. To-day it’s an old picture—to-morrow Tum Thumb: to-day some rubbish from Herculaneum — to- morrow the Busjesmans. Well, just at that time the discovery of the Californian gold regions wes making a tremendous sensation: so I had some thundering large pieces of granite carefully gilt, and I exhibited them as nuggets. They were ina glass case, and protected by a row of iron bars. I advertised that they were worth seventy thousand pounds; and all the town came to see them. At length one of the workmen who had helped to gild the gravite, came to the exhibition one Monday murning ; aod ashe was the worse for liquor to the extent of some three or four pote of bger, he I decamped—bdut with , abvut eight hundred pounds in my pocket—the = we — —_——~— _ something else. fruit of a furtniyht’s industry in displaying my nuggets. And would you believe it, Ben ?—I feil a second time amongst thieves, and was plundered of my all!” “Light come, light go,” lauzbiog. “Ab! it was no laughing matter for me,” ob- served Mr. Bealby ; “ and I was obliged to take to Some little speculation which I need not dwell upon it was merely the exhibi- tion of a sea-serpent, being three conger-eels curiously joined together produced me fifty guiness; and then I resolved to turn curiosity- maker on my own account. I[ took these rooms : I applied wyself assiduously to work—I invested my little capital—and now that I have got my said Mr. Limber, : gtock-in-trade all in readiness, there comes a lull in the curiosity-market—things are fiat—skeletons are beluw par—old armour is at a discount —there is no briskness in Roman brickbate—vessels from Herculaneum are dull—and nothing but that mummy appears to be looking up.” “As pleasant a series of adventures as ever onc THE MYSTERIRS OF THE COURT. could wish to hear,” said Ben Limber. “ You are poor—and I am poorer etill: you will have five pounds to-merrow for yourself out of the twenty — I have not got five pence, and no chance of getting them either.” ““Never mind, my boy,” said Mr. Bealby: “we shall be able to do something together. There's always a fine opening for men of enterprise and talent in this great metropolis, And I tell you what, Ben,” added the archmologicel gentleman, in a tone of confidence—which was accompanied by a look rendered all the more mysterious by the influence of the alcoholic liquor,—“twu chaps could work an oracle mach better than one, I have often felt the want of a clever partner, or assistant. Lord bless you! if I had only possessed such an auxiliary as yourself, I should have in- vented and exhibited the perpetual motion long ago. But then where the devil was I to gets trustworthy fellaw to turn the crank in the collar P” “True!” said Mr. Limber: “there are no doubt many thinge which two can do together, but which can’t be accomplished by one.” “ [ have got hold of a capital idea,” said Mr. Bealbv ;: * bat it wante a little cash to start ise some twenty or thirty pounds or so.” “Sell off the whole of this trampery and raise the coin,” suggested Mr. Limber. “* My dene tellow,” responded his edifying friend Mr. Bealby, “you require to be enlightened on this point, These things are not worth eighteea- pence, unless somebody takes a fancy to teem. Look at their intriasic value: it is nothing! Sead them to an auction, or call ina lot of brukers —end to what ignomiojvus nothingness do all my beaa- tiful curiosities becuine reduced! A brickbat is then eimply a brickbat: this curselet, which | de- clare to have beeo worn by Sir Willié.a Wallace at the battle of Falkirk, turns out to be a H»rse- Guard's rusty breastplate, worth « few pence as old iron: that piese of pottery with the handle broken off, and with the lettera T. I. scratched upon it—which I, speaking srehmslogicalls, pro- nounce to be an ancient R»:nan vessel of the time of the Emperor Tiberius —tae initials standing for Tiberius Imperator, —that piece of pottery, [ say, dwindles down in a moment to a base pipkio which some urchin of modern times has coafec- tioned hardbaxe or Everton toffic. So it is, my dear fellow, with the best part of these erchmse- logical marvele—with all the quaint dresses and curious costumes: or at all events auctioneers and brokers are such Goths and Vandalsas to be utterly indifferent to the value with which antiquity stamps them. Ina word, Ben, barring the mummy which is as good as sold, | don’t think my whole collection, if sent to the hammer, would fetch tea shillings.” “Why not invite a number of your archa@ological friends to inspect the museum,” asked Mr. Lamber, “and tell them that you want to sell off in order to make a voyage round the world~—or take a descent into Vesurius—or to plunge into the Maeistrom to see what causes the whirlpool id “ All this is ingenious enough Ben,” interrupted Mr. Bealby: “ and I bonour you for the inventive genius you have just displayed. But the triok will not take. I told you just now that the curiusity market is as dull as ditch-water~—skelotens are ElOOOlKS COMM