The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 182: what you’re looking at

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

171 assisted by Mary, conveyed it down-stairs—old Mr. Fossilton following. The instant they were gone, Bealby closed the door: and hastening to pull a- side a portion of the green baize, ho whisperingly asked, “ Are you all right? have you got enough air ?” “Blow me,” growled the Burker, “if I could have foreseen there wus a-going to be such a pre- cious sbindy as all this——-” , “Well, never mind — everything will be all right!” answered Bealby. ‘“ We will soon get you down into the other cart: I shall drive off with you—in half-an-hour the open fields will be gained beyond Holloway—and then you will be free as air.” * Make haste then,” said the Burker from the depth of the coffin-like box ; “ for I’m so preciously squeeged and scrouged up here, I don’t think as how I shall ever get the use of my limbs again.” Bealby sped to the window; and looking out, saw that the trunk containing the mummy, was just being consigned to the cart driven by the potato person, as the landlady most elegantly called him. Old Mr, Fossilton was helped up by Ben Limber into the vehicle: and seating himself upon the trunk, he took a huge pinch of snuff in complacent and satisfactory anticipation of the pleasure he was shortly to enjoy in unrolling the bandages which for three thousand yeara, as he thuught, had enve- loped his precious acquisition | The potato person whipped the horse—the ani- mal started off—but unfortunately at that very instant the rod or bar which kept the body of the cart tight down upon the shafts, accidentally came out. Up tilted the cart; and lo and behold! trunk, archeologist, and potato person were all pitched backward into the street. The cord fastening the trunk, either snapped or became untied; and out rolled the mummy. Mr. Bealby beheld the acci- dent from his window, and gave vent to an ejacula- tion of mingled rage and disappointment. A crowd instantaneously collected; and as Mr. Fossilton raised himself up with difficulty from the atones on which he had been sv rudely flung, he thrust his elbow into the mummy’s mouth, and sent the hideous looking apology for a face crashing in. “ My eyes, here’s a go!” shouted a man from the Market, with half a dozen ropes of onions pendant to a stout stick over his shoulder, and a short clay pipe in his mouth. “ Hooray!” vociferated another individual from the same precincts, and who bore a basket of cab- bages upon his head. But those who were nearest to the scene of the accident, looked on with mingled dismay and borror: for the firet glimpse they had caught of the hideous shape, as it rolled out of the trunk, naturally in- spiced those feelings. “My mummy—O my poor mummy!” moaned Air. Fossilton, who was reduced to despair. “What's the old genelman a saying ?’’ asked a ragged boy of a dilapidated costermonger. “Vy, don’t you hear ?” was the response: “he’s a calling out for his mammy.” “My eyes!” cried another: “ he’s rayther an old boy to be afeard that his mother should know he’s out :”—and this jest was receiyed with uproari- ous laughter. “It’s his mummy, you fool,” said a somewhat superior species of the Market population; for tho speaker had on some great holiday visited a mu- seum of curiosities. “That's a mummy — most likely a King of Egypt, which died three or four | thousand years ago and was preserved in bandages just as you preserve inguns in vinegar.” “ A mummy indeed !” said a man, with aleathern apron on, who having emerged from the nearest public-house, had worked his way through the crowd with the well-meant purpose of rendering his assistance. “ A rum looking mummy this here ! It’s uncommon like leather.” Thus speaking, the aproned individual took up a piece of the smashed countenance; and first break- ing it into minuter fragments, he put a morsel be- tween his teeth. “Oh, the cannibal! Blowed if he ain’t eating the mummy!”’ ejaculated sevcral voices; and the foremost of the crowd gazed with a kind of awe-felt curiosity upon the mummy; and with mingled surprise and disgust upon the man in the leathern apron. } “Mummy indeed!’ exclaimed this individual scornfully. “I ’spose you'll tell me next that I don’t know what leather is. cobbler for these twenty-three years without know- ing summut about the article I works with.” “Leather!” cried the indignant Mr. Fossilton, forgetting his accident—forgotting the crowd—for- getting the public place in which the scene was occurring—forgetting indeed everything except the sense of insult he was now smarting under at the idea of the gross manner in which the reputation of his mummy was assailed. “Leather? I tell you that this isa mummy—the corpse of some distin- guished person of an ancient age—threo thousand years old if it’s a single day !—and that I’ll swear by the wrappings! I am ashamed of you, my man. If it were an old shoe on which you were called to pass an opinion, it would be all very well.” “Three thousand year old—stuff and nonsense {” ejaculated the cobbler disdainfully. it’s leather—burnt, scorched, or something -—— And, by jingo! if I don’t think it’s some that I sold a genelman which lives up there in the second storey of that there house, and which is knowed to be uncommon clever at getting up these here sort of things.” At this crisis Mr. Limber, who had hitherto re- mained upon the spot to listen to what was taking place, was seized with a panic; and ho sped away as fast as his legs would carry him. tunate arches >logist Mr. Fossilton began to look terribly crestfallen. He stooped down—took an- other green view of the mummy through his glasses —then pulled off the glasses themselves—and exa- mined it more closely with his naked eyes. He could no longer conceal from himself that he had been grossly deceived. If the accident had not occurred to the mummy, breaking a portion of it, and thus showing of what it was composed, the probability is the cheat never would have been dis. covered, and Mr. Fossilton would have gone down to his grave in the happy conviction that he died in possession of a human relic thirty centuries of age. But now unfortunately the delusion was dis- sipated—the vision was dispelled—and this learned arcbwologist found that he had given twenty pounds for the mere purpose of being egregiously laughed r I haven’t been a “T tell you The unfor- d COMiicoOokKS.con eee SSS SS SS pips le ee tseennenesensesercaeese THE MYSTERIES OF THE COURT.