The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 24: what you’re looking at

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

THE MYSTERIES OF THE COURT. 11 friends A—for to possess money argues to a certain extent the possession of friends—-”’ “ Yee,—yes—I have friends,” ejaculated Crazy Jane,—“ friende who sought to do everything for me: but no}-my wandering epirit would not suffer me to stay where they placed me. Do you know, old man,” she added, advancing elose up to him, and speaking in a low voice, as well as with a opréain mysterious aignificancy of look,— “do you know that if ever I remain long in one place, something whispers im my ear that I must go forth on my travels again—for that there is something which I seek~aqnd that something i must find * “ And what is this something whieh you seek asked the old sexton in a gentle voice; for he pitied the poor woman. She had fallen into a deep reverie: she did not hear the question—or if she did, she ehose nok to answer it; and for upwards of a minute did silence thus prevail, At longth euddenly raising her cyes, she fixed her books upon the gravestone with the strangely brief ipecription—end abeuptly asked, “ Who hies there F” “A poor lady,” respended old Carnabic, * who dled in this village under very distrossing Circum- * Yes, yeo—I remember! you said so the other night!" ejaquiated Crasy Jane. “I beard you telling that man who was with you---— But, oh! my memory is 20 bad!” and them she pressed her hand, as if with a sensation of pain, against her forehead. “You told me om thet night,” contianed Jona- than Carnabie, “that you wanted to ask me some questions. If you like to put them new, I will give you any infomation that lice in my power.” “Phat lady,” said Orasy Jane, keeping her eyes still riveted upon the gravestons,—“ was she not mad? did I not hear you say that i6 was a deep, silent, brooding madness? Yes, yes! those were the words |" cried the poor creature, with a sudden exultation at having recollected them. “And what I sad was the truth,” answered Jonathan Caynabie. “ It was a sad talo~wand if i t you could usderetand it, or follow my - words while I tell it——~” “J shall understand it,” inteseupted Jane. “ Yes my wind ie clearer now-——my ideas are, collected ~—] shall be able to listen to you. Pzroeced, before the cloud again comes over me.” “ 'Y ou see that stone bears the date of Ootober, 1830,” began the sexton: “bus it was in the be- ginning of the same year—therefore a matter of eight months before that date-thas as I was coming early one morning to open the church to rsng the bells for a marriage which waa to take piace, I saw a female lying aczoss onc of the graves with her face downwards. I hastened towards her, and lifted her up. I thought she was dead-—ashe was as pale as a corpse, and as cold as one too. But how beautiful !” “Ab, beautiful indeed |” murmured Orasy Jane. “Bat go on--go on. Had she dark hair—loog flowing dark hair ?” “In trath she had noé at thas time,” replied the eld sexton: “for hee head had beem closely shaved———~""‘ “ Ob, to cut off thet beautiful, beautiful hair 2” exclaimed the mad woman, clasping her hands and shaking herself as if in rage from head to foot. “Did you know her, then?” asked old Jonathan eagerly: “is 16 possible that you knew her ? or do you only suspect who she was ?” “No matter(’ interrupied Crasy Jane im- patiently. “ Proceed, I tell you,” “Well,” eontinued the sexton, glancing ab his simgular companion’s eauntenance iu order to ass sure hisaself, so far as he could judge, that she was in a snitable frame of mind to hear what he bad to say, and therefore to render it worth while foe him to prooceed,-~ I went and pieked up the ledy, as I have just told you—for a lady she was by every appearance, though her dresa wes much travel-soiled ;-rand I found that she was ia a deep ewoon. J bore her eff to the parsonage, whieh you see close by. The reetor and his family were all absent at the time, on a visit to some friends m Lancashire: there was no one but a females servant in the house—but she did her best to ree ooyer the poor lady from her insensibility, When she opened her eyes——” “ And those eyes,” ejaculated Crazy Jane eegerly, “ were large and dark—bright, but aweestly ex« pressive? Oh, mothinksa I see them now Y’-vand the poor creature suddenly’ burst forth into an agony of convulsive soba “ Traly this woman must have kaown that lady well,” thought Jonathan Carnabie to hirasel{: and suffering a minute or two te elapse uatil Crazy Jave’s pasoxyem of grief was moderated, he seid slowly and quictly, “‘ Yes, to the beet of my reeol- lection the lady had large dark eyes: bus as for their lustve, it was gone--and as for their snect- ness of axpressian, it was losé in the dull vacsucy of her gare.” * Poor dear lady Y’ murmured Crasy Jane. “Ob, what must she have suffered | what must she bave suffered} And my aufferings--they have been a6 | nothing im compariaon ! Do you mean, old man-——= do you mean that she was mad?” “I do,” quswered Jonathan : then aftera pause, | he went on to say, “1 was telling you that I con- veyed her into the paraonage, where the servant. girl attended upon her; end though ake came back to life, it could scarcely be called to consciousness ‘for the poor oreature’s mind seemed totally |goma, She took no more notice of anything than a ohiid of six months old, Stop!—I forges} 1 Yea whom the maid undressed hen thore was a 'gmall velvet bag, sewn all round~va little bag‘ not mear eo large as the palm of your band—and it wee faptened to a black ribbon round her neck. This, aa the maid told me—for of course I was not pre- — ‘aenh whem the Icdy was undressed~-she clutched with a sudden rehemenes, crying out, ‘No, no! yous shall not take it from moe!’+-The girl vever meant to take tho bag away; and therefore she at once told the poor laly not to be frightesed on that scoxe. This was the only thing she seemed ‘to take any motice of; and when she found thas the bag was safe, she relapsed into hez dull dead apathetic condition, having no furthers regard for anything. A surgeon wes sent. fox; and he seid that the poor lady was utterly bereft of her senses —rthat her mind wes a perfect void—thas bor reason wes tofally. gone. Of eourse we all thoughs that as hee head was shaved, ahe had cscaped from some lunatic asylum, and that i¢ would not there- a a aaa on at a CONIC OOO <S co