The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 116: what you’re looking at

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

THE MYSTERIES. 1 99 blishment in Fore Street, Lambeth—was accustomed to purchase great quantities of him. He likewise compounded a poison one drop of which placed upon the tonpuc of an infant child, produced immre- diate death, leaving an appearance as if the poor little being had perished of ordinary cortvulsiotts. The midwives used to patronise this mixture also,” “ There must be a vast amount of crime in Lon- don that I never dreamt of,” observed Page, shaking his head solemnly. “No doubt of it!” ejaculated Julia: then instan- taneously resuming her wonted calmness of tone and manner, she said, “ But the worst—if anything can be worse than what I have already revealed to you-—is to come. My father invented a certain polson which he called the Heir’s Friend. Do you under- stand ?” “Not exactly,” returned Page. “How do you spell the first word 1 “Ob! I mean the Aeir that expects property, you know, and is waiting for some one to die off,” con- tinued Julia. “This n was of such a fiattire that no medical man could tell that it had been taken. It baffled all the cleverest physicians in the world ; and while they were atttibuting the victim’s disease to a thousand other things, the real cause was no- thing more or less than a few drops of this poison administered twice or three times a week. Being colourless and tasteless, it might be mixed with any- thiag.” «These are indeed strange things that you are telling me,” said Page, speaking in a low whisper, as if fearful of being overlieard. “But what was the eflect of the extraordinary poison you are speaking of f° " “Take, for instance, a person in robust health, and who has never known a day’s illness,” resutned Julia. * Well, you administer a few drops of this liqnid to him—and a change comes over him in | four-and-twenty hours. His constitution seems to | give way suddenly: he grows pale—thin—weak— and sickly. His appetite fails hirn—he loses all energy, both mental and bodily — and literally perishes before your very eyes. It almost appears | as if you can sce him withering away; and in a few _ months he sinks into the grave.” |“ But this is dreadful!” exclaimed Page, with a | cold shudder. | -— eee —- — weer teed oe ew of wee (Oe oe ae ee eee Base: ae mae “fa —— Ta a — NT idee ge ee = “Did I not tell you that my father was a terrible man 7 said the young woman. “ Well, you can now understand the reason why this poison is called the | Heir’s Friend. But my father suld very little of it ; | the traffic was too dangerous—and the ptice was | large in proportion. Moreover he never would dis- pose of it in a direct way :—only through the agency | Of a person named Joseph Warren.” | _“Ah! a scoundrel who. is better known as the | ? cried Page, interrogatively. | “The same. Are you acquainted with him?” , asked Julia, “He was the villain who thrust me into the cellar of the den where the man you call Briggs | appears to act as jailer,” responded the commercial | traveller. “ But go on: I am deeply — though | horribly —interested in all you are telling me. Was there no antidote to the wondrous poison you last | spoke of ?” | Yes,” answered Julia. “ And the most extra- ordinary part of the whole affair is that even if the victim of that poison is at his last gasp, the anti- SEE rn ee —— aaa - dote will be certain aud sure to bring him baek to Hfe. {t will even go farther—for in a few weeks it will not fail te restore him to all his fofmer health, and gaisty, and appetite, and good looks, This is what my father used to eall ‘the iriumpi of the ehe- mical art.” “Triumph indeed |” ejaculated Page: “it is almost incredible !” “But it is nevertheless true,” returned his wife. “I have often ahd often seen him try the effects of both poison and antidote.” “ Julia~you—you—make my hair stand on énd f” gasped the commercial traveller, suddenly be- coming ashy pale. “You mistake me,” shé observed, smiling: “I meant upon rabbits, cats, and dogse—and net upon heman beings. God forbid !” | “Ah! now I am relieved,” said her husband, breathing fréely once aguin. “The experiment must be an interesting ene —as an experishent, mind; and I should like to see it tried.” “TI cat gratify you at any time,” retirtied Julia; “for Ihave the receipts of both poison and antl. dote about me at this very mometit.” “Youn havel” cried Page. “What the @euce made you get possession of them ?” “My father was looking over his pocket-book the other day,” was the answer;“and he ldt a paper fall upon the floor. He did net notice the circutnstance—and I afterwards picked it ap. It contained the two recdipts I speak of—together with another of quite « different chardcter;—and,. thinking It just as well tad steli a doctinent should not be left in the old man’s possession, I sewed tt inside the lining of my ettys. He did not miss it, to my knowledge, up to the hour of his death.” : “ And what is the other recéipt whicR you allude to as being of a different naturé from the poison | atid the antidote >” asked Page. “It is more curious ahd ingetiious tirar posi- tively bad,” replied Julia ; “although it assists evil- designing persons to carry on 4 safe correspondence by means of letters. In fet, tt sotsists of two distinct preparations. One i afi invisible ink—the other is the chemical wash which dst be fibbed over, the sheet of paper to render the writing visi- ble. “ Whew !” ejaculated Page, with a whistling sound. “Now I begin to see a clue to something which this pocket-book contains {” “Very likely,” observed Julia. “ But gu on, my dear,” added het tusband. “ Woe will go over the cotttents of the posket-book te- gether presently.” “I have little more to tell you,” resumed Mrs. Page. chetnical wash aré very ingenious preparations. Suppose, for instance, that yott wanted #0 eortes. pond oh secret matters with some accomplice at & distant place; and you wete desirous of making sure that your letters should not be read. Yon would write with the invisible ink, atid the sheet of paper would appear an cutire blank. In this way it would go through the post, the address being alone written in proper ink. Well, your friend reecives it—washes it over with the chomical pre- paration—and when it has been ried before the fire, all the writing appears as plain ds pvesibie. But this &s net all. Suppose that, having read the “You see that the invisible ink and the | CDOO (OONAA S COMM