The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 316: what you’re looking at

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

CHAPTER XXVIII THE OLD FENCE’S ABODE In one of the narrowest, dirtiest, and most pestilential streets of that maze of squalor, wretchedness, and demorali- zation known as Whitechapel, the habitation of Jeremy Humpage was situated. It consisted of two houses thrown into one, for the old man ostensibly carried on the business of second-hand clothes dealer, but his real occupation was that of receiver of stolen goods. Indeed, as set forth in an early part of this narrative, he was an inveterate “ fence,” but he generally managed matters so cunningly as to escape the meshes of the law. His profits were immense, and he had correspondents upon the Continent by whose aid he carried on a considerable portion of his illicit commerce. For instance, when a robbery of bank-notes for large amounts was accomplished, and payment of them was stopped at the Bank of England, Humpage would purchase them of the thieves, and the instant they fell into his possession he would despatch them to his correspondents in Holland or France, where they were immediately passed into circulation. Or again, if diamonds or other precious stones of very large value came into his possession, these were also sent off to the Continent, where they were readily disposed of. Nor was this all the service which his foreign correspondents rendered him; but inasmuch as he purchased his goods at one- twentieth part of their real value, he was enabled to make constant shipments of large quantities of articles, the impost of Continental tariffs still leaving him a very large margin for profit. | The reader will therefore understand how it was that Mr. Jeremy Humpage required a somewhat large establish- 290 COMICHOOKS (C(O)