The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 35: what you’re looking at

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

THE DISINTERMENT 17 To be brief, Lady Ernestina Dysart took her departure in the hackney-coach; and on her way back to Albemarle Street she congratulated herself upon her presence of mind in adopting the course which she had pursued toward Mal- vern and which had resulted in her extrication from a most serious dilemma. But we must still retain the reader’s attention at the villa. So soon as Sir Valentine had handed Lady Ernestina into the hackney-coach, he hastened back to rejoin Sampson and the medical man, whom he had left conversing together in the garden. He now found them with the other professional gentleman, and this latter, at once accosting the young baronet, handed him a small pocketbook, which felt damp to the touch. ‘“‘ Before you offer a word of explanation,” said Malvern, in a sclemn tone, ‘‘ I feel assured that you have found this about the person of my deceased father. And yet I recog- nize it not. I do not remember to have observed it in his possession.”’ “IT have just found it,’’ said the medical gentleman, *“in a secret pocket in the breast of the deceased’s coat. While left alone by my colleague just now, I happened to tread upon the coat, which we had previously taken off, and which lay upon the floor where we performed the exam- ination. Feeling something thicker under the foot than the mere cloth of the coat could be, I had the curiosity to ascertain what it was, and, as I have already explained, in a private pocket I discovered this article. All the other pockets had been rifled. There was not even a ring nor a coin about the person of the deceased.” ‘“ Doubtless the money and valuables which might have been about your father at the time,’’ remarked Sampson, “became the perquisites of the individual, whoever it might be, that Dysart engaged to dig the grave.”’ “The papers which this pocketbook contains,” said Val- entine, as he opened it, “‘ do not appear to be much injured by the damp. But I will examine them hereafter.” He thereupon secured the pocketbook about his person, and then remunerated the medical gentleman with becom- ing liberality for the services they had rendered, and con- cerning which they were enjoined to the strictest secrecy, enough of the circumstances having been explained to them (C(O) nn) GDoOo <Si in