The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 70: what you’re looking at

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

52 THE COURT OF LONDON The marquis had no inclination to prolong this interview. He was anxious to be alone again with Venetia, and he was unwilling that she should hear anything more disparaging than she already knew relative to Ernestina. He accordingly at once touched the spring which governed the hidden mechanism of the chair, and the Hangman rose slowly and painfully from his seat. But so fearfully cramped were his limbs that he fell down upon the carpet. “Are you ill? What is the matter?’’ demanded Lord Leveson, seriously alarmed. “Oh, I shall be all right in a minute or two,” growled the Hangman, stretching his arms and legs as he lay with his back upon the carpet. ‘ But it’s enough to make a man feel queer after being held tight in that cursed contrivance of yours ever since about two o’clock this morning — I don’t mean the middle of the day, mind, but the middle of the night.”’ “Have you been there so long?” said the marquis. Then, making the fellow a sign of intelligence as he caught his eye, he said, ‘‘ But you need not enter into particulars now. Another time you shall tell me the whole grievance, for which I shall, however, remunerate you at once. Come, let us make a bargain.” ‘““ Oh, well, I am open to that,’ observed the Hangman, now slowly rising from the floor, but still with much painful difficulty. ‘‘ What’s the bargain about? ” “That you forget you have seen anybody here with me this evening,’ answered the marquis. ‘“ Will a hundred guineas seal your lips in that respect? ”’ ‘Make it two, my lord,” said the Hangman, “ for, by Satan! I want some good kind of grease to rub upon these cramped limbs of mine, and there’s none better that I know of than money.” “‘ Here are two bank-notes for a hundred each,” said the marquis. “ But now the difficulty is, how to get you out of the house.’ “Not a bit,’’ exclaimed the Hangman, sticking his hat upon his head, when he had thrust the bank-notes into his waistcoat pocket. “‘ Just open that secret door in the wall, let me pass through the two rooms there, and when I once reach the staircase I will walk down as bold as brass. If the hall porter or any of your lordship’s flunkies ask me who Iam —”’ COMmiclbookS.c© im