The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 301: what you’re looking at

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

A NIGHT WITH A MURDERED MAN) 267 they encountered the face of Peter Grumley’s corpse, lying precisely in the same spot and in the same position as when it had fallen from the chair. Then Mrs. Brace knew that she had been labouring under the influence of a horrible nightmare, a long dream made up of such frightful incidents that the memory thereof must inevitably follow her to the grave, even should her life extend to the uttermost stretch of human existence. The truth was that when she had sunk down upon the carpet under the influence of the terror caused by the belief that she beheld the countenance of a corpse at the window, the partial fit which had thus seized upon her yielded to the effects of utter exhaustion of mind and body, and a deep slumber fell upon her eyes. No marvel, then, was it if the dread tragedy of the night haunted her in the dreams which accompanied her sleep; and the frightful activity of her disordered fancy displayed its power in the appalling vision which we have detailed so minutely. But though now released from the terrors of that shocking nightmare, Mrs. Brace still found herself in the presence of the tremendous embarrassment which her crime had created. She looked at her watch; it was half-past six o’clock in the morning. The night was gone, and nothing was done to dispose of the corpse. Such was her reflection; and then came the maddening conviction that she could not possibly make away with it unless by the assistance of one or more of her domestics. But to place herself in their power — ah! better have remained at the mercy of Peter Grumley and have been spared the remorse and the dangers attendant upon the crime of murder. But what was she to do? How was she to act? It was useless to repine any more; the past could not be recalled, and it became imperiously necessary to adopt measures for the security of the future. Upon the body she stood gazing for some minutes while these thoughts passed through her mind; and she no longer experienced any feelings of terror, for it is not by daylight that murderers are afraid. But what was she to do? A hundred times in a minute ~ did she ask herself this question, and no satisfactory answer could she give. At length she reasoned with herself that nothing could now be done for some hours, that she must conceal the corpse as well as she could until the next night : (CCOMNMAC 6)(0)(©)