The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 237: what you’re looking at

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

CRAZY JANE 217 for he is constantly sauntering about, sometimes in idleness, and at other times in distributing religious tracts. I hired a room in a house nearly fronting the Smedleys, and, aided by another detective, I watched them day and night. One evening, about a week after Mrs. Webber’s return, a fellow of desperate character, well known to the police, and bearing the name of Barney the Burker, stealthily entered an alley communicating with the back part of the Smedleys’ premises, but I cannot take it upon myself to say that he actually en- tered those premises. If I had followed to ascertain, I should have excited the suspicion that I was watching the house, and this was to be most carefully avoided, at least at the outset. A few nights afterward, a lad of about nineteen, whose name is Bill Scott, and who is believed to be an agent of the Burker, paid a similarly stealthy visit to the alley of which I have spoken, but for the same reason as in the other case, I could not ascertain whether he entered the Smedleys’ premises. A month passed, and they came not near the house again, but one night I followed Mrs. Webber at a dis- tance, and I tracked her to the Burker’s lodging in one of the lowest neighbourhoods of London. “Some weeks later I again saw the Burker pay a visit to the narrow alley, and an hour elapsed before he came out again. Subsequently Bill Scott repeated the visit three or four times, and I have not the slightest doubt that these visits had reference to Mrs. Webber. I learned in the neighbour- hood that she had lived for some years with her son-in-law and daughter, but so far from her having ever been on bad terms with them, or being rendered uncomfortable by Mr. Smedley, the contrary was supposed to be the case. A few days ago Barney the Burker paid another visit to the alley, and on this occasion he remained at least two hours. Early on the following morning a hackney-coach was fetched by Smedley, a number of boxes were brought out, and Mrs. Webber was just on the point of stepping into the vehicle, when I thought it at length time to interfere, in pursuance of a certain portion of my instructions from the gentleman employing me. I accordingly hastened to the spot, and asked Mrs. Webber where she was going. She looked con- fused and frightened, but almost immediately recovered herself, saying that she was only bent upon a little excursion for change of air. I glanced at the boxes, and saw that they COL OOO) (CO)