The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 165: what you’re looking at

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

> THE MYSTERIES OF THE COURT. 159 side, Jane what he is going to have for dinner, as long as his meals are served up regular. He the cups “which cheered without inebriating ” were passed round, to the satisfaction of all pre. | sent save that of Captain Bluff, who, though he is very quiet the mustard in this corner, Jane tossed off a cup of coffee at one draught, had all | talks very little to anybody look! the his thoughts settled upon rum. When the tea- cloth is all tumbled but is out a great deal, things were cleared away, there was a round I am sure for the life of me I don’t know game,—from which however Mr. Chubb, the parish what he can always be doing with himself do clerk, requested to be omitted, on the ground that take care, Jane! and the other night he it was inconsistent with the solemnity and piety stayed out so very late I was quite frightened of his clerical calling; and,he remembered also the pie at this end, Jane !” that he had a few baptismal certificates to fill up |“ Genelmen will stay out late sometimes,” ob- at home. So, having been careful to ascertain at served Captain Bluff; and he winked knowingly what hour supper would be on table, he begged to | at the first male countenance which met his eye at be excused in the meanwhile. | the moment, and which happened to be that of The round game progressed very well without | Mr. Chubb, the parish clerk, who instantaneously him, and was only once disturbed by a pene: put on an air of pc mney ew as tion on the part of Mrs. Sifkin that Mrs. Dump- | it was a tipsy one, only had the effect of making ling had purloined some of her fish: but the former | Captain Bluff burst out into a shout of uproarious lady suffered herself to be appeased by the circum- | laughter. stance of Captain Blutf consicerately given her a | * Did you mean that look and that laugh for handful of his own—an act of kindness which was | me, sir?” inquired Mr. Chubb, in the deepest of performed just in time to save Mis. Dumpling | his sepulchral tones, and endeavouring to appear from the disagreeable ordeal of having her eyes | very awfully solemn indeed, scratched out by her vixenish accuser. Chris- “ Well, I did—and that’s the truth on’t!” re- tian might have made a similar accusation, and turned Captain Bluff: “so you can put it in your with considerable truth too, if he had chosen,’ pipe and smoke it; and if so be it’s a sort of against Miss Spilsbury: for if this highly re- bakker you ain’t used to, you must make the best spectable maiden lady, who lived upon an inde- | of the bargin.” pendence and was considered “quite genteel,” Here Mr. Chubb rose from his seat, and was kept very quiet in respect to her tongue, she was either about to appeal to the company or else to very busy with her fingers; and every time she make a personal assault upon Captain Bluff,— thought Christian was not looking, she pilfered his| when the elder Miss Chowley threw herselt be- fish,—endeavouring to conceal the theft under a | tween them, and availed herself of the opportunity short cough and a fumbling for her pocket-|to get up a most interesting little tragedy of handkerchief. Christian however suffered himself | affright, entreaty, and hysterical symptoms,—not to be robbed pat i ost Somber pian ¢ i ag noe pe Captain to master his circumstance which raised him so high in Miss | temper and spare her feelings. Spilsbury’s estimation, that when the round game “Oh! let him get the steam up,” vociferated was over, she whispered to Mrs. Macaulay, loud | Bluff: “he’s precious cranky and will soon bust enough for him to overhear, that he was the nicest | his biler.”’ young man she had ever met in all her life. | My. Chubb looked round with awe-inspiring The round game being finished, the maid en-| dismay. The idea that a parish clerk should be tered to eu the cloth for -supper ‘and set Chubb, | gee ents pie would ee the parishelerk, now re-appeared,—smelling very | world come to next! is dreadful question di strong of tobacco-smoke, looking very red in the My, Chubb’s countenance appear to ask, in de- face, and having a certain watery vacapt stare fault of the power of his tongue to say anything about the eyes. This however would not have oc- | at all. casioned any wonder on the part of the company, “ Come, old feller,” said Bluff, who was really a if they had known that instead of retiring into the | very good-natured man, “I didn’t mean to offend bosom of his own family to write out basptismal| you. If that there twenty-horse power steam. certificates, he had been all the time in the hot! ingin which is working in your buzzum goes too parlour of the public-house round the corner, | fast, ease her and stop her; but don’t go for to smoking his pipe and moistening his lips with keep down the safety-walve with the sartainty of three successive pints of strong old Kennet ale— busting outright in a minute or two. Here, tip a proceeding which the ecclesiastical gentleman | us your paddle, and let’s sit down to mess as good doubtless regarded as far more innocent and like- friends.” Wise as more orthodox than joining ina round) “Amen!” groaned Mr. Chubb, as he extended game of “ commerce.” 'the hand which, figuratively -described as a While the servant was laying the cloth, Mrs. | paddle, the gallant Captain had so bluntly soli- Macaulay affected to be conversing in a perfectly | cited. calm and untroubled manner, though in reality, Supper was now served up. ‘The veal-pie stood she was watching askance every movement andj at the head of the table—the dish of oysters in a eoeons of her domestic, for fear lest she the middle—the sausages and mashed potatoes at should do something wrong; and she could not the bottom. ‘The broiled fowl, with the mushroom help interspersing her conversation with frequent | sauce, looked very handsome as a side-dish—and hints and orders to the girl. in order to correspond therewith, the thoughtful : Well, as I was saying,” Mrs. Macaulay ob- Servant had placed on the opposite side an apple- served, “it would be impossible to have a nicer | tart, which had been made for Mr. Redeliffe’s or better lodger than Mr. Redcliffe. He never | dinner on the morrow, but which the said thought- troubles himself about the pepper-box on that | ful Jane had taken it into her head might just as | mee ee eee. See mer Gomichbooksnco