The Mysteries of London; or, Lights and Shadows of London Life — page 47: what you’re looking at

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

ii 38 _— = _— A —_—_————— ee eS ——_ blossoming,—form by no means lively objects of con- templation. Filmy forms, that might be the ghosts of former tenants for any bodily substantiality they appeared to were seen occasionally to glide about through the obscurity of the rooms, and foster the drooping vegetation with shadowy jugs of water; but there was no identity about them, and all notion of their outward appearance was vague and indistinct. So, driven to her own reflections for amusement, the of some such train of thought as that we have ted, or a dreamy reverie as to the future, became the chief mental recreation of her hours of solitude. ’ Of the landlady very little was seen, and nothing known. She was a little bustling body, with a very red face, and a very showy cap, that burst into a per- fect blaze of pink ribbons every time circumstances required her presence at the door. There was a very small servant, too, in the house, who seemed to sleep upon some unknown part of the landing, and was generally supposed by the lodgers to be coming down perpetually from the top of the house to the bottom. The two rooms on the second floor were each let off to separate tenants: the back sleeping-room to a person who only occupied it occasionally, and who was said by Mrs. Marreble, the landlady, to be a commercial traveller, and ‘a perfect gentleman,” who always paid his rent in advance, and with a bank-note; and the other to a rather erratic individual, who was an assistant to a law-stationer in Chancery Lane, and with whose little eccentricities the landlady deferen- tially put up on accornt of his having been with her “ever so long,” a period of which those ignorant of feminine chronology would fail’ to have the most remote conception. Bob Chuckers—for only by this familiar appellation did the individual last referred to wish himself to be known—was a prominent feature in Mrs. Marrables’ establishment, He was the general authority on all matters of fashion and public amusements, and pro- fessed to enjoy an extensive acquaintance with both. His figure was almost the exact copy of one of those wax dummies seen outside the tailors’ shops, and con- sequently he produced at first sight the rather unfa- vourable impression of being considered one of their walking advertisements. His face was round and full, with two merry little twinkling eyes, and a sharp perked-up nose that would have indicated a kind of stupid simplicity, had it not been for the knowing roguishness of a remarkably shrewd and expressive . There was always a restless vibratory move- about his head, as if it constituted a detached of his frame, and he was cleverly balancing his shoulders with a full consciousness that was by mo means one of easy performance. roll first on one side and then on the other, his body would sway at the same time in sym- unison, until when the exact equilibrium red, and you could feel calm enough to ethe conversation, the eye would inquisitively down the ligatures of the neck, and wonder by process its permanent safety was ensured. His sony is generally understood as inclining to a inclination was particularly perceptible the whiskers, that faintly emulated jnxuriance; they had stopped short half way down the cheek, Ler errency meeting with some invisible obstacle, they had shot indignantly out into a bushy clump, and turned back again. The costume, of which, as previously hinted, he seemed to be the peri- pattern, consisted of a dress coat, slightly the worse for wear, a waistcoat of brilliant colours, with °°. — i “F : : : ~ : T+] at : ——< — — -_—-— ~~ — —_—— ——_ EE SE A e--esmnaaee LIGHTS AND SHADOWS OF LONDON LIiF®. 39 broad lines spreading all over it, and a pair of notice- able trousers that could be identified afar off, and then looked something between an expanded railway map and an open chess-board. Altogether Mr. Chuckers was precisely one of those persons who, with a natural stock of unaffected good-heartedness, are foolish enough to spoil an excellent disposition by a frivolous assumption of rakish gentility, which they have neither the means nor the qualifications to support. With his landlady Mr. Chuckers had had many a stout contest for the possession of the latch-key; a battle in which he had no sooner come off victoriou3 than he availed himself of the privilege to be de- livered with the early “ milk” in themorning, A de- claraticn of war would be then again proclaimed until Mr. Chuckers, with a knowledge of womanly weak- ness far beyond his years, would exhibit articles of peace in the form of savoury sausages, brought from some specific manufactory, in which Mrs. Marrables had a confiding faith, and, should the dawn have been very far advanced, the extra presentation would follow of a few nic -nacs, privately purchased for a singularly small sum in that emporium of every thing, the Lowther Arcade, where the shops seem to be in- geniously turned inside out, and the thoroughfare labouring under a severe visitation of French goods, Birmingham wares, and mosaic jewellery. Under these circumstances, Mr. Chuckers was naturally looked upon as a very desirable lodger, and between him and Thornton a kind of intimacy arose, which was perhaps of quicker growth on account of the contrast exhibited in their respective characters. Those casual greetings that people living in the same house are apt to extend towards each other, gave rise by degrees to a closer acquaintance. Their look of recognition was at first exchanged for a friendly nod, the nod gradually expanded to a salutation, and the familiarity finally led, on Mr. Chucker’s part, to a congratulatory shake of the hands and a conventional inquiry as to the state of health enjoyed by the “ first floor” collectively. To Emma he paid the most marked and profound respect, and a box of water-colours with which he had presented Freddy, for spelling some word of unknown signification, immediately established him in the good opinion of the juvenile member of the family, and caused him to be looked up to for his patronage as a person of consequence. So far this interchange of social courtesies had been continued, when one night, as Henry and his sister were at supper, chatting about their fature prospects and the minor events of the day, a deferential tap was heard from a pair of knuckles outside, and, on the door being suddenly opened, the person of Mr, Chuckers was visible, vibrating more than usual, on the threshold. ! “ Ten thousand pardons, really, for disturbing you,” cried Mr. Chuckers, labouring under evident confusion and distress of mind; “ but have you got such a thing as a lucifer-match you could oblige me with? Sorry to give you the trouble, but my box is quite empty, and the landlady has gone out and locked up the kitchen,” “Come in, and help yourself,” replied Thornton, with a desire to convert this opportunity into the means of returning the various little obligations pre- viously rendered ; “my sister, I believe, you have seen before,” “T have had that pleasure,” responded the equili- brist, with a bow which at last got his head into the right place, and kept it there; “the young lady was —- eae ——— a ——— ee ee —s = COLA —— — —— EloOOO“KK (C@)