The Mysteries of London; or, Revelations of the British Metropolis — page 28: what you’re looking at

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

26 MYSTERIES and both honour and heroism demanded that ha should leave no effort untried to save the life of — his rival and foe. Dismissing all selfish feelings — from his mind, he deserted the position he had hitherto occupied, and advancing beneath the shadow of the galieries, held himself in readiness — to yield prompt aszistancs to the stranger. The - unknows paced slowly tie aisle, stopped at inter- — vals, and again moved forward, as if, like a finish- © ed connoisseur, he was sockape the most favour- — able position to hear in its perfection the distant notes of sacred harmony. At times, he would | raise his eyes to admire the fantastic appearance of the Gothic arches, where here and there a ray of light threw a pale reflection info the surround- ing darkness; or, where the magnified shadows of ‘remote objects played among the strange and | whimsical carving of this order of architecture. He surveyed, with appsrent delight, the forest of eclumns illuminated only on one side, and which esemed like pillars of light rising from the ground, | until they were lost in the vaulted arches above. | Each step furnished him with a new and diversi- | fied prospect; a gigantic kaleidoscope seemed to syread out before his vision its infinite variety of grotesque forms and eccentric combinations. Our | dreamer had only changed his dream. He moved on, absorbed in these fairy visions, lost to himself and the world. The eyes of Sfephen followed him with anxiety, but the darkness was so profound that no object __-eould be discovered for more than ten paces, and In one of the capricious movements which the | peer indulged, he entirely escaped from obser= ; comicbooks:com” ~~ Z