The Soldier's Wife — page 158: what you’re looking at

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

st lee | «ee THE SOLDIER’S WIFE. ene Gerald strained his eyes to obtain a better] rags. look at his countenance—and he succeeded ; but| floor equally black with collected dirt. 439 The ceiling was of sooty obscurity —the The a shuddering sensation ran through him—for it door, with clefts in the panels, hung crazily to seemed as if he were gazing upon something|one hinge. as hideous and horrible as a death's head. The walls were for the most part as black as the ceiling aud floor—but in some “Ah! you are frightened?” said the man,| places green with the damp mildew, and as di- . ° ] . d with a bitter laugh. © What! at a poor misera-|lapidated as if the place had been left to fall ble wretch like me? ou, and a sword by your side!” And yow with a red coat|into ruin through a long series of years. Furni- ture there was none, properly so speaking, io “Well,” ejaculated Redburn, stung by the | this miserable den. A saucepan on the grate— taunt: “lead the way—and | will follow you.” “It’s only a dozen paces distant :’—and_ the man, passing along the alley, reached a small house, which even in that uncertain light ap- peared of a most dilapidated and sinister aspect. The idea that this man, whose countenance had made such a hideous impression upon Redburn, should dwell in such a cut-throat ghost-haunted looking place as that, conjured up fresh terrors —vague, shuddering, and undefined—in Gerald's Imagination ; aud when the stranger drew forth a lateh-key, and opened the door, and all ap- peared dark and silent as the tomb within, this gallant officer, though having a sword by his side, hesitated to follow. “ You bad better draw that weapon of yours,” said the man; “ and if you observe anything to indicate treachery, you can cut me down at once. I tell you that if you will trust me, Lucy Lonsdaie shall be yours: but if you don't like te come in here and talk the matter over, lead the way to some secluded spot, and I will follow.” “(to on,” said Redburn, again goaded into an artificial courage by the: doubt thrown upon his valor: nevertheless, as he entered that dark and silent habitation, he laid his hand wpon his sword, ready to draw it forth in case of need. The man shut the door; and they were now alone together in the pitchy blackness of the passage. A thousand horrible thoughts flashed through Redburw’s mind. Was the fellow about to spring at his throat ¢ would he deal him a treacherous blow with a dagger? would a posse of ambushed murderers suddenly burst forth and seize upon him? would a trap-door give way all in a moment beneath his feet ? He trembled from head tu foot, bitterly repent- ing that he had entered the house. “Stop an instant,” said the man, “while I get a light:’—and opening a side-dvor, he en- tered somewhere., In a few moments a light glimmered through the opening ; and Redburn passed into the room which the stranger had - thus previously entered. The latter was sland- ing with his back towards him at the instant, in the act of lighting a candle, which was stuck in a blacking bottle, that stood ou tbe small pro- jecung fragment of a mouldered wooden man- tel-picce. ‘Ihe glance that Gerald flung around, showed him that he was in a place which but too well accounted for the meaning of the stran- ers words, when he so bitterly said, “if a Enlai it can be called.” ‘There were shutters fastened outside the winduw: but scarcely a particle of the window itself remained—not a morsel of glass, aud the sashes as well as the framework all broken and faileu away. The gir-holes of the shutters were stuffed through with what appeared tc be black and roiting on ' . wood thrown down in one corner — and what appeared to be a heap of rags, with a dirty a broken mug by the side of the blacking boitle the mantel—a few coals and bundles of tatiered blanket, spread in the shape of a bed in another corner,—these were the ouly articles that afforded a sign that it was a human habita- tion: for there was neither table nor chair in the place. It required but a glance to embrace the en tire wretchedness of the room; and having thrown that glance around, Redburn’s eyes once more setiled on the man, who had juat fiuished lighting the candle. Throwing the match into the grate, he slowly turned round towards Gerald, who literally recoiled in horror from the countenauce wlich was thus more diss tinctly revealed to him than in the dark alley outside. Heavens, what a countenance! It was of a deep livid hue, marked with immense seams, as If it had been shockingly burnt in a fire, or had been seared with a red-hot iron. One eye was extinguished—that is to say, the sight was evidently gone, and the orb looked of a dull leaden hue lke that of a fish that has been a long ume out of the water. The other possessed the power of vision, but was all in flamed and red—the lashes were burnt off—aud it seemed as if the pupil were set in a mass of congealed gore. A part of the nose appeared to be eaten away: the lips were swollen and putied out to three times their natural size, luok- ing larger than the mouth of any negro; and their hue was that of the slips of liver that are exposed for sale in cat’s meat shops. As before stated, this horrible object was clothed in the coarsest and most poverty-stricken manner ; and his entire appearance was too disgusting—too loathsome——even to inspire pity. Slowly did he remove his hat, thus display- ing a crop of dark hair that had been cut close; aud the scarlet seams of searing or burning, whatscever it were that had injured him, actu- ally extended up above his forehead ov to the crown of bis head, leaving large spaces where the hair did not grow at all. In short, it would be impossible to conceive anything in the shape of a human being more closely bordering upon hideous monstrosity than this wretch. As he took off his hat, he bent his one eye searchingly upon Gerald Redburn ; and then lis horrible countenance relaxed, or expanded, or changed—we scarcely know which term to use —into a sort of smile, as he said, “ Well, you dowt know me then ?” “Know you, good God !” ejaculated Redbura, u(terly unable to conceal the loathing, horror, and inteuse disgust which he felt at the contem- plauion of this awful obje@. “Tnever saw you iu my life before,” cOmicbooks Any QO )(0 )LO | (C(O) =}