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Penny Dreadfuls, 1850 · page 109 of 396

The String of Pearls; or, The Barber of Fleet Street — page 109: what you’re looking at

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The String of Pearls; or, The Barber of Fleet Street — page 109: Penny Dreadfuls, 1850

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iE = 2.3 Z2 2. = 1 ee ~S : & ad tdlearemd ot eee ee aE a Been SIRS ARI roe = BEE = 3 REE a8 | . fesse Te saree a ik cntpeentieenmieete ee eae a a a lee eat ‘ at RES OT RR ETE OF NN ne ne et ee ee CHAPTER XVIII. THE MISADVENTURE OF TOBIAS.—~THE MAD-HOUSE ON PECKHAM-RYE. his mind as to whether he should pounce upon poor Tobias at once, or adopt'a more _ creeping, cautious mode of operation. The latter course was by far the most con- _ genial to his mind, and so he adcpted it in a moment or so, and’stole quietly from his place of concealment, and with so little noise, that Tobias could not have the _ least suspicion that any one was in the room but «himself. Treading, as if each Step might involve some serious consequences, he thus at length got completely _ behind the chair on which Tobias was sitting, and stood with folded arms, aud Such a hideous smile upon his face, that they together formed no inapt representa- tion of the Mephistophiles of the German drama. : “1 shall at lencth,’’ murmured Tobias, ‘‘ be free from my present dreadful state of mind, by thus accusing Todd. He is a murderer—of that I have no doubt: it is but a duty of mine to stand forward as his accuser.” : __ Sweeney Todd stretched out his two brawny hands, and clutched Tobias by the head, which he turned round till the boy could see him, and then he said— “Indeed, Tobias; and did it never strike you that Todd was not so easily to be _ overcome as you would wish him, eh, Tobias ?”? The shock of this astonishing and sudden appearance of Sweeney Todd was so great, that fora few moments Tobias was deprived of all power of speech or action, and with his head so strangely twisted as to seem to threaten the de- Struction of his neck. He glared in the triumphant and malignant countenance of | his persecutor, as he would into that of the arch enemy of all mankind, which ~ LR LN RN A A AN A A et A eS ee AN NR | another was caiculated to delight such a man as Todd, it certainly was to perceive | | what a dreadful effect his presence had upon Tobias, who remained for about a I minute and a half in this state before he ventured upon uttering a shriek, which, ' however, when it did come, almost frightened Todd himself. It was one of those | cries which can only come from a heart in its utmost agony—a ery which might | have heralded the spirit to another world, and proclaimed, as it very nearly did the destruction of the intellect for ever. The barber staggered back a pace or two as he heard it, for if was too terrific even for him, but it was for a very brief period that it had that stunning effect upon him, and then, with a full conscious- | ness of the danger to which it subjected him, he sprang upon poor Tobias as a tiger | might be supposed to do upon a lamb, and clutched him by the throat, exclaiming— _ “Such another cry, and it 1s the last you ever live to utter, although it cover ‘me with difficulties to escape the charge of killing you. Peace! I say, peace!” __ This exhortation was quite needless, for Tobias could not have uttered a word, ' had he been ever so much inclined to do so; the barber held his throat with such | an iron clutch, as if it had been in a vice. “Villain,” growled Todd, “ villain; so this is the way in which you lave dared to disregard my injunctions. But no matter, no matter !—~you shall have plenty of leisure to reflect upon what you have done for yourself. Fool! to think that you ‘could cope with me—Sweeney Todd! Ha! ha!” : I He burst into a laugh, so much more hideous, than his ordinary efforts in | that way, that, had Tobias heard it—which he did not, for his head had dropped | upon his breast, and he had become insensible—it would have terrified him almost as much as Sweeney Todd’s sudden appearance had done. “So,” muttered the barber, “ he has fainted, has he? Dull child, that is all the better. or once in a way, Tobias, I will carry you—not to oblige you, but to oblige myself. By ail that’s damnable, it was a lively thouglat that brought me have had. some very t ‘| here to-night, or else I might, by the dawn of the morning, troublesome inquiries made of me.” SWEENEY Topp paused for a moment at the cupboard door, before he made up | probably he now began to think the barber really was. If one thing more than | ec a RS PRES a A RE ae ere mney LA LL ALI I AGI EOLA AE AE GE SECC AR LT CEP LY A SN A SS rr SP RS TT TD, a AE aarti en NE EA RR NI be Ry a ge Nh we | comicbooks.com