The String of Pearls; or, The Barber of Fleet Street — page 111: what you’re looking at

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

_THE STRING OF PEARLS, _ 103 hour, This was the sort of vehicle, then, in which poor Tobias, still perfectly insen- |] sible, was rumbled over Blackfriars-bridge, and so on towards Peckham, which || Sweeney Todd had announced to be his place of destination. Going at the rate || they did, it was nearly two hours before they arrived upon Peckham Rye ; and any || one acquainted with that locality is well aware that there are two roads, the one || | to the left, and the other to the right, both of which are pleasantly enough studded || | with villa residences. Sweeney Todd directed the coachman to take the road to || || the left, which he accordingly did, and they pursued it for a distance of abort |} | a mile and a half. It must not be supposed that this pleasant district || of country, was then in the state it is now, as regards inhabitants or cultivation. || | On the contrary, it was rather a wild spot, on which now and then a serious || robbery had been eommitted; and which had witnessed some of the exploits of || those highwaymen, whose adventures, in the present day, if one may judge from \{ the public patronage they may receive, are viewed with such a great amount of || interest. There was a lonely, large, rambling, old-looking house by the way side, || on the left. A high wall surrounded it, which only allowed the topmost portion of || || it to be visible, and that presented great symptoms of decay, in the dilapidated }] || character of the chimney-pot, and the general appearance of discomfort which | || pervaded it. ‘There Sweeney Todd directed the coachman to stop, and when the || | vehicle, after swinging to and fro for several minutes, did indeed at last resolve || | itself into a state of repose, Sweeney Todd got out himself, and rang a bell, the || | handle of which hung invitingly at the gate. He had to wait several minutes || || before an answer was given to this summons, but at length a noise proceeded | || from within, as if several bars and bolts were being withdrawn ; and presently the | | door was opened, and a} huge, rough-looking man made his appearance on the | || threshold. , | | © Well! what is it now ?” he cried. | | | T have a patient for Mr. Foge,” said Sweeney Todd. “ I want to see him | | immediately.” ) aiene fl | Oh! well, the more the merrier : it don’t matter tome a bit. Have you got || || him with you—and is he tolerably quiet ?” Sat || It’s a mere boy, and he is not violently mad, but very decidedly so as regards || || what he says.” | | | | ‘Oh! that’s it, is it? He can say what he likes here, it can make no | | difference in the world tous. Bring him n—Mr. Fogg is in his own room.” — || | T know the way : you take charge of the lad; and I will go and speak to Mr. || || Fogg about him. But stay, give the coachman these six shillings, and discharge || ) bie. et i ‘| The doorkeeper of the lunatic asylum, for such it was, went out fo obey the |} || injunctions of Sweeney Todd, while that rascally individual himself walked along a || || wide passage to a door which was at the further extremity of it. 1 CHAPTER XIX, ‘THE MADHOUSE CELL, Wuen the porter of the madhouse went out to the coach, his first impression | was, that the boy, who was said to be insane, was dead—for not even the jolting || | ride to Peckham had been sufficient to arouse him to a consciousness of how he was | situated ; and there he lay still at the bottom of the coach alike insensible to Joy | | or sorrow. | “ Ts he dead ?” said the man to the coachman. | I! - « How should I know 2” was the reply ; “ he may be or he may not, but I want | | to know how long I am to wait here for my fare?” —" -_ Ae comicbooks.com