The String of Pearls; or, The Barber of Fleet Street — page 327: what you’re looking at

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

- THE STRING OF PEARLS. : 319 YO; sir.” “‘Take the poor dog something to eat—or—or to drink, rather I should say. You will find a saucer in yon cupboard, with some milk in it. If—if he only, bless him, takes one lick at it, I shall be satisfied. You know, Charley, God made all things, and we should be good to his creatures.” “Yes, sir,’ said Johanna, with a shudder. She went to the cupboard, and found the saucer, in which there seemed to be a drop of fresh milk. She walked to the door, while Todd, as though he did not feel by any means sure of the pacific intentions of the dog, at once rushed into his back parlour, and locked himself in. ‘Todd had a peep-hole from the back parlcur into the shop, but he could not see further than the shop door. ‘More- over, Johanna’s back was towards him, so he could only guess at what was going onif the dog did not actually come across the threshold. That the milk which) | Todd was so. solicitous should be given to the dog was poisoned, occurred to Johanna in a moment; and just before opening the door, she threw it into a corner, upon some loose shavings, and odds and ends of waste paper, that were there. Johanna then opened the door. In an instant Hector, the large dog of the unfortunate Thornhill, whose identity with Mark Ingestrie appeared to be) | so established in the mind of Johanna, sprang upon her with an angry growl. It was only for one brief moment, however, that Hector made any such mistake| | as fancying Johanna to be Sweeney Todd; and then he, with an affectionate} | whine, licked the hands of the young girl. “ Pison! Pison!’’ : from the coach-office opposite, rushed to the door, and caught the dog around the neck, ‘‘ Ah, there ye is agin. Why, what a goose ofa feller you is, to be sure,| | Pison. Don’t you know, now, as well as I do, that that barber will do you a| mischief yet, you great blockhead you? Come home, will yer? Come home, now. Come along wi yer!’ ‘‘Yes—yes,” said Johanna. ‘‘ Take him away—take him away.” ‘‘Won’t I, that’s all. I suppose you are a young shaver? Only let me catch you a-interfering with Pison, that’s all, and won’t I let you know what’s what, young feller.” The ostler having uttered this most uncalled-for threat to poor Johanna, took Pison in triumph over the way, Johanna closed the door, «‘ Is he gone?” said Todd. “¢ Yes, sir.” «And the milk? Is that gone, likewise ?”’ «¢ Every drop of it.” “Ha! ha! ha! Well—well. Only to think, now. Ha! ha! I hope that milk won’t disagree with the noble animal. How fondI am of him! How} | often he has been over here, in his little pretty playful way, to try and bite pieces out of my legs. Bless him. I[fnow that milk {should give him a stomach ache, what a pity itwould be. Did 1 hear a man’s voice ?”’ «Yes, sir; some man came and called the dog away.”’ ‘‘ How good of him, and what a pity it would have been if he had called the| noble animal away before the milk was all consumed. Dear me, some people would grudge a creature a drop of milk, A-hem—Charley ?” <° Yes, sir.”’ “T am going out.” Jchanna’s heart beat rapidly. «If any one should come, you can say it is of no use their waiting, for 1 am| gone to shave and dress a whole family, at some distance off, and may not be back for some hours; but, Charley, for your own private information, let me tell you that [ may look in at any moment, and that, although I shali be busy, I shall be able to come in for a minute or so, whea I am least expected.”’ Todd gave an awful leer at Johanna as he spoke. ‘“¢ Yes, sir,”’ she said. cried a loud voice, and in another moment, the ostler, comicbooks.com