The Mysteries of the Court of London by Pauline Clarendon — page 124: what you’re looking at

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

THE DUNGEON 121 responded the commercial traveller, mournfully. ‘ But what do you require of me? ”’ “Tf you want to write a note to Hodson and Morley to ask them to ransom you, it may as well be done at once as to-morrow or next day. Five hundred guineas, you know — that is the price,” exclaimed the man, with a renewal of his coarse and brutal chuckle. “Five hundred pounds! they’ll never pay it,” said Page, in a voice of despair. “ You can but try them,” returned the man. “ Or per- haps you have some other friend — ”’ “ Not one who will advance such a sum. MHowever,”’ continued the commercial traveller, “ Il cannot linger here all my life —that is very certain; and therefore I must make an effort. Hodson has got me into this scrape, and he ought to help me out of it.’ “Ah! then old Hodson was at the bottom of the plant? ”’ exclaimed the fellow. ‘‘ Well, since I have admitted it, there’s no use attempting to deny it,’’ returned Page. “ But give me pen, ink, and paper, and a light, and I will soon pen a note to Hodson. It can do no harm, at all events.” “You can’t write here — there’s no table,” said the man. “Come along with me for a few minutes. Ill bring you safe back again to the baronet, depend upon it.” Page accordingly issued from the dungeon, the door of which was immediately closed and bolted again; and the ruffian led the way up the stone stairs, into a back room plainly furnished. The commercial traveller threw a searching glance through the dingy window-panes of a small casement; but his looks encountered naught save the dirty walls of the buildings in the rear of the house, and he gleaned not the slightest fact indicative of the part of London where that house was situate. Not a familiar church-tower nor a well-known steeple, that might have served as an index of the locality, met his eyes: nothing save those dingy walls, with their miserable windows, whence hung a few rags to dry. “ You’ve no more notion where you are, old fellow, than if you’d been dropped out of the clouds,’’ observed the man, who understood what was passing in the mind of Page, and the remark instantly attracted the looks of the com- d) ECOMINIE OOO SS (GO)