The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 137: what you’re looking at

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

114 REYNOLDS’ WORKS the pond, into the stagnant water of which one of his arms hung down. For a few moments the butler and Leachley were so horri- fied at this frightful spectacle that they were riveted in powerlessness to the spot, but recovering their self-possession after a brief interval, they raised the corpse. Life was extinct; the duke’s countenance was cold as marble. He had evidently been several hours dead. “Alas, he is no more!’’ murmured Leachley, tears starting from his eyes. “No more,’”’ added the butler, solemnly, and they gently laid the corpse down again. And now followed a most affecting scene. The faithful dog had seemed to watch the countenances of the two men, while they raised and sustained the corpse between them, as if the animal itself entertained some instinctive hope that they might be enabled to recall their master to life. But when their looks told the worst, and those brief sentences were exchanged, Pluto gave one long, low, whining moan, — a subdued, lugubrious death-howl, — and sank down dead by the side of the corpse. This incident called forth fresh tears from the eyes of the two domestics. In a few minutes— after having sur- veyed the scene in mournful silence — Leachley drew forth the dagger, and wrapped it up in his pocket-handkerchief. Scarcely was this done, when the quick tramplings of a galloping horse reached their ears, and in a few moments Lord Clandon was upon the spot. ‘Good heavens! ’’ he exclaimed, throwing himself from the horse, and sinking upon his knees by the side of the corpse. “‘ My poor uncle! What fatal accident — ”’ ‘Murder, my lord,’ said the butler, —‘‘a foul and diabolical murder.”’ ‘‘ Murder,”’ echoed Clandon, starting up with horror de- picted on his countenance. ‘‘ But I behold no wound,” for the corpse was now lying on its back. ‘‘ Here, my lord,’”’ said Leachley, ‘‘ is the fatal weapon,” and he produced the dagger from his kerchief. ‘‘ Bertram’s,”’ cried Clandon, the instant his looks fell upon it. ‘Mr. Bertram’s?”’ ejaculated both of the domestics, with a simultaneous start of indescribable horror. Gomichbooks (E(0)