The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 236: what you’re looking at

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

MR. SAMUEL EMANUEL 209 “T will tell you frankly,” she said, speedily recovering her presence of mind, “ that I called for a specific purpose, and it was scarcely my fault that I overheard any portion of your discourse.” ‘And that specific purpose? ”’ exclaimed Mr. Emanuel, bending his looks with insolent menace upon the young girl. ‘““T came to ask for work,’’ she responded, her eyes sinking beneath the coarse regards of the clothier. ““ Work, indeed!’ he ejaculated with a sneering air and contemptuous chuckle; then leaning forward toward her, he added, with brutal insolence, ‘‘ You sha’n’t have any work from my establishment. I don’t encourage sneaking, prying listeners.”’ “Work indeed!’’ shouted Mrs. Emanuel, in her great masculine voice, and putting her hands upon her hips, she said, ‘“‘ A pretty creature you are, to come gliding like a cat into a respectable house, just for all the world as if you meant to steal something. Who knows but that you have whipped up an article and have got it under your shawl?”’ Christina’s eyes for a moment threw a glance of indignant innocence at the coarse Jewess, but the next moment she burst into tears, and staggered back as if about to faint. ‘““Come, be off with you,’’ said Mr. Emanuel, in the most brutal tone. ‘‘ You are after no good here, and if you don’t make yourself scarce, I shall precious soon send for a police- man.” Terrified by this threat, which she felt the cowardly ruffan was but too capable of carrying out, Miss Ashton issued forth from the shop, and on emerging into the street was instantaneously joined by her brother. Perceiving that she was in tears, and that she was much agitated, he nat- urally ascribed her emotions to disappointment in respect to that hope of obtaining work with which they had been flattering themselves, but when he came to learn everything that had passed, his indignation knew no bounds, his naturally fine spirit flamed up in a moment, and Christina experienced some difficulty in preventing him from going back to the em- porium, to overwhelm the Jew and Jewess with reproaches for their brutal conduct toward his sister. “It is useless, my dear Christian,’ she said, retaining him forcibly by the arm as they proceeded along the crowded street; “‘ you would only get yourself into some embarass- (COUN (A) LOOOKS (C(O)