The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 370: what you’re looking at

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

THE EMPTY HOUSE 339 said Mr. Barnes, sternly, and contenting himself with this warning, he spared his youthful and delectable pupil the punching process that had been menaced. ‘‘You haven’t told me what you mean to do about that there house on Cambridge Terrace,”’ said Bill Scott, after another pause. ‘‘ And what’s more, I don’t mean to tell you,’”’ answered the Burker. “ It’s a little private business of my own, and you had better not go and blab about it, or I should precious soon sarve you as i did that chap down at the Smedleys’ t’other night. You and Tim can amuse yourselves with cards or dominoes and a pot of porter after supper to- morrow night, till 1 come home, for I des say I shall have to be out an hour or two. You have had a veek’s holiday, and you and Tim must get to business to-morrow. The blunt I got t’other night won’t last for ever, and we must make hay while the sun shines.”’ It is not however necessary to record any more of the conversation which took place, on this particular occasion, between Barney the Burker and his worthy pupil, for we must pass on to the narration of other matters. On the following day the sale took place at the house which Joseph Preston had inhabited on Cambridge Terrace, and by eight o’clock in the evening all the “ lots’’ were cleared away, according to the terms duly specified in the catalogue, of which Barney the Burker had obtained a copy, so that he might judge whether the house would be left empty after the sale. It was between ten and owen o’clock at night that the ruffian issued from his lodgings, where he left the brothers Scott engaged in the manner which he had sketched forth on the preceding day. Barnes directed his steps toward the Regent’s Park, and on arriving in the vicinage of Cam- bridge Terrace, he carefully scrutinized all the windows of the house where the sale had been. No lights were to be seen anywhere in the front, and Barney, passing around to the back of the terrace, examined the premises from that point. The result was the same; not a single light was visible in any of the windows. A bill was posted against the stable doors, and by the light of an adjacent lamp, Barney was enabled to read the large print thereon. It announced that the house was to be let on lease, applications to be made 7) COM a LOOKS (CO)