The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 166: what you’re looking at

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

THE LAWYER 143 Steward, half-springing from his seat in a furious rage, ‘“‘ how dare you make use of such vile and opprobrious terms as these? ”’ “This young gentleman,” said Beverley, alluding to Christian, ‘‘ is a friend of mine, and on his behalf I hurl back the term scoundrel in your teeth.”’ ‘“ Oh, oh, a pretty set of fellows we have got to deal with! ”’ said Sir John Steward. | Here Mrs. Oxenden suddenly made her appearance, and as her eyes fell upon Christian Ashton, she instantaneously recognized him. ‘““T always suspected, sir,’’ she said, with a fierce flashing of her dark eyes, and a scornful drawing-up of her fine person, ‘‘ that you were some insolent meddler in affairs which did not concern you.” “To succour an innocent and virtuous young lady,”’ responded our hero, haughtily, “is a paramount duty on the part of even the veriest stranger. That duty I took upon myself, and if I have failed in the attempt, my own conscienee will enable me to endure with pride and satis- faction any reproaches which your lips, madam, may fling out against me, or any punishment which Sir John Steward in his capacity as a magistrate may be enabled to inflict.”’ ‘““Nobly spoken, my gallant young friend!’’ exclaimed Edgar Beverley, “ and rest assured that though the cause of right and Justice, truth and virtue, may suffer defeat, yet that chastisement will sooner or later overtake the triumphant wrong-doers. Sir John Steward, I tell you to your face — ”’ ‘‘ Silence, sir!’ vociferated the baronet. ‘“‘ Hold them fast, my worthy fellows, and we will presently see how these two moral-preaching upstarts will relish a condemnation to the county gaol. For here is downright burglary, violence, assault and battery, abduction —I don’t know but that it amounts to — to —”’ And the baronet stopped short for want of some term, to express a more heinous crime than any he had yet specified. “ This young man,” said Mrs. Oxenden, intimating our hero, “‘ forcibly stopped the negress and retained her for several minutes a prisoner in the road, close by the spot where a post-chaise was in waiting.” “Coercion and intimidation,’ vociferated Sir John, EGOMINGIOOKS (CO)