The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 40: what you’re looking at

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

VERNER HOUSE 21 last, when a man was of course glad to put his hand any-. wheres to keep it warm — ”’ ‘‘ Well, well,’ interrupted Christian, ‘‘ you took this German to supply his place? ”’ ‘‘ Exactly so, sir, and in all my life I never did see such a feller to eat whatever comes in his way, and to get blazing drunk whenever he has the opportunity. You should hear him in his cups, — what gammon he talks about grand dukes and grooms of the stole, and so on; and he says, too, that he has been a baron and was called ‘ my lord,’ that he has dined with our queen and sat hob-and-nob with Prince Halbert. Of course it’s all hes.” ‘“ And what name does he bear?’”’ asked Christian, who did not think it worth while to inform the mountebank that. so far from its being all false, it was perfectly consistent with truth. “Name?” ejaculated the mountebank, contemptuously, ‘you never heard such a name as he gave himself, but it was an uncommon true one, I[ can tell you, sir, when he came amongst us. What do you think of Raggidbak as a name to go to bed with? ” ‘““A very strange one indeed,’ answered Christian; and having dropped:the promised extra shilling into the basin, he hurried away, for he saw that Baron Raggidbak was looking toward him over the top of the mouth-organ. On regaining his hotel, our hero made some little alterations in his toilet, and at about five o’clock descended to the coffee- room to give orders in respect to his dinner. At the moment he entered the only person who was there was that tall, handsome young gentleman of about three and twenty, whom he had seen at breakfast in the morning, and whose appearance had so much interested him. This individual. was: sitting at a table, on which his elbows rested, and his face was buried in his hands; he was evidently absorbed in the deepest thought, and Christian, judging from the melan- choly air which he had observed in the morning, fancied that it was a reverie of no very pleasing nature. Our young hero sat down and took up a newspaper, when all of a sudden the interesting stranger at the other table smote his clenched fist upon the board, giving unconscious utterance to some ejaculation expressive of the agitated condition of his mind. It was evident that he had not noticed Christian’s presence, CORnnICLOOKS (CO)