The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 203: what you’re looking at

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

180 REYNOLDS’ WORKS the metropolis. It happened that one of the first of these printed proclamations that were issued fell into the hands of Jack Smedley, as in some new disguise he was wandering through the district of St. Luke’s in as wretched a state of mind as can be well conceived. On reading the hand-bill, the gold-beater was at once smitten with the thought of availing himself of the benefit which it held out. He understood its meaning full well; it signified that whoever would turn around upon his accomplices should exper- lence the mercy of the Crown so far as to have his life spared, though with the certainty of sustaining the appli- cation of the next degree of punishment, — namely, trans- portation for the rest of his days. Jack Smedley was, as the reader has seen, a veritable coward in most respects, although having hardihood sufh- cient to plunge into crime when led on, encouraged, and assisted by others. But the idea of the gibbet was for him fraught with such terrors that it was a matter of surprise it had not restrained him from crime altogether, — unless indeed we must take into account the circumstance that every man when committing a deed of turpitude, hugs the belief that it will never be discovered. And now, upon reading this proclamation, Jack Smedley beheld the means of saving his life, — ay, and not only of saving his life, but also of revenging himself on the Burker for the last event which had marked their intercourse. What to Smedley was transportation for the remainder of his existence if he could only save that existence from a horrible and ignominious fate? To have the power of putting out from his imagi- nation that dark, sinister objeet which was looming before his mental vision, to escape from the haunting influence of the sombre gallows and all the dread paraphernalia of death, this were indeed happiness, although at the same time he should be doomed to fix his eyes on the far-off regions of eternal exile. Not many moments did the gold-beater waste in deliberation; his mind was speedily made up and with the proclamation in his hand, he set out on his search after Bar- ney the Burker. We have said that he was wearing a new sort of disguise, but it is not worth while to pause and describe its details. Suffice it to say that, profiting by the hints which he had received from the Burker the evening but one previous, CORNICLIOOKS (E(0)