The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 242: what you’re looking at

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

TWO FRIENDS 215 he laughed likewise, and the end of it all was that he offered me a regular engagement. I remained with him for about six months, helping him with the ingenuity of my original ideas, and becoming initiated in many of the mysteries of his craft. He taught me, for instance, how to get up old pictures, and I learned that he constantly employed six artists to paint him originals of Rubens, Vandyke, Titian, Greuze — ”’ _“ Originals? ”’ ejaculated Ben Limber. ““ Why, of course! Weren’t they to be sold as originals? ” demanded Mr. Bealby, somewhat indignantly. ‘ And then, too, my friend the curiosity-dealer taught me how to make mummies.” “Make mummies?” cried Ben Limber, again in aston- ishment. ‘Yes, to be sure!’’ exclaimed Mr. Bealby. ‘‘ I myself got up a couple of mummies in so artistic a manner that a member of the Archeological Society proved, in a neat and interesting speech of about six hours’ duration, that they were at least four thousand years old, and there was not a dis- sentient from this opinion. You see that mummy there, in the glass case? I can assure you it was not in existence four months back, and this morning a gentleman belonging to that very society, and who is considered to be one of its brightest ornaments, — although he is deaf and half-blind, — was thoroughly convinced that it is the oldest mummy ever brought into this country. He is to bring me twenty pounds for it to-morrow; but the worst of it, Ben,’ added Mr. Bealby, lowering his voice somewhat, “is that I owe fifteen pounds to my landlady, and she will take very good care to receive the money from the old archeologist, or else she won’t let that blessed mummy go out of the place.”’ ‘How long did you stay with your curiosity-dealer? ”’ asked Ben Limber, “‘ or perhaps I ought rather to have in- inquired why you left him? ” ‘“ Why, you see the public curiosity is variable. To-day it’s an old picture, to-morrow Tom Thumb; to-day some rubbish from Herculaneum, to-morrow the Bosjesmans. Well, just at that time the discovery of the Californian gold regions was making a tremendous sensation, so I had some thundering large pieces of granite carefully gilt, and I ex- hibited them as nuggets. They were in a glass case, and COMIC OOO <S (CO)