The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 266: what you’re looking at

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

THE MUMMY’S CASE 239 his landlady, “‘ just give the potato person, as you called him, a little drop of gin to drink, as it was very civil on his part to stop when Mary called him,” and he thrust a shilling into the woman’s hand. She sped away to give one drop of gin to the potato person, and bestow half a dozen upon herself. A cord was put around the trunk, and Limber assisted by Mary, con- veyed it down-stairs, old Mr. Fossilton following. The in- stant they were gone, Bealby closed the door, and hastening to pull aside a portion of the green baize, he whisperingly asked, “ Are you all right? Have you got enough air? ”’ ‘“ Blow me,” growled the Burker, “if I could have fore- seen there was a-going to be such a precious shindy as all this — ”’ ‘“‘ Well, never mind, everything will be all right,”’ answered Bealby. ‘‘ We will soon get you down into the other cart; I shall drive off with you, in half an hour the open fields will be gained beyond Holloway, and then you will be free as alr.”’ ‘Make haste then,” said the Burker from the depth of the coffin-like box, ‘for I’m so preciously squeeged and scrouged up here, I don’t think as how I shall ever get the use of my limbs again.”’ Bealby sped to the window, and looking out, saw that the trunk containing the mummy was just being consigned to the cart driven by the potato person, as the landlady most elegantly called him. Old Mr. Fossilton was helped up by Ben Limber into the vehicle, and seating himself upon the trunk, he took a huge pinch of snuff in complacent and satis- factory anticipation of the pleasure he was shortly to enjoy in unrolling the bandages which for three thousand years, as he thought, had enveloped his precious acquisition. The potato person whipped the horse, the animal started off, but unfortunately at that very instant the rod or bar which kept the body of the cart tight down upon the shafts accidentally came out. Up tilted the cart, and lo and be- hold! trunk, archeologist, and potato person were all pitched backward into the street. The cord fastening the trunk either snapped or became untied, and out rolled the mummy. Mr. Bealby beheld the accident from his window, and gave vent to an ejaculation of mingled rage and disappointment. A crowd instantaneously collected, and as Mr. Fossilton COMMICOO© <S (CO)