The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 268: what you’re looking at

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

THE MUMMY’S CASE 241 ‘I s’pose you'll tell me next that I don’t know what leather is. I haven’t been a cobbler for these twenty-three years without knowing summut about the article I works with.”’ ‘“‘ Leather,” cried the indignant Mr. Fossilton, forgetting his accident, forgetting the crowd, forgetting the public place in which the scene was occurring, — forgetting indeed every- thing except the sense of insult he was now smarting under at the idea of the gross manner in which the reputation of his mummy was assailed. ‘‘ Leather? I tell you that this is 2 mummy, — the corpse of some distinguished person of an ancient age, three thousand years old if it’s a single day, and that I’ll swear by the wrappings. I am ashamed of you, my man. If it were an old shoe on which you were called to pass an opinion, it would be all very well.”’ ‘Three thousand year old — stuff and nonsense,” ejacu- lated the cobbler disdainfully. ‘I tell you it’s leather, — burnt, scorched, or something — And, by jingo! if I don’t think it’s some that I sold a genelman which lives up there in the second story of that there house, and which is knowed to be uncommon clever at getting up these here sort of things.”’ At this crisis Mr. Limber, who had hitherto remained upon the spot to listen to what was taking place was seized with a panic, and he sped away as fast as his legs would carry him. The unfortunate archeologist Mr. Fossilton began to look terribly crestfallen. He stooped down, took another green view of the mummy through his glasses, then pulled off the glasses themselves, and examined it more closely with his naked eyes. He could no longer conceal from him- self that he had been grossly deceived. If the accident had not occurred to the mummy, breaking a portion of it, and thus showing of what 1t was composed, the probability is the cheat never would have been discovered, and Mr. Fossilton would have gone down to his grave in the happy conviction that he died in possession of a human relic thirty centuries of age. But now unfortunately the delusion was dissipated, the vision was dispelled, and this learned archzeologist found that he had given twenty pounds for the mere purpose of being egregiously laughed at, jeered, gibed, joked, and taunted by a motley crowd of some two hundred persons. His orders were quickly issued to the driver of the cart, or the potato person, as Mr. Bealby’s landlady politely and CORNICLOO© <S (C(O)