The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 349: what you’re looking at

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

318 REYNOLDS’ WORKS Christian, putting his head out of the window, ordered him to stop a few moments longer while he complied with the mendicant’s request. At the same time the false Lascar himself came up to the carriage, and coolly opening the door, began thanking the young gentleman for his liberality. Christian, setting down the fellow’s presumption to the account of his ignorance, drew forth his purse, and the chink of gold caught the Lascar’s ear. In the twinkling of an eye he snatched the purse from Christian’s hand, and darted away with the speed of lightning. Inspired with indignation at this feat, as audacious as it was vil- lainous, Christian sprang from the carriage and rushed after the false Lascar. It was in a very lonely part of the road that this incident occurred, and the road itself was too narrow just at that spot for the equipage itself to be turned around in pursuit. The reader will understand that the daring robber had rushed away in the direction from which the carriage had come, and therefore toward Tudor House. Christina screamed as her brother sprang forth; but he was too in- dignant to think at the moment of her alarm, and too courageous to care for the danger which he might have to encounter. He flew as if on wings of the wind in pursuit of the Lascar, whom he overtook at a distance of about a hundred yards from the scene of the robbery. The fellow turned around to face his pursuer, at whom he aimed a desperate blow with a large bludgeon which he carried, but Christian, nimbly evading it, at once grasped the bludgeon and closed with the plunderer. So well directed and so irresistible was this attack, that the false Lascar was thrown down, and Christian, wrenching the bludgeon from his hands, hurled it to a distance over one of the high hedges that skirted the road.. The prostrate robber endeavoured to gripe our young hero by the throat, but Christian not merely protected himself bravely but like- wise overpowered the Lascar effectually. At that moment the sounds of an advancing equipage were heard; another desperate attempt of the Lascar to free himself was de- feated, and finding himself foiled and powerless, he said, in unmistakable vulgar English, ‘‘Come, young feller, take your purse back again, and let me go.” But Christian kept him down until the equipage came ECORNICOOKS (E(0)