The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 300: what you’re looking at

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

THE JUNGLE 271 Stranglers, which has not altogether disappeared from the peninsula of Hindustan. The Burker did not however know who they were, nor had he the slightest idea that their murderous pursuits constituted a sort of diabolic creed as well as a regular avocation. He took them to be mere banditti, who on this occasion had availed themselves of the readiest means of taking the lives of their victims whom they did not dare provoke to an open combat on account of the firearms they possessed. The Stranglers, having gratified their horrible propensity for murderous deeds by gazing for a few minutes upon their victims, proceeded to take possession of their weapons, and then unfastening the cords from around the necks of the murdered men, the Thugs plunged again into the recesses of the grove. They did not tarry to rifle the persons of their victims; they did not even so much as open the knapsack which was slung over the shoulder of one of them, nor did they touch the liquor which the gourd contained, nor the remainder of the food which had been left upon the grass. They vanished from the Burker’s view, bearing with them their fatal lassoes and all the weapons that had belonged to the victims of this hideous assassination. For nearly half an hour, however, did the Burker remain in his hiding-place after the departure of the Stranglers. He was afraid to move. He now thought much less of snakes, reptiles, and tigers than of those horrible miscreants whose victims lay stretched motionless before his eyes. At length the Burker began to take courage somewhat, and thinking that the coast must now be completely clear, he stole forth from his hiding-place. It was still, however, with fear and trembling that he approached the corpses, for by so doing he approached likewise that very part of the grove where the lassoes had been thrown forth. The murderers might still be there, and one of those fatal cords might be thrown out for its deadly noose to encircle his own neck as he had seen both circle the necks of the dead toward whom he was now cautiously and timidly advancing. But all was still, and the Burker, gaining more and more courage, proceeded to possess himself of the gourd, the knapsack, and the remnant of provisions. He longed to tarry and rifle the persons of the dead, for if he found money upon them it might be serviceable to him if ever he should succeed in COnnICLOOKS (C(O)