The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 325: what you’re looking at

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

296 REYNOLDS’ WORKS jungle, the perils of wild beasts, of serpents, and of monsters in human form, but even in the cave which he had at least fancied to be a comparatively sure retreat, he found himself a prey to thoughts and feelings which were sufficient to drive him to madness. Not once did the man close his eyes that night, but there he sat, irresistibly abandoning himself to reflections and misgivings which would have made almost any other person suddenly shriek forth as a maniac. At length the glimmering of dawn began to penetrate through the interstices of the barrier he had fixed at the entrance of the cavern, but still the end of the cave remained enveloped in total darkness. Morning advances rapidly in the Eastern clime, and the sun soon poured forth its full effulgence. The Burker’s mind felt relieved, and he began to remove the barricade from the mouth of the cavern. When this task was accomplished, he advanced toward the dead body, and drew it forward by the feet until the light revealed the entire form completely to the Burker’s eyes. It was the body of an old Hindu, with a long gray beard, and its dress enabled the Burker to comprehend that the man had been one of those gossoons, or wandering dervishes, whom he had seen during his journey from Calcutta to Inderabad, when a prisoner in the suite of Queen Indora and her hus- band. But how came the man by his death? Was it from natural causes? Had he in illness dragged himself to that cave to die, or had he, when reposing there, been suddenly smitten by the hand of the destroying angel? The Burker knew not. There were no marks of violence upon the old man’s person, but as the Burker examined him more and more closely, he perceived two little spots close together upon the calf of one of the thin emaciated legs. These spots resembled the punctures of a lancet, or of some other small, sharp-pointed instrument. They were of a livid hue on the dusky skin of the deceased, and it was only after the closest inspection that they were discernible at all. The Burker did not, however, fancy that these were in any way connected with the man’s death, and he therefore came to the conclusion that he had died from some natural cause. Issuing forth from the cave, the Burker looked cautiously about, keeping himself upon his guard against the deadly lasso of the Strangler, but no one was to beseen. He dragged GOMmicsooks (E()