The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 367: what you’re looking at

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

338 REYNOLDS’ WORKS One morning, at the expiration of that interval we have noticed at the beginning of this chapter, the gossoon and the Burker reached a town of larger dimensions than any of those which they had as yet visited in company, and the dervish gave his comrade to understand that they would here reap a considerable harvest. Scarcely however had they entered the suburbs when they were seized upon by half a dozen peons, or native policemen, who seemed disposed to handle them roughly. The gossoon, setting up a hideous howling, drew forth his knife, and was preparing to attack his captors, when he was knocked down by a severe blow, and the weapon was wrested from him. The Burker was then searched, and his knife was likewise taken away, but he escaped any particular ill-treatment on account of offer- ing no resistance. The two prisoners were then conducted hurriedly along the streets, and they were thus led to a large, gloomy-looking building, which the Burker fancied to be a prison. It however proved to be no house of perma- nent detention at all, for the building contained one large room, and though not a gaol, it was nevertheless a scene of terrific horrors. There were about twenty persons seated upon a long bench against one of the walls of this room, the door of which was guarded by several peons. The Burker and the gossoon were conducted to the bench, and there they sat down amidst the other captives. With the exception of the Burker himself, all these prisoners were natives, belonging to different castes, and there were several females amongst them. These were weeping bitterly, while several of the men were howling, yelling, and wailing, all as if in antici- pation of some terrible chastisement which they would shortly have to endure. There were, however, three or four men, evidently of a somewhat superior class, who main- tained a dignified silence, and who had the air of innocent victims courageously resigning themselves to the pressure of some strong tyranny against which there was no appeal. Upon a table in the middle of the room lay several articles of a miscellaneous character. There were whips and sticks, necklaces made of bones, hammers and nails, several brick- bats, small iron rods with wooden handles, coils of rope, cocoanut shells, and little boxes the contents of which the Burker could not conjecture. As he glanced along the line CONNIELNOOLKKS (E(0)