thus equipped and with a folded blanket under his saddle and his cloak strapped over his holsters lie look bis departure on the th of august fite de napoleon steering jn the first instance towardb parramatia the only outlet leading to the interior being in that direction liut preferring to commune with his own heart on tlie solitary ond what to some persons would appear dreary ride rather than encounter the dust and bustle of the great road he obrauched ioff to the right at about six miles from sydney on a broad aud to all appearance recently cleared track which he followed without passing any human habitation until lie reached the rocky bank of a noble sheet of water so slill and transparent that for a moment he doubled whether it could be a river or an estuary only


it seemed to be landlocked by rocky and lather bold ground on the right immediately in his front was a small neatly built collage round the eastern side of which the broad road winded from the landingplace where the heavy ferryboat was lying lo the heirrhls nbow


the ouenino to his left presented apicture which for an instant rivcltcd him to the spot


in the extreme distance the tops of the blue mountains lowered above llie intervening ground which in that direction declined in gentle slopes to the waters edge except where occasionally a bold headland jutted out to break the lameness of the scene


here and there some cleared ground and patches of cultivation showed themselves and the monotony of the gloomy forest was broken by one or two white collages peeping from their dark recesses and emitting light wreaths of smoke that attended nearly perpendicularly so stilly vas the scene


the sky was cloudless and beautifully tinged towards the horizon hv the morning bun


every object was so cfcarly reflected in the water that where it touched the rocky banks iu outline could not be dis cerned


one small sail of


snowy white ness in contrast with tlie dark green re flection of the forest crept stealthily from a little bay on the opposite side lo that on which the traveller rtood and was soon shut out from his view by a projecting point of land


while handy was gazing at this enchanting landscape two horsemen approached the cottage on the opposite side the ferrynen immediately turned out and convcyej them across and then the scene became one fit for the pencil of sal vator ross


the costume of the horsemen consisted of dirty broad cabbagetree hats el sort of hussar jacket of invisible green ividi red collar and cuffs dark overall rtohscrs doubled nearly over with leather artouchc belts round their waists and saurcs me scauuarus ui which secnieu lo be total strangers lo llic polish of bath brick


the features of the troopers coun tenances were scarcely discernible for the broadbrimmed hats sheltered their eyes the rest with the exception of the sun burnt nose was a mass of hair with a short dirty pipe planted in the centre


their horses were rough jaded and out of condition but they were nevertheless accoutred in the style of llic ordinary ca valry


at the saddlebow on the off side was slung the carbine the mouths of the holster pipes exhibited the brassmounted butts of pistols to a ring below the cantle on the off side was suspended a pair of hobbles that on the near side held a small coil of rope and a pair of handcufls


the garb of the ferryman was a red cap and blue woollen shirt hanging over a pair of fustian trowsers


he wanted the finish of the short pipe for the troopers had started him suddenly to admit of his lighting it


the moment they landed and were preparing lo remount a plash in the water was heard the sound came from a project ing rocky point on the right and inslaiuly a boat was seen to emerge from beyond the troopers pricked up their cars turned sharply to the direction from which the sound of oars had issued and one of them exclaimed may i bo shot if that isnt them theres bill the sawyer with his handkerchief round his head pulling as if for his life


thais donohoe with the check shirt and the belt round his waist and thats welsh with the blue jacket and his hand on the cock of the firelock and he was proceeding to disengage his carbine when handy observed theres no use wasting your ammunition its too long a shot


i believe it is sir said the trooper theyve given us the double the knowing coves drew us this way now heyu be down the river cross lane cove


there


theyve some pals llien over to the cowan creek gullies and away across the llawkcsbury to their old haunts at the foot df warrawollong but they have their pals ill over the country they were near enough see your horse and your rig for a journey and if you dont want to be peeled you must either push on bait at castle hill and you will reach wisemans before sun set or you must halt until they are lagged


our horses arc done up so when we get to the barracks at longboltom we must give the information


these words were scarcely out of his mouth when one of the men in the boat which was fast receding from view stood upright uttered a loud curse and raising his musket in his left hand gave il with his right a smart slap on the stock as if in defiance and the boat was shut out from sight by a projecting headland


handy adopted the first ot the troopers sugges tions viz to push on before the bush rangers accomplices could intercept him


he had sufficient experience in travelling through a new country to make him cau tious as to being over communicative


so he journeyed bearing in mind that though a mans heartmay devise his way it is the lord who directeth his steps


from the cottage the road skirted the hill by a gradual ascent partly cut through sandstone rocks where on the righthand side was a signal station established for the purpose of communicating between oyancy and parramatia


the tiro men who hud charge of the station occupied a small weatherboarded collage around which they had formed a neat vegetable garden from the signal station the road continued on a level for a considerabledistance through the native forest with occasional openings in which stood the primitive settlers huts surrounded by cultivation it then crossed a deepisl valley and ltd to a small church placed on an eminence commanding an extensive and rich panoramic view of the country


here handy pulled up his horse for a few minutes to contemplate the scene around him which was soon to be shut out from his sight by the deep forest he was about to enter


in the foreground of this picture were one or two modestlooking cottages backed liv nrtlinrh nf ncoch and liectarinc trees


tlien in full blossom the sombre aspect of the adjacent forest wa varied by the bright green of the young barley


at the foot of i the slope on which the collages stood lay the sluggish waters of the miscalled parra malta river not running in a continuous outline but stretching occasionally into broad inlets extending a considerable dis tance on theirhanks were vast openings where the forest had been subdued and which were now smiling with cultivation and here and there a piece of freshploughed ground then an open pasture wellsprinkled with tlie partycoloured horned cattle and horses to die right of the cultivation was a noblelooking mansion with a garden in its front beyond the open ground wet a line of forest and in the extreme distance a range of mountains the most remote of wbicli was at least sixty miles off but so clear is the atmosphere in this fine climate that their outlines were distinct in colours of a blue so pure as to defy the painters art


as handy was remounting to proceed on his journey a prettylooking young woman approached of whom he enquired the name of the place kissing point sir was the reply


a very appropriate name he observed i suppose eh on account of marriages that take place here


yes sir people is always married at this church and there is a number of christen ings too


a natural consequence said handy and turning his horse lie bid the fair damsel ndieu


on he travelled through the dense forest until he reached some scattered huts and afterwards one neat wealherboarded cottage with a verandah in front standing between a well kept garden and a substantial looking farm jiu


ni uiiu vii b nuua uj lilt iuau side he bailed his horse for maize bran and green barley were to be procured at any one of them


while the horse was refreshing he had an opportunity of exa mining the land which appeared generally strong and well adapted to the cultivation of wheat and maize but the labour requi site to clear it of llie indigenous timber seemed to be a heavy drawback on the operations of the firmer for although some portion of timber was useful for buildings and fences yet that portion was very in considerable as compared with the extent of ground to be cleared


after leaving castle hill the name of the plabe where he had made the midday halt handy proceeded through a miserable country the road generally lying on the cfest of tbe range


on his right were deep gillies with stunted timber on the left ofen forest but very bare of grass and so ihinly tim bered that he caught occasional glimpses of llie town of windsor and the blue mountains deyona


towards sunset be began to descend then to wine round a bold feature of the ground by a good road partly cut through the sandsloie rocks until at length he stood at a iurn from whence he overlooked the havkcsbury and became enraptured with the scene before him


it was one of lurpassing beauty


in the foreground tlie niad wind ing through rocks from the issurcs of which grew gnarled trees their whitish and spiral bark being stained in patches by the gum that exuded


the middle gtnund was a rich cultivated plain bounded n the far side by llic hawkesbury


beyoid was a sheltered valley through which an a ser pentine silvery stream with two


or three whitened collages and rustic outbuildings on its banks


the valley was confined and backed by mountains rising to a prodigious height the bare and rugged tips f which were gided by llie rays of the setting sun but their sides were clothed in mist of impenetrable grey varied only b llie light curls of smoke that ascended sbwly from the chimuies of the cottages below and gradually evaporated into thin air


a herd of cattle winding down the road to the ferry on the opposite side gave animation lo the scene


after devoting a few minutes to the admiration of this bewitching land scape handy approached a good substan tial stone house the proprietor of which ion wm v lnu


m and invited him to alight and take up his quarters there for the night


to be continued


lord buoigiriji axd keoso slavunr


the following picture of a british house of commons is given in a journal called the ai iiuiuack da jfois our readers are aware that the english orators are not satisfied as ours arc with a plain glass of sugarwater and that behind them is placed a tray containing drink more than refreshing from the finest wines to the strongest liquors


tbe night on which ird brougham delivered bis celebrated eptecu in favour of the abolition of negro sla very he had supplied himself according to custom with a large basket filled with bottles of the strongest wines


his speech lasted seven hours and it was found necessary to re plenish the basket


the gaslights began to grow pale in presence of the morning un and still tlie house of commons was silent and at tentive


all eyes were directed towards the speaker lie was seen to bend upau his knee and to supplicate the british parliament with tears in his eyes to destroy slavery over the face of ibe globe


never was so much emotion perceived in the assembly


the motion was carried in the midst of enthusiastic cheering


vesxx postage


the finance accounts now published show n large increase intne re venue of the postoffice


the gross revenue for the year is was giving an increase of more than as compared with tbe net revenue was giviug an increase of nearly as com pared null


the apparent increase in taking the returns for as the standard is in each case more fhan double the amount here given but those returns gave the revenue both gross and net too low by about the actual increaie of net re venue in is greater than for any year since the wurexcept when it rasjt and when it was


from the first year of penny postage to tbe increase of net reveuue is nearly so per cent


esolird id alieiiloa


john bull wants a flogging lets give it him


he is in solentlets flog him


he is spreading bis power in all parts of the world


his armies are nil over the earth his ships all over the water uud his merchandise all over laud and water


lets flog him


il will cost us a few hundred of ships and a few hundred millions uf dollars and a few score thousands of lives


it will turn society upside down give rowdies ud robbers tbe upper band and entail upon is an aristocracy of military heroes for another tail century


all the belter for that


john doll needs a flagging and he nught to have it


w want a flogging too and it would do us ood


we want blecdiug as well us john bull let us havu it


let us turn to and huve a real irish knock down


who is going to hare john dull set his liuus to growling at us across tbe water


well atop hib nuis if it is by thrusting ourown hed dmvn his throat


who is going to spend all his life in merchandising ind manufacturing and lecturing aud preach ing and printing f who wants to hear hhib everlasting talk ubout conscience and reason and right and wrong


i


the world has become stale and insipid


the ships ought to be nil cuiiured and the cities bmltrtj doivnand the world burnt up o that we can start again


there would he iiiu in that some interest something to talk about


the newspapers art not worth leading


the murders they tell arc only one at a time and the terrible explp sinus only go to killing jiulfadozen or so


wt went to see men mowed down in long batu lionn und artillery trains dragged over tbeb before they are dead


we want lo have iouf drons of jiorae trample an mca dying liuuik denrl and see tbe bluod spirt when they tread on jiving hearts jind noe the vultures lead on ibo richest toitf carrion


we want ivhel cver we see u bead tw hreuk it wherever ia heart beau to stop it wherever tlioro jb beaut to deform it wherever there is order to bring in chaos we oniil buur ibete re etninu which are called civiliwition uhi is mine and that is your we want to oipi nothing and rob for everything


this world jms swung out of its orhit and conies too new lo what they call heaven


we want to sivimj t onfar


i he other way until it comes hard byb jf not oil over tbe infernal regions


if sa tern lo no mn we want to flog old mother ijengland and flog her and get flogged our helves and when we are both flogsed well sigh to death hen make a treaty


s have something to talk ahoutew vvrk journal fif commerce tu nlorn fmepta of the siamese ara comprised in tbe following ten comrnand jnwntsl


do not slay anpmals


do not steal


do not commit adultery


do not tell lies or backbite


do not drink mne


do not eat after twelve oclock


do not frequent spectacles or libten u mubic


do not use perfumes nor wear personal ornaments


do dot sleep or re cline upon a couch nbore a cubit uioh do not borrow or he in debt


a tneatnttheatres always carry a sort of holiday look about them you feel it in the boxilobbv even and cannot help thinking that tbe iboxkeeper is not a mere ordinary com monplace clerk but that he is within the ma giof irele as it were pervaded with dramatic attributes and is in fact only playing at the mechanical duties of his office for bis own re creitiod


but there is none of this feelin con nected with tbe sioge door it is quite s pface of nibiness ordinary every jay sort of business potboy continually haunt it carrying dinners in id out at all hours as if each of the inmates had a solar system of bis own and was conse quently obliged to fix his own dinnerhour wiaout reference to ordinary habits and cus toiii


the mimberofpotsofporteratso which pafi in full and out empty leads one to ibo concluiiontliatthereisa brewery somewhere in the neighbourhood t up for and supported wholly by the establishment in question


you remark upon tbe number of people with canvass caps and shirt sleeves none of the cleanest who abound and would be surprised if von knew what a wiselooking body of senators they oc casionally form in the


jlerchadt of venice


av nd then also you may see hurrying down the street aud passing rapidly iuto the interior among porter pols


paper cops shirt eeves girls in ones and twos some of them pretty all of them pale wan and yellow looking


they are almost invariably muffled iu cloaks or shawls not over thick or over new poor things


i


but they strain them closely round leir forms for the forenoon ib lowering and chitting and damn and pulling tbeir diugy green veils over their faces hurry by with a quick anxious step


the street is muddy and wet and as your eye rests upon the wellturned little feet which pick their way along you are concerned to see more than one of them


not over well biioj


the boot was neat once and so is the foot now but it must be cold and soaking


poor things


i they seem to struggle hard to keep up a little appearance but they have a sad worn and exhausted look telling of late hours at nights and early risings in the mornings and a long long dby work between


illuminated magazine


method of pnbpanino clat ron stboko akd durable bnioks


the clay should be dug up in autumn spread over as large a surface as possible and iu this stale lie during tbe whole of the winter exposed to the frost ia this state it greedily absorbs atmos pheric air facilitates the subsequent operations of mixing and tempering


during this time the earth should lie repeatedly turned and worked with tbe spade


in tbe spring the clay is broken in pieces and thrown into shallow pits where it is watered and suffered to remain soaking for several days it is then tempered and upon tbe due performance of this process deneuds in a great measure the quality of the brietr for unless tlie several ingredients be in timilely united we cannot hope for a uniform nmlcrial


so important is this pan of the process that it has been recommended to dry ant pulverize the clay and then mix but this procrss would involve large additional expense


y well beating tlie clay m gallow succeeded iu nuking a brick of mnnii trrrpi


unu density


un placing one of these brickl wild ttis centre on a sharp edge and loadinp the lira ends


the bricks formed of the well tcuitered earth were broken with a weight at each end of ib or ib in all while others weri broken with a


at eacb end or ib in fie wholeae builder


mtetoml the stoby of a eeatheb


k jsrjustttjj iertrffltr


a storyfrom pusten chapter xxxzu


continued vom our lost


a conspiracy against patte more visitors to newgate


the misses peachick of man trap park


didnt you say you wanted to go into the prison asked traply of patty for the turnkey became more impatient of the unprofitable delay of herself und friends


fatty instantly grasped the hand of mrs lint ley and looking farewell to the apothecary and inglewood with a forced smile upon her face hurried from the room followed by traply


god help lier i exclaimed lintley


amenamen cried inglewood as from a writhing heart


mrs lintley could say nothing but weeping placed her arm beneath her husbands who pressing jt in token of conciliation led her away


nobody remained save the widow her maid becky and mrs traply the widow exclaiming against the stonyheartedness of all the world and the turnkeys wife eloquently sympathising with her


the passion of mrs cramp grew and grew with nursing at length in a paroxysm of love and grief she vowed she would give her last shilling to the lawyers rather than see her edward mur dered


hethe dear man had with his own sweet lips vowed to her his innocence and yet the world was made up of such wretches they would not believe him


nevertheless he would spend her last shilling upon him


poor departed mr cramp howthought iwould it irk your ghost could it know that alt the harvest of yiur daily shufflingall the bright blissbestowing guineas for which for a long life you played at bopeep with the devilall were to be emptied into the bags of law to save a highwayman for your disconsolate mate had joseph cramp toiled and edged and scrapedand all to buy from tyburn a husband for his widow


surely i thought if elderly folk would now and thenwhilst chaffering and fibbing in the worlds marketplace for the over reaching pennyworthif they would ponder on the future outlay of their gains when tbey themselves should be slabbed over with a flattering gravestone they would let many a bar gain slip and with it many a sin i


but no with such folks the spirit of harddealing is a spirit hostile to death


it is impossiblethinks the hard hucksterthat death should be so unmannerly as to surprise mc in the middle of a bargain


no with the miser every guinea got is a nail out of his coffin


and so chuckling he draws nail and nail and promises him self the days of methusaleh when abruptly comes mr under taker with his screwa surer implement than the sword of cosar


airs


traply was at length left alone when with housewife alacrity putting her room straight she placed me in a bureau amongst her other treasures


as she did so she cried theres so many people about that patty shell never be able to put it torights


if she gets off i dare siy shell be like the rest and never think of the kindness shes had in newgate and if she shouldnt why then the things impossible


it was thus the turnkeys wife speculated upon the life and death of patty butlerupon the condition of an ostrich feather


i i was shut up in nn old wainscot bureau through which the light glimmered in twenty creaks though not sufficiently to allow me to discern surrounding objects


i could however distinguish nearly every word that was uttered though the sound came to me somewhat muffled


hence there was enough to alarm me for poor patty


one whole day i was left in continual terror


poor dear patty


i i pictured her to myself in that dreary prison surrounded by objects of misery and of vice in their thousand dreadful apparitions


i trembled for her and then remembering her sweet invincible patience the mighty gentleness of her heart i knew she would retire within her own nature enshrined from prisontaint had no j fear of the crystal purity of her soul but i trembled for her life and indeed with good cause from the voices heard about me


my first london purchaser shudrach jacobs the i old jew was a visitor at the hearth of air


traply


ile had itaab tkiwn putt in ihn or i son


anil hnc


no he never was in all his life


and then mrs gaptooth would talk in a low voice to shadrach and afterwards laugh horribly


i shuddered as i felt assured that the life of poor patty was chaffered for by wretches


then i heard curl well in a voice of remonstrance declare that he would have fuir play and then twitted by mrs gaptooth who would call upon him to be a man and not be made a fool of by a brasen slut he would vow hed rather see her hanged than see another man have her


mrs gaptooth would then declare she was too good for him but he must have his own way


she had no spite against the wench for her impudence none she couldnt feel spite for the poorest thing in the worldit wasnt by no means in her natur nevertheless shed go and see her hanged with the greatest pleasure


the reader may believe that from these broken sentences i could piece out sufficient to make me tremble for patty


days passed on and from what could hear the next day was appointed for the trial of clickly abram and his confede rate as she was called


patty butler


now it was the custom of mrs traplyi know not whether it be common with the sexto visit the treasures in her bureau at least once a day


she would take up and hang over and smile and nod at various odds and ends of silk and ribbon and lace and now and then sigh at an old fan as though it brought back to her the days when she danced at chester with sir mohawk brush


the remnants of bygone frippery among which i was placed teemed to lie poor mrs trnply to the outdoor world


there ere laces in that bureau knitted up with the strings of her maiden heart


there were pieces of silk which reminded her of her lustrous youth when newgate was to her a fable a gloomy dream and nothing more


then would she sigh and that sigh spoke of sad experience of hard newgate stones


it happened then that mrs traply in a mild melancholy mood took me the morning before the trial from my dark abidingplace


what she purposed with me i know not bul she was about to carry me from the room when she was arrested in her intent by the sound of her husband


by the softened tones of his voice i concluded that he was about to introduce newgate visitors into his domestic retreat i was right


the turnkey showed into his room three ladies and a gentleman and as they entered mrs traply at the same time curtseyed and flung me on the top of the bureau


the male and one of the female visitors i immediately recognised m mr and mrs flamingo under whose auspices it may be remembered i was dressed for the prince of walets cradle


they were accompanied by two elderly ladies and i will here set down what i subsequently learned of them


they were maiden sisters miss amelia and miss leonora eachick of mantrap park in the county of devonshire


they seemed at first sight as indeed they afterwards proved sweet good hearted old women


age and celibacy had not soured their tempers but mellowed them


i have indeed remarked through life that where the female heart withstands the withering chilling influence of singleness it becomes rich ripened with


thousand virtues that render it one of the noblest hearts of the world


and thus it was with the misses pcachick


to this excellence they united a simplicity of mind almost childish


hey were both oran age not to be spoken of and this was their first visit to london


to them lire had been a tolerably long walk upon lambswool and they knew little of misery save ofthat misery in novels which is generally hung with golden fringe at the end


hence in london they were jn t perpetual state of agitation from the objects of crime and wretchedness which beset them


every day they vowed they would start for mantrap park there to end their days forgetful if possible of the horrors they had seen and every day mr and mrs flamingo prevailed upon them to lengthen their visit there was something yet so beautifulto interest ing they reust behold


what would their friends in devon shire say if they did not


i know not ifdestiny had ordered it as a reward or trial of the virtues of the maiden peacbicks that they should be sent at firstfloor ledger to the house of flamingo there how ever they were end under the potent persuasion of the feather merchant there they promised some time to remain


it wat in vain that they protested they bad seen enough of london mr flamingo knew better


no no cried the elder mist peachick at she came timidly into the room ive had quite enough of this dreadful placel dear mel


well how anybody can live with bolts drawn upon them


i


and yon mean to tay mr flamingo that all those men and womenthe poor prisoners heaven bleu em ithat theyve all really done something wrong


they dont look like it


there must be some mistake


most of em old hands my lady said traply


confirmed thieves and murderers observed flamingo glibly


it cant be cried miss leonora its flying in the face of goodness to believe it


and is that poor woman a criminal too asked miss amelia pointing at mrs traply


my wife my lady said the turnkey and then added with a grin sometimes a criminal for all that


ha


and the good woman helps you to lock the poor things up suppose


and you live here ch


well bless mel


and you never let the prisoners out for an airing


they never toke a ride poor things asked miss leonora peachick in the innocence of fiftythree and rustic life


never take a ride my lady answered traply that officer being mightily tickled by the simplicity of his guest never ride cept when they go to be hanged


dont talk in that way my good man its impossible cried miss amelia


why youll never tell me that theyll have the heart to kill any of those dear creatures weve just left


theres that sweetlooking littles girl what she i click abrams wife as they call her


ila my lady


and traply tried to look grave


laws all luck but if she hasnt a good share of it i wouldnt give the valley of a neck of mutton for hers


what


kill that innocent mildlooking come away leonora come away child


dont let us stop in this wicked place for fear it should fall upon us


my dear madam said flamingo theres more to sec yet


weve seen quite enough of london cried amelia


quite said leonora and nothing thats innocent and fit for christian people to sec but mr gaind the waxwork westminster abbey and the tower and bedlam is thought something of mid flamingo with a critical air


oh i the kings crown and ths jewels are very wellvery respectable and all that i dut bedlam well i do hope cried miss amelia with the tears nearly iu her eyes i do hope that the poor people aro really mad for then they cant know how badly they use em


come along


i shall die if i stop here said miss leonora


pray come mr flamingo


certainlyto be sure and then in our way back we can peep at the debtors through the bars of tho fleet


bless you ladies


i you bavnt half seen london theres enough to delight you yet for a week


the malden sisters without an answer fluttered from the room mr and mrs flamingo with suppressed laughter following them and mr truply conveying to his wife by the eloquence of his looks the most contemptuous opinion of his visitors


the day passed the next tiny came


it was the first day of the sessions


mrs traply had tnkeu me from the top of the bureau where had remained from the first appearance of the miss peachicks


she stood ponjeiing i know not what holding tne between her fingers when her husbandit was a busy duyhurried in


there ou are again thinking o nothing but that cust feather he cried snatching me from lier hunds and about to throw me into the fire


ile then paused and thrusting me under his waistcoat ran from the room his wife vainly clamour ing after him


in a few minutesfor i could peep very well fiom the bosom of the turnkey was in the court of the old bailey


it was the duty of traply to stand in the duck near tu the prisoners


ile took his place close to click a brain and patty butlerthere and then arraigned before the bunch


to be continued


eotmtie


the story oe


a feather


jsjj jbaualni sttvalv


a story from punch chapter xix


continued from our last


i am taken to a tavernleft in a hackneycoach


our lost chapter left madame spanneu in the arms of her husband


in less time than a leaf of this small history could be turned the lady released herself from that sweet bondage and that too with a decision that flung her helpmate sound ing against the wainscot


never did woman more vigorously illustrate the fallacy of that vulgar saying that man and wife are of one flesh for never was division more clearly mani fested


my heart is broke


exclaimed monsieur spanneu


that his ribs also were not fractured was a mercy and an astonish ment


the husband looked entreatingly at his wifethere was no responsive glanceand in another second the wretched man had seized his hat and stood the statue of despair upon his own doorstep in that moment actue was the great fiend for twenty little imps the devils footboys rose about the frenchman some crying haltersome poisonsome climbing his shoulder and gently whispering in his ear razors and some again with a sweet diabolic smirk pointing their fingers in the direction of the thames


monsieur spanneu instantly resolved on death


what place but tile grove for a broken heart


he would die his only difficulty was the choice of means


thus hanging poisoning drowning abscission of arteryone and all of these modes recommended themselves but their merits appeared so equal that the frenchman was too much puzzled to choose


he at once broke from the besetting difficulty byturning into an alehouse


distrusting death he rushed to drunken ness


monsieur spanneu drowned his reason twenty fathom deep but with wise reservation kept his clayey self safe from the coroner


never was the inexperience of man so shock ingly displayed for almost before llacchus could have w inked the frenchman was disastrously drunk


this great evil was attributable to his temperance


ile had never poor mon taught himself the use of the bottle and therefore the expo sure of his ignorance was sudden and complete


he had been wont to dally with water qualified with sugar for luxurious tippling and now stood he beside that burning lethegin i have i not beard the story


is it not esops


the story of a stag that drinking at the stream still murmured at the shadow of its antlers


in like manner did monsieur spanneu drink and drinkyet sec nought within his glass but an exaggeration of his wrongswrongs shadowed from false thoughts that thronged his head


hence the frenchmanthe gin distilling from his eyeswould drink and cry tratresse cocucocu tratresseand then in the very idleness of despair sing forth the snatch of some infidel song defying love and satirical of wedded truth


thus the wretched husband passed with greatest facility through all tile degrees of drunkenness until he was in a state of professorial imbe cility


he cried laughed ravedbecame maudlin and then affectionate with his own hat calling it sa belle elise then dashing it to the end of the room with new disgust and then some pause allowed whistlingor spluttering a whistle at his foot as throwing it up and down he swore it was his fuvourite poodle dancing a jig


at length passion would shift no longer and so norn out the poor frenchman satin his chair a very skin of gin and snored


let it not be thought that monsieur spanneu was solus


by no means


he played his various antics to the rejoicing shout of the customary visitors of the horse and anchor many of whom witnessed the growing inebriety of a french man with the same zest and curiosity with which they would have made drunk a monkey a dancing bear or any other animal endowed with certain powers imitative of some gestures of humanity


these truehearted lintons n the pride of patriotism considered it something like impertinence conceit in a frenchman to get beastly drunk it was very like a liberty in a foreigner


therefore they manfully marked their censure of the circumstance by filling the offenders pockets with soot by blackening his face with the same substance whilst an indignant wag smeared the frenchmans skull with mustard telling him to the screaming enjoyment of the party that yellow hair became him beautifully


these insults the frenchman felt notknew not


gin had done its best and worst and ho sat the world spinning with himthe breathing block of a man


he had however paid what was called his reckoning and being incapable of swallow ing another drop the landlord of the horse and anchora humane manthought it best to have the drunkard carried home the sot himself having in his frantic cups published again and again the hereabouts of the particular fireside where in his own tragic words he had been stabbed in de vitals of his peace


a hatkneycoach was called and the frenchman carried by the waiter and boots from the room the company therein roaring rule britannia as the foreigner was borne to the vehicle


all rightyoull know said the waiter to the coachman the driver being very imper fectly instructed in the dwellingplace of monsieur spanneu


a frenchmanyoull find out bawled the waiter from the steps of the tavern and ihe coachman with as i thought a fine faith in the doctrine of chance persuaded by dint of voice and whip his horses to gather up their legs and move fune really on


how far we went know not but the day was waning and it grew darker and darker and the coachmanstrange to say more and more impatient


is this it


he would cry stopping at a house and thrusting his head into the coach and once or twice monsieur spanneu deep in his dreams would answer something which the driver insisted upon inter preting as a negative and therefore bellowed an oathasked himself why foreigners didnt stay in their own country whipped his horses anew and still went on


in the course of our journey the coachman stopt at three houses insisting that monsieur spanneu was the master of ach of them and that he had nothing to do but to get out undress himself and go to bed like a christian


my belief is that monsieur spanneu had every desire to resign himself to goosefeathers


more i am half convinced thatwhilst in the coachhe thought he was at home and once more smiled upon his forgiving wife


for he kissed ravenously kissed the tips of his own fingers and muttered ma belle ange i then i am sure thought he of his peaceful bed and preparing to repose himself therein for lie unbuttoned his waistcoat and i fell into the straw at the bottom of the coach


at this moment the coachman roared some unintel ligible wordsthe frenchman grunted some unintelligible answerand the coach stopt


with great alacrity the coach men leapt from the box and thunderedknocker in handat a door


gentman drunk said the coachman as the maid pre sented herself


heres master again


cried the maid


i wish i was in my grate exclaimed the mistress


hereupon after some delay a light was brought and the maid carne to the coach and the driver was about to lift out his passenger hen the girl screamed out la let him be this isnt my master but somebody elses


again the coachman was compelled to mount the boxagain to drive on


again and again he stopped again and again he knocked at doors


again he said gentman drunk


again domestic published to the house heres master again and again the mistress thereof wished herself out of this most comfortable abiding place the world


luven the patience of hackneycoachmen may pass away


this truth i learned ou the third appeal to the third knocker for the driver on being for the third time assured that mon sieur spanneu was somebody elses master lost all self restraintii philosophy


he roared like o satyr and coup ling the most disrespectful words with the immortal essence of monsieur spanneu swore that he would cause that essence to evaporate to a very ungenteel


and doubtless disagreeable locality unless the frenchman would instantly and in the very best english declare the house where be might lawfully and j conjugally put on his nightcap


it was very strange but the i fervour of the coachman acted upon the drunken man like a bucket of cold water


for a moment and a moment only the soul of monsieur spanneuor rather sense for as pigs and goats jnj get drunk the soul can have nothing to do with that very popular operationcame back into its proper place berner it may fee with all iii win about it prepared to consider anything that might be demanded of it


i am sure that a momentary excess of reason may be wrought out from an excess of drunkenness in the same way that a momentary spark a fire may be struck from out the cold cold flint


thus when the coachman laid hold of monsieur spanneu and with certain circumlocutory phrases insisted upon a straight forward and most direct and most reasonable response mon sieur spanneu sat bolt upright opened his eyes and mouth and looking more sensible and articulating the english lan guage better than i had ever heard him before made answer at once satisfying the driver as to the truthfulness of his reply


dissatisfied is man for no sooner had the coachman learned what he had been an hour and more vainly seeking for than he uttered phrases very condemnatory of not only the intellect but the eyes of his passenger and with renewed vigour plied the whip


in a very short time the vehicle was drawn up at monsieur spanneus door


again the coachman knocked and the door opened again he spoke in tones as though he had brought some new luxury home gentmati drunk


it cant be master cried the maid spanneu never having before offended


she had scarcely uttered the words however when she rushed to the coach and


in amazement cried why missus if it isnt


i then heard madame spnnneu very distinctly wish herself in the grave


the coachman inquired if he should bring thegentman in heard not the answer but the driver took the frenchman iu his arms and carried him towards the house leaving mc a waif a stray upon the world in the bottom of a coach


the door still remained open


men are brutes my dear said mrs gaptooth


lay him on the doormat said madame spaitncu


to uo continued


baflvlylwudoe


o ohapter ix


chroniclers are privileged to enter where they ist ar d to comino ad go through


keyholes toride spon the wind to overcomes in their soarings up and down all obstacles of distance time and place


tithrice blessedbe this last consideration since it uablea usto follow tlhe disadainful riggs even into the sanctity of her chamber and to hold her in sweet companionship through the dreary watclies of the night


miss lliggs having undone her mistress as she phrased it which means assisted to undress her and having seen her comfortably to bed in the dark zoom on the first floor withdrew to her own apart reent in the attic story


notwithstanding her de claration in the locksmiths presence the was in no mood forsleep so putting her light upon the table and


withdrawing the little window curtain she gazed out pensively at the wild night sky


perhaps she wondered what star was destined for aher habitation when she had run her little course below perhaps speculated which of thosre glimmer ing spheres might be the natal orb of mr tappertit perhaps marvelled how they could gaze down on that perfidious creature man and not sicken and turn green as chemists lamps perhaps thought of nothing in particular


whatever she thought about there she sat until her attention alive to anything connected with the insinuating prentice was at tracted by a noise in the next room to her ownhis room the room in which he slept and dreamedit might be sometimes dreamedof her


that he was not dreaming now unless he was taking a walk in his sleep was clear for every now


and then there came a shuffling noise as though he were engaged in polishing the whitewashed wall then a gentle creaking of his door then the faintest indication of his stealthy footsteps on the landing


place outside


noting this latter circumstance miss miggsturned pale and shuddered as mistrusting his iqtentions and more than once exclaimed below her breath


oh


what a providence it is as i am bolted in lwhich owing doubtless to her alarm wasa confusion of ideas on her part between a bolt and its use for though there was one on the door it was not fastened


miss miggs sense of hearing however having as sharp an edge as her temper and being of the same snappish and suspicious kind very soon informed herthat the footsteps passed her door and appeared to have some object quite separate and disconnected from herself


at this discovery she became more alarmed than ever and was about to give utterance to those cries of thieves i and murder which sshe had hitherto restrained when it occurred to her tolook softly out and see that her fears had some good palpable foundation


looking out accordingly and stretching her neck over the handrail she descried to her great amaze ment mr tappertit completely dressed stealing down stairs one step at a time with his shoes in one handand a lamp in the other


following him with


her eyes and going down a little way herself to get the better of an intervening angle she beheld him thrust his head in at the parlour door draw it back again with great swiftness and immediately begin a retreat up stairs with all possible expedition


heres mysteries i said the damsel when she was safe in her own room again quite out of breath


oh graciousheres mysteries i the prospect of finding anybody out in anything would have kept mbliss miggs awake under the in


fluence of henbane


presently she heard the step again as she wouldhave done if it had been that of a feather endowed with motion and walking down on


tiptoe


then gliding out as before sihe again sbeheld the retreating figure of the prentice again he looked cautiously in at the parlour door but this time instead of retreating he passed in and dis appeared


miggs was back in her room and had her bead oat of the window before an elderly gentleman could have winked and recovered from it


out he came at the street door shut it carefully behind him tried it with his knee and swaggered off putting something in his pocket as he went along


at this spectacle lmiggs cried gracious again and then goodness gracious f and then goodness


gra cious me


and then candle in hand went down stairs as he had done


coming to the workshop she saw the lamp burningon the forge and every thing as sim had leftrit


why i wish i may only have a walking funeral andnever be buried decent with a mourning coach and feathers if theboy hasnt bden and made a key for his own self


cried miggs


oh the little villain


i this conclusion was not arrived at without con sideration and much peeping and peering about nor was it unassisted by the recollection that she had on several occasions come upon the prentice suddenly and found him busily at some mysterious occupation


lest the fact of miss miggs calling him on whom she stooped to cast a favourable eye boy should create surprise in any breast itmay be observed that site invariably affected to regard all male bipeds under thirty as mere chits and infants which phenomenpon is not unusual in ladies of miss miggss temper and is indeed generally found to be the associate of suchindomitable and savage virtue


lmiss miggs deliberated within herself for some little timelooking hard at the shop door while she didso as though her eyes and thoughts were both upori it and then taking a sheet of paper from a drawer


twisted it into a long thin spiral tube


having filled this instrument with a quantity of small coal duet from the forge she approached tirhe doeor and dropping on one knee before it dexter ouslyblewinto thle keyhole as much of these fine ashes as the lock would hold


when she hiad filled it to the brim in a very worlkanlike and skilful manner she crept up stairs again and chuckled as she went


tthere cried miggse rubbinglher hands now let see wh ther you wont be glad to take some moticeof me mister he he he


i youll have yeos for somebody besides miss dolly now i think


a fatfaed jasis she is as ever i come across


as she uttered this criticism sire glanced ap


provingly at her small mirror aswhor would say i ihank t stare that cant be said of mneas it cer tainly could not for miss migga styleoof beauty was of that kind which mr tappertit himself bad not inaptly termed in private scraggy


ri dont go to bed this night i said mliggs wrapping herself in a shawl drawing a couple of chairs niar tile window flouncing down upon one and putting her feet upon the ooter till you come home my lad


i wouldnt said lliggs viciously nonotfor fiveandforty pound i


with that andwith an expresslioi of face in which i a great nurber of oppositetingredients such as mischief cunning malice iriumplhaidpaltient expectariop were all mixed up together in a kind a of plysiognomnical panch blmiss miggs cbmposed a heiself to wait and listen like some ofr ogresas


who hadmet tneipstaidr wl at hing iopa tiable from a plump young ravelleri i r


she sat there


witheperfet cosmpositle all nihit


i alt lenthjust pon reskof day there was p oti o step nla the street apdpresently she could hear msi rappertit stop at the door


then she could make oth that he tried his key liat le rasa blowing into it that lip knocked iton the nearest post to beat the dust out that be took it under a lamp to look at it


that he poked bits of stick into the lock to clear it that he peeped into the keyhole first with one eye and then with the other that he tried the key again that he couldnt turn it and what was worse couldnt get it out that lie bent it that then it was much less disposed to come out than before that he gave it a mighty twist and a great pull and then it came out so suddenly that lie staggered backwards that lie kicked the door that he shook it finally that lie smote his forehead and sat down on the step in despair


when this crisis had arrived miss mliggs affecting to be exhausted with terror and to cling to the win dowsill for support put out her nightcap and de manded in a faint voice who was there


mr tappertit cried hush i and backing into the road exhorted her in frenried pantomime to secrecy and silence


tell me one thingsaid miggs is it thievest no no no


i cried mr tappertit


then said miggs more faintly than


before its fire


where is it sir


its near this room


i know


ive a good conscience sir and would much rather die than go down a ladder


all i wish is respecting my love to my married sister golden lion court number twentysivin second bell handle on the right hand door post


amiggs cried mr


tappertit dont you know mel sim you know sim


oh i what about him cried miggs clasping her hands


is he in any danger is he in the midst of flames and blazes t


oh gracious gracious i why im here ant i t rejoined mr tappertit knocking himself on the breast


dont you see me


what a fool you are miggs there i cried miggs unmindful of this com pliment


whyso itgoodness what is the meaning ofif you please mim heres no no i cried mr tappertit standing on tip toe as if by that means ie in the street were any nearer being able to stop the mouth of mliggs in the garret


dont iive been out without leave and something or anothers the matter with the lock


come down and undo the shop window that i may get in that way


i durstnt do it simmun cried miggs for that was her pronunciation of his christian name


i durstnt do it indeed


you know as well as any body how particular i am


and to come down in the dead of night when the house is wrapped in slumbers and welled in obscurity


and there she stopped and shivered for her modesty caught cold at the very thought


but miggs cried mr tappertit getting under the lamp that she might see his eyes


my darling miggs mliggs screamed slightly


that i love so much and never can help thinking oland it is impossible to describe the use lie made of his eyes when he said this do for my sake do


oh simmun cried miggs this is worse than all


i know if i come down youll go and


and what my precious said mr tappertit


and try said mliggs hysterically to kiss me or some such dreadfulness i know you will


i swear i wont said mr tappertit with re markable earnestness


upon my soul i wont


its getting broad day and the watchmans waking up


angelic miggs i if youll only come down and let me in i promise you faithfully and truly i wont


mliss miggs whose gentle heart was touched did not wait for the oath knowing how strong the tem tation was and fearing he might forswear himself but tripped lightly down tile stairs and with her own fair hands drew back the rough fastenings of the workshop window


having helped the wayward prentice in she faintly articulated the words sim mun is safe i and yielding to her womans nature immediately became insensible


i knew i should quench her said sim rather embarrassed by this circumstance


of course i was certain it would come to this but there was no thing else to be dune if hadnt eyed her over she wouldnt have come down


hlere


keep up a minute aliggs


what a slippery figure she is i


theres no holding her comfortably


do keep up a minute mliggs will you as iligga however was deaf to all entreaties mr tappertit leanther against the wall as one might dispose of a walkingstick or umbrella until he had secured the window when be took her in his arms again and in short stages and with great diffieulty arising mainly from her being tall and his being short and perhaps in some degree from that peculiar physical conformation on which he had already re marked carried her up stairs and planting her in the umbrella or walkingstick fashion just inside her own door left her to her repose


he may be as cool as he likes said mliss liggs recovering as soon as she was lert alone hut im in his confidence and he cant help him self nor couldnt if he was twenty simrmunses


mtemtom the story of a feather


jsjt jsoulksj tvtovtt


a story from punch


chapter v continued from jo courier of july


patty butler finishes her worka


word on london garretsa ruffian


jpatty in the watchhouse


pattys loss of her mother was quickly known and as quickly as the chamber of death filled with poor neighbours the needy suffering squalid ny and even vicious denizens of that miserable fetid alley


touched by sympathy in the very fullness of heart utter destitution proffered service and assistance to the motherless girlw hen its only aid w as a com forting look its only means the starting tear nature forget ful of its wordly destitution spoke only from the abundance fits pity


old carelined faceswith the ugliness oflinbitual want sharpening and deforming themlooked kind and gentle for the time refined and humanised by the awakened spirit of human love


these pressed about the sufferer and with trite words of comfortwith old and common phrases of compassion the best rhetoric the talkers had to offer tried to soothe the stricken girl


god help her i cried an old crone with melting looks though with the features of a sybil


god wb


help her


cried a young creature sobbing whilst the tears ran down her cheeks washing from them the branding rouge that set apart the speaker


so earnest was the voice that patty raised her bead from her hands and her eyes meeting the ejes of her girl neighbourof the poor reckless thing often so heedless and laughing in her very despair of her who a hundred limes when passing in the lane by venom words and brassy looks had taunted and outstored the simple gentle fealherdresscrfatty felt a communion of heart in the deep sincerity ofthat assurance of gods help and through her tears smiled dimly yet thankfully affectionately on her comforter


the blighted girl thus recognised was about to seise patty to her arms with the folding of a sister she then shrunk back as at a ghost and as though poison had suddenly shot through all her veins trembled from head to fool whilst the paleness of death rose beneath the paint in ghastly contrast of mortality and shame


with a halfsuppressed moan the girl darted down stairs and rushed to fier only place of refugethe horrid street


happily the kindness of mr lintly the apothecary ren dered the assistance of the neighbourscould they have offered any beyond the kindness of mere wordsneedless


lintly was doomed to perhaps the most ponai condition of poverty that is to an outside show of comfort with that gnawing snapping fox penury eating to the bowels within was one of the thousand grownup spartans who with aching hearts and overjaded faculties turn a sliding outside look on london streets


nevertheless lintly determined that patlys mother should not go to the earth in workhouse deals for though his philosophy smiled at the vanities of the undertaker it had still in its very elevation the better part of philosophy a benign and charitable consideration for the weakness the prejudice yea for the folly of others


thus nil things neces sary for that last scene of lifein which the man though dead still plays a partwere duly ordered at the charge of mr lintly andhow few the hours patty sat and worked beside her coffined mother


now childdo come down stairsdo now youll be comfortable there urged an old woman a lodger to patty seeking to win her from the place of death


thank you i am better herehappierindeed i am said patty with sweetest meekness


well but its getting late and dark said the woman and aint you afraid


afraid


of what should i be afraid asked the girl


well to be sure for a young thing youve a bold heart but when was a girl i could have no more staid alone with anybody dead not if you loved them interrupted patty


why loves something to be sure but still death my dear you know takes fear from love and as feel it makes love stronger


i loved her when she was here and must i not love herstill more love hernow she is an angel


i tell you it comforts me to be aloneit does indeed said patty


well to be sure if ever


who could have thought and the old woman would have proceeded in her exclamations


but if youll be kind enough to stay here till i come back from mr flamingo to be sure mrs shroudlyand me will stay said the woman


you will so serve me


in half an hour i shall have finished my work shall soon be back


and youll sleep here alone in this room tonigbt asked the querist


for a moment patty could not speak then with a torrent of tears and a voice of anguish she answered it is the last it is the last the wellmeaning neighbour left the room and by the last light of a golden august evening patty completed her task


her work was done and the room darkened darkened about her


she sat fearless selfsustained in the gloom her thoughts made solemn and strengthened by the atmosphere of death which fell upon her spirit


she felt as in a holy presence


that poor weak ignorant creaturein the exaltation of her soul communed with her mother in the skies talked wept prayed to her and was comforted


and for that which lay apartfor that mute dull semblance of the thing that wasit was for a time forgotten in the rapturous grief that sorrow ed at ita loss


thus passed the girl an hour of darkness made bright by spiritual dreams and then calmed and sustained she prepared to venture into the roaring street to take home her work completed


unseen unknown are the divinities thatdescending from garretstread the loud foul sordid crowding highways of london spiritual presences suffering all things and in the injusticemost hard to turn to rightof our social purpose living and smiling daily martyrs to their creed of good


young children widowed age and withered singlenessthe ardent student flushed and fed with little else but hopethe disappointed yet brave good old roan a long jong loser in the worldly fight who has retired apart to bleed unseen and uncomplaining diethe poor and stern man only stern in truthsour of speech with heart of honied sweetnessall of these in all their thousand shades of character and spiritthe army of martyrs to fortune and the social iniquities that drest and spangled for truths man passes off on manall of this bright band have and do and will consecrate the garrets of london and make a holy thing of poverty by the sacrificial spirit with which they glorify her


many of these are to be knownbut more escape the searching eyes of the quickest mortal vision


there is a somethinga look of servite in the aspect of some a depression that elevates a dogged air of courage that speaks the fighting man in povertys battalions an honourable undisguised threadbarcdncss that marks the old campaigner i are not bis darns more beautiful than best work of sidonian needlesis there a patch about bim that is not morally assayed true cloth of gold


and has not such poverty its genii its attending spirits


oh yes a bloodless glory is its bodyguard and its tatterbearer an angel


and does not some such presence walk with patty butler down the strand on to the bouse of peter flamingo feather merchant to the court


stay who is it that now addresses lier


there is a tall creature hanging about her stepsnow shifting to the right side now the lett now behind and now before


and now he inclines himself and says something to the ear of patty whowith ber thought in tliat room of misery and desolationcannot heed him but with her tears in lier throat walks quicker and quicker silent and choking


if y ou havnt a tongue ill sec if youve lips lexclaimed aot the good angel of patty butlerand the speaker threw lils am about the girl who shrieked with misery and terror


era however the sound had died upon his ear the ruffian bid mtaaured his length upon king george the thirds tilg way


luke knodtfe mr flamingo porter bad been sent to patty to barry ber with ber work


arriving st toe house but two or thro minutes after ber departure be bad followed ctbonbar staatv and was thus io a moat advantageous tatataiioa te taw papar tyattcauon of bis flit ata most dra caatlc patatar toa


watch watch i roared the fellow still upon his back for with evidently a quick sense of the magnanimity of britons he felt that the only means of escaping a second blow was to use nothing but his lungs


whats the matter asked a watchman who miraculously happened to be near the spot


im robbed was the answer


robbed i and the watchman sprung his rattle


robbed was the he repeated and i desire you to take to the watchhouse that pickpocketand the speaker pointed to knuckle and that but the word was lost in the noise of a newlysprung rattle


the watchmen gathered together and patty butler with her honest champion was taken to the watchhouse of st m artininthofields


to be continued


ule and adventures of martin ciiuzzlkwit


by c dickens esq


lomtinnd jrom onrha


five weeks i of nil


ihe twenty or thiity theallliioniiuniniiliailniisedniniiiiedfi lostil or his tpnre ilullics nml lint wns not n uch fur cluthes though dear to buy are tlifiip to pawn was


last diminishing


yet


what could he do f


at times nn nronv came ver him in which he ilarlrd fntli njrniii though he was but newtv homo tint returning to some place where lie hail lipiti alrciilv twenty times made some new nttiinnt t gum his end but always unsuccessfully


he vvns years and yenrs too old fur n iiliinbny and years upon years tuo inexierirnilil


to be ac jent d as n


mn ni in hi drprr m


i manner too militated fatally ujrainst any sucli proposal us die latter ami vet he ns reducrj to making it for even if he could have con templated the llinsr set down in america to tally without moiiiy lie hail nut enough moiv left fur u steerage passage and the poorest pro it is an ilutriion of ti


very cmiimon t n ilency in the mind of mau tlial all lhi time he never once doubted one may nlmosi sav tlie certainty of duiimr great tilings in the nen world if he could only jrrt their


in proper tion as he became more and nnre dejected by bis present circumbtitnee mid the means of piininsr america receded frmn his grasp hie more lie irctird hiinsoll with the couicin that that nas the only place in u liiili he coolil hope achieve any hiii end nnd worried liis brain with the thought that men going there in ihe mcamuiile midil uiititipile him m the nttaiuiuent of those objects wlicli were dearest to his heart


he often ihouht of wfsthick actually walked about liindun fur three luye toplher tor the epress purpuseof mertiinr with liiii


hut nlibinipli he failed in ibis and although he would not imve scrupled to borrow money of him nnd although he believed that johuwoum have lent it yet still he tuiijil not bring liis mind to wrtc to tom pinch and in juiie nhele he was to he found


furalllmu


us we have sn he wns funu of tom after tii mvii fashion he could not endure the tljuuglil feeliig so superior to tom of making him ihe ttippinirstone to his fortune or umujrinr tliinur to him but a patron and his ride su revelled from the idea that it restrained him it might have yielded however and no doubt must have yielded soon hut for a very orange and unlookedfor occurrence


the five weeks had quite run out mid he was in n truly desperate plight when one evening having just returned to his lodging and being in the act of lighting his cauille at ihe gas jet in the bar before srilkiiig moolilv up staiis to his own loom zjis landlord unliel linn by his name


now as he bad never told it to the man hut had scrupulously kepi it to himself he was not a little startled by tins and so plainly showed hits agitation liiat the landlord to reassure him said it was only a jettpr


a letter cried mai tin


tor mr martin chuzzleiil said the inndforilj rpaiiinir i tie superscription of gdi


lit


held in hia hanj nuou


chief office


paid


martin took it from him thanked him and walked up stairs


it wus not sealed hut pasied close and the handwriting ns quite unknown to him


he upened it


and found enclosed without any unme address or other inscription or explanation of any kind what ever a batik of england note for twenty to say that he was perfectly stunned with jistotiivhmeiiund delight that he looked airain and ugaiu at the note and the wrapper that he huriied below stairs to make quite certain that the note was a good note and then up again to satisfy himself for the fiftieth time that he had nut overlooked sonic scrap of writing on the wrapper thai be exhausted and be wildered himself with conjectures and could make nothing of it but unit there the note was and he was suddenly enriched would be only jose


tile final upshot of the business at that lime was that he resolved to treat himself to a comfortable but frugal meal in bis own chamber and having ordered a lire lu be kindled went out iu purchase it forthwith


me bought suine cold beef and ham and iiutlpr and came back with his pockets pretty heavily laden h was somewhat of a damp ing ciiviinislincu to find the room full of smukf which was attributable to two causes firstly to the flue being naluriilly vicious and a smoker and secondly to their having fur tittoii in lijhliug the fire an odd sack or two and some oilier trifles which liad been put up the chimney to keep the rain out


they liad already remedied this oversight however and propped up the windowsash with a bundle uf firewood to keep il open so that except in chuking to the lungs the apartment was quite comfortable


martin was in no vein to quarrel vilh it if it had been in less tolerable order especially the lnbhaif tlie servtilgirlwthdvu to ihe production of soniethiig hot when lie should rin


the bell


the cold meat bpiujr wrapped in a playbill martin bid the clulh by spreading that document on the little round ladle witll thepriiitdoniihiirds and arranging the collation upon it


the lout of the lied which was very close to the fire answered for a sideboard and when he had cumpleted these preparations he squeezed an old arin eiljojilimilf


he had begun to cat with a great appetite triumphant anticipation of quitting it for ever on ihe morrow when his attention was ur resled by a stealthy iboutrp on ihe slain and presently by a knock at his chamber door which although it was a gentle knock enough communicated such a stall to the bundle of firewood that it instantly leaned out ol window and plunged into the street


more coals i suppose said martin


come in i


it ant a liberty sir though it seems so hope youre pretty well sir


muilin stared at the fice that was bowing in the doorway perfectly remembering the features and expression but quite forgetting to whom they belonged


tnpley sir said his visitor


him as formerly lived ill the dragon sir and was forced to leave in consequence of a want of jollity sir


to be sure i cried martin


why bow did you come here


right through ihe passage and up the stairs sir said mark


how did you find me out i mean abked martin


whv sir saiii mark ive passed you once or twice in the street if im not mistaken and when i was a looking in ill the heefund hum shop just now along with a hungry tuveep ns was very much calculated tu make a man jolly sir i see you a buying that


martin reddened ns he pointed tu the tuhle mid suid nnwwliat hastily well i whntthen


why then sir said mark i made bold to toiler and us i told rm down stairs that you expected me i was let up


are you charged with any message that vou told them you were expected


inquiied


so sir i ant said mark


that was what yon may call a piuns fraud sir that was


murlin cast an angry look at him hut there was something in the fellows merry face and iu his mannerwhich with all its cheerfulness was far from being obtrusive or familiar that quite disarmed him


lie had lived a solitary life loo for ninny weeks and the voice wab pleasant in hisenr


tapley lie suiil ill deal openly with you


from all i enn judge and from all i iiuvehijrd of you through pinch you arc not a likely kind of fellow to have been brought here by impertinent curiosity or any other offensive motive


sit down


lam glad to see thankee sir said mark


id us lieve stand


if you dont sit down retorted martin ill not talk to you


very cood sir observed mark


your wills a law sir


down it is nud he sal down accordingly upon the bedstend


help yourself said martin handing him the only knife


thankee sir rejoined mark


after ilymi ilnnt take it now youll not have any said martin


very pood sir rejoined murk


that being your desire now it is


with which reply he gravel v helped himself and went on eating


martin having done ihe like iu silence said abruptly what arc you doinff in london


nothing at all sir rejoined mark


hows that asked mnniu


i want a place said mark


i am sorry for you said martin


to attend upon single gentleman resumed mark


if from the country the more desirable


mnkeshilts would he pre ferred


wnges no object


he saiil this so pointedly that martin stop ped in his eating and said ye do sir interposed mark


then you may judge from my style of living here of my means of keeping a man servant


besides i aiu going to america immediately


well sir returned mark quite unmoved by this intelligence from all that ever i heard about it should say americas a very likely sort of place for me to be jolly in i apim mniliu looked at him angrily and again his auger melted away in spile of him lord bless you sir said mark what m hidingcbhndlthleocornerrand doajrinpup and down when we can come straight io the point in six wordsl see well enough that theres a screw loose iu vour affairs


i kuowd well enough the first time i sec you down at the dragon thm it must be so sooner or later


now sir here am without a siliwation without any nant of wages for a year to come for saved up i didnt mean to do it but i couldnt belli il at the lraronherc am


i uilh a liking for whats wentersonie and a down and uill you take me or will you leave how can i take yon


i cried martin


when i say late rejoined mark i mean will you let me go


and tvhen say will along ivitli you


for go i will somehow or another


now that youve sam america i see clear at once that thats the place for me to be jolly in


therefore if i dont pay my own passage in the ship you go in sir ill pay my oivn passage in another


and mark mv words if i go alone it shall lie to carry out the prin ciple in the rottenest craziest leakinesttubof a wesscl that a place can be got iu for love or money


so it im lost upon the way sir therell be a drowned man at your door and always a knocking double knocks at it too or never trust me


this is mere folly said martin


very good sir returned mark


im glad to fiear uf il because if you ilnut mean to let me iro youll he more comfortable perhaps on account of thinking so


therefore i con tradict no gentleman


iiut all


i say is that if dont emigrate to america in that cae in the beastliest old cockleshell as goes out of said ai tin


l nelu


ju say m surc


yes i do cried mark


i tell you know belter rejoined martin


very good sir said mark with iie same air of perfect satisfaction


let il stand that turn oulevhy love my heart alive the only doubt i have is wbelber theres any credit in going wilb a gentleman like you thats as ceituin to make his way there us a giinhlet is go through soft deal


this was touching martin on liis weak point and having him at a great advantage


he could not help thinkiiil either nliat u hrisk fellcw this mark was iuid how greit a change he had wrought in the atmosphere of the dismal little room already


why certainly mark he saiil i have hopes of doing well there or i shouldnt go


i may have the qualifications for doing well perhaps


of course you have sir returned mark tapley


everybody knows that


luu ee aitiu jiihiiiii leaning iiim upon his hand and looking at the fire urna ineutal architecture applied to domestic pur poses can hardly fail to he iu great request iu their residences there and moving lunlieroir and its clctir llicv must have houses to live inp


i should say sir observed mark that thats a suite of things us opens one of the i julliest lookouts for domestic urchilecture that j ever i betrd tell on


martin glanced at him hastily not feeling quite free from a suspicion that this remark implied a doubt of the successful issue of bis plans


bui mr tupley was eating the boiled i beef and bread with such entire good faith and singleness of purpose expressed in his visage that he could not but be satisfied


another doubt arose iu his mind however as this one disiipeiired


lie produced the blank cover i in which the note had been enclosed and


fixing his eyes on mark as he put it in his i hands said


i now tell me the truth


do you kuow anything about that


mark turned it over and over field it iirar his eyes held it nuay from him at arms length held it witli the superscription up nirds and with ihe superscription downwards and shook his hend with such a genuine ex


i pressiuu of astonishment at being asked ihe question that jlurtiii said as lie took it from him again j no see you dont


how should you


thouirh indeed your knowing ahout it would not be more extraordinary than its being here


come taplev he added after a moments thought if trust vou with my history suuh as it is and then youll see more clearly what soil of fortunes you would link yourself to it you followed me


i beg your pardon sir said mark but afore you enter upon it will you take me if choose to go


wilt you turn off inemark tapley formerly of the blue dragon as can he well recommended by mr


pinch and as wants a gentleman of vour slrength of mind to look uji to or will you in climbing the ladder as youre certain to get to the top of take me alongnith you ata respectful distance


now


sir said mark its of very little im portance to you i know theres the difficulty but its of very great importance to me aud will you be so good as to consider of it


if i liis were meant as a second oppeal to martins weak side founded nn his observation of the effect of the first mr tupley wns a skilful nnd shrewd observer


whether an in tentional or accidental shut it hit the mark full fur martin relenting more and more silily delicious to biurfafter his recent humilia


well see about it tapley


you shall tell me in what disposition you find yourself to then sir said mark rubbing his hands ihe jobs done


go on sir if you please


im all attention


throwing himself back in his arm chair aud looking at the fire with now and then a glance at mark who at such times nodded bis lend sagely to express his profound interest and attention martin ran over the chief points in bis history to the same effect as be bad related them weeks before to mr pinch


hot he adapted them according to tbe best of hifi judgment to mr tnpleys comprehension and with that view made us light of bis love affair as be could and referred to it in very few words


butbere be reckoned without bis ijot for marks interest was keenest in this part of the businebb and prompted him ask sundry questions in relation to it for which lie apolo gised as one in some measure privileged to do so from having seen as martin explained to him


the youn lady nt the blue dragon


and a young tady as any gentleman ought tu feel proud of being in love with said mark energetically dont draw brentb


ayo i you saw her when she was not happy aid martin gazing at the fire again if yon had seen ber iu the old times in deed


why she certainly was a little down hearleil


sir


and soinelhinr mler in her colour ihau i could have wished said mark but none the worse for that


i think she seemed belter bir after she come to london


martin wiihdrew his eyes from the fire slared at mark as if be thought he had sud benly gone mad and asked him what be no offence intended sir urged mark


i dont mean to say she was any the happier without you but i thought she was looking better bir


do vou mpan to tell me she bas been in london


asked martin rising hurriedly and pushing back his chair


of course do eaid mark rising loo iu ureat amazement from the bedstead


do you tell me shes in london now


most likely sir


i meau to say she was yes


cri


d mark


wjinl


dont you


my good fellow exclaimed martin clutching him by both arms i have never seen her since i left mv trnindfiithers bouse


whv then cried mark giving the little table such blow wilb his clenched fist tbut


the slices of beef and ham danced upon it


while nil his features seemed with jelilil to be going up into his forehead and never coniiij hack again any more if i ant vour nalrai brn servant hired by fate therennt such a ihing in natur as a blue dragon


what i ulicu was a rambling up and doivn old churchyard iu the city jrettins mvself into a jolly slate didnt i see your grandfather a toddling in and fro for pretty nigh a mortal hour


didnt i watch him into codgerss commercial boardinghouse and watch him out natch him borne to his hotel and go and tell him as his was the service for my money and had said so afore i left the draguii


i wasnt the yraug lady a siltiu


with liim then aud didnt she fall a luughinir in a manner as was beautiful to seel didut your grandlallier sav come back ngm next week and didnt igo next week aud didnt be say he couldnt make up his mind to trust me but ul the same time stood somethiii to drink as was handsome


i


why cried mr tapley with a comical mixture of delight and chagrin wheres the credit of a mans being help it when things come abouuike this i lursoine moments mnrtiii stood gazing at him as it he really doubted the evidence of his senses and could not believe that mark stood there iu ihe body before him


at length he asked him whether if the young holy were still in london he thought he could contrive to deliver a letier to her secretly


do think can cried mark


think i can


here sit down sir


write it out sir with that he cleared the table by the sum mary process of tilting everything upon it into the firepliice


snatched some willing materials from the mantelshelf bet martins chair be fore them forced him down mio it dipped a pen into the ink nud put it iu is bund


cutaway sir cried mark


make il strong sir


let it be wery pointed sir


du i think ao should think so


go to work sir i jlutin require


no further ndju ration but went to uork at a great rale while mr tapley installing himself wiihout any more formalities into the functions of his valet and general at tendant divested himself of his coat and went on to clear the eplace aud arrange the room talking lu himself iu a low voice i whole jolly soil of lodgings said mark rubbing his nose ivitli ihe knob at the end ur the fire shovel aid looking round the poor chamber thats a comort


the rains come through the roof too


tnat ant bad


a lively old bed stead ill be hound pupilated by lots of wkui pires no doulil


cume i my spirits is a getting hia


a very goodlsigivelrall fe yell here june my dear calling down the stairs bring up that there hot tumbler for my master as was a mixing when i come in


thats right sir to marliu go at it


as if you meant il sir


be very tender sir if you please


you caut make il too strou sirl tu be continued


j


barnaby rudge


o cnaptrnt xvi


a series of pictures representing the streets of london in the night even at the comparatively recent date of this tale would present to the eye something so very different in character from the reality which is witnessed in these tinmes that it would be difficult for the beholder to recogniso his most familar walks in the altered aspect of little more than half a ceontry ago


they were one and all from the broadestand best to the narrowest and least frequented


ver dark


the oil and cotton lamps though regularly trimmed twice or thrice in the long winter nights burnt feebly at best and at a late hour when they were unas sisted by the lamps and candles in the shops cast but a narrow track of doubtful light upon the foot


way leaving the projecting doors and housefronts in the deepest gloom


many of the courts andlanei were left in total darkness those of the meaner sort where one glimmering light twinkled for a score of houses being favoured io no slight degree even in these places the inhabitants had often good rea son for extinguishing their lamp as soon as it was lighted and the watch being utterly inefficient and powerless to prevent them they did so at their plea


sure


thus in the lightest thoroughfaresthere was at every turn some obscure and dangerous spot whither a thief might fly forshelter and few would care to follow and the city being belted round by fields green lanes waste grounds and lonely roads dividing it at that time from the suburbs that have joined st since escape even where the pursuit


was hot was rendered easy


it is no wonder that with these favouring circunm


stances in full and constant operation street rob


beries often accompaniedby cruel wounds and not unfrequently by loss of life should have beenof nightly occurrence in the very heart of london or that quiet folks should have hadgreat dread of tra versing its streets after the shops were closed


it was not unusual for those who wended home aloine at midnight to keep the middle of the road the better to guard against surprise from lurking foot pads few would venture to repairat a late hour to kentish town or hampstead or even to kensington or chelsea unarmed and unattended s while he who had been loudest and most valiant at the supper table or the tavern and had but a mile or soto go was glad to fee a linkboy to escort him home


there were many other characteristics sotquite so disagreeable about the thoroughfares of london then with which they had been long familiar


some of the shops especially those to the eastward oft templebar still adhered to the old practice of hanging out a sign and the creaking and swinging of these boards inttheir iron frames on windy nights formed a strange and mournful concert for the ears of those who lay awake in bed or hurried through the streets


long standsof hackney chairs and groups of chairmen compared with whom the coach


men of our day are gentle and polite obstructed the way and filled the air with clamour nightcellars indicated by a little stream of light crossingthe pavement and stretching out halfway into therod and by the stifled roar of voices from below yawied for the reception and entertainmentof themost tbih doned of both sexes under every shed andbulk small groups of linkboys ganied away the earnings of the day or one moreweary than the rest gave way to sleep and let the fragment of his torchbfall hissing on the puddled ground


then there was the watch with staff and lailthorn crying the hour and the kind of weatherandthose who woke up at his voice and turned thenm ioidd tfk bed were glad to hear it rained or snowed or blew or froze for very comforts sake


the solitarypt senger was startled by the chairmens cry of by your leave therel as two came trotting past him with their empty vehiclecarried backwards to show its being disengagedand hurried to the nearest stand


many a private chair too inclosing smnle fine lady monstrously hooped add fusbelowed and preceded by runningfootmen bearing flambeaux for which extinguishers are yet suspended before the doors of a few houses of the better sortmade the way gay and light asit danced along anddarker and more dismal when it had passed


it was not unusual for these running gentrywho carried it with avery high hand to quarrel in the servants hll while waiting for their masters and miatressis and falling to blows either there or in the streetwithout to strew the place of skirmish with hairpowder fragments of bagwigs ad seattered nosegays


gaming the vice which ranso highamobg all classes the fashion being ofcourse set by theupper wai


generally the cause of these disputes for cardsand dice were as openly used and worked assirch mil chief and yielded as muchexciternent below stairs sas above


while incidents like these arisingout of drums and miasquerades and parties atquadrille were passing at the westend of the town heavy stagecoaches and scarce heavier waggons were lim bering slowly towards the city the coachmeonguard and passengers armed tothe teeth andthe coach a day or so perhaps behind its time but that was nothingdespoiled by highwaymen who made no scruple to attack alone and singlehanded a whole caravan of goods and men and sometimes shot a passenger or two and were sometimes shot thim selves just as the case might be


onthe morroiw


rumours of this new act of daring on the road yielded matter for a few hours conversation throughtihe town anda public progress of some fine gentleman half drunk to yburn dressed in the newest fashion and damning the ordinary with unspeakable gallantry and grace furnishedto the populace at once a plea sant excitement and a wholesome and profound sexariplei


among all the dangerous charactersawho


in such a a state of society prowledand skulked in the meiro


polls at night there was one man from whom many as uncouth and fierce as he shrunk with an involun tary dread who he was orwhlencehe csame was a question often asked but which none could answer


his name was unknown he


had neverbeen keea n until within eight days or


thereabputs andiwas equally a strangerto the old reftans uponrwhose haunts he ventured fearlessly asto the young


he could be no spyfor he


never removed his alouihed hat to look about him entered into conversation with no man heeded hnothing


that passedlistened to no ir discourse regarded nobody that came or went


but iso surelyiasthe dead of night set in so surely titles man was intbhe midst of the loose concourse in the snightcellar where outeasts of every grade resoibrted and them he sattil morning


l in he was notonly a spectre at their licentious feasts is a somethingin the idistof their revelry and riotthai t chilled and haunted them z but out of idoors he was i the same directly it was dark he was abrotd


oas nover hi company with any one but always alone st never lingerlg or lollering but alwayswalking swiftly and looking so they said who had seen linm over his shohlder from time to time and as he did so quickening his pace


in the fields the lanes the roads in all quarters of the towneast west north and souththat man was seen gliding on like a shadow


he was always hurrying away


those who encountered him saw him steal past caughtaight of the backward glance and so lost him in the darkness


this constant restlessness and flitting to and fro


gave rise to strange stories


he was seen in such distant andremote places at times so nearly tallying with each other that some doubted whether there were not two of them or moresome whether he had not unearthly means of travelling from spot to spot


the footpad hiding in a ditch had marked him passing like ghost along its brink the vagrant had niethim onothe darkhighroad the beggar had seen himpause upon thebridge to look down at the water and then sweep on again they who dealt in bodieswith the surgeons could swear he slept in churchyards and that they had beheld him glide away among the tombstones on their approach


and as they told these storiesto each other one who had looked about him would pull his neighbour by the sleeve and therehe would be among them


at jast one manhe was one of those whose commerce lay among the gravesresolved to ques


tion this strange companion


next night when he had eat his poor meal voraciously he was accus tomed to do that they had observed as though he had no other in the day this fellow sat down at his elbow


a black night master l it is a black night


blacker than last though that was pitchy too


didnt i passyou near the turnpike in the oxford road


it likeyou may


i dont know come come master cried the fellow urged on by the looks of hiscomrades and slapping him on the shoulder be more companionable and communicative


be more the gentleman in this good company


there are talus among us that you have sold yourself to the devil and i know not what


we all have have we not returned the stranger looking up


if we were fewer in number perhaps he would give better wages


it goes rather hard with you indeed said the fellow as the stranger disclosed his haggard un washed face and torn clothes


what of that he merry master


a stave of a roaring song now sing you if you desire to hear one replied the other shaking him roughly off and dont touch me if youre a prudent man i carry arms whicbgo off easilythey have done so before now and make it dangerous for strangers who dont know the trick of them to lay hands upon me


do you threaten said the fellow


yes returned the other rising and turning upon himand looking fiercely round as if in appre hension of a general attack


his voice and look and bearingall expressive of the wildest recklessness and desperationdaunted while they repelled the bystanders


although in a very different sphere of action now they were not without much of the effect they had wrought at the mlaypole inn


i am what you all are and live as you all do said the man sternly after a short silence


i am in hiding here like the rest and if we were surprised would perhaps do my part with the beat of ye


if its my humour to be left to myself let me have it


otherwiseand here he swore a tremendous oath therell be mischief done in this place though there are odds of a score against me


a low murmur having its origin perhaps in a dread of the man and the mystery that surrounded him or perhaps in a sincere opinion on the part of some of those present that it would be an incon venient precedent to meddle too curiously with a gentlemans private affairs if he saw reason to con ceal them warned the fellow who had occasioned tlhis discussion that he had best pursue it no further


after a short time the strange man lay down upon a bench to sleep and when they thought of him again they found that he was gone


next night as soon as it was dark lihe was abroad again and traversing the streets he was before the locksmiths house more than once but the family were out and it was close shut


this night he crossed london bridge and passed into southwark


as he glided down a bye street a woman with a little basket on her arm turned into it at the other end


directly he observed her he sought the shelter of an archway and stood aside until sue had passed


then he emerged cautiously from his tidingplace and followed


she went into several shops to purchase various kinds of household necessaries and round every place at which she stopped he hovered like her evil spirit following her when sire reappeared


it was nigh eleven oclock and the passengers in the streets were thinning fast when she turned doubtless to go home


the phantom still followed her


she turned into the same bye street in which he had seen her first which being free from shops and narrow was extremely dark


site quickened her pace here as though distrustful of being stopped and robbed of such trifling property as site carried with her


he crept along on the other side of the road


had she been gifted with the speed of wind it seemed as if his terrible shadow would have tracked her down


at length the widowfor she it wasreached her own door and panting for breath paused to take tire key from her basket


in a flush and glow with the haste she had made and the pleasure of being safe at home she stooped to draw it out when raising her head she saw him standing silently beside her the apparition of a dream


his hand was on her mouth but that was needless for her tongue clove to its roof and her power of utterance was gone


i have been looking for you many nights


is the house empty answer me


is any one inside site could only answer by a rattle in her throat


mlake me a sign


she seemed to indicate that there was no one there


lie took the key unlocked the door carried her in and secured it carefully behind them


to be contnuedt


barnaby rudge


o ciiaptr xlir


thle royal east london volunteers made a brilliant sight that day formed into lines squares circles triangles and what not to the beating of drums and the streaming of flags and performed a vast number of complex evolutions in all of which serjeant varden bore a conspicuous share


having displayed their military prowess to the utmost in these warlike shows they marched in glittering order to the chelsea bunhouse and regaled in the adjacent taverns until dark


then at sound of drum they fell in again and returned atridst the shouting of hls majestys lieges to the place from whence they came


the homeward march being somewhat tardy owing to the unsoldierlike behaviour of certain cor porals who being gentlemen of sedenlary pursuits in private life and excitable out of doors broke several windows with their bayonets and rendered it imperative on the commanding officer to deliver them over to a strong guard with whom they fought at intervals as they came alongit was nine oclock when the locksmith reached home


a hackney coach was waiting near his door and as he passed it mr ilaredale looked from the window and called him by his name


the sight of you is good for sore eyes sir said the locksmith stepping up to him


i wish you had walked in though rather titan waited here


there is nobody at home i find mr hare dale answered besides i desired to be as private as i could


humph muttered the locksmith looking round at


his house


gone with simon tappertit to that precious branchi no doubt


mr haredale invited him to come into the coach and if he were not tired or anxious to go home to ride with him a little way that they might have some talk together


gabriel cheerfully complied and the coachman mounting his box drove off


varden said mr haredale after a minutes pause you will be amazed to hear what errand i am on it will seem a very strange one


i have no doubt its a reasonable one sir and lass a meaning in it replied the locksmith or it would not be yours at all


have you just come back to town sir


but half an hour ago bringing no news of barnaby or his mother said the locksmith dubiously


ah i you neednt shake your head sir


it was a wildgoose chase


i feared that from the first


yon exhausted all reasonable means of discovery when they went away


to begin again after so long a time has passed is hopeless sir quite hopeless


why where are they i lie returned impatiently


where can they be


above ground


god knows rejoined the locksmith


many that i knew above five years ago have their heads under the grass now


and the world is a wide place


its a hopeless attempt sir believe me


ie must leave the discovery of this mystery like all others to time and accident and heavens pleasure


varden my good fellow said mr haredale i have a deeper meaning in my present anxiety to find them out than you can fathom


it is not a mere whim


it is not the casual revival of my old wishes and desires but an earnest solemn purpose


mly thoughts and dreams all tend to it and fix it in my mind


i have no rest by day or night i have no peace or quiet i am haunted


his voice was so altered from its usual tones and his manner bespoke so much emotion that gabriel in his wonder could only sit and look towards him in the darkness and fancy the expression of his face


do not ask me continued mr haredale to explain myself


if i were to do so you would think me the victim of some hideous fancy


it is enough that this is so and that i cannotno i can not lie quietly in my bed without doing what will seem to you incomprehensible


since when sir said the locksmith after a pause has this uneasy feeling been upon you mr haredale hesitated for some moments and then replied since the night ofthe storm


in short since tihe last nineteenth of march


as though lie feared that varden might express asurprise or reason with him he hastily went on syou will think i know i labour under some delusion


perhaps i do


but it is not a morbid one it is a wholesome action of the mind reasoning on actual occurrences


you know the furniture remains io mrs


rusdges house and that it has been shut up by my orders since she went away save once a week or so when an old neighbour vtisits it to scare away the rats am on my way there now


for what purpose asked the locksmith


to pass the night there ihe replied and not tonight alone but many nights


this is a secret which i trust to you in case of any unexpected emergency


you will not come unless in case of strong necessity to me from dusk to broad day i shall be there


emma your daughter and the rest suppose me out of london as i have been until within this hour


do not undeceive them


this is the errand i am bound upon


i know i may confide it to you and i rely upon your questioning me no further at this time


with that as if to change the theme he led the astounded locksmith back to the night of the may pole highwayman to the robbery of edward chester to the appearance of the man at mlrs


rudges house and to all the strange circumstances which afterwards occurred


he even asked him carelessly about the mans height his face isis figure whether lihe was like any one lie had ever seenlike hugh for instance or any man he had known at any time and put many questions of that sort which the locksmith considering them as mere devices to engage his attention and prevent his expressing tile satonishment he felt answered pretty much at ran


dom


at length they arrived at the corner of the street in which the house stood where mr haredale alighting dismissed the coach


if you desire to see me safely lodged he said turning to the lock


smith withs a gloomy smile you can


gabriel to whom all former marvels had been notlhing in comparison with ithis followed him along the narrow pavement in silence


when they reach


ed the door mr haredale softly opened it with a key he had about him and closing it when varden entered they were left in thorough darkness


they groped their way into tihe ground floor room


here mr haredale struck a light and kindled a pocket taper he had brought with him for thire purpose


it was then when the flame was full uponihim that the locksmith saw for the first time how haggard pale


and changed he looked how worn and thin he was how perfectly his whole sappearance coincided with all that ihe had said so strangely as they rode along


it was not an unna


tural impulse in gabriel after what hie had heard to note ciriously thfeapression of his eyes


it was perfectly collected and rational so much so indeed that he felt ashamed of his momentary suspicion and drooped his own when mir


haredale looked towards him as if hie feared they would betray his thoughts