The Child of Waterloo, or, The Horrors of the Battle-Field — page 167: what you’re looking at

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

164 THE CHILD OF WATERLOO. tody till your trial comes on. I shall remand you till this day week, and, in the meantime, we will correspond with this Cap- tain Morton, and obtain from him additional evidence.” The mendicant seemed uneasy. ‘* Miss Morton,” said the magistrate, ‘‘ you have been brought to town against your will—how have you lodged yourself ?” ‘‘T have no lodging, sir. I was about to make an attempt to get back to Morton Hall, as I am quite a stranger, and have neither friends nor money here. When I saw the account of this man’s examination, I thought I should be doing a great wrong to let him die such a death.” ‘‘Certainly; you were quite right; but you cannot return to the Hall at present. I shall require your attendance at the re- mand, and at the trial. You have no bai] in London and onl you can prove it. One of the officers sball provide you with proper accommodation until I can write to your friends; and when they return an answer, or come up for you, will obtain immediate aid from them. Until that time you will be taken care of.” ‘*Thank you, sir,” said Mabel. ‘You will then write to Cap- tain Morton ?”’ ‘“‘T will.” ‘¢ That will then relieve me of much of my uneasiness as to how I am to get back to them again.” ‘‘ You will bave facilities for writing, also,” said the magis- trate, ‘‘ and can do as you please in that respect.” There was a pause of a few moments, after which the magis- trate turned to the mendicant, saying,—‘‘ Prisoner, you are re- manded until this day week, when you will, in all probability, be committed for trial on the charge of abduction.” ‘‘Tam prepared. Can I see this witness in private ?” inquired the mendicant, as he was removed. ‘‘Certainly not,” said the magistrate. ‘““Then, Mabel,” said the mendicant, ‘‘ remember what I have told you of your parents and your birth.” He was then removed, and Mabel followed the old officer who had before spoken to her. —— CHAPTER XXXilI. AFTER Mabel had, in the heroic manner in which we have re- corded, saved her cruel persecutor from a fate which he richly deserved, it will be recollected that she was retained in the hands of the police, virtually under their surveillance, although not with any of the degrading accompaniments of loss of liberty. An officer had been directed to procure for her a respectable lodging and to supply her with the means of current subsist- ence, until a full and ample inquiry had been made into the truth of what she had stated. This was accordingly done. The officer to whose care she was given was avery civil man, and rather better educated than most of his class; he regretted that he could not accommodate her in his own house, where he would have been certain of her safety; but he had not any room comicbooks. com