The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 114: what you’re looking at

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

THE MYSTERIES. bliahment in Fore Street, Lambeth —was accustomed to purchase great quantitics of him. He likewise campounded a poison que drop of which placed upon the tongue of an infant child, produced imme- diate death, leaving an sppearance as if the poor little being had perished of ordinary convulsions Tho midwives used to patronise this mixture also.” “There must be a vast amount of crime in Lon- don that I never dreamt of,” observed Page, shaking his head solemnly. “No doubt of it! ejaculated Julia: then instan- taneously resuming her wonted calmuess of tone and manner, she said, “ But the woret—if anything can be worse than what I have already revealed to you-—1a to came. My father invented q certain poison which he called the Hejy’e Friend, Do you under- stand?” “ Not exactly,” returned Page. “How do you spell the first word {*” “Oh! I mean the Aeér that expecta property, you know, and is waiting for some one to die of” con- tinued Julia, “This poison was of such a nature that no medical man could tell that it had been taken. It baffled all the cleyerest physicians in the world; and while they were attributing the victim's diseqse to a thousand other things, the real cause was no- shing more or less than a few drops of this poison administered twice or three times a week. Being colourless and tasteless, it might be mixed with any- thing.” “Thess are indeed strange things that you are telling me,” said Page, speaking in a low whisper, as if fearful of being overheard. “But what waa the effect of the extraordinary paison you are speaking | of 2” “ Take, for instance, a person in robust health, and who has never known a day's illness,” resumed Julia. “Well, you administer a few dropa of this liquid to him—and a change comes over him in four-and-twenty houra, His constijution seems to give way suddenly: he grows pale—thin—weak— and sickly. His appetite faile him—he loses all energy, both mental and bodily — and literally perishes before your very eyes. It dilmost appeara es if you can see him withesing away; and ina few months he sinks into the grave.” “ But this is dreadful!” exelaimed Page, with « cold shudder. “Did [not tell you that my father wae a terrible man 2” said the young woman. “ Well, you can now understand the reason why this poison is called the Heirs Friend. But my father sold very little of it; the traffic was too dangerous-and the price was large in proportion. Moreover he never would dis- pose of it in a direct way :—only through the agency of a person named Joseph Warren.” “Ah! a scoundrel who is better known as the Magsman ?” cried Page, interrogatively. “The same. Are you acquainted with him?” gskod Julia. “He was the villain who thrust me into the eellar of the den where the man you call Briggs appears to act as jailer,” reaponded the commercial traveller. “But go on: I am deeply — though borribly—interested in all you are telling me, Was there no antidote to the wondrous polson you last spoke of?” “Yes,” answered Julia. “And the most extra- ordinary part of the whole affair is that even if the victim of that poison is at his last gasp, the anti- dote will be certain and sure to bring him back to life. I¢ will even go farther—for in a few weeks it will not fail to restore him to all hia former health, and gaiety, and appetite, and good looks. This is what my father used to call ‘ the triumph of the che- ssical art.’” “Triumph indeed " ejaculated Page: “it is almost incredible !” “ But it is nevertheless trae,” returned his wife. “I have often and often seen him try the effects of both poison and antidote.” “ Julia—you—you—make my hair stand on end!” gasped the commercial traveller, suddenly be- coming ashy pale. “You mistake me,” she observed, smiling: “] meant upon rabbits, cats, and dogs—and not upon human beings. God forbid !” “Ah! now I am relieved,” said her husband, breathing freely once again. “The experiment must be an interesting one—as an experiment, mind; and I should like to see it tried.” “T can gratify you at any time,” returned Jalia; “for Ihave the receipts of both poison and anti- dote about me at this very moment.” “You have!” cried Page. “What the deuce made you get posseasion of them ?” “My father was looking over his pocket-book the other day,” was the answer; “and he let a paper fall upon the floor. He did not notice the circumstance—and I afterwards picked it up, It contained the two receipts I speak of—together with another of quite a different character;—and, thinking it just as well that such a document should not be left in the old man’s pnsseasion, I sewed it inside the lining of my stays. He did not miss it, to my knowledge, up to the hour of his death.” . . ‘‘ And what is the other receipt which you allade to as being of a different nature from the poison and the antidote ?” asked Page. “It is more curious and ingenious than posi- tively bad,” replied Jylia; “ although it assists evil- designing persons to carry on a safe correspondence by means of letters. In fact, it consists of two distinct preparations, One is an invisible ink—the other is the chemical wash which must be rubbed over the sheet of paper to render the writing visi- e. 99 “ Whew !” ejaculated Page, with a whistling sound. “Now I begin to see aclue to something which this pocket-book contains !” “Very likely,” observed Julia. “ But go on, my dear,” added her husband. “ We will goover the contents of the pocket-book to- gether presently.” “TI have little more to tell you,” resumed Mrs. Page. “You see that the invisible ink and the chemical wash are very ingenious preparations. Suppose, for instance, that you wanted to corres- pond on secret matters with some accomplice at a distant placa; and you were desirous of making sure that your letters should not be read. You would write with the invisible ink, and the sheet of paper would appear an entire blank. In this way it would go through the post, the address being alone written in proper ink. Well, your friend receives it—washcs it over with the chemical pre- paration—and when it has been dried before the fire, all the writing appears as plain as possible, Bat this is not all. Suppose that, having read the _ COMICOOOKS. COR “= w eeu 4