The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 99: what you’re looking at

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

Saad the two stations of Gravesend and Boughton Hill : the second, by having the word Dover prefixed, showed that this portion of the message was intended when the bird was hed. At Gravesend Re- becca Patch made a.croes on the billet, to show that the bird had halted at one station: at Boughton Hill Joe Dean did the same thing, as an indication that the second station had been touched at. If, for instance, the bird had reached Boughton Hill without the proof that it had stopped at Gravesend, Joe Dean would have still let it proceed on to Dover: but would have at once & carrier dove of his own to Gravesend to give the order for | i the rolay-horee that was needed: and if the bird had reached Dover without the proofs (indicated by the two marks on the scrap of paper) of having stopped at the intermediate stations, then Kate Marshall would have sent the bird back with another note conveying the requisite orders for the relays. With regard to the secret of the writing, the clue to the reading thereof depended, as a matter of course, upon a preconcerted arrangement and un- derstanding known to all the parties concerned : and the clue to the mystery lay in the possession of the key to a certain transposition of the alphabet. Each day in the year 1844 had its particular initial letter thus i ecttied ; and we have seen that on the present occasion the letter L served that This letter, then, became for the occasion, i Our ing in juxta-position the pro- and the alphabet according to which s note was written :— abode fghijklmnopgqrsturv Imnopqrstuvwxysabodefg wxys hijk Thus 2 served for a, m for 5, = for c~and so on. We must likewise observe that instead of the capital letter I, when expressing the first person, a star (®) was used in the hierogtyphic calligraphy. CHAPTER XXL BEUIND THE SCOBNRES. Tus loungor through the Opera Colonnades in the Haymarket and Pall Mall can scarcely form a con- ception of the vast magnitude of the establishment by which he is passing: nor when the house is crowded of an evening, do those present—unless previously initiated—entertain the slightest idea of the multiplicity of the appliances and the complica- tion of the i rec uisite to produce all the scenic effects which they behold upon the stage. With regard to the size of the establishment, it is enormous, and in addition to the performers, fur- nishes employment for an almost countless host of pereons who are never seen within the sphere of that blase of light which fills the place when open to the public. The approaches to the vast amphi- theatre—the corridors and stairceses—the crush- rooms, where the visitors wait for their carriages when the performance is over—the refreshment- saloon—the enormous theatre iteelf, capable of con- taining three thousand persons—and the stage with ite ample width and still groater depth—all thesc There is an imamense concert-rogm. belonging to the building, and which in itself is larger than many of the minor theatres. Then there is the scene- painters’ room—a place of considerable extent and from the spread out for the the extent of canvass that has to be room where the theatrical prising all the costumes and the which have to be introduced on the He | | particular performances. 3 is required for the mechanism of which we shall almost jmmediately have to speak; and thus from this mere fleeting and imperfect giance at tho prin- cipal departments and divisions of the establish- the clouds above: but all the various portions of painted canvass that enter into the formation of that scenery are moved and put into their place visitor who is allowed to peep behind those scenes, it appears as if he were on board an immense ship and involved amidst the complications of its rigging. What hosts of carpenters and scence-shifters are likewise employed in the management and execu- tion of all those ments which are thus un- seen, ahd the extent of which is little suspected by the brilliant company sitting in front of the foot- lights! Underneath the stage it is apparently one confused and jumbled mass of mechanism, beams, poste, wheels, levers, and all imaginable contrivances for trap-doors, drope, and the numerous other arti- fices, devices, and ingenious arrangements which often produce euch startling effects to the eyes of the audience. From those dark profundities beneath the high up to the very summit of the buildi above what appears to the spectators to be the top of the stage—a circular iron steircase winds its way, only just wide enough for one individual to thread it at a time; and during the performance constant communications are kept up between the CONNEC MOO SS COMM