The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 358: what you’re looking at

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

THE MYSTERIES. was even ferocioun. “By the living God!” he ex- elaimed, in a tone of wild tion—his eyes flashing fire, his nostrile dilating, and his whole form appearing to expand into the dignity of god-like proportions; so that this aon of toil—this man of the people—this obscure and starving mechanic became an ebject terrible to gaze upen in the glory of his wrath and the sublimity of bis indignation :—“by the living God! he ctied, “I will submit to all these wronga no more! Patience is exhausted—and endurance has reached that peint when it becomes a crime! Whence are we to abtain food save from those who have self-appropriaced the fruits of the earth? Who shall dere tell me that starvation is a doom for which we have ho right to reproach our fellow-ereatures? Against whom, then, must our reproaches be levelled? Not against the Al- mighty——-Oh! no—we cafinot perpetrate such a tremendous impiety nor give uttefance to such an appalling blasphemy! And yet, since the earth yitids enough to maintain all w are upon it, there a diabolical injustice somewhere when a whole family ia perishing through want. Tell me then, wife—you who say that my language is dreadful— tell me in which direction we are to look for the fountain of that injustice. I have already said that wedare not compiain against God: and therefore wemust accuse Man. Yes—the favoured few are ear enemies—the oligarchy are our foes. The bread which by right belongs to my children is now in the mansions of the rich: they have stolen it from me! Oh! my beloved babes,” exclaimed the map, in a voice of rending agony mingled with savage vindic- tiveness, “ the food to which ye are justly entitled, has been snatched away from you by the usurpers wid the tyrants who have monopolised all the elegances of life and refuse us even the necessaries! Bat this shall endure no longer: I will not kiss the hand that strikes me! Forbearance becomes a flagrant cowardice—and I am resolved how to act. Hear me, therefore, my dear wife—thou partner of my woes and sufferings,—hear me also, ye well- beloved children, victims of ah accursed econdition of society which blesses the few at the expense of the many,—hear me, [ say,” continued Melmoth, taiging his voice until it filled that dismantled garret like the rage of the whirlwind and the fury of the storm,—* hear me while I proclaim a war to the knife against those whom I regard as my enemies—a crusade. without quarter against the oppressors of the millions and the usurpers of their rights—a eombat to the death against the miscreants who have made God's earth a paradise for themselves and a hell for all the rest !” “James-—-my God! he is raving!” cried the wretched Mrs. Melmoth, now falling upon her knees before her husband—an example which was instantaneously followed by the two boys and the young girl; and, sobbing bitterly, they all clung round the halfmaddened man, whe still remained standing in the midst of that starving, woe-begone, perishing family. “No, wife—I am xof raving,” he exclaimed, his esuntenance suddenly softening into an expression of bonndless compassion and love, as he bent his looks upon those who thus knelt around him “ But I have awoke from a dream—an idle drean:—the dream that what the world calls honesty wae indeed some- thing to be admired, practised, and persevered in. Oh! it was a grand stroke of policy for the spoliators 3433 and plunderers of the millions to invent that word honesty—to prociaim it as a cardinal virtue—to in- vest it with even a halo of divine sanctity—to have it preached from the pulpit, written in the laws, and | advocated by the press,—oh! it was a master-piece of ingenuity for ensuring to the few the safe possession and the secure enjoyment of all that they have plandered from the miany. Bat henceforth I dis- card the doctrine—I scatter to the winds the mo- rality which it inculcates—and I wifl become what the world denominates a robber and a thief!” “Oh! no—recal that dreadful menace—recal! it, Timplore you!” shrigked forth the almost heart- broken wife. “ Add not to the misery of our present condition-——” “ Father—dear father—do what mother asks you!” exclaimed the children, in united entreaties of an- guished fervour. “ Pray do not tell us that you will become a robber. It is wicked to be a thief—and you yourself have often told us so, dear father !”’ “Yesa—bat I was s fool—an insensate fool!” cried Melmoth, driven to desperation and pursuing the terrible current of thoughts which had sprung up in his fevered brain and had acquired a complete mas- tery over his imagination. * Do not fancy, my be- loved wife—do not suppose, my dear children—that I will any longer suffer myself to be the victim of those theories which the rich have invented as a pro- tection for their ill-got gains. They have plundered ws—and yet they dare to maintain that it would be dishonest were we to take back from them the fruit of their own rascality: they have practised a tre- mendous system of spoliation against ourselves—and yet we are told that it will be wrong to assume the aggreseive in return! The word honesty constitutes the barrier with which they have surrounded the ae- cumulated produce of their own misdeeds: and the word dishonesty is the bugbear with which they seek to frighten away all those who might endeavour to molest them in the enjoyment of their usurped poe- sessions. They have taken away the bread from me—from you—from all of us;—and I will recover back a portion of what is our due. They have made laws to justify their spoliation and their wrong ; and I should be a coward were i not to set those faws at defiance. From this moment, then, do I proclaim war against our oppressors—ravage against the ravagere—invasion against the invaders—desolation against the desolators: yes—by the living God!” thundered Melmoth, now worked up to an appalling state of excitement, and gesticulating ferociously,— “T will plunder the plunderers—I will despou the spoliators—I will play the brigand against the titled and proudly-born banditti of this realm !” And exhausted with the violence of tone and ges- ticulation which had accompanied this dreadful harangue, Melmoth sank upon the empty chest, gasping for bréath and every vein in his forehead swollen almost to bursting. Then piteous and heart-rending indeed was it to behold the anguished wife and weeping children gathering around that man on whose head lay the heavy responsibilities of a husband and a father,— yes, gathering around him with despair depicted upon their wan and emaciated countenances—ex- tending towards him their thin and fleshless hands —and addressing him in prayers of the most pas- sionate entreaty! The woman held up towards him the poor, frail, half-famiashed babe, as sbe adjured him to discard the terrible thoughts to which he had OONRANKA ateilo) S COMM