The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 276: what you’re looking at

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

246 THE COURT OF LONDON then boats were put out, and I dodged about the stern of the ship for upwards of a quarter of an hour, sometimes under the water, and sometimes with only just my head above it. At length I swam cautiously and quietly away, diving incessantly until I reached the Essex shore, about two hundred yards farther down than where the vessel lay. ‘“‘T landed and walked along the bankforupwards of anhour, till at last, in the utter darkness of the night, I fell into a deep muddy ditch. Thence I had the greatest trouble to extricate myself, and, being covered with slime, I was forced to plunge into the river to cleanse myself. I suppose that my head must have struck against something, for I became insensible; and when I recovered myself, I was in a hut at the village of Gray’s Thurlock, several miles farther down the river than where I had taken the path that so nearly proved fatal to me. An old waterman had picked me up as I was floating down with the tide; a glimpse of moonlight upon the water had shown him my countenance as I lay senseless on my back. On getting me ashore, he found that life was not extinct; and be- ing a humane man (as most poor people are, by way of set-off to the hard-hearted aristocracy) he conveyed me to his hut, where he and his wife attended upon me. I recovered in a few hours, but for several days I was unable to rise from the humble pallet on which I lay stretched. At length I grew strong enough to get up, and not choosing to remain a burden to my good friends — anxious moreover to see my wife and dear, dear children — I said I should leave them. — ‘The report of my escape off Woolwich had reached Gray’s Thurlock, as a matter of course; and the old waterman sus- pected that I was the individual. He spoke kindly to me upon the subject, and I told him everything. Then he be- came a true friend to me, bestowing upon me a suit of sailor’s clothing as a disguise, and giving me a few shillings to see my way clear with. I returned to London. Oh how my heart beat, how every pulse thrilled with the fervid, joyous hope of embracing my beloved wife and little ones again. Heedless of the risk I incurred of being recognized by any hostile person who might give information to the government, I hurried to the lodgings where I hoped to find my family. Heavens! how long the street seemed from the corner to the house, what an age it appeared before my knock at the door was answered. To clasp my wife in my arms, to embrace (E(o) CONNIE NOOO KS