The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 150: what you’re looking at

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

134 THE COURT OF LONDON And now that I recollect, this Marquis of Leveson is always holding forth in the House of Lords about the bad morals of the lower orders and the desecration of the Sabbath. Well, some men are hypocrites—rank impostors, too. What statues, what paintings! The farther I advance the more I seem to learn in the lessons of indecency. I suppose the marquis brings his ladies here sometimes. I wonder whether his niece Ernestina has ever set foot in this gallery. If she has, she can’t be much better than she should be; and I dare say she’s not, too. In fact, I suppose the prince was enticed to Beechey Manor that night to be captivated by her charms. But Dysart kept his real motive snug enough, whatever it was. Well, ’pon my soul, my head begins to turn, and I feel all nohow looking at these pictures andimages. Why, the purest virgin that ever stepped would leave this gallery as corrupt in mind as if she had passed through twenty years of debauchery and profligacy. Nell Gibson, who frequents the dark crib at the Folly Bridges, isn’t so bad but that she’d be made worse by a ten minutes’ walk up and down this gallery. And everything is so beautifully done, too, the paintings as well as the statues! What a mint of money all this must have cost, and what a lot of sculptors and artists must have been employed to furnish so many different things! Ay, and doesn’t the old marquis come at times and gloat over them! What a many women have no doubt lost their virtue in consequence of a visit to this place; and what tales these walls could tell if they only had the gift of speech! But only suppose that a poor devil was to be seen selling cheap pictures and prints half so bad as these great expensive paintings, wouldn’t the constables be down upon him in a jiffy, and no mistake! ”’ While thus musing, Mr. Daniel Coffin brought his inspec- tion of the gallery to a close; and issuing forth, he returned into the room containing the large armchairs. ‘Well, I think one of these concerns will be even more comfortable to sleep in for the night than the sofas in the room beyond,” he thought to himself as he glanced slowly around. ‘“‘ Besides, I always sleep too heavy when I lay down, and I mustn’t stand a chance of being surprised napping.” Having come to this conclusion, the Hangman placed the wax candle upon the table, and then deposited himself in (EOMMIC OO) (E(0) im