The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 262: what you’re looking at

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

242 REYNOLDS’ WORKS from Captain Stanley’s lips, and the display of a bank-note, made a prompt change in the man’s temper. He drew in his head, shut down the window, and in a couple of minutes ap- peared at his shop door, having just huddled on a sufficiency of clothing for decency’s sake. He admitted the two officers, and then inquired their business. Captain Stanley, closing the door of the shop, put the five- pound note into the man’s hand, and said to him, ‘‘ Don’t be alarmed, and don’t ask any unnecessary questions, but we want, in the first place, to peep through one of the back windows of your dwelling.” The chandler, who was an active, bustling, eccentric little man, stared in amazement at this request, and re- curring to his former opinion that the whole proceeding was an impudent frolic, he examined the note, expecting to find that it issued from the Bank of Elegance instead of the Bank of England. On discovering, however, that it was really genuine, he became perfectly civil once more, and thinking he had better humour his two customers, whatever their object might be, — if indeed they had any at all, — he con- ducted them into his little parlour, which was behind the shop. There was an outside shutter to the window, and the prismatic rays of the morning light — for it was the middle of the month of June — penetrated through a heart-shaped hole in that shutter. By means of this hole Stanley was en- abled to take his survey of the rear of the chandler’s dwelling. There was a little yard separated by alow wall from a larger yard which belonged to Mother Bambridge’s establishment; at every one of the back windows of that establishment the blinds were drawn down, and therefore it was reasonable to suppose that the inmates had retired to rest, well contented with their spoil in the shape of handsome watches, massive chains, and well-filled purses. “* Have you gotaladder?”’ inquired Stanley of the chandler. The volatile little man made one bound of astonishment at this question so abruptly put, and then he looked dis- mayed as the idea flashed to his mind that he had to do with two lunatics just escaped from an asylum. The two sup- posed lunatics could not help smiling at these variations of expression on the chandler’s countenance, and Stanley, per- ceiving the necessity of giving some sort of explanation, ad- dressed him as follows: CORMICLOOOLK