The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 142: what you’re looking at

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

—~ ; . - \ rn tr et a ee 8 oe E —_—— -- -- - ee , " 128 THE MYSTERIES OF THE COURT. | i EEE lease is up on quarter-day—and I dare say the place will soon let again, even if there be not a new tenant ready to come in on Michaelmas day, which is next week. So it was necessary to lose no time ——” “ Aye, aye—I understand,” observed the man in the grave. “ You had better lose no time either in talking, sir: and if the pit is deep enough ——” “ Quite deep enough,” said the gentleman. “I and iny wife will go up and get the corpse out of its hiding-place ——” * And W’ll be with youin afew minutes to help you down with it,” interrupted the mav,—“ directly I’ve shovelled up the loose dirt at the bottom.” “Very good,” returned the gentleman: and he Jed his wife away from the grave, where she had been standing in a state of mind that can be more readily conceived than depicted. They now hastened towards the house which was only a few yards distant; and the gentleman opened the back door by means of a key which he had about hint. He then passed into the kitchen, fol- lowed by his wife; and, having lighted a candle, he led the way up-stairs. Not a word was spoken: the dead silence of the hour and place was broken onlv by the footsteps of the husband—for those of his wife were noiseless. The unhappy lady was pale as death: but her fea- tures were calm—calm even to immobility. She had now concentrated all her energies to face a fearful scene and pass through a tremendous ordeal : her mental powers were all collected at one point— and she felt that with a single moment of yielding or weakness, the whole would give way. It was the courage of desperation that now armed her—the for- titude of one who has resolved to stretch every chord of the heart and strain every nerve of the brain in order to dare and endure the worst! Her husband ascended the stairs with the candle in his hand—and she followed close behind him. Their lengthened shadows upon the wall and the deso- Jate echo of his footsteps as they traversed the spa- cious hall,alarmed her fora moment: but she eom- pressed her ashy lips tightly, to suppress the scream that was passing as it were behind them. The house had been let to them ready furnished: and everything was in precisely the same state as when they left it some montlis previously. On leav- ing it at the time referred to, some domestics had remained in charge of the premises: but on reach- ing the Continent, the husband had immediately written over to discharge them, as he found that his Means would not permit himn to retain either them or the establishment. ‘Chey had therefore left within a week after their master and mistress had themselves departed: but during the few days they had thus remained at the villa previously to receiv- ing the written notice from abroad to quit their master’s service, they had not discovered the one tre- mendous secret which this house contained! The nature of that secret may haply be guessed by the intelligent reader: but we will resume the thread of our narrative in due course. The husband and wife ascended the stairs leading to the first floor. ‘They entered the bed-chamber— and thence the former passed at once and unhesitat- ingly into a bath-room adjoining. The unhappy lady felt as if her courage were giving way—as if her fortitude, strained as it was to so unnatural a degree | of tension, must break down all ona sudden. She re ee re ee ec ee ee ee ee ee ! leant against the bed-post for support: she clung to | it to save herself from falling. Her brain appeared | to reel—her sight grew dim—seorpions were tearing | at her heart: but an impatient word from her hus- | band commanding her to follow him, struck upon | her ear ;—and gathering again all her energies that | were so fast scattering, she advanced with slow steps | —as if she were a corpse, moving stiffly—into the | bath-room. A faint and sickly odour—the unmistakable ex- halation of the dead—assailed her nostrils: and now a wild, wordless, gurgling sound came from her lips — those lips that were instantaneously com- pressea again, to keep down any further emission of the horrible sensations that were harrowing her soul. Her eyes glared fixedly: but her cheeks remained pallid and colourless as if the skin were altogether unsusceptible of reflecting any vital tint. The husband placed the candle upon the toilette- table—and then proceeded to raise the lid of the bath. The odour instantaneously became more powerful: but it was not that noxious smell which | made the miserable woman reel as if suddenly | struck by a hammer—it was the convulsing vio- lence of her own tremendously-excited feelings. “My God! my God!” she murmured to herself, as she staggered against the wall after catching a glimpse of the object that lay within the bath. And that object was a corpse!—the corpse of him whom she had loved so fondly and so well— the loathsome, decomposing remains of one who in his life-time was so handsome in person, 80 fas- cinating in manners, and so harmonious in voice. * Come, now—help me out with this body!” said her husband, gruffly, as he drew forth a silken rope ladder from the interior of the bath and tossed it upon the floor. “ No—no—I cannot—I will not!” she shrieked forth in a rending tone: and then she wrung her hands in despair. “You cannot—you will not?” exclaimed the gentleman, turning savagely round upon her. “By heaven, madam, if you talk thus to me, you shallsleep in the same grave with your paramour!” “Oh! spare me—spare me!” she cried, joining her hand in piteous appeal. “Let the man help you to raise——” ‘ Perdition!” ejaculated her husband, furiously. “You want to throw all the work upon me, as if I had any hand in his death! Come, now—give me your assistance—or else 7 “Yes, yes—I will assist you!” she exclaimed, driven almost to frenzy with horror and alarm. “Do not hurt me—do not touch me,” she cried, as his arm was raised to strike her,—* aud I will obey — you to the uttermost.” Then with reeling brain and throbbing heart, | she took two or three desperate steps forward— leant over the side of the bath—and assisted her husband to lift out the body. As they were thus engaged, he turned upon her for a moment a look of fiendish satisfaction and diabolical triumph,—a | look from which she averted her eyes in horror, as if from a loathsome reptile or a ghastly spectre suddenly springing up by her side. At this moment the man who had been digging the grave entered-the room ;—and the lady's ser- vices were now dispensed with in the removal of eS oe —— co rc ee ee ———s the lecomposing corpse of her SAU UUG OOO SACO) —sa+ 3 - em se ee e+ — -—_— —— —-- ——