The Mysteries of London; or, Lights and Shadows of London Life — page 77: what you’re looking at

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

~~. a CHAPTER XV, NIGHT AND MORNING, Away went the cab, jolting and rattling along with the sanguine pleasure-seekers inside. Mr. Chuckers was in an amazing flow of spirits, not at all checked _ by the rather untoward discovery that the height of fastened his conical hat, which had been too securely tangled amid brewers’ drays, and dashing up against those unexpected trucks that are always turning round sharp corners ; away through the narrow streets that run down by the river’s edge and send forth noisome exhalations of reeking bones and putrid ‘carcases; away under the gaslights streaming out in the road beyond, where quick-sighted urchins hailed with boisterous cheers a glimpse of the strange orna- ment that crowned the head of Mr. Chuckers, and which, for want of a more lofty roof, he had been com- pelled more than half the distance to thrust forth boldly through the window; away into the thick of the crowd that had gathered round the portico, blazing with its yellow lamps and staring posters, and then, with a jolt, a jerk, and a rumble, the cab stopped, the driver descended, and the two passengers were wel- comed, on alighting, with a tumultuous shout from the assembled mob. _ Here a little delay arose from the difficulty expe- rienced by Mr. Chuckers in finding the way to his pockets; and from the protracted embarrassment he laboured under in consequence, the ordeal through which they passed was by no means of a very pleasing nature, A brilliant fire of observations was opened upon them by the crowd; and the remarks being ex- clusively personal, and not of a kind to prove agreeable to the feelings, the victims winced severely under the merciless attack to which they were exposed.. The fugitive coins were, however, captured at last; and the demand of the driver having been settled, the masqueraders made a desperate plunge down the avenue, and thus escaping from their perseentors, whose attention was now diverted to a fresh arrival, they came at once upon the merry throng of the gar- dens, and had a scene of varied and fanciful brilliancy opening before them. The exeitement of the music, the motley groups that wore promenading down the long walk, the splendour of some dresses, and the oddity of others, together with the imposing effect of the illuminated vistas, garlanded with variegated lamps, and richly embellished with every decorative device, all united to bewilder Thornton with the novel associations by which he was surrounded. As for Chuckers, he had no sooner passed the entrance than his dignity be- came considerably increased, ard with a patronising air he offered to escort his more verdant acquaintance over the grounds, and initiate him into the mysteries of the evening. “Capital fun, ain’t it?” exclaimed Chuckers, as, having completed the round of the gardens, they now again emerged by the Rotunda, and saw a party arranging themselves for a quadrille; “this is some- thing like life—don’t you think so?” Had Thornton been permitted to confess what he really thought, he would probably have denied the similarity; but believing every thing to be all right and proper, he contented himself with merely asking when the fun was expected to begin. = —_— -- - —__ - — — -— ——> eemmpweern eer Se lt ee — LIGHTS AND SHADOWS OF LONDON LIFE. -_—---= 69 “Stop a bit; there will be lots of fun going on pre< sently,” returned the brigand. “You see those two girls in the Greek dresses ?—let’s go and ask them to join us in a dance,” The invitation was communicated by Mr. Chuckers in his most engaging manner; and as soon as the young ladies consented, after much discreet hesitation, to become their partners, Bub and his friend led them into the place pointed out by the obsequious master of the ceremonies, and the figure began. Such a quadrille as was now commenced had, however, quite gone beyond the anticipations of Mr. Chuckers, whose acquaintance with the modern eti- quette of the ball-room was limited to a slight idea of the first set, and a belief in the primitive country dances that he had once stood up for in the dancing academy of his early days. He consequently had no sooner seen the first couple lead off than his confidence began to forsake him, and he listened with nervous eagerness for the verbal instructions given by the pre- siding master of the ceremonies, and which he strug- gled manfully to fix in his mind. The perplexity of his manner was, however, too apparent to enable him to sustain his position with advantage. He got sadly out of time and place, advancing when there was not the slightest necessity for such a proceeding, and figuring away by himself in blissful unconsciousness that all the others had long ago ceased, Had his evolutions been intended to give a by- stander some remote conception of a labyrinth, and the difficulty of finding the right track into the maze, the performance of Mr, Chuckers would have been entitled to great credit; but considered simply as an exhibition of Terpsichorean skill, it was unquestionably a decided failure. He was everywhere where he was not wanted, and nowhere when he was; and as he endeavoured to make up for his deficiency in one way by a misdirected display of activity in another, his unskilfulness only became more painfully evident. At last the dance concluded, to his great relief; and, at the suggestion of Thornton, who had accomplished his part with more dexterity, the young ladies in the Greek dresses were further prevailed upon to accept of some slight refreshment in a supper-box adjoining. “ Did you ever taste a sherry-cobbler?” whispered Chuckers confidentially into the ear of his companion, as with his absence from the ball-room the equanimity of his mind became restored; “they are capital coolers.” “i never tasted a cobbler, that I know of,” re- sponded Thornton after due deliberation, for the ques- tion seemed to be one that would come with more pre- priety from a cannibal; “ what are they like?” “You shall see!” answered the brigand; and find- ing the ladies were not at all averse to the proposed beverage, the waiter was telegraphed to by the fingers of Mr. Chuckers, who worked them all ways at once, like a semaphore; and having received the order, the man disappeared, and quickly returned with a tray containing four goblets of the cumpound, and straws to match, Acting upon the suggestion of his eicerone, Thorn- ton imbibed the frigid refection through the medium of the tube accompanying it, and gave his testimony to the excellence of the concoction. The rest assidu- ously devoted themselves to a similar process of suc- tion ; and as the operation of holding the straw between the lips is not calculated to assist the powers of con- versation, for some minutes not a word was exchanged on either side, ——— TIN. — ss we oc = LLL TTL .- ew ee ee ee —™ TT LT GoOmiGidooks (E@) m