The String of Pearls; or, The Barber of Fleet Street — page 325: what you’re looking at

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

RE ON PRENATAL Ak A oN: ee S, ee ener _THE STRING OF PEARLS. 317 | Se (ODIO III ne a CHAPTER LXxX. RETURNS TO JOHANNA. } | We left Johanna in rather an awkward situation. The two graziers were in ‘Todd’s shop, and she—at the pronunciation of the word “ pearl,” which had too forcibly at the moment reminded her of the String of Pearls, whichno doubt had been fatal to Mark Ingestrie—had dropped the soap-dish, and covered her face with her hands. “‘ What is this?’ cried Todd. * What, sir?” ‘ What is that, I say? What do you mean by that, you stupid hound? IfI only-——” ' He advanced in a threatening attitude with a razor in his hand; but Johanna ‘quickly saw what a fault she had committed, and felt that, if she were to hope to. do any good by her visit to Todd’s shop, she must leave all such manifestations of feelings outside the threshold. ‘¢T have broken it,” she said. MAb tbo Ds, 99 «To be sure you have; but——— ‘And then, you see, sir, I was overcome at the moment by the thought that as this was my first day here, how stupid you would think me,” ‘Stupid, indeed.” | “ Poor little chap,”’ said one of the graziers. ‘“ Let him off this once, Mr. ‘Barber—he seems a delicate little lad.” Todd smiled. Yes, Todd admirably got up a smile, or a something that looked like a smile. It was a contortion of feature which did duty for a piece of amia- bility upon his face ; and, in a voice that he no doubt fully intended should be -dulcet and delightful, he spoke— ‘‘T’m quite a fool to my feelings and to my good nature,’ he said. ‘Lord bless you, gentlemen, I could not hurt a fly—not I, JIvused at school to be called Affectionate Todd.” ‘‘ In joke ?”’ said one of the graziers. ‘No, gentlemen, no; in earnest.” ‘You don’t say so! Well, my boy, yousee no harm will come to you, ‘as your master forgives you about the soap-dish, and we are in no sort of hurry.” | ‘s Well,’ said Todd, as he bustled about for another article in which to mix the lather. “ Well, do you know, sir, I’m s0 glad te hear that you are in ‘no hurry.’ : ‘Indeed ?” : ‘‘Yes, sir; because, if you are strangers in London Loth of you, it will give you an opportunity of seeing some of the curiosities, which will do for you to talk of when you get home, you know.” “ Why, that would take too much time.” — 6 Not at all, sir. Now, for example—Charley, my dear, whip up that. lather —there’s the church of St. Dunstan’s, which, although I say it—Now, Charley, look sharp—is one of the greatest of London curiosities. The figures at the clock I allude to more particularly. I think you said the whiskers were to be ‘left just as they are, sir?” ey OS, * ' ee A ES ES ‘¢Well then, gentlemen, if you have never seen the figures in the front ‘of old St. Dunstan’s strike the chimes, it’s one of those things that it’s quite a pity to leave London without watching narrowly. They may talk of the Tower, sir, or of the wild beasts at Exeter Change; but give me for a sight where there is real ingenuitv, the figures striking the chimes at old St. Dunstan’s.” ‘‘ Indeed %” Rt tn RR A cat, af a i a comicbooks.com