The String of Pearls; or, The Barber of Fleet Street — page 92: what you’re looking at

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

SR ene Ry a en ee RES tea RS SL A eA At OLS SAIC TL LT II IE NACI Hath pe, a ae 84 THE STRING OF PEARLS. ee for the accomplishment of some great evil which that most villanous person in- iat tended to perpetrate. | a *‘T will observe all I can,” thought Tobias to himself, “and do wnacs I ean to Ld lig as, | put a stop to his mischiefs; but I fear it will be very little he will allow me to ‘ RBI: observe, and perhaps still less that he will allow me to do; but I can but try, and big pt do my best.” F Wh lik Poor Tobias’s best, as regarded achieving anything against Sweeney Todd, we ey may well suppose would be little indeed, for that individual was not the man to a give anybody an opportunity of doing much; and, possessedias he was of the most a i | consummate art, as well as the greatest possible amount of unscrupulousness, there a can be very little doubt but that any attempt poor Tobias might make would aly recoil upon himself, In about half an hour the barber returned, and his fist ques- | ne tion was— ! Het “Fave any things been left for me 2” | i | = Yes, Sir, sald Tobias, “‘ here are two parcels, and a boy has been to say that | We the carriage will be ready at half-past seven precisely.” j ae “"Tis well,” said the barber, “that will do; and Tobias, you will be careful, Ha whilst I am gone, of the shop. I shall be back in half an hour, mind you, and H ei not later; and be sure that I find you here at your post. But you may say, if any | I Hh i one comes here on business, there will be neither shaving nor dressing to-night. | i ee You understand me ?” | | m4 | i | + 1.68, Sir, certainly.” ih ee Sweeney Todd then took the bundles which contained the costly apparel, and l! HH retiredinto the parlour with them; and, as it was then seven o’clock, Tobias cor- || . Hatt rectly enough supposed that he had gone to dress himself, and he waited with a pm a considerable amount of curiosity to see what sort of an appearance the barber al at aay would cut in his fine apparel. ‘Tobias had not to control his impatience long, for it ee In less than twenty minutes, out came Sweeney Todd, attired in the very height of ; ie ae fashion for the period. His waistcoat was something positively gorgeous, and | i ie ti his fingers were loaded with such costly rings, that they quite dazzled the sight of ee a ae Tobias to look upon; then, moreover, he wore a sword with a jewelled hilt, but it Rh | mh rhe was one which Tobias really thought he had seen before, for he had a recollection od Lies that a gentleman had come to have his hair dressed, and had taken it off, and laid los just such a sword across his hat during the operation. | fun ew “Remember,” said Sweeney Todd, “remember your instructions; obey them { His ae to the letter, and no doubt you will ultimately become happy and mdependent.” f bv a With these words, Sweeney Todd left the place, and poor Tobias looked after on a him with a frown, as he repeated the words—~ y | vat a | “Happy and independent. Alas! what a mockery it is of this man to speak to | Roy at me in such a way—I only wish that I were dead !” that a But we will leave Tobias to his own reflections, and follow the more interesting | Ma id progress of Sweeney Todd, who, for some reason best known to himself, was then | | 0099, ey playing so grand a part, and casting away so large a sum of money. He made his aur ian way to a livery-stables in the immediate neighbourhood, and there, sure enough, le at the horses were being placed to a handsome carriage; and all being very soon in | hgh ae readiness, Sweeney Todd gave some whispered directions to the driver, and the a vehicle started off westward. At that time Hyde Park Corner was very nearly wi cat out of town, and it Jooked as if you wereagetfing a glimpse of the country, and iy id actually seeing something of the peasantry of England, when you got another Wl | couple of miles off, and that was the direction in which Sweeney Todd went; and | Aly at as he goes, we may as well introduce to the reader the sort of individual whom he : ia ae was going to visit in so much state, and for whom he thought it necessary to go to ty bie a such great expense. At that period the follies and vices of the nobility were i) ti f i somewhere about as great as they are now, and consequently extravagance in- F ity i a duced on many occasions tremendous sacrifice of monsy, and if was found b ig a extremely convenient on many occasions for them to apply to a man of the | iit hae ay name of John Mundel, an exceedingly wealthy person, a Dutchman by extraction, M i i | who was reported to make immense sums of money by lending to the nobility and