The Mysteries of the Court of London by Pauline Clarendon — page 348: what you’re looking at

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

CARROTTY POLL’S RETURN 345 | fluid, restored the Big Beggarman pretty well to his ordinary humour; but he still experienced a racking pain in the head. Being curious to discover how his late captives could possibly have made their escape, he ascended to the chamber where he had imprisoned them; and the bed dragged up to the window, the open casement, the absence of all the sheets, blankets, and coverlid, as well as the very carpet, and then the rope itself, rapidly developed to his amazed compre- hension the desperate means which had been adopted by Meagles and the Amazon to emancipate themselves from confinement at the Beggar’s Staff. Atrocious villain though he were, and savage as he felt at the circumstances of this escape, he could not help admir- ing the courage which the incident displayed on the part of the fugitives. Retracing his way to the bar, he described all he had seen to the company present, for they already knew quite enough to render it unnecessary to keep from them the most wondertul episode in the history of the escape; and those who heard him soon became too much absorbed in the interest of the details which he thus gave them, to find leisure to question him as to his original motives for im- prisoning Meagles and the lady at all. Vociferous was the applause with which the health of the daring couple was proposed and drunk; and the orgy was continued in a manner well suiting the vile place and well worthy of the vagabonds, thieves, prostitutes, and hideous wretches assembled there. Are there such houses, and are there such people, in London at the present day? This is a question which many of our readers will ask themselves and each other. The reply is a bold affirmative, for most assuredly there are. And whose fault is it? That of the government and the legislature. Yes, it is the fault of our rulers that the noxious weeds of vice and demoralization flourish in such luxuriant rank- ness as they do. What do your lords and baronets know of the poorer classes? What notion can they possibly have of the causes of that terrible depravity which exists, in such widely spread and intricate ramifications, amongst those whom they denominate the lower orders? They make erand speeches upon the immorality of the millions, and CONnnicloool|Ks (GO)