The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 307: what you’re looking at

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

280 THE COURT OF LONDON of evidence to burst like a storm around them, and sends them to the scaffold at last. Don’t you see this constantly being done, I say? And isn’t it often a matter of wonder how Larry does contrive to bring things home to people? Well, then, now it ceases to be a matter of wonder, after all that I have seen and learned to-day.” The Hangman then proceeded to inform his friend Ben- cull how he had penetrated into Larry Sampson’s private apartment, and how he had beheld there all the costumes and other accessories for an infinite variety of complete disguises. Bencull was as much amazed and as thoroughly petrified with wonder at hearing this recital as Coffin himself had been when first entering that mysterious apart- ment at Sampson’s house. Indeed, several minutes elapsed ere Bencull could recover in the slightest degree from that stupor into which he was thus plunged. ‘Well, there is one thing I can’t understand,” he said, at length, when he had lighted another pipe and taken a few whifis. ‘‘ How was it that within an hour after Larry Sampson escaped from the ditch behind this house he did not have you and me and all the others taken up and lodged in Newgate at once? ”’ ‘Oh, I can understand his reason full well,’’ returned the Hangman. ‘“‘ You was one of the party that did that job with the prince and Marquis of Leveson at Beechey Manor.” “ Well, what of that? ’’ exclaimed Bencull. ‘Only that Larry Sampson, as it appears by his book, was employed to sift that affair to the bottom,’’ continued Daniel Coffin; ‘‘ and the better to follow out his researches, he took the disguise of a knife-grinder, first going down to Richmond to make inquiries there, and then coming down here. Now, if he had handed us all over to justice, he would have had to say why he came to the dark crib, so as to make out his tale; and that would have been to tell on what special service he was engaged at the time, and consequently to proclaim to the whole world what had happened to the prince and the Marquis of Leveson on a certain memorable night. But as neither the prince nor the marquis wanted it known at all, but, on the contrary, had certain reasons of their own for wishing it to be kept deuced quiet, Larry Sampson thought it best to hold his peace about his adven- ture down here.’’ EORMICLNOO KS (E(0)