The String of Pearls (1850), p. 455

throw you out five shillings ; but if you make any noise you shall not have on farthing from me."
"Shall I not? Ha!—ha! Shall I not? Five shillings indeed!"
The lady upon this, feeling no doubt that both her wants and his powers of persuasion were made very light of, commenced such a tremendous knocking at the door, that the terrified Lupin at once descended to let her in, uttering such terrible curses as he went that Mrs. Oakley was petrified with dismay.
Foolish woman! Did she expect that her idol would turn out to be anything but a common brozen image ?
In the course of a few moments she heard the couple coming up stairs again, and when they reached the top, she heard Lupin say, "Confound you, you always will come with your infernal demands at the very worst and most awkward times and seasons to me. Did you not take ten pounds some time ago, and promise to come near me no more?
"Ha!—ha! Yes, I did. But I am here again you see. You thought I would drink myself to death with that amount of money, and that you would get rid of me, but it did me good. Ho!—ho!—ho! The good stuff did me good."
"You are a fool," said Lupin. "I tell you, woman, you will be my ruin, my absolute ruin; and then where will your supplies come from I should like to know? Why I have an idiot only in the next room, of whom I hope to make a good thing; and if you had only come in five minutes sooner you would have been heard by her, and I should have been done up here.''
"And why don't she hear you now? Have you cut her throat like you did
the woman's by Wapping?"
"Hush!—hush! you devil! Why do you allude to that?"
"Because I like, my beauty. Because I know you did it. And whenever I do mention it, the gallows shines out in your face as plain—ay, as plain as this
hand; and I like to see you quake and change colour, and be ready almost to fall down with your fears. Ho!—ho! I like that. Yes, it's as good to me as a drop of drink, that it is."
"I only wish your throat was cut, that is all."
"I know you do. But you won't try that on upon me. No—no. You won't try that on. Look at this, my beauty. Do you think I would step into a place of your's without something in the shape of a friend with me? Oh—no—no—"
The lady exhibited the handle and point of the blade of a knife, as she spoke, at which Mr. Lupin staggered back, and then in a faltering voice he said—
"I will go and see how my portion has worked with the idiot I mentioned. I gave her a good dose of laudanum in a glass of brandy and water."
It may be imagined with what feelings Mrs. Oakley heard this interesting little dialogue, it may be imagined, if she had at he bottom of her heart any lingering feelings of right or wrong, how they were likely to be roused up by all this—how her thoughts were likely to fly back to the house she had made wretched, and virtually deserted for so long a period of time. And now what was to become of her? Had she not heard Lupin denounced by one who knew him well as a murderer—an allegation which he had not even in the faintest
manner denied?
Mrs. Oakley went down upon her kness in earnest, and wringing her hands, she cried—
"God save me for my poor husband and my child's sake!"
We will suppose that if any appeals at all reach Heaven, that this was one of those that would be sure to get there. Hastily pushing aside with her hands the fragments of the broken glass, Mrs. Oakley flung herself upon the floor, at the moment that Lupin with a light in his hand entered the room.
"Hilloa!" he said.