London (England) -- History -- 18th century -- Fiction
'I know nothing about generations,' Jenny interrupted. 'All I know is
that you are going to be saved. Why, man, consider. Probus knows nothing
about me; these conspirators know nothing about Madame Vallance; none of
them have the least suspicion; and must not have: that you know Jenny of
the Black Jack. Now I shall try to get a case as to the conspiracy clear
without attacking the loyalty of the gang to each other. I have thought
of such a plan. And I know an attorney. You have seen him. He is
tolerably honest. He shall advise us--I will send him here. Be of good
cheer, Will. I go to fetch Alice. Put on a smiling countenance to greet
her. Come, you are a man. Lift the drooping spirit of the woman who
loves you. Keep up her heart if not your own.'
She came back at about five: the day was already over; the yards and
courts of the Prison were already dark. My cell was lit with a pair of
candles when Jenny brought Alice and her brother Tom to see me.
Alice, poor child! fell into my arms and so lay for a long time, unable
to speak for the sobs that tore her almost in pieces, yet unwilling to
let me see her weakness.
Tom--the good fellow--assumed the same air of cheerfulness which he had
learned to show in the King's Bench. He sniffed the air approvingly. He
looked round with pretended satisfaction. 'Ha!' he said, 'this place
hath been misrepresented. The room is convenient, if small; the
furniture solid: the air is not so close as one might expect. For a
brief residence--a temporary residence--a man might ... might--I say--'
He cleared his throat; the tears came into his eyes: he sank into a
chair. 'Oh! Will ... Will,' he cried, breaking down, and unable to
pretend any longer.
Then no one spoke. Indeed all our hearts were full.
'It is not so much on your account, Will,' said Jenny--I observed that
she wore a domino, and indeed, she never came to the prison after the
first visit without a domino, a precaution by no means unusual, because
ladies might not like to be seen in Newgate, and in any case it might
arouse suspicions if Jenny were recognised. 'I say it is not on your
account, so much as for the sake of this dear creature. Madam--Alice--I
implore you--take courage; we have the proofs of the conspiracy in our
hands. It is a black and hellish plot. The only difficulty is as to the
best means of using our knowledge, and here, I confess, for the moment,
I am not certain--'
Alice recovered herself and stood up, holding my hand. 'I cannot
believe,' she said, 'that such wickedness as this will be permitted to
succeed. It would bring shame and sorrow on children and grandchildren
to the third and fourth generations.'
'You all talk about generations,' said Jenny. 'For my part I think of
you that are alive, not those who are to come. Well, so far it has not
succeeded. For the conspirators are known to me and I am Will's
cousin--and this they know not.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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