From the moment the carriage-door closed upon us, Barton never addressed
one word to me, but leaning back, seemed only anxious to escape being
recognized by the people, whose attention was drawn to the vehicle by
seeing two mounted policemen ride at either side of it. We drove along
the quays, and crossing an old, dilapidated bridge, traversed several
obscure and mean-looking streets, through which numbers of persons were
hurrying in the same direction we were going. At length we arrived at
a large open space, thronged with people whose dress and appearance
bespoke them from the country. They were all conversing in a low,
murmuring tone, and looking up from time to time towards a massive
building of dark granite, which I had only to glance at to guess was
Newgate. Our pace slackened to a walk as we entered the crowd; and while
we moved slowly along, I was struck by the eager and excited faces I saw
on every side. It could be no common occasion which impressed that vast
multitude with the one character of painful anxiety I beheld.
As they stood gazing with upturned faces at the frowning portals of the
jail, the deep, solemn tolling of a bell rung out at the moment, and
as its sad notes vibrated through the air, it seemed to strike with
a mournful power on every heart in the crowd. In an instant, too, the
windows of all the houses were thronged with eager faces,--even the
parapets were crowded; and while every sound was hushed, each eye was
turned in one direction. I followed with my own whither the others were
bent, and beheld above my head the dark framework of the “drop,” covered
with black cloth, above which a piece of rope swung back-. wards and
forwards with the wind. The narrow door behind was closed; but it was
clear that each second that stole by was bringing some wretched criminal
closer to his awful doom.
As we neared the entrance, the massive doors were opened on a signal
from a policeman on the box of the carriage, and we drove inside the
gloomy vestibule. It was only then, as the heavy door banged behind me,
that my heart sank. Up to that moment a mingled sense of wrong, and a
feeling of desperate courage, had nerved me; but suddenly a cold chill
ran through my veins, my knees smote each other, and fear such as till
then I never knew crept over me. The carriage-door was now opened, the
steps lowered, and Barton descending first, addressed a few words to a
person near him, whom he called Mr. Gregg.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account