[“We've reduced it to a reg'lar system”] — illustration for G. W. M. Reynolds’s “The Mysteries of London” by G. Stiff

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We've reduced it to a reg'lar system

G. Stiff

c. 1843

Wood engraving

Source: The Hathi Trust version of G. W. M. Reynolds’s The Mysteries of London 1.124

The illustration depicts a passage in Chapter 43.

Click on image to enlarge it and see passage illustrated below,

The two men drew the corpse gently out of its coffin

[You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit Project Gutenberg and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one. — George P. Landow]

Passage illustrated

"Anythink by vay of a change; partikler as when we want a stiff 'un by a certain day, and don't know in which churchyard to dive for one, we hit upon the plan of catching 'em alive in the street."

"It was my idea, though," exclaimed the Buffer. "Don't you remember when we wanted a stiff 'un for the wery same Sawbones which we've got to meet presently, we waited for near two hours at this house-door, and at last we caught hold of a feller that was walking so comfortable along, looking up at the moon?"

"And then I thought of holding him with his head downwards in a tub of water," added the Cracksman, "till he was drownded. That way don't tell no tales;—no wound on the skin—no pison in the stomach; and there ain't too much water inside neither, cos the poor devils don't swaller with their heads downwards."

"Ah! it was a good idea," said the Buffer; "and now we've reduced it to a reg'lar system. Tub of water all ready on the floor—hooks and cords to hold the chaps' feet up to the ceiling; and then, my eye! there they hangs, head downwards, jest for all the world like the carcasses in the butchers' shops, if they hadn't got their clothes on." — Chapter 43, “The Mummy” [1.124]

Bibliography

Reynolds, George W. M. The Mysteries of London. vol 1. London: George Vickers, 1846. Hathi Trust Digital Library. Web. 6 October 2016.

Last modified 6 October 2016