CHAPTER VI
_The Dark Vaults--Scenes of Appalling Horror--The Dead Man--TheCatechism--arrangements for a Burglary._
Down, down, they went, far into the bowels of the earth; groping theirway in darkness, and often hazarding their necks by stumbling upon thesteep and slippery steps. At length the bottom of the 'forty-foot cave'was reached; and the boy grasping the hand of his follower, conductedhim thro' a long and circuitous passage. Intense darkness and profoundsilence reigned; but after traversing this passage for a considerabledistance, lights began to illumine the dreary path, and that indistincthum which proceeds from numerous inhabitants, became audible. Soon thetwo explorers emerged into a large open space, having the appearance ofa vast vault, arched overhead with rough black masonry, which wassupported by huge pillars of brick and stone. Encircling this mighty_tomb_, as it might be properly called, were numerous small hovels, orrather _caves_, dug into the earth; and these holes were swarming withhuman beings.
Here was a _subterranean village_! Myriads of men and women dwelt inthis awful place, where the sun never shone; here they festered withcorruption, and died of starvation and wretchedness--those who werepoor; and here also the fugitive murderer, the branded outlaw, thehunted thief, and the successful robber, laden with his booty, found asafe asylum, where justice _dare not_ follow them--here they gloried inthe remembrance of past crimes, and anticipated future enormities. Menhad no secrets here;--for no treachery could place them within the graspof the law, and every one spoke openly and boldly of his long-hiddendeeds of villainy and outrage.
'Come', said the boy to the stranger--'let us go the rounds and seewhat's going on.'
They drew nigh a large, shelving aperture in the earth, on one side ofthe vault, and looking in saw a man, nearly naked; seated upon a heap ofexcrement and filthy straw. A fragment of a penny candle was burningdimly near him, which showed him to be literally daubed from head tofoot with the vilest filth. Before him lay the carcase of some animalwhich had died from disease--it was swollen and green with putrefaction;and oh, horrible! we sicken as we record the loathsome fact--the starvedwretch was ravenously devouring the carrion! Yes, with his finger nails,long as vultures' claws, he tore out the reeking entrails, and ate themwith the ferocity of the grave-robbing hyena! One of the spectatorsspoke to him, but he only growled savagely, and continued his revoltingmeal.
'Oh, God!' said the stranger, shuddering--'this is horrible!'
'Pooh!' rejoined the boy--'_that's_ nothing at all to what you will seeif you have the courage and inclination to follow me wherever I shalllead you, in these vaults.'
In another cavern an awful scene presented itself. It was an Irish_wake_--a dead body lay upon the table, and the relations and friends ofthe deceased were howling their lamentations over it. An awful stenchemanating from the corpse, indicated that the process of decompositionhad already commenced. In one corner, several half-crazed, drunken,naked wretches were fighting with the ferocity of tigers, and themourners soon joining in the fray, a general combat ensued, in the furyof which, the table on which lay the body was overturned, and the corpsewas crushed beneath the feet of the combatants.
Leaving this appalling scene, the boy and the stranger passed on, untilthey stood before a cave which was literally crammed with human beings.Men and women, boys and girls, young children, negroes, and _hogs_ werelaying indiscriminately upon the ground, in a compact mass. Some werecursing each other with fierce oaths; and horrible to relate! negroeswere lying with young white girls, and several, unmindful of thepresence of others, were perpetrating the most dreadful enormities.These beings were vile and loathsome in appearance, beyond all humanconception; every one of them was a mass of rags, filth, disease, andcorruption. As the stranger surveyed the loathsome group, he said to hisguide, with a refinement of speech he had not before assumed--
'Had any one, two hours ago, assured me that such a place as this,containing such horrible inmates, existed in the very heart of the city,I would have given him the lie direct! But I see it for myself, and amforced to believe it.'
'These wretches,' said the boy--'are many of them related to each other.There are husbands and wives there; mothers and children; brothers andsisters. Yet they all herd together, you see, without regard to natureor decency. Why the crime of _incest_ is as common among them as dirt! Ihave known a mother and her son--a father and his daughter--a brotherand sister--to be guilty of criminal intimacy! Those wretched childrenare many of them the offspring of such unnatural and beastlyconnections. In my opinion, those hogs have as good a claim to humanity,as those brutes in human form!'
'And how came those hogs to form part of the inhabitants of thisinfernal place?' asked the stranger.
'You must know,' replied the boy,'that these vaults communicate with thecommon street _sewers_ of the city; well, those animals get into thesewers, to devour the vegetable matter, filth and offal that accumulatethere; and, being unable to get out, they eventually find their way tothese vaults. Here they are killed and eaten by the starving wretches.And would you believe it?--these people derive almost all their foodfrom these sewers. They take out the decayed vegetables and other filth,which they actually eat; and the floating sticks and timber serve themfor fuel. You remember the man we saw devouring the dead animal; well,he took that carcase from the sewer.'
'And what effect does such loathsome diet produce upon them?' asked theother.
'Oh,' was the reply--'it makes them insane in a short time; eventuallythey lose the faculty of speech, and howl like wild animals. Theirbodies become diseased, their limbs rot, and finally they putrify anddie.'
'And how do they dispose of the dead bodies?' asked the stranger.
'_They throw them into the sewer_,' answered the boy, with indifference.His listener shuddered.
'Come,' said the young guide--'you have only seen the wretched portionof the Dark Vaults. You are sick of such miseries, and well you maybe--but we will now pay a visit to a quarter where there are nosickening sights. We will go to the _Infernal Regions_!'
Saying this, he led the way thro' a long, narrow passage, which waspartially illumined by a bright light at the further end. As theyadvanced loud bursts of laughter greeted their ears; and finally theyemerged into a large cavern, brilliantly illuminated by a multitude ofcandles, and furnished with a huge round table. Seated around this wereabout twenty men, whose appearance denoted them to be the most desperateand villainous characters which can infest a city. Not any of them werepositively ragged or dirty; on the contrary, some of them were dressedrichly and expensively; but there was no mistaking their truecharacters, for villain was written in their faces as plainly as thoughthe word was branded on their faces with a hot iron.
Seated upon a stool in the centre of the table was a man of frightfulappearance: his long, tangled hair hung over two eyes that gleamed withsavage ferocity; his face was the most awful that can be imagined--long,lean, cadaverous and livid, it resembled that of a corpse. No strangercould view it without a shudder; it caused the spectator to recoil withhorror. His form was tall and bony, and he was gifted with prodigiousstrength. This man, on account of his corpse-like appearance was knownas 'the Dead Man.' He never went by any other title; and his real namewas unknown.
The stupendous villainy and depravity of this man's character willappear hereafter. Upon the occasion of his first introduction in thisnarrative, he was acting as president of the carousals; he was the firstone to notice the entrance of the boy and the stranger; and addressingthe former, he said--
'How now, _Kinchen_--who have you brought with you? Is the cove _cross_or _square_--and what does he want in our _ken_?'
'He is a _cross cove_,' answered the boy--'he is just from _quay_; andwishes to make the acquaintance of the knights of the Round Table.'
'That being the case,' rejoined the Dead Man, 'he is welcome, providedhe has the blunt to pay for the _lush_ all round.'
The stranger, understanding the import of these words, threw upon thetable a handful
of money; this generosity instantly raised him high inthe estimation of all present. He was provided with a seat at the table,and a bumper of brandy was handed him, which he merely tasted, withoutdrinking.
The boy seated himself at the side of the stranger, and the Dead Man,addressing a person by the name of the 'Doctor,' requested him to resumethe narration of his story, in which he had been interrupted by the twonewcomers.
The 'Doctor,' a large, dark man, very showily dressed, complied, andspoke as follows:--
'As I was saying, gentlemen, I had become awfully reduced--not a cent inmy possession, not a friend in the world, and clothed in rags. Onenight, half-crazed with hunger, I stationed myself at the Park, havingarmed myself with a paving stone, determined to rob the first personthat came along, even if I should be obliged to dash out hisbrains.--After a while, a young gentleman approached my lurking place; Iadvanced towards him with my missile raised, and he drew a sword fromhis cane, prepared to act on the defensive--but when I mentioned thatthree days had elapsed since I had taken food, the generous young man,who might easily have overcome me, weak and reduced as I was--took fromhis pocket a fifty dollar bill, and gave it to me. This generous giftset me on my legs again, and now here am I, a Knight of the Round Table,with a pocket full of rocks, and good prospects in anticipation. Now,the only wish of my heart is to do that generous benefactor of mine aservice; and if ever I can do a good action to him, to prove mygratitude, I shall be a happy fellow indeed.'
'Posh!' said the Dead Man, contemptuously--'don't talk to me ofgratitude--if a man does _me_ a service I hate him for it everafterwards. I never rest till I repay him by some act of treachery orvengeance.'
As the hideous man gave utterance to this abominable sentiment, severalfemales entered the apartment, one of whom led by the hand a small boyof five years of age. This woman was the wife of the Dead Man, and thechild was his son.
The little fellow scrambled upon the table, and his father took him uponhis knee, saying to the company--
'Pals, you know the blessed Bible tells us to 'train up a child in theway he should go;' very good--now you will see how well I have obeyedthe command with this little _kid_. Attend to your catechism, my son.What is your name?'
'Jack the Prig,' answered the boy without hesitation.
'Who gave you that name?'
'The Jolly Knights of the Round Table.'
'Who made you?' asked the father.
'His Majesty, old Beelzebub!' said the child.
'For what purpose did he make you?'
'To be a bold thief all my life, and die like a man upon the gallows!'
Immense applause followed this answer.
'What is the whole duty of man?'
'To drink, lie, rob, and murder when necessary.'
'What do you think of the Bible?'
'It's all a cursed humbug!'
'What do you think of me--now speak up like a man!'
'You're the d----dest scoundrel that ever went unhung,' replied the boy,looking up in his father's face and smiling.
The roar of laughter that followed his answer was perfectly deafening,and was heartily joined in by the Dead Man himself, who had taught thechild the very words--and those words were true as gospel. The Dead Manknew he was a villain, and gloried in the title. He gave the boy a glassof brandy to drink, as a reward for his cleverness; and furtherencouraged him by prophesying that he would one day become a greatthief.
Room was now made at the table for the women, several of whom wereyoung and good-looking. They were all depraved creatures, being commonprostitutes, or very little better; and they drank, swore, and boastedof their exploits in thieving and other villainy, with as much gusto astheir male companions. After an hour of so spent in riotous debauchery,the company, wearied with their excesses, broke up, and most of themwent to their sleeping places; the Dead Man, the boy and the stranger,together with a man named Fred, remained at the table; and the former,addressing the stranger, said to him--
'And so, young man, you have just come out of _quod_, hey? Well, as youlook rather hard up, and most likely haven't a great deal of blunt onhand, suppose I put you in the way of a little profitable business--eh?'
The stranger nodded approvingly.
'Well, then,' continued the Dead Man--'you must know that Fred Archerhere and myself _spotted_ a very pretty _crib_ on Broadway, and we havedetermined to _crack_ it. The house is occupied by a young gentlemannamed Sydney, and his wife--they have been married but a short time. Weshall have no difficulty in getting into the crib, for Mr. Sydney'sbutler, a fellow named Davis, is bribed by me to admit us into thehouse, at a given signal. What say you--will you join us?'
'Yes--and devilish glad of the chance,' replied the stranger, gazing atFred Archer with much interest. Fred was a good looking young man,genteelly dressed, but with a dissipated, rakish air.
'Very well--that matter is settled,' said the Dead Man. 'Three of uswill be enough to do the job, and therefore we shan't want yourassistance, _Kinchen_,' he added, addressing the boy. 'It must now beabout six o'clock in the morning--we will meet here to-night at elevenprecisely. Do not fail, for money is to be made in this affair.'
The stranger promised to be punctual at the appointed hour; and biddinghim good night (for it was always night in that place), Fred and theDead Man retired, leaving the _Kinchen_ and the stranger alone together.
'Well,' said the _Kinchen_--'so it seems that you have got into businessalready. Well and good--but I must caution you to beware of that DeadMan, for he is treacherous as a rattlesnake. He will betray you, ifanything is to be gained by it--and even when no advantage could begained, he will play the traitor out of sheer malice. He is well awarethat I, knowing his real character, would not join him in the business,and therefore he affected to think that my assistance was unnecessary.'
'I will look out for him,' rejoined the stranger--and then added, 'Iwill now thank you to conduct me out of this place, as I have matters toattend to elsewhere.'
The _Kinchen_ complied, and in ten minutes they emerged into the streetabove, by the same way they had entered.
Here they parted, the stranger having first presented the boy with aliberal remuneration for his services as guide, and made an appointmentto meet him on a future occasion.