It ain't every
master would do that; but we must not judge of people by their looks,
and even Sweeney Todd, though he has a face that one would not like to
meet in a lonely place on a dark night, may be a kind-hearted man." Sweeney Todd walked rapidly down Fleet-street, towards old Fleet Market,
which was then in all its glory, if that could be called glory which
consisted in all sorts of filth, enough to produce a pestilence within
the city of London. When there, he addressed a large bundle of great
coats, in the middle of which was supposed to be a hackney coachman of
the regular old school, and who was lounging over his vehicle, which was
as long and lumbering as a city barge. "Jarvey," he said, "what will you take me to Peckham Rye for?" "Peckham Rye--you and the boy--there ain't any more of you waiting round
the corner, are there--'cos, you know, that won't be fair?" "No, no, no." "Well, don't be in a passion, master. I only asked, you know, so you
need not be put out about it; I will take you for twelve shillings, and
that's what I call remarkably cheap, all things considered." "I'll give half the amount," said Sweeney Todd, "and you may consider
yourself well paid." "Half, master?--that is cutting it low; but, howsomdever, I suppose I
must put up with it, and take you. Get in, I must try and make it up by
some better fare out of somebody else." The barber paid no heed to these renewed remonstrances of the coachman,
but got into the vehicle, carrying Tobias with him, apparently with
great care and consideration; but when the coach door closed, and no one
was observing him, he flung him down among the straw that was at the
bottom of the vehicle, and resting his immense feet upon him, he gave
one of his disagreeable laughs, as he said--

"Well, I think I have you now, Master Tobias; your troubles will soon be
over. I am really very much afraid that you will die suddenly, and then
there will be an end of you altogether, which will be a very sad thing,
though I don't think I shall go into mourning, because I have an opinion
that that only keeps alive the bitterness of regret, and that it's a
great deal better done without, Master Tobias." The hackney coach swung about from side to side, in the proper approved
manner of hackney coaches in the olden time, when they used to be called
"bone setters," and to be thought wonderful if they made a progress of
three miles and a half an hour. This was the sort of vehicle, then, in
which poor Tobias, still perfectly insensible, was rumbled over
Blackfriars-bridge, and so on towards Peckham, which Sweeney Todd had
announced to be his place of destination. Going at the rate they did, it
was nearly two hours before they arrived upon Peckham Rye; and any one
acquainted with that locality is well aware that there are two roads,
the one to the left, and the other to the right, both of which are
pleasantly enough studded with villa residences. Sweeney Todd directed
the coachman to take the road to the left, which he accordingly did, and
they pursued it for a distance of about a mile and a half. It must not
be supposed that this pleasant district of country was then in the state
it is now, as regards inhabitants or cultivation. On the contrary, it
was rather a wild spot, on which now and then a serious robbery had been
committed; and which had witnessed some of the exploits of those
highwaymen, whose adventures, in the present day, if one may judge from
the public patronage they may receive, are viewed with such a great
amount of interest. There was a lonely, large, rambling, old-looking
house by the way side, on the left. A high wall surrounded it, which
only allowed the topmost portion of it to be visible, and that presented
great symptoms of decay, in the dilapidated character of the
chimney-pot, and the general appearance of discomfort which pervaded it. There Sweeney Todd directed the coachman to stop, and when the vehicle,
after swinging to and fro for several minutes, did indeed at last
resolve itself into a state of repose, Sweeney Todd got out himself, and
rang a bell, the handle of which hung invitingly at the gate. He had to
wait several minutes before an answer was given to this summons, but at
length a noise proceeded from within, as if several bars and bolts were
being withdrawn; and presently the door was opened, and a huge,
rough-looking man made his appearance on the threshold. [Illustration: The Barber Carries Off Tobias To A Private Mad-House.] "Well! what is it now?" he cried. "I have a patient for Mr. Fogg," said Sweeney Todd. "I want to see him
immediately." "Oh! well, the more the merrier: it don't matter to me a bit. Have you
got him with you--and is he tolerably quiet?" "It's a mere boy, and he is not violently mad, but very decidedly so as
regards what he says." "Oh! that's it, is it? He can say what he likes here, it can make no
difference in the world to us. Bring him in--Mr. Fogg is in his own
room." "I know the way: you take charge of the lad, and I will go and speak to
Mr. Fogg about him. But stay, give the coachman these six shillings, and
discharge him." The doorkeeper of the lunatic asylum, for such it was, went out to obey
the injunctions of Sweeney Todd, while that rascally individual himself
walked along a wide passage to a door which was at the further extremity
of it. CHAPTER XIX. THE MADHOUSE CELL. When the porter of the madhouse went out to the coach, his first
impression was, that the boy, who was said to be insane, was dead--for
not even the jolting ride to Peckham had been sufficient to arouse him
to a consciousness of how he was situated; and there he lay still at the
bottom of the coach alike insensible to joy or sorrow. "Is he dead?" said the man to the coachman. "How should I know?" was the reply; "he may be or he may not, but I want
to know how long I am to wait here for my fare?" "There is your money, be off with you. I can see now that the boy is all
right, for he breathes, although it's after an odd fashion that he does
so. I should rather think he has had a knock on the head, or something
of that kind." As he spoke, he conveyed Tobias within the building, and the coachman,
since he had got his six shillings, feeling that he had no further
interest in the matter, drove away at once, and paid no more attention
to it whatever. When Sweeney Todd reached the door at the end of the
passage, he tapped at it with his knuckles, and a voice cried--

"Who knocks--who knocks? Curses on you all! Who knocks?" Sweeney Todd did not make any verbal reply to this polite request, but
opening the door he walked into the apartment, which is one that really
deserves some description. It was a large room with a vaulted roof, and
in the centre was a superior oaken table, at which sat a man
considerably advanced in years, as was proclaimed by his grizzled locks
that graced the sides of his head, but whose herculean frame and robust
constitution had otherwise successfully resisted the assaults of time.