I replied, pulling up, 'here is the last house we shall
come to, to have a good stiff tumbler of hot brandy and water. Come,
have you any change--about a sovereign will do, because I shall want
change on the road? Come, be quick.' "He handed me a sovereign, saying--

"'Don't you think it's dangerous to stop--we may be watched, or she may
wake.' "'Not a bit of it. She snores too loudly to wake just now, and you'll
faint without the cordial; so keep a good look-out upon the wench, and
you will recover your nerves again.' "As I spoke I jumped out, and got two glasses of brandy and water, hot,
strong, and sweet, I had in about two minutes made, out of the house. "'Here,' said I, 'drink--drink it all up--it will make your eyes start
out of your head.' "I spoke the truth, for what with my recommendations, and his
nervousness and haste, he drank nearly half of it at a gulp. "I shall never forget his countenance. Ha! ha! ha! I can't keep my mirth
to myself. Just imagine the girl inside a covered cart, all dark, so
dark that you could hardly see the outline of the shadow of a man, and
then imagine, if you can, a pair of keen eyes, that shone in the dark
like cat's eyes, suddenly give out a flash of light, and then turn round
in their sockets, showing the whites awfully, and then listen to the
fall of the glass, and see him grasp his throat with one hand, and
thrust the other hand into his stomach. There was a queer kind of voice
came from his throat, and then something like a curse and a groan
escaped him. "'Damn it,' said I, 'what is the matter now?--you've upset all the
liquor--you are very nervous--you had better have another dose.' "'No more--no more,' he said faintly and huskily, 'no more--for God's
sake no more. I am almost choked--my throat is scalded, and my entrails
on fire!' "'I told you it was hot,' said I. "'Yes, hot, boiling hot--go on. I'm mad with pain--push on.' "'Will you have any water, or anything to cool your throat?' said I. "'No, no--go on.' "'Yes,' said I, 'but the brandy and water is hot; however, it's going
down very fast now--very fast indeed, here is the last mouthful;' and as
I said so, I gulped it down, returned with the one glass, and then paid
for the damage. "This did not occupy five minutes, and away we came along the road at a
devil of a pace, and we were all right enough; my friend behind me got
over his scald, though he had a very sore gullet, and his intestines
were in a very uncomfortable state; but he was better. Away we rattled,
the ground rattling to the horse's hoofs and the wheels of the vehicle,
the young girl still remaining in the same state of insensibility in
which she had first been brought out. No doubt she had taken a stronger
dose of the opium than she was willing to admit. That was nothing to me,
but made it all the better, because she gave the less trouble, and made
it safer. We got here easy enough, drove slap up to the door, which was
opened in an instant, jumped out, took the girl, and carried her in. When once these doors are shut upon any one, they may rest assured that
it is quite a settled thing, and they don't get out very easy, save in a
wooden surtout; indeed, I never lost a boarder by any other means; we
always keep one connection, and they are usually so well satisfied, that
they never take any one away from us. Well, well! I carried her indoors,
and left her in a room by herself on a bed. She was a nice girl--a
handsome girl, I suppose people would call her, and had a low, sweet,
and plaintive voice. But enough of this. "'She's all right,' said I, when I returned to this room, 'It's all
right--I have left her.' "'She isn't dead,' he inquired, with much terror. "'Oh! no, no! she is only asleep, and has not woke up yet from the
effects of the laudanum. Will you now give me one year's pay in
advance?' "'Yes,' he replied, as he handed the money, and the remainder of the
bonds. 'Now, how am I to do about getting back to London to-night?' "'You had better remain here.' "'Oh, no! I should go mad too, if I were to remain here; I must leave
here soon.' "'Well, will you go to the village inn?' "'How far is that off?' "'About a mile--you'll reach it easy enough; I'll drive you over for the
matter of that, and leave you there. I shall take the cart there.' "'Very well, let it be so; I will go. Well, well, I am glad it is all
over, and the sooner it is over for ever, the better. I am truly sorry
for her, but it cannot be helped. It will kill her, I have no doubt; but
that is all the better: she will escape the misery consequent upon her
departure, and release us from a weight of care.' "'So it will,' said I 'but come, we must go at once, if going you are.' "'Yes, yes,' he said hurriedly. "'Well then, come along; the horse is not yet unharnessed, and if we do
not make haste, we shall be too late to obtain a lodging for the night.' "'That is very good,' he said, somewhat wildly: 'I am quite
ready--quite.' "We left the house, and trotted off to the inn at a good rate, where we
arrived in about ten minutes or less, and then I put up the horse, and
saw him to the inn, and came back as quick as I could on foot. 'Well,
well,' I thought, 'this will do, I have had a good day of it--paid well
for business, and haven't wanted for sport on the road.' "Well, I came to the conclusion that if the whole affair was to speedily
end, it would be more in my pocket than if she were living, and she
would be far happier in heaven than here, Mr. Todd." "Undoubtedly," said Mr. Sweeney Todd, "undoubtedly, that is a very just
observation of yours." "Well, then, I set to work to find out how the matter could be managed,
and I watched her until she awoke. She looked around her, and seemed
much surprised and confused, and did not seem to understand her
position, while I remained at hand." "She sighed deeply, and put her hand to her head, and appeared for a
time to be quite unable to comprehend what had happened to her, or where
she was. I sent some tea to her, as I was not prepared to execute my
purpose, and she seemed to recover, and asked some questions, but my man
was dumb for the occasion, and would not speak, and the result was, she
was very much frightened. I left her so for a week or two, and then, one
day, I went into her cell. She had greatly altered in her appearance,
and looked very pale. "'Well,' said I, 'how do you find yourself, now?' "She looked up into my face, and shuddered; but she said in a calm
voice, looking round her--

"'Where am I?' "'You are here!' said I, 'and you'll be very comfortable if you only
take on kindly, but you will have a strait waistcoat put on you if you
do not.' "'Good God!' she exclaimed, clasping her hands, 'have they put me
here--in--in--'

"She could not finish the sentence, and I supplied the word which she
did not utter, and then she screamed loudly--

"'Come,' said I, 'this will never do; you must learn to be quiet, or
you'll have fearful consequences.' "'Oh mercy, mercy! I will do no wrong!