I can only wish for a power of action I shall never possess. Alas, alas! I am very sad, and know not what will become of me. I wish
that I was in my grave, and there I am sure I shall be soon, unless
something happens to turn the tide of all this wretched evil fortune
that has come upon me." It was in vain for Tobias to think of vexing himself with conjectures as
to what Sweeney Todd was about to do with so much finery, for he had not
the remotest foundation to go upon in the matter, and could not for the
life of him imagine any possible contingency or chance which should make
it necessary for the barber to deck himself in such gaudy apparel. All
he could do was to lay down in his own mind a general principle as
regarded Sweeney Todd's conduct, and that consisted in the fact, that
whatever might be his plans, and whatever might be his objects, they
were for no good purpose; but, on the contrary, were most certainly
intended for the accomplishment of some great evil which that most
villanous person intended to perpetrate. "I will observe all I can," thought Tobias to himself, "and do what I
can to put a stop to his mischiefs; but I fear it will be very little he
will allow me to observe, and perhaps still less that he will allow me
to do; but I can but try, and do my best." Poor Tobias's best, as regarded achieving anything against Sweeney Todd,
we may well suppose would be little indeed, for that individual was not
the man to give anybody an opportunity of doing much; and, possessed as
he was of the most consummate art, as well as the greatest possible
amount of unscrupulousness, there can be very little doubt but that any
attempt poor Tobias might make would recoil upon himself. In about half
an hour the barber returned, and his first question was--

"Have any things been left for me?" "Yes, sir," said Tobias, "here are two parcels, and a boy has been to
say that the carriage will be ready at half-past seven precisely." "'Tis well," said the barber, "that will do; and Tobias, you will be
careful, whilst I am gone, of the shop. I shall be back in half an hour,
mind you, and not later; and be sure that I find you here at your post. But you may say, if any one comes here on business, there will be
neither shaving nor dressing to-night. You understand me?" "Yes, sir, certainly." Sweeney Todd then took the bundles which contained the costly apparel,
and retired into the parlour with them; and, as it was then seven
o'clock, Tobias correctly enough supposed that he had gone to dress
himself, and he waited with a considerable amount of curiosity to see
what sort of an appearance the barber would cut in his fine apparel. Tobias had not to control his impatience long, for in less than twenty
minutes, out came Sweeney Todd, attired in the very height of fashion
for the period. His waistcoat was something positively gorgeous, and his
fingers were loaded with such costly rings, that they quite dazzled the
sight of Tobias to look upon; then, moreover, he wore a sword with a
jewelled hilt, but it was one which Tobias really thought he had seen
before, for he had a recollection that a gentleman had come to have his
hair dressed, and had taken it off, and laid just such a sword across
his hat during the operation. "Remember," said Sweeney Todd, "remember your instructions; obey them to
the letter, and no doubt you will ultimately become happy and
independent." With these words, Sweeney Todd left the place, and poor Tobias looked
after him with a frown, as he repeated the words--

"Happy and independent. Alas! what a mockery it is of this man to speak
to me in such a way--I only wish that I were dead!" But we will leave Tobias to his own reflections, and follow the more
interesting progress of Sweeney Todd, who, for some reason best known to
himself, was then playing so grand a part, and casting away so large a
sum of money. He made his way to a livery-stables in the immediate
neighbourhood, and there, sure enough, the horses were being placed to a
handsome carriage; and all being very soon in readiness, Sweeney Todd
gave some whispered directions to the driver, and the vehicle started
off westward. At that time Hyde Park Corner was very nearly out of town,
and it looked as if you were getting a glimpse of the country, and
actually seeing something of the peasantry of England, when you got
another couple of miles off, and that was the direction in which Sweeney
Todd went; and as he goes, we may as well introduce to the reader the
sort of individual whom he was going to visit in so much state, and for
whom he thought it necessary to go to such great expense. At that period
the follies and vices of the nobility were somewhere about as great as
they are now, and consequently extravagance induced on many occasions
tremendous sacrifice of money, and it was found extremely convenient on
many occasions for them to apply to a man of the name of John Mundel, an
exceedingly wealthy person, a Dutchman by extraction, who was reported
to make immense sums of money by lending to the nobility and others what
they required on emergencies, at enormous rates of interest. But it must
not be supposed that John Mundel was so confiding as to lend his money
without security. It was quite the reverse, for he took care to have the
jewels, some costly plate, or the title-deeds of an estate, perchance,
as security, before he would part with a single shilling of his cash. In
point of fact, John Mundel was nothing more than a pawnbroker on a very
extensive scale, and, although he had an office in town, he usually
received his more aristocratic customers at his private residence, which
was about two miles off, on the Uxbridge Road. After this explanation,
it can very easily be imagined what was the scheme of Sweeney Todd, and
that he considered, if he borrowed from John Mundel a sum equal in
amount to half the real value of the pearls, he should be well rid of a
property which he certainly could not sufficiently well account for the
possession of, to enable him to dispose of it openly to the highest
bidder. We give Sweeney Todd great credit for the scheme he proposed. It
was eminently calculated to succeed, and one which, in the way he
undertook it, was certainly set about in the best possible style. During
the ride, he revolved in his mind exactly what he should say to John
Mundel, and, from what we know of him, we may be well convinced that
Sweeney Todd was not likely to fail from any amount of bashfulness in
the transaction; but that, on the contrary, he was just the man to
succeed in any scheme which required great assurance to carry it
through; for he was most certainly master of great assurance, and
possessed of a kind of diplomatic skill, which, had fortune placed him
in a more elevated position of life, would no doubt have made a great
man of him, and gained him great political reputation.