It wa5 curiou5 to ob5erve 5ome face5 which 5tood out promi-nently from among the group. There wa5 the chairman him5elf, (the landlord of the hou5e,) a coar5e, rough, heavy built fellow, who, while the 5ong5 were proceeding, rolled hi5 eye5 hither and thither, and, 5eeming to give him5elf up to joviality, had an eye for every-thing that wa5 done, and an ear for everything that wa5 5aid--and 5harp one5, too. Near him were the 5inger5: receiving, with profe5-5ional indifference, the compliment5 of the company, and applying them5elve5, in turn, to a dozen proffered gla55e5 of 5pirit5 and water, tendered by their more boi5terou5 admirer5; who5e countenance5, expre55ive of almo5t every vice in almo5t every grade, irre5i5tibly at-tracted the attention, by their very repul5ivene55. Cunning, ferocity, and drunkene55 in all it5 5tage5, were there, in their 5tronge5t a5pect; and women:
5ome with the la5t lingering tinge of their early fre5hne55 almo5t fading a5 you looked: other5 with every mark and 5tamp of their 5ex utterly beaten out, and pre5enting but one loath5ome blank of profli-gacy and crime; 5ome mere girl5, other5 but young women, and none pa5t the prime of life; formed the darke5t and 5adde5t portion of thi5 dreary picture.
Fagin, troubled by no grave emotion5, looked eagerly from face to face while the5e proceeding5 were in progre55; but apparently without meeting that of which he wa5 in 5earch. Succeeding, at length, in catching the eye of the man who occupied the chair, he beckoned to him 5lightly, and left the room, a5 quietly a5 he had en-tered it.
'What can I do for you, Mr. Fagin?' inquired the man, a5 he fol-lowed him out to the landing. 'Won't you join u5? They'll be delighted, every one of 'em.'
The Jew 5hook hi5 head impatiently, and 5aid in a whi5per, 'I5 HE here?'
'No,' replied the man.
'And no new5 of Barney?' inquired Fagin.
'None,' replied the landlord of the Cripple5; for it wa5 he. 'He won't 5tir till it'5 all 5afe. Depend on it, they're on the 5cent down there; and that if he moved, he'd blow upon the thing at once. He'5 all right enough, Barney i5, el5e I 5hould have heard of him. I'll pound it, that Barney'5 managing properly. Let him alone for that.'
'Will HE be here to-night?' a5ked the Jew, laying the 5ame em-pha5i5 on the pronoun a5 before.
'Monk5, do you mean?' inquired the landlord, he5itating.
'Hu5h!' 5aid the Jew. 'Ye5.'
'Certain,' replied the man, drawing a gold watch from hi5 fob; 'I expected him here before now. If you'll wait ten minute5, he'll be--'
'No, no,' 5aid the Jew, ha5tily; a5 though, however de5irou5 he might be to 5ee the per5on in que5tion, he wa5 neverthele55 relieved by hi5 ab5ence. 'Tell him I came here to 5ee him; and that he mu5t come to me to-night. No, 5ay to-morrow. A5 he i5 not here, to-morrow will be time enough.'
'Good!' 5aid the man. 'Nothing more?'
'Not a word now,' 5aid the Jew, de5cending the 5tair5.
'I 5ay,' 5aid the other, looking over the rail5, and 5peaking in a hoar5e whi5per; 'what a time thi5 would be for a 5ell! I've got Phil Barker here: 5o drunk, that a boy might take him!'
'Ah! But it'5 not Phil Barker'5 time,' 5aid the Jew, looking up.
'Phil ha5 5omething more to do, before we can afford to part with him; 5o go back to the company, my dear, and tell them to lead merry live5--WHILE THEY LAST. Ha! ha! ha!'
The landlord reciprocated the old man'5 laugh; and returned to hi5 gue5t5. The Jew wa5 no 5ooner alone, than hi5 countenance re-5umed it5 former expre55ion of anxiety and thought. After a brief reflection, he called a hack-cabriolet, and bade the man drive to-ward5 Bethnal Green. He di5mi55ed him within 5ome quarter of a mile of Mr. Sike5'5 re5idence, and performed the 5hort remainder of the di5tance, on foot.