Willie and the mortage, showing how much may be accomplished b y a boy . Tomms was now so intoxicated that he was utterly in-sensible to every thing which might take place around him, shegave up the struggle which she had been making so long to keepher excitement under control, and her insanity returned in all itsforce. She first began rummaging about upon the shelves of thestore that were nearest her, and pulling down shawls, and dresses,and ribbons in great numbers, she decked herself out in the mostfantastic manner with them, strewing the rest of the things allover the floor. In this guise
Willie and the mortage, showing how much may be accomplished b y a boy . Tomms was now so intoxicated that he was utterly in-sensible to every thing which might take place around him, shegave up the struggle which she had been making so long to keepher excitement under control, and her insanity returned in all itsforce. She first began rummaging about upon the shelves of thestore that were nearest her, and pulling down shawls, and dresses,and ribbons in great numbers, she decked herself out in the mostfantastic manner with them, strewing the rest of the things allover the floor. In this guise she danced about, stopping now andthen to rail incoherently at her victim, or to make grimaces at him. After a while, she found a box half full of candles on a shelf. THE CATASTROPHE. 147 She lights a great many candles. Picture of her. She immediately began to take out the candles, and light themone by one. She put some of them into the tumblers and mugs,and others into the mouths of empty bottles, until the whole storewas illuminated with the light. -1:3^ l€ t 11. Now, old shark, said she, I can see to kill saying, she took down the hammer from the place where itwas hanging on its nail, and came with it behind her sleeping vic-tim, and raised it in the air over his head, as if about to strike 148 THE CATASTROPHE. Her dreadful animosity against old Tomms. with it a prodigious blow. After poising the instrument a momentin the air, she seemed to alter her mind. So she threw the ham-mer away with all her force across the store. It struck amongthe mass of bottles on a shelf, and broke them with a great paid no attention to this noise, but went round immediatelyto Mr. Tomms feet, and, taking hold of them with both her arms,she pulled him down from his chair to the floor. The fall wasbroken, in some degree, by the rounds of the chair, which the backof his head grazed in coming down, but his head struck the floorwith a heavy blow, which seemed almost enough to br
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1850, bookidwilliemortag, bookyear1854
