The Trail of the Serpent

by Mary Elizabeth Braddon

  CHAPTER V. THE NEW MIILKMAN IN PARK LANE

  1. tiger: pageboy.

  2. Calting or the Anthinium: The Carlton and the Athenaeum were exclusive gentlemen’s clubs.

  CHAPTER VI. SIGNOR MIOSQJJETTI RELATES AN ADVENTURE

  1. point-d’Alençon: a type of needlepoint lace.

  2. Lyons and Spitalfields: areas of France and London where many silk-weavers lived and worked.

  3. buffo duet: a comic duet, usually sung by two deep male voices.

  4. the Cenerentola: La Cenerentola is an opera by Rossini (1792–1868), based on the Cinderella story. It was first performed in 1817.

  5. Erard: Sebastien Erard (1752–1831), maker of high-quality pianos and harpsichords.

  6. Charlemagne: Charles the Great (742–814), who united and expanded the Frankish Empire.

  7. Louis XV: King Louis XV of France (1710–74), who ascended to the throne in 1715 while still a child.

  8. lower House: House of Commons.

  CHAPTER VII. THE GOLDEN SECRET IS TOLD, AND THE GOLDEN BOWL Is BROKEN

  1. the golden bowl is broken: from the Bible: “Or ever the silver cord be loosed or the golden bowl be broken” (Eccles. 12:6).

  2. Lawrence Sterne on a sentimental journey: Laurence Sterne (1713–68) was the author of several novels, including A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy (1768). He is best known for his comic novel The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy (1761–67).

  3. Seven Dials: notorious slum area of London, near Covent Garden. It is now a fashionable shopping area.

  4. comes to Lambeth and murders an Archbishop of Canterbury: The Archbishop of Canterbury is head of the Church of England. His (or her) official residence is Lambeth Palace, in London.

  5. Atkinson’s: This reference has not been satisfactorily identified. It would appear to refer to a beautician or supplier of stage makeup.

  6. Burlington Arcade: an expensive shopping arcade in central London.

  7. ‘Marquis of Granby’: a common name for public houses in the U.K.

  CHAPTER VIII. ONE STEP FURTHER ON THE RIGHT TRACK

  1. Cavendish: Cavendish refers to a brand of strong American tobacco sweetened with molasses; bird’s-eye: cheap, strong tobacco (Braddon, Lady Audley’s Secret, chapter 4: “Who could have ever expected that a dragoon would drink sixpenny ale, smoke horrid bird’s-eye tobacco, and let his wife wear a shabby bonnet?”); Turkey rhubarb: a plant of the dock family (Polygonaceae), also known as East Indian Rhubarb and Chinese Rhubarb. The root can be used to make a laxative, and is still used today in alternative medicine; otto of roses: attar of roses, a fragrant oil or perfume essence obtained from rose petals.

  2. Doctor Dee: John Dee (1527–1608), English alchemist, geographer, and mathematician who was astrologer to the court of Elizabeth I.

  3. Mokannah: Mokanna (usually spelled without the h) is the eponymous protagonist of “The Veiled Prophet of Khorassan,” the first “poetical tale” in Thomas Moore’s book-length poem Lalla Rookh (1817). According to Moore, Hakim ben Allah, surnamed “the Veiled” (Mokanna), was the founder of an eighth-century Arab sect. He wore a silver veil over his face to hide the fact that he had lost an eye in battle, but he told his followers that he was veiled because his face was too radiant for them to see safely. Moore describes him as:

  … the Prophet-Chief

  The Great Mokanna. O’er his features

  The Veil, the Silver Veil which he had flung

  In mercy there, to hide from mortal sight

  His dazzling brow, till man could bear its light.

  Mokanna led a revolt against Islam. When he was defeated he threw a banquet at which he poisoned all his followers, then committed suicide by throwing himself into burning acid.

  4. Pinnock: See Book the Fourth, ch. I, note 13 (p. 443).

  5. Bragelonne: Le Vicomte de Bragelonne, French title of the novel The Man in the Iron Mask (1846), by Alexandre Dumas (1802–70). The book was not published in English until 1858, which is why Darley has it in the original French. Victorians regarded reading French novels as a sign of dissipation and lack of moral fiber, as they were considered to be highly immoral.

  6. Michel Lévy: nineteenth-century Parisian publisher whose authors included Dumas and Flaubert.

  7. Tony Johannot: nineteenth-century French illustrator.

  8. Monsieur d’Artagnan: hero of Alexandre Dumas’s novel The Three Musketeers (1844) and its sequels, Twenty Years After (1845) and The Man in the Iron Mask (1846).

  9. olla podrida: (Spanish) assorted mixture, miscellany.

  CHAPTER IX. CAPTAIN LANSDOWN OVERHEARS A CONVERSATION WHICH APPEARS TO INTEREST HIM

  1. Wouvermanns: Philips Wouwerman (c. 1619–68), Peter Wouwerman (1623–82), and Jan Wouwerman (1629–66) were Dutch brothers who painted small landscapes and battle scenes.

  2. a marriage only in name: i.e., unconsummated.

  BOOK THE SIXTH. ON THE TRACK

  CHAPTER I. FATHER AND SON

  1. not enough blue in the gloomy sky to make the smallest article of wearing apparel—no, not so much as a pair of wrist-bands for an unhappy seaman: An English folk saying is that cloudy weather will turn fine “if there is enough blue in the sky to make a pair of sailor’s trousers.”

  2. Old Parr: Thomas Parr, a Shropshire agricultural laborer, said to have lived 152 years and 9 months. He died in 1635 and is buried in Westminster Abbey. According to folklore, he married his first wife when he was eighty, and fathered an illegitimate child when he was one hundred. He said that he maintained his good health by abstaining from smoking, and living on a diet of cheese, onions, bread, buttermilk, and mild ale, with the occasional drink of cider. His recipe for a long life was reputed to be “Keep your head cool by temperance and your feet warm by exercise. Rise early, go soon to bed, and if you want to grow fat [prosperous] keep your eyes open and your mouth shut.”

  3. Oliver Goldsmith: English novelist (1728–74), chiefly famous for The Vicar of Wakefield (1766).

  CHAPTER II. RAYMOND DE MIAROLLES SHOWS HIMSELF BETTER THAN ALL BOW STREET

  1. Mephistopheles … Doctor Faustus: In The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus (c. 1592), by Christopher Marlowe (1564–93), Faustus sells his soul to the devil, Mephistopheles.

  2. Mr. Carlyle: Thomas Carlyle (1798–1881) was an essayist and historian who held that the past was superior to the present.

  3. Jardin des Plantes: zoo.

  4. that dreadful Corsican person: Napoleon.

  CHAPTER III. THE LEFT-HANDED SMASHER MIAKES HIS MIARK

  1. white-cliffed Albion: England. The white cliffs of Dover were the first part of England seen by passengers traveling on the cross-Channel ships.

  2. the blue-coated British Sbirri of Sir Robert Peel: the police. Sir Robert Peel (1788–1850) was the founder of the London police force. The police wore blue uniforms and were sometimes derogatively known as “bluebottles.” The Sbirri were a Papal police force domiciled in private houses in the Papal dominions.

  3. votaries of Thespis: actors and theatergoers. In Greek mythology, Thespis was the muse of acting.

  4. free trade: an economic doctrine that trade between different countries should not be restricted in any way; there should be no tariffs or other barriers. This doctrine was hotly debated in the early Victorian era, and led to the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846.

  5. tuft-hunter: a toady—one who tries to curry favor with the rich and powerful.

  6. Lady of Lyons: a play by Braddon’s friend and mentor Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton (1803–73), first performed in 1838. Braddon was a member of theater companies that performed this play several times during 1850–59. In June 1858, it was performed at the Theatre Royal, Coventry, with Braddon in the role of Widow Melmotte. (For details, see Carnell, pp. 339–40.) Bulwer Lytton’s prolific output included numerous novels, plays, and poems. Nowadays he is chiefly (if unfairly) remembered as the author of what is regarded as the worst opening line in literature, “It was a dark and stormy night an
d the rain fell in torrents—except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness” (Paul Clifford, 1830). Bulwer Lytton became a member of Parliament in 1831, and was colonial secretary during 1858–59. He was knighted in 1866.

  7. Bobby: policeman. Policemen were given the nicknames “bobbies” and “peelers” because the founder of the police force was Sir Robert Peel.

  8. Republic of Plato: ancient Greek philosopher Plato wrote about the ideal society in his Republic.

  CHAPTER IV. WHAT THEY FIND IN THE ROOM IN WHICH THE MIURDER WAS COMMITTED

  1. Rosicrucian: a mystical movement founded by Christian Rosenkreutz (1378–1484). Its adherents called themselves Brothers of the Rosy Cross, Rosy-Cross Knights, and Rosy-Cross Philosophers; its adepts were called Illuminati. A version of the society still survives today.

  2. Freemasonry: a fraternal order officially known as the Free and Accepted Masons, or Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. Only men are accepted into the order, which mainly flourishes in the U.K. and the United States. Members are sworn to secrecy about the Masonic rituals.

  3. Hebe: in Greek mythology, the goddess of youth and beauty, daughter of Zeus and Hera.

  4. Plancus: Lucius Munatius Plancus, ancient Roman politician, general and friend of Julius Caesar and the Emperor Augustus. His mausoleum at Monte Orlando overlooks the city of Gaeta on the Mediterranean and is considered to be the best-preserved Roman tomb in Italy.

  5. Beulah Spa: a spa and pleasure resort in the London suburb of Upper Norwood. Founded in 1831, it covered thirty acres and included a maze, camera obscura, and archery ground. The pump room and other spa buildings were designed by Decimus Burton. It closed in 1855, and most of the buildings were demolished in 1879. The name Beulah originated in the Bible as a name for the land of Israel. In John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress it is the name of a land of peace next door to heaven.

  6. Mr. Robson at the Olympic: Actor Frederick Robson (1822–64) appeared at London’s Olympic Theatre in plays ranging from melodramas to Shakespeare. Queen Victoria admired him greatly and referred to him as the “Great Robson.” For details of his career, see Mollie Sands, Robson of the Olympic (London: The Society for Theatre Research, 1979).

  7. mean-spirited Stuart … death of a traitor Sir Walter Raleigh was executed for treason in 1618, by command of James I (James Stuart).

  8. scroop: creak, squeak, or grate.

  9. damask: type of linen used for tablecloths.

  CHAPTER V. MR. PETERS DECIDES ON A STRANGE STEP, AND ARRESTS THE DEAD

  1. unbranded forehead: According to the Bible, Cain, the first murderer, was marked by God with a brand on his forehead (Gen. 4:15).

  2. I should glory in seeing him hung: In Victorian Britain, the punishment for murder was death by hanging. Hangings were held in public until 1868. They drew large crowds, who were often badly behaved. After attending a public hanging in 1846, novelist Charles Dickens wrote to the Daily News: “I did not see one token in all the immense crowd; at the windows, in the streets, on the house-tops, anywhere; of any one emotion suitable to the occasion. No sorrow, no salutary terror, no abhorrence, no seriousness; nothing but ribaldry, debauchery, levity, drunkenness, and flaunting vice in fifty other shapes. I should have deemed it impossible that I could have ever felt any large assemblage of my fellow-creatures to be so odious” (Daily News, February 28, 1846).

  3. third state: the common people. The Third Estate was the collective title taken by the French revolutionaries.

  4. Oath of the Tenis Court: oath taken by the leaders of the French Revolution on June 20, 1789. The oath legalized the Revolution and committed its leaders to providing France with a constitution.

  5. Battle of Waterloo: the 1815 battle at which Napoleon was finally defeated.

  6. Astley’s: a theater in London.

  7. Jenny Lind: Jenny Lind (1820–87), born in Stockholm, was known as the “Swedish Nightingale.” A soprano, she appeared throughout Europe in concerts and operas and became one of the best-known singers of her day. After 1856, she lived in England and became professor of singing at the Royal College of Music (1883–86).

  8. Figlia: La Figlia del Reggimento (The Daughter of the Regiment), an opera by Donizetti, was first performed in 1840. The heroine, orphaned from birth, was brought up by a regiment of soldiers. She falls in love with a man suspected of being a spy for the enemy.

  9. brown stouts: beer similar to Guinness.

  10. Liza: The character is referred to by the much more upper-class name of “Sophia Maria” on p. 228. One of these names is presumably a nickname. Alternatively, Braddon, who was writing under pressure, may simply have forgotten the name she had originally given this character. This character also appears under the same two names in the novel’s earlier version, Three Times Dead.

  11. the Life: the Sporting Life, a newspaper devoted solely to sport.

  12. Rhadamanthine: severe, inflexible. In Greek mythology Rhadamanthus, son of Zeus and Europa, was one of the judges in the lower world.

  13. “keeping company”: courting.

  14. Mr. Calcraft: William Calcraft (1800–79) was England’s longest serving public executioner, holding the post from 1829 to 1874. He carried out several hundred hangings, including Britain’s last public hanging, that of the Fenian bomber Michael Barrett, outside Newgate prison on May 26, 1868.

  15. Vidocque: Eugène François Vidocq (1775–1857), famous French detective. Formerly a convicted criminal, he joined the French police in 1809 and rose to become head of the detective branch. He published the first volume of his memoirs in 1828, and an English translation was published in the same year. His adventures remained popular with the British public, and a two-act melodrama, Vidocq! the French Police Spy!, appeared in 1852. A film, Vidocq, based on his adventures, was released in 2000, starring Gerard Depardieu. For further details of Vidocq’s career, see Stead, J. P., Vidocq. A Biography (New York: Staples Press, 1953), and Gerson, Noel Bertram, The Vidocq Dossier: The Story of the World’s First Detective (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1977).

  16. blushing unseen and wasting his stamina, if not his sweetness, on the desert air: a parody of well-known lines from “Elegy in a Country Churchyard,” by Thomas Gray (1716–71): “Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, / And waste its sweetness on the desert air.”

  17. devilled kidneys: kidneys cooked with a spicy seasoning.

  18. rifacimento: renaissance.

  19. afflatus: divine guidance, inspiration.

  20. Chevalier Bunsen: Christian Charles Bunsen (1791–1860), Prussian scholar and diplomat, who was ambassador to England and a friend of Florence Nightingale.

  21. three-per-cents: shares yielding a profit of three percent per annum.

  22. ferrule: metal ring or cap protecting the tip of an umbrella.

  23. protean: changing shape frequently. In Greek mythology, Proteus was a sea-god who could change his shape at will.

  24. something like that of Lancaster, and distinguished for its tendency to mount: In Shakespeare’s King Henry IV Part 2, Lancaster says that Falstaff’s blood is “too heavy to mount” (IV.iii. 52, Modern Library ed.).

  25. animadversions: criticisms, censure. From the Latin animadvertere, to turn the mind to something.

  26. Mr. William Macready: William Charles Macready (1793–1873) was an English actor-manager who became the manager of several Covent Garden and Drury Lane theaters.

  27. sotto voce: quietly, in a whisper; from Italian, meaning “below the voice.”

  CHAPTER VI. THE END OF THE DARK ROAD

  1. a bob: a shilling (twelve pence in pre-decimal U.K. coinage, five pence in decimal coinage).

  2. a tanner: sixpence.

  3. cabbage-net: a small net in which cabbage leaves are shaken to dry after they have been washed in preparation for ea
ting.

  4. the execution of the Frenchman Joseph Lesurges, for the murder of the Courier of Lyons: The Courier of Lyons was a play by French writers Moreau, Siraudin, and Delacour, based on a crime that had taken place in France in 1795. It was first performed in France in 1850 and in England, in 1851, in translation. In the play, a thief called Duboso robs the night-mail from Lyons and murders the courier. He bears such a strong likeness to the innocent Joseph Lesurques that Lesurques is arrested and sentenced to die in his place. One of the witnesses against him is his own father, who cannot tell the two men apart. In the actual case, and in the French version of the play, Lesurques is guillotined, but in the English translation he is saved at the last minute. Braddon appeared in The Courier of Lyons at the Theatre Royal, Brighton, in September 1858, taking the role of Janette, who exposes the murderer’s true identity. (For details, see Carnell, p. 342.)

  5. Elizabeth Canning: Elizabeth Canning was an eighteen-year-old London servant who disappeared on January 1, 1753. She reappeared a month later, emaciated, dirty, and in rags, claiming that she had been abducted and forced into prostitution. She identified her abductor as Mary Squires, a seventy-five-year-old gypsy. Squires denied the charges and produced an alibi, but was found guilty at the Old Bailey Sessions before the Lord Mayor, Sir Crisp Gascoyne. She was executed, and her alleged accomplice, Susannah Wells, was branded and imprisoned. But Gascoyne later obtained a Royal Pardon for Squires and had Canning prosecuted for perjury. Although thirty people gave evidence of her good character, she was found guilty and sentenced to the penal colony in Australia for seven years. The case caused great controversy. According to The Newgate Calendar, “No affair that was ever determined in a judicial way did, perhaps, so much excite the curiosity of the public, as that in question. The newspapers and magazines were for a long time filled with little else than accounts of Canning and Squires.” (Wilson, George Theodore, The Newgate Calendar [1816; reprinted London: Cardinal, 1991], p. 290.)