Ill-kept and ill-ventilated, the air was loaded with noxious effluvia, while the various abominations that met the eye at every turn would have been sufficient to produce the distemper in any one who had come in contact with them.

They were, however, utterly disregarded by the miserable sufferers and their attendants.

The magnificent painted windows were dimmed by a thick clammy steam, which could scarcely be washed off--while the carved oak screens, the sculptured tombs, the pillars, the walls, and the flagged floors were covered with impurities.
Satisfied with a brief survey of this frightful scene, Leonard turned to depart, and was passing the entrance to Saint Faith's, which stood open, when he caught sight of Judith standing at the foot of the broad stone steps, and holding a lamp in her hand.

She was conversing with a tall richly-dressed man, whose features he fancied he had seen before, though he could not at the moment call them to mind.

After a brief conversation, they moved off into the depths of the vault, and he lost eight of them.