The Young Duchess; or, Memoirs of a Lady of Quality — page 161: what you’re looking at

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THE YOUNG DUCHESS; OR, MEMOIRS OF A LADY OF QUALITY. specimen of the ursine race—and it had been drilled by theatrical discipline into comparative harmless- ness. In ashort time, therefore, Mr. Casey junior was rescued from the embrace of the bear—but only to encounter a tremendous horse-laugh sounding in his ear; and on turning with rage and humiliation to see from whom the taunting cachinnation emanated, his looks met the malicious regards of Mr. Blundell, the acrobat, dressed as Orson. Sylvester was in his heart a desperate coward : but there are moments when even the greatest poltroons in the universe may be goaded to despe- ration. Such was the case in the present instance. Sylvester thought of his wrongs :—back to his memory flashed all that he had heard pass betwixt Alice and Mr. Blundell; and though nearly all the breath had been squeezed out of his body, and he had at first sunk panting and exhausted into the arms of one of the scene-shifters, he now made a desperate rush at the acrobat, and hurled him against the King, who in his royal robes of tinsel and a crown of pasteboard on his head, was gazing with all the majestic condescension of hilariousness upon the scene. The royal personage began to blaspheme in a manner highly inconsistent with the dignity of his regal office; while Mr. Blundell, picking himseif up, flew at Sylvester, vowing amidst a series of imprecations which even out-Heroded the King’s, that he would smash his assailant everlastingly. But all of a sudden a beauteous form, clad in aerial garments, glided betwixt the fierce Orson (Mr. Blundell), and his intended victim (Mr. Sylvester Casey): so that the effect was magical. Mr. Blundell fell back ; and Syl- vester was dragged by a pair of naked white arms into the ladies’ dressing-room, where his fair deliverer at once bolted the door. She and Syl- vester were now alone there together ; and per- haps our readers may not be altogether very much surprised when we inform thei that the beauteous being was none other than Miss Alice Denton. Mr. Blundell fell back so suddenly, and ab- stained from aily remonstrance against the fact of iiss Denton’s thus bearing off the object of his hatred, for the simple reason that it all in a mo- ment flashed to his mind how expedient it would be to suffer the syren to make her peace with the person who allowed her two guineas and a half a week: for the worthy acrobat suddenly sus- pected that as Sylvester had evidently entered the premises in darkness and stealthiness, he might have overheard what took place between himself (Mr. Blundell) and the frail fair one. As for the rest of the company, they likewise winked at Alice taking the young man into the dressing- room ; for it was pretty generally known that she was under his protection. But let us re-enter that dressing-room. Syl- vester threw himself on a seat, panting for breath— bewildered and discomfited—half enraged against Alice, yet half inclined to be thankful for the timely succour with which she had rescued him from the fury of the acrobat and the terrible im- precations of the King. As for the young lady herself, she leant against the wall and burst out into as merry and genuine a peal of laughter as was ever heard within that sanctum of Thespian toilet. At length the laughter died away—and 147 Sylvester began to recover breath as well as self- possession. ‘*'Well,” he said, in a sulky tone, ‘this is a precious rum start, and as queer a go as ever J knew in all my life! To be hugged by a. bear, and insulted by a set of brutal wretches ‘“Who do you mean, Sylvester?” asked Alice quickly. ‘‘'Well—and I may add too to be made a fool of and laughed at by one that ought to know better—particularly after the blow-out of white-- bait and champagne I gave you a fortnight, ” ago “Oh! you are alluding to me—are you?” cried Alice. ‘ And pray, who could help laughing ?” “ Well, I tell you what it is,” interrupted Syl- vester: “the game’s up between you and me, Alice—Ill have nothing more to do with you ‘What! just because I laughed at what was enough to make the gravest judge or bishop split his sides? Come, Sylvester dear—don’t be a fool :” and Miss Denton passed her hand caress- ingly over his cheek. ‘You false creature, you!” cried the young man. “I’ve found you out at last! I always suspected it: but now I know it! And to abuse me too behind my back, with that odious fellow Blundell!” “ Ah!” and now a light flashed in unto Miss Denton’s comprehension: but instantaneously assuming the part of an injured woman, she said, “‘Oh, Sylvester! who could ever have thought that you were capable of playing the eavesdropper and listening ?” ‘‘Never mind! I know what I heard, Alice— and I'll never forgive it.” “Yes, you will, dear:”—and she coaxingly threw one of her white arms round his neck. ‘The truth is, 1 was very cross indeed with you _because you did not come to see me either to-day or yesterday ‘And you wanted your money?” interjected Sylvester tauntingly; ‘‘and you accused me of meanness. Oh, I heard all you said! And then—and then—about my complexion too - “Well, Sylvester, I have always told you that it is your own fault for being rather freckled; be- cause if you'd only use some elder-flower water, or something of that sort, you would soon have a very beautiful complexion. I am sure I always stick up for you, unless you put me into a pet; and then of course, you know, a woman is apt to say things that she’s afterwards sorry for.” While Alice thus spoke, her countenance gradu- ally approached Sylvester’s ; and now she looked so sweetly and entreatingly into his face with her large blue eyes, that he began to melt. “Well,” he said, ‘‘suppose you were in a pet with me, ‘why should you go and tell your griev- ances to that fellow Blundell ?” “T met him by accident.” “ What! in the dark I suppose? Oh, ah! a jolly accident !” ‘““ Well, my dear Sylvester, it was not my fault,” rejoined Alice mildly, “if the manager ordered the gas to be put out in that part of the theatre on account of the bear.” Everything was going on well up to this point: Sylvester was melting beneath the warmth of the syren’s caresses : but now, as she unfortu- nately recollected the figure which he cut in the COMO oO Colin