Ellen Percy; or, The Memoirs of an Actress — page 201: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

a a a cena” ema’ Ne a see na —s Aare eee Soe — 183 ELLEN PERCY; OR, THE MEMOIRS OF AN ACTRESS. —. — __ +. massive stacks of chimneys. It was built of dingy red bricks; the windows were few, small, and of the lattice description. At the hasty glance which I thus threw at the place, I could-not discern any blinds or curtains to those windows; and indeed the first impression made upon me, was that the house must be uninhabited. The door of the cab was quickly opened by the companion of the man who had lifted me into it, and who had therefore ridden by the driver on the box. I was desired to alight; and the instant my feet touched the ground, the cab drove rapidly away. The man who had been my companion, grasped me with some degree of violence by the arm,—saying, “ Now, young Miss, you must walk in here.” The other man had in the meanwhile unlocked the door of the house: I flung a hasty look around, in the hope that there would be some human being within sight to whom I might shriek forth for succour: but I beheld no one except the two ruffians who had me in their custody, and the driver of the rapidly retreating cab. “You need not use violence,” I said to the man who had clutched my arm with such force that he hurt me: but my heart sank within me, and the blood ran cold in my veins, at the thought of what my doum might possibly be. “ Well, walk in quietly,” said the fellow, “and for my part I won’t hurt you.” There was some relief in this assurance, though it seemed merely to apply to the present instant ; and the rough hand was at once withdrawn from my arm. I entered a low, dark, gloomy-looking place, paved with tiles, and which might probably have served in other times as the hall of the home- stead : for on either side there were several doors, and facing the entrance there was an ascent of stairs with enormous old-fashioned balustrades. “ Up there, if you please, Miss,’ said one of the men; and I began ascending the stairs. “Take care,” he added ; “ for they are old, ricketty, and broken. It’s many a year since this place was occupied.” * And who occupies it now?” I asked, eagerly catching at what appeared to be an opportunity of obtaining some information. ** You, Miss!” replied the man ;—and then both he and his companion burst out into a laugh. The reader may be assured that I had no incli- nation to put another question. The staircase was involved in almost complete obscurity; and my feet tripped against the broken pieces of the steps. On reaching a landing, one of the men threw open a door; and I beheld a tolerably large chamber, poorly yet by no means uncomfortably furnished. Scarcely however had I glanced into it, when one of the men bade me enter; and when I obeyed him, he said, “If you would take my advice, you would avoid screaming out of the window: be- cause one of us will be down below, and it will be the worse for you if you make any noise. Some one will bring you up things to eat and drink pre- sently.” The door was then closed and locked upon me; and I found myself alone in that chamber. All the furniture was new; but, as I have before said, it was of a homely character, fitted for the cottage- residence of poor people. The bedstead and toilet- table were of common painted wood; there were a —_—_—_—_—_—— OE EE LY couple of cane-bottomed chairs ; there was anothei table of an ordinary description, in the middle of the room ; a piece of grey drugget covered about one-third of the floor ; and there were green cur- tains, of a coarse stuff, to the two small latticed windows. ‘These windows had bars to them; and a single glance was sufficient to show me that they had only been very recently put up. The ceiling and the walls had been freshly whitewashed: the floor had been cleansed: there was not the slightest doubt that all these preparations which I have described, had been but lately made; and my fears suggested that it was a prison-chamber ex: pressly arranged for my reception. I looked through one of the casements, and found that the room was situated at the back of the house. There was a smal! yard, surrounded with outbuildings sadly dilapidated and falling fast into ruins. An opening between those buildings showed me an enclosed space that had evidently once been a farm-yard; and it was so surrounded by barns as to impede the farther view. I sought to obtain a glimpse of the metropolis; for I thought that if I could only distinguish the huge dome of St. Paul’s, the Monument, or any other elevated building, I might form an idea of the neighbourhood in which this decaying farm-house was situated. But no!—the outbuildings were so placed in reference to the chamber-window, that the realization of my idea was impossible. “And even if I succeeded,” I said to myself, as I turned away from the casement with a sickening sensation at the heart, and with the tears trickling down my cheeks, “ of what avail would it ber I am a prisoner; and little would it serve me to know on the outskirt of which suburb the place of my captivity is situated. Oh, that I should have fallen again into the power of him who per- has this time will use that power unscrupulously ! Ah, he may kill me!—and perhaps it is now my death that he seeks, even as that vile woman, as fiendlike as she is beautiful, recently sought it !— but he shall not succeed in dishonouring me!” I sat down, exhausted by the wretched state of my feelings. I experienced a sensation of faint« ness ; and taking off my bonnet and scarf, I flung them upon the bed. Then, as an idea struck me, I suddenly regained my energy; and I looked under the bed—I looked likewise into an immense cupboard, the door of which had been recently painted: but no—I was altogether alone in that chamber. I was fully satisfied that St. Clair was the author of this new outrage; and I shuddered lest it should be the last. I mean that I trembled with a cold horror lest he should at length triumph over me, and that naught but my death would satisfy him, since I was resolved to perish sooner than degrade myself! While I was in the midst of my saddening re- flections, I heard footsteps advancing along the landing: the door was unlocked—and the old gipsy-woman made her appearance. She had evi- dently been followed thither by one of the men, who however remained upon the landing. Was it that he feared lest the old woman should yield to my entreatries—or lest, goaded to desperation, I should suddenly fly at her, overpower her, and endeavour to efiect my escape? Her hideous countenance was serious and inscrutable: she spoke not a word as she advanced into the room, COMMCEOOO KS. COM =