Ellen Percy; or, The Memoirs of an Actress — page 317: what you’re looking at

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

mes 304 ELLEN PERCY; OR, THE MEMOIRS OF AN ACTRESS. “* My dear Melissa,” I said, speeding towards her, “ this meeting is most opportune !” “Indeed, my dear Ellen!” she cried, pressing my hands. ‘ But what is the matter? You look agitated and excited ?’—and she surveyed me earnestly. “T have just met the Marquis of Tynedale,” I said. “Ah! But he did not dare address you ?” ex- claimed Miss Harrison. “He did, Melissa! I treated him with overy variety of scorn, contempt, hauteur, and indigna- tion,” I continued: “ while he on the other hand was full of a humility—a vague reproachfulness— a deprecation as if of some injury that I was in- flicting upon him in a word, Melissa, I am totally bewildered—I am unhappy too—for if ap- pears as if there were a mystery which ought to be cleared up, and which I however know not how to fathom !” “Ob, he is evidently a foolish, silly old man,” responded Melissa: “he is infatuated with your beauty—and no wonder “You delivered that letter, Melissa?” I ex- claimed: ‘‘ you delivered it that very day ?” “Yes—within two hours—I might almost say in an hour after I quitted you for the purpose,” replied Miss Harrison. “Oh, you cannot sup- pose me “For heaven’s sake, my dear friend,” I said, “do not for an instant think that I suspected you of not delivering that letter, or even of delaying its delivery. But when one is excited, and trou- bled, and perplexed as I am at this moment, one is apt to put hasty and thoughtless questions.” ‘No doubt, my dear friend,” answered Melissa ; “and Iwas not for an instant annoyed at your putting that question tome. But do not excite yourself—be calm—and tell me everything that passed. My head is cooler than your’s at this moment; and I may possibly be enabled to sug- gest explanations.” “That is just the idea which struck me the instant I saw you,” I exclaimed. “ Listen—and I will endeavour to repeat word for word all that took place between his lordship and myself.” I gave the narrative to Melissa just as I ere now described it to the reader—not even omitting the hasty questions which I had asked myself, and the bare idea of which had at the time brought up the burning blushes to my cheeks. For I should observe that Melissa was already ac- quainted with the little incident in respect to the drapery fluttering away from my bosom when I was performing the part of Cleopatra: for that incident was alluded to in the Marquis of Tyne- dale’s letter—and I had explained it to her before she took her leave of me on that occasion when she set off to return the letter itself and the cheque in the blank envelope to his lordship. Miss Harrison now listened with deep attention to the recital of all that had passed between the elderly nobleman and myself; and when I had concluded, I was still more pained, amazed, and perplexed at those incidents as I had just reviewed them, than I was when under the first impressions they left on my mind. “I fear, my dear Ellen,” said Melissa, “ that it was as you apprehend. The Marquis fancied that you had given him some little encouragement at the theatre, and that having led him on to an overture, he had a right to consider himself in- jured by the disdainful manner in which you rejected it. But whatever his opinion might thus have been, he must now be assuredly disabused of it after your conduct towards him within the pre- sent hour. Do not trouble yourself any more upon the point. As for the other language of which his lordship made use, and which has struck you as being so strange and perplexing, it has really no significancy that need pain you. Remember that when one is in an agitated state of mind, one says things which seem intelligible enough to one- self, but which are an incomprehensible jargon to the individual to whom they are addressed.” “Tt must be as you say, Melissa :’— and yet I inwardly felt that her mode of accounting for the mystery, was not altogether so complete as to satisfy my mind: but I feared lest I might only ap- pear foolish by dwelling upon the topic~and be- sides, I had no doubt as to her own well-meaning purpose. “T must now leave you, Ellen,” she said: “ for I am going to see my little girl—and I have not too much time to spare. I hope that when next we meet, I shall find you perfectly convinced of the accuracy of the explanations which I have de- duced from my own common sense reading of the facts.” Melissa and I then separated; but I had pro- ceeded to no great distance before I caught sight of my father a little way off. He made me a sign to retire into a more secluded portion of the Park, because there was, as is usual, a greater number of persons in the neighbourhood of the gate at the corner than elsewhere. I obeyed the sign; and in a few minutes I was joined by my father,—who, I should observe, was disguised in precisely the same style as when I had met him a few days back in Euston Square. I at once asked him if he had anything to com- municate in reference to Mr. Parks?—and he re. plied, “Nothing of importance. I could not write to you at very great length the other day: but I gave you suflicient details to enable you to under- stand the actual position of affairs.”’ “ And you still think,” I said, “ that Mr. Parks means to fulfil his pledge, and that he is not de- ceiving us P” “T hope that he is not deceiving us,” responded my father; “and I have no ground for supposing that he is. He gave me proofs that he is raising the money which he has to pay over to you: he convinced me that he has ample means for that purpose; and he exhibited two or three letters which satisfactorily accounted for the brief delay which he demanded. And that delay I felt bound to accord him. It is true—and necessarily so— that we are to some extent at his mercy; because when he shall have raised that money, whether he will pay it over to you or whether he will decamp with it, is after all the main point. Of what his conduct will be, I can only judge by his position. From the searching inquiries I have made, I be- lieve that he is very well off; and though as a matter of course the payment of so large a sum as that which we demand of him will make a serious difference in his fortune, yet I do not think it will be of sufficient consideration to induce him to abscond altogether and thus annihilate all his Ne —— . CONnNEDOOKS Com