Her Royal Lover: A Novel — page 33: what you’re looking at

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

HER ROYAL LOVER. 25 with so much love, with so much happiness? Noth- ing came then to mitigate this and decree the mis- fortune of my life! Nota kind word fell from your lips upon the bleeding wound of my heart! nota word of consolation was sent me to enable me to support that horrible torture. A dry and cold letter from your father announced to me, as a very com- monplace, a very ordinary event, that ‘some circum- stances recently transpired would hinder this union ;’ that is all that they thought necessary to fling in my face as an explanation of a lost happiness—a stolen happiness! When, after such a missive, and with despair, I ran to your house, desperate, en- treating a domestic to allow me to see you; when by dint of prayers, he was moved and went to take you my card, what did you do? Cold as marble you re- ~ fused to receive me. To all my letters, confidents of my sorrows, of my anguish, you did not deign to give the least response capable of soothing a heart with which you had played so heedlessly! But twenty-four hours later you left Nice, and, a short time after, all the journals published your engage- ment with the rich Prince of Mineleko. “It is a year since all that,madam! A year of sufferings, of struggles, of disdain! I wished to forget you, but I could not. This evening, I have you in my power; you shall not leave me until you have given me this explanation which I have a right to demand of you. I wish it, I exact it!” A haughty look from Madame de Mineleko cut short this conversation, the violence of whos seemed to increase as the count spoke. “Monsieur, cease, I pray you, these pleasantries; I desire to leave you, and I expect from your court- (E(0) mm C JOO KS (E(0)