Agnes Vol. 2 — page 217: what you’re looking at

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

619 AGNES; OR, BBAUTY AND PLRASURR, moment suspect Mr, Timperley: I could not} for its exceeding respectability, but’ that on bi have thought of such a thing: I believed him to { contrary it was notorious for its numerous houses be a gentleman of the highest respoctability, and / of evil repute. Nevertheless, there are some t. . that it was therefore a mere trifling and insignifi- reputable habitations there, and three or four goou cant coincidence that he should bave been seen | shops, Indeed, as Lord Ormsby, drawing tis speaking to that woman, I should have conceived | mantle more closely around his form, was pushiog flat 1 was insulting him by eveu mentioning the ' his way along tho street, he was suddenly struck fact at all; for it would have looked like throwing | by behulding a picture in the window of a print- ® suspicion upon him. Therefore 1 held my peace;: shop. 1t was a well-executed lithoyraph portrais and I was glad that I did so, for very soon: of the Hon. Mre. Hardress; and the likeness hae afterwatds I heard the rumour that the murderess at once attracted the nobloman from the similie had been discovered and was arrested. But even , tude which it bore to the water-colour drawin; when after a time the young lady was acquitted, : executed by his daughter Agnes. This lithograp! my suspicions did nut settie on Mr. Timperley : belonged to a series entitled “Portraits of th indeed I had almost céased to recollect the little | Aristucracy ;” and all those which wore as yet pube incident of my having seen him and the old woran / lished, were arrayed in that window. There were tugether. But mow that the mark has suddenly ; abuut a dozen; and amongst thom wore the Hou., fallen from hig countenance and that I find him ' Hector and Mrs. Hardress, to be a villain—now that I know him to be capable { Having contemplated these portraits for a few of apy wickedness—the incident bas come back ' momenta, Lurd Ormsby continued his way ; and to my recollection, fraught with a stupendous sig- | as he examined the numbers on thé street doors, nificancy !” | he said tu himself, “I am almost certain that it is Such wae the strain in which James Nash had | the right one which I amfbarrying in my mind | spoken to Sir Roderick Dalham; and the latier ! Yes—L could not havggSrgotten ; for the occur- resvlyed to conault Lord Ormsby. ,rence has alwa eoply impressed upon my “ It is scarcely pussible,” he thought to himeel,, | ners | Wet Che inquiry { am about to make is “that Timperley could have been tho assassin of - probably! useless———” the old woman; and yet the mystery of such ai Here he stopped short, alike in his musings and murder can only be cleared up by the development : in his walk; for he had just reached tho particular of some extraordinary circumstances. Who gan house fur which he was louking. He waa raising toll what motives the man may have had to perpo- . his hand tu the knocker, when he thought to him. trate such a crime? More wondrous things have = sell, “ Yes— it will positively prove vain and futile! vecurred in the world than that he should ull. | —mere trouble for nothing, besides the loathsome mately prove to be the assassin of Mra. Chick. idoa of entering such 8 house as this! Twenty lacte P” : years apo !—and poor creatures of this class doubt. The reader will now understand how it was that, less change their habitations a thousand times Sir Roderick abstained from mentioning to fia within such a period! And yet, after all, it is just wifo the intelligence he had tereived from the possible that I may hear of her? What if she be valet ; inasmuch as the topic of tho mysterious in distress, and a pittance from my puree would murder in the lane was naturally a very sore one , relieve her P” with Winifred,—not because she fancied that her This iast consideration’ settled the question in innocence was doubted, but bevanse it wee eeleu.' the mind of the generous nobleman; and he lated to conjure up so many puintal as.oe ons, knocked at the door of the house. The summons her arrest, her imprisonment, the combinaiion cf was almost immediately answered by a stout circumstances against her, and tho ordeal of ber female, upwards of forty years of age, whose trial! -' apparel was replete with tawdriness and whuse Sir Roderick consulted Lord Ormsby, a8 we de- '1s.ke were full of boldness, WWandsuine she had ecribed in the preceding chapter ; and this uuble- | cvidently been in former years; for her features man counselled a further pause for four-and-twenty wore good— but ber checks were cuvered with hours, that in the weanwhile they might both dee reage, and she had a@ certain air which denoted liberate on the best course that was tu be pursued, : that she was not averse to a drop of strong wators. But, as we have also stated in the previous chepter, | As fur her figure, it had no doubt once been a fine something oecurrcd in the interval to strengthen une; but all youtoful symmetry was lost ina de- most niatorially the suspicion which Lad been cx- | velopment of the proportions into the moat obese cited against Timperley. What this cecurrenee exuboranco, was—or rather chain of cecurrences— cannot bo: “Pray walk in, sir,” she at once said, with a described in a few words; and we must therefore certain famihsrity of tone which ovidently was proceed to give the details av length. | habitual with ber. _ We aro about to speak of the evening of that. A sense of luathing for an instant '<Td Lord samo day on which Sir Roderick Dalham consulted Ormsby back; there was somethie ~ “azusting and Lord Ormsby. It wus about nine o’eluck on that | revolting in the morotriciour aspect of that woman, avening—tho November weather was raw and “Ah!” she cjaculated, aru sudden idea evidently cold, and a mist which had prevailed for the last struck her: “ perhans 5s sir, are Mr. Tim- hour or two was brginning to turn into a driz-' perley P” ; sling rain—when Lord Ormsby, alighting froma‘ The question was asto nding; and fora moment cab at the bottom of Aibauy Street, crossed the New —but only a moment ’-Ormsby felt , bewildored. Ruad and quickly ponetrater juto Norton Streot, hen instantaneous!" recovering his presence of We have alluded to this neightouriood in one of mind, he said, “If i¢ is kere, then, that Mr. the carly chaptera of our narrativ¥); and we then , Timperley is expec’ ed P” described it av boing a atrect that ‘was not famed | Yeu, ei,-—tis ere. Pray walk in,” said the GOHMGOOO SS) (C©)