Agnes Vol. 2 — page 241: what you’re looking at

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

234 “You havo alluded to an incident that mate- rially concorns myself: I mean my visit to the house of Mrs. Maddox to purchase Mrs. Chick- lade’s letters. It is true that I did so. Certain letters from Hector to Mre. Chicklade were in 8k istence,—letters which compromised me / I néi say no more on this point: you understand me, sir! Well then, it was vitally importané to me to procure those letters; dnd I purchased them accordingly.” “And amongst them,” interjected Mr, Have grave, “was one from Mr. Timperley to Mrs. Chicklade.” ‘*] will explain the point,” resumed Cicefy, “I met Mrs. Chicklade but a short time before she was killed. She demanded money of mc; and one Sunday, when the greater péttion of the household were at church, I admitted fet into the house in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, I took her into my uncle’s private office: I went up to my own room to fetch my purse—atid the ciretiinstance of a housdémaid commencing 8 diet down the lower fight of stairs, prevented mé from returning to thé office for twent¢ Giidintéd of half-an-hour. In the tiead- while thé obi Hae was there by horself; and the writing (06 Wid stroW with documonte of the utm tALe—Fot rny uncle had departed for chutth With the impression that he had locked the doo? Of that office, whereas he had xot. The infamows Wetitkn oxdinfiied those papors; and she saw chough t con¢ive® hebself, by certain memo- randa or letters perhaps both ~- that forgeries had been committwa! Yes, forgeries by tho late Mr. Waldron!—forgeries to which my uncle must have undoubtedly beth BHVy !” “Forgeties deneereihg What cate?” dsked the nobleman. “ You way speak frankly: I will be- tray nothing that yo tell me.” “ Forgeries,” addwered Cicdly, “woncerning that noted business of the Oy Peerago—aon affair, which as I havé head, tatided # preat a eonsation about nineteen ot tweet) yokh ay. But of course you know that ts Very etalinant himself was Agnes Evelyn's father 1” ““ Procetd, Mra. Mm == proceed,” said the nobloman, ‘“ You Weré tolling me that Mrs. Chicklade saw those papers lying upon your uncle’s desk. Ile had doubtless been referring to them-———” “ Yos. “ho was always harping on that ca#é—always ex- pressing his conviction that somethiy Would sorité day or another come of it. But to fétatn to Mrs. Chicklade,—you can doubtiess now conjecture, Mr. AGNRS; OR, BEAUTY AND PLRASURE. did say sufficient in that letter—although it was brief enuugh—to enable mo to cumprehend when it fell into my hand, what stupendous secret it was which Mrs. Chicklade bad got in her possession, wid likewise by what means it had come tuo her kite wledge.” * Awd thet letter,” said Lord Ormsby,—“ what has betditee of it P” “T gave it to my uncle,” replied Cicely, “ and he destveyed it. It is true, Mr. Hargrave, as you have stated, that he purchased it from me with a dower of thirty thousand pounds. But tell me how this fact came to your knowledge.” “Agnes Evelyn casually mentioned that such was your dower,” rejoined Lord Ormsby; “and then, as other circumstances gradually came to my knowledge, it was ensy by publitg two and two together, to conjecture how go Whusig such an im- mense sum from the niggardibw fivd selfishness of Mr. Timperley. And now, & $fardress, before we quit thig topic, 1 would fait Bake an observa- tion or two. You ere now expréseéd a wonder that your uncle, usually so cautions and so prudont, should have committed himself so fatally in that letter. ‘Let me tell you, Mra. Hatdress, that the solution of the seeming mystery is eaty :—1it was Providence that did it! Yes!—bow often do we marx thal when a crime is perpetrated, the crimi- nal comimits some oversight or some inadvertence whioh ultimately leads to his detection! Uere, in the case of which we are speaking, your uncle com- mitted the oversight of recording on paper an allu- sion to one crime—namély, the forgery; and this very same letter subscquently led to the detection of his guilt in respect td the other érime which ho afterwards ¢ommitted—namely, the murder! It is thus by ways apparently so mysterious and in- scrutable that Providence Works out its objects !” Mrs. Hardréwa feflected sériously for a fow minutes rfpon the observations which had just fallen from the tips of her visitor ; and then with a sith she murmured, “Yes—it must be so!” “Tt is go, Mre. Hardyess,” rejvined Lord Ormaby solomnly. “But now fet us proceed to another topic. I accidentally loarnt just now, on making certain inquiries, that young Mr. Barring. ton and his wife had been ataying at this very | hotel.” “Yes—it was a week ago,’ replied Ciccly. Somehow or another,” comtésued Cicely, | “ They wore only here a few hours——” “And something unpleasant occurred, I bo- ieee?” said Lord Ormsby. “At least so the tkidiord just now told me.” “Ah! then you were inquiring after thom, Mr. Uiergrave, how she availed herself of the know- | Hargrave P” ledge which she had that day acquired in my | “Not exactly,” responded the nobleman; “for unclo’s office, to endeavour to cxtort money from | I thought that they would have loft immediately him. It is ovident that she wrote him a noto de- | upon hearing of the death of old Mr. Barrington manding five thousand pounds; and she insisted upon @ positive answer, yea or nay, by a certain hour, to be left at a ceptain house; and that house was the one in Norton Street. My uncle sent a reply; and it was this letter which 1 found amongst the papers of the deceased Mrs. Chicklade when I purchased thom from Mrs. Maddox. How my uncle could have been so imprudent as he was to gay 6o much in- that letter which he wroto as an answer, I cannot tell. Such imprudence was most inconsistent with the general cautiousnees of his character. TLowever, very sure it isthat my uncle —which intelligonce must have reuched them a woek back " +o “Tt did so reach them,” rejoined Cicely. * But I was inquiring,” pursued Mr. Iargrave, “ whether a cortain Mr. De Vere——”’ “Ab! Mr. De Voro?’—and Mrs. IJiardress could scarcely repress a start or keep back a blush. “Yes — Charles Dea Vere,” continued Lord Ormsby. “I am awaro that you know him. Well then, as I was saying, I inquired if bt were known at this hotel; for I knew not exactly CONMIUC NOOKKS (C@