The Mysteries of the Court of London Vol. 7 — page 42: what you’re looking at

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

You must look as modest as possible; and when, in his lordship’s presence, I hint at the connexion you are about to form with him, you had better shriek ont~—not too loud, you know, for fear of being overheard———and then you can ¢ling to me ; and if feu choose to go off in a fit, why, it may perhaps be as well. However, in the long run you will gield your consent; and his lordship will provide for you this very day. Of course you understand, my dear, that I am perfectly disin- terested in what I am doing for you: my only object is to give you a comfortable position—and I do not get one farthing by it———no, not a frac- tion !” Eglentine was perfectly willing to fall into the infamous woman's views ; and she at once followed Madame Angelique to the boudoir. <A glance at the writing-desk showed the milliner that the cheque lay there, ready drawn out; and the ine stant she had introduced Eglantiné to the ex- ambassador, she seized the opportunity while his lordship’s eyes were riveted gioatingly upon the supposed victim of an aunt’s treacherous cupidity, to catch up the draft and thrust it amidst the folds of her dress. The entire scene, as previously arranged, was then gone through: the half- subdued shriek was uttered—the prudery was affected—the appeal to the wicked aunt was made by the innocent and*virtuous niece—and then the latter sank gracefully down in a fit, just awan actress swoons or dies upop the stage—though with perhaps a trifle more of voluptuous abandon- ment of the form. Water was sprinkled upon Eglantine’s countenance: she suffered herself to be slowly recovered—she then listened with ad- mirable patience and meekness to Madame An- gelique’s reasoning—and with an equal degree of exemplary resignation she yielded herself to her destiny. . In the afterncon Lord Wenham came in his earrigge to fetch away his paragon of virtue ; and he placed her in a sumptuously furnished house which he hired for her accommodation, with an allowance of eighty pounds per week. We may add that in the evening of the very same day on which his lordship paid Madame Angelique a thousand guineas for the beautiful Eglantine and gave the young lady the first instalment of her magiificent income, he most generously and nobly forwarded a cheque fér two guineas to the Secre- tary of the Society for the Distribution@f Bread amongst the Famishing Poor, and a cheque for twenty guineas to the Association for the Protec- tion of Young Females. To return however, to Madame Angelique. Scarcely had she effected her most disinterested arrangement with Lord Wenham, and had dis- missed the paralysed doting old nobleman,—when the second of the three billets which she had despatched in the morning. was personally an- ewered by the appearance of a gentleman rejoicin in the oon of Mr. White Choker. i oa dressed in complete black, and wore a low cravat of snowy fairness, - He showed no ‘ahirt-collar, and had altogether a very clerical look. His hair was cro all round like a Puritan's, and was combed sleek and straight down over bis forehead. He had eountenance, the expression of which nine Pbiceally. chat af sanctimonious eelf-martyriketion and lugubriows demurenees, thet jeckets, tinued tenanes shone within my humble habitation; and 2EE GouRt. 9 even when he taled to on en mil liner's bondoir, he looked like on ore faneral-mute in a desperate attempt gey: Very kten-sighted aXe, White Choker’ sore closely, re was something deep-set small eyes which denoted the strong pas- sions of the man and the difficulty he had in oon- cealing them beneath the antumed sane- tity and hypocritical east; this point we ee tine —tor Me Choker wae a t Yes--great indeed was he a6 Exeter Hall ab the period of the May meetings. Who could bo well declaim against the i and demoral and hymn-books, and tracts, and all kinds of godly publications, to the poor naked cannibals of those same islands? Who was more ready putting don his money for the Foreign Bible Society, or in taking implored alms of him metropolis? Ina word, Mr. White Choker was a veritable saint: his name was considered synonymous with piety and philanthropy them- selves; and if it were the fashion fn this Protestant country for persons to be canonized—and before they were dead too--Mr. White Choker was the very man whom all the Exeter Hallites would have selected for the honour, and whom the whole Bench of Bishops would have pronounced worthy thereof. Of course the reader is fully prepared to heer that so good a man§ould only have come to Ma- dame Angelique’s establishment with one object: namely, to read its proprietress a very long and serious lecture on the wickedness of the life she was leading. And yet somehog or another this was not the worthy gentleman’s aim: for, as, we have seen, it was in answer to one of the mil- liner’s billets that he now showed himself in her presence. “My dear Mr. Choker,” she began, with one of her most amiable smiles, “I am sure you will be delighted to learn that I have resolved upon ree tiring — business and living” henceforth re- spectably upon my means. * Come now, mother,” said the white-cravatted gentleman, with a more successful attempt at s laugh than ‘he previously made, “this is not Exeter Hall—neither is it a committee of the Foreign Oannibal-Reclaiming, Negro-Obristlan- ising and Naked-Savage-Clothing Society. Evary- thing is good in its place and way “And ot have core, my dear My, grea Madame gelique, blandiy, place dnd in a true Ohrie——~I mean interrup whatsoever I may have good Tod way to pué at your’ at That is speaking like like a woman of the world,” said Mr. Choker, himeelf, thus very properly correcting “It is a time, the wails wr ase my dear sir, ° cone the light of your eoun- byes SS (CO) LOAO©