The Mysteries of the Court of London Vol. 7 — page 44: what you’re looking at

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

SNR MYSTERIES OF THE:COURT, @ dear brother in the good work, who was lying | Angel at that extremity which was but the passport to | aware ie thé young . | seen her | abont to play. © the realm of efepnal bliss. ’ Scarcely had Madame Augeliqne completed transaction with Mr. tune of sixty thousand poands, if he already anticipated it by bills a commission in the Guards; cipated from the apron strings of his fash mamma, he had resolved to seg.a little of “tife.” It was however chiefly at night-ti his survey of what he termed “ pe that he ife:"” for inas- much as he was never in bed until three or four | —in.the morning | o'clock in the morning, he elept till it was time | you fashionable young gentlemen tirh to turn out fur parade—after which he drank so | day, and day into night -brandy at | shocking, you naughty fellows I" copiously of bottled stous add cherty lunch, “just to give a tone to his stomach,” H Boitly wee ane meer “any | Bonde fe on, Augustus Softly was annogyced. This young ; boudeir-gfor he thi gentleman had just entered his Veron}. Are ca ' Hantiliay tanner ue Madsine Ange and would inherit on attsining his jpalonity i | should incidentally reaterk that he ipo 1 and bonds to the | draw! which are tune of nearly one-half. He had recently obtained | young | ? on Heing eman- | whas on earth could havé ‘made an \guae which shi Well, old lady,” hie gut atetiae the elon Bo thbape Hight] Aue te bbopt a ques su we with the ae a iphable tife—“ wall, ala lady, uid dissipated dir and mien in fash hour in the meting PrP | ; Yes, it is poseemly,” exclaidiod Madartie Ax. gelique, “I admit it. Only fotir ‘it thd dftérnoon _ I mean! But then you Jed, rt into ——Oh! it ti positively on itt the “ Why, there’s really nothiog g that he was usually constrained to go to bed day-time,” said Mr. Softly, with ap ait of satiety again in order to sleep off the effecta of eo | and disgust. “Iam sick of bowing to the sanie much liquor and rise refreshed for dinner-time. | beauties. in the Park—sick of lounging up Re- Thon his stomach required a new “tone ;” and if @ couple of bottles of obampagne, with other vinous fluids, were capable of affording such tone, the Hon. Augustus Softly certainly adopted the Turning out “to see | ligite, with a deprecating look: “you até é@tiough panacea for procuring it. life” at ten o'elock at night, be had the advantage of the gas-lamps to show him how to break police- men’s heads; or else fe dropped into some fashiop- able gambling house, whore there wes light suffi- cient for the black-legs and sharpers there to pil- lage him most unmercifully, though apparently not light enough to show tha young gentleman himself that he was thus fleeced. In personal appearance the Hon. Augustus Softly was short and thin — totally beardless, though he adopted every known method of in- ducing a moustache to make its appearance against its own inclination; and bis air was alto- gether so boyish that ho did not look above seven- teen. He had tolerably regular features, of an aristocratic cast; but the expression of his coun- tenanco was insipid and vacant, oven to stolidity. Frivolous minded and shallow-pated, with all the follies of a boy, he rather aped than was en- dowed evith the manners of a man. His idea goat Street; and as for morning-calls-—why, we of the Guards, you know, never pay them !” “Ah! I repeat, you gentlemen of thé Guards are such terrible fellows!” edid Madame Ange- to turn the heads of all the sweet creatures — rdvish their hearts———” ; Well, { datter myeolf,” drawled out Me. Softly, leaning affeotedly back in his chair and carcesing his beardiess chin with an air of languid listlesgness, “we of the Guards ate‘rather dvert- powering in our way.” “You may well say that, my dear Mr. Softlys for if you only knew why I took the liberty of asking you to favour me with a call this after- noon ———morning, Igmean——~” “Some precious wickedness, I'll be bound?”— and Mr. Softly condescended to give, forth a slight laugh, which corresponded amasingly well with his drawing-room drawl. “ Wickedness indecd, you naughty good.-for- nothing fellow !” responded the wily wowan, shaking her finger at Hier intended victim. “ Here is the sweetest, lovelivst, young French girl, who has only been in keeping with the Duke of Mareh- of “life” seemed to oonsist in hurrying him- ‘mont for two months, dt the rite of a hundred self on to rack®and ruin as fest as gyer he! guineas a week—and who has left him — positively could—raising money at exorbitant interest— | and actually left his Grace, all through you !” plunging into debt—lavishing his gold upon pre- “Through me, old lady ?” enid Augustus, run- tonded friends, who fiattered him to his face and | ning his fingers through his limp light hair, which laughed at him bebind his beck—pleying the | hung in what are called rat’s tails over his oars. spendthrift amongst the dissolute and the praved—thinking it one of the fnest things to drop a few hundreds at the gaming-table, aud the finest thing of all to let my Lord Swindleburst pal-n off on him for five hundred guineas a horse that would be dear at fifty. Such was Lieutenant Softly’s ides of “life ;" and this was the young gentleman who, having roceived Madame An- gelique’s third billet, now came to answer it in | ‘tinued Madame Angelique; “because when she person. We must observe that the Hon. Augustus Softly had only visited the milliner’s establishment , on two former gecesions; and of those times | Mademoiselle Armintie, the Frenoh girl, was absent for sou reason or apother. This Madame | 6 de- |“ What the devil do you mean P” “I mean that she went to see the Gustds parade the other day; and she came rdhhing off to me—for I ath her milliner, you must know ask if I could tell hor who was that disk of « young officer ?? And thea she desctibed you I’ “ How delicious! —positively delieiuus 1” said Mer. Softly, ohuckling and rubbibg hié bandé. “1 knew whom she méant in @ mument,” cone said that she alluded to the handeomest, the geh- teelest, and yet the most military-lasking of all the young olfcert, f was petfectly well aware whom she wae speaking of § ahd when J told hes thas I had the fonbur of your acquainténce, sie néarly i dind bed at sob ba atabiats le! me out of my comfortable b ECOMRniclacae SS (CO)