The Mysteries of the Court of London Vol. 7 — page 72: what you’re looking at

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

mente was altogether orienta. The lamp sus- pended to the ceiling, shed ite soft roseate light through the transparent medium of a pink-tinted globe of giess; amd the, attomens, with their red velvet cushions—the crimeon draperies, with their massive gold fringes—and tha carpet of corre- sponding dyes, appeared to barrow deoper and richer hues from tha} flood of luatge. The Princess Indora was seated upon one of the ottomans; and she was arrayed in the mast be- coming oriental garb. A caftan of purplo velvet, exquisitely embroidered, and brilliant with geme, set of the fine ayramotry of her shapo to admirable advantage. Confined at the throat and at the waist, the interval that was left open revealed the rounded contours of the gorgeous bust through the gausy and almost transparent chemé- sette, She wore satin trousers of an asure colour, embroidered, and trimmed with the richest Ince. Made full in the esatern style,”they bal- looned down to the ankles, where they were tied: the ankles themselves were bara—and the feet were thrust into morocco slippers of a purple colour ornamented with pearls. According to her custom, thea Princess wore no corset: nor indeed wero any artificial means of support or compres- sion requisite for a form so superbly modelled, and the rich contours of which°susteined themselves as nature intended and’as if they were the sculp- tured delineations of a atatue. ° Be it. reoullected that tho complexion ef the Princesa Indora waa not of gipsy swarthiness, although it was of eastern duskinesg; and it dif- fered from that of the brunette our western clime, inasmuch as i¢ waa of a clear pala brown. We have said too—but we may repeat it hare— that tho skin hac all that fine-grained nce and that animated polish which seemed to indieate that eo far from the fizst freshness of youth being lost, ié still adhered, unmarred and unimpaired, tu a matured and voluptueue womanhood. The rich warm bloed of her eastern arigin mantled with carnation tint.upon the cheeks—gradually soften- ing away until imperceptibly blending with the pale brown purity of the general complexion. To gaze upon the Princess Indora—to observe thase masses of luxuriantly flowing hair, dark as night, without wave or curl except at the extremities, but all de soft as silk—that faultless profile, with the straight moae, jhe short upper lip, and the’ de- licately rounded chin—those ceal-black eye& full of a languishing lustre, and curtained at times by the richest ebon fringes that ever canatituted a veil which woman could st pleasure draw over ber thoughts—to pase an from that countenance of magnificent beauty, and suffer the eye to wander along tha line of the throat, till it joined the neck where the bust expanded into such grandly rounded and voluptuously swelling contoura—to travel still onward with the gase, and follow the " sweoping outlines of the arms, bare to the shouldars, and modelled with robustness ahd yet to the most admirable symmetry—to pursua the oon- templetion to the feet, which were loug and shapely, with high inateps—to eomplete this sur- vey of the living, glowing, animated pictara, would be to feast the eyes with one of the most charming and magnificent creations that ever belonged to the sphere of the fanale sex. Such indead’ was the Princess Indora, who had now nearly completed her thirty-first year, Ordi- narily with eastern women, they are at that age on the wame—thejr beauty is fading -and in ap- pearance they resemble females of five or six years older ia our western climes. But it was not so with Indorae If, in speaking of her age, she had chosen. ta diminish it by half-a-dosen years, no one would have questioned the truth of the assertion. In every sense wag the lustre of her beauty un- dimmed; while the lapse of time appeared only to add to ita gorgeousness and its grandeur. There was a dowy freshness on the rich red lipa—the teeth which they disclosed were whiter than ivory, even as if arranged by the nicest mechanical art, and in faultless preservation. eweet and balmy as that of @ youthful maiden’s; , and in a word, her appearance was altogether as if she had taken the most studious care to protect her wondrous beauty egainst all those effects of time and eircumetances which could mar its fresh- ness or dim its brightness. *It was at about eight o'clock in the evening that we thus find the Princess Indora seated in her exquisitely furnished apartment—and evi- dently awaiting eome expected arrival. Hopeful happiness was depicted her countenance: its light wae dancing in the depths of her coal- black eyes; and the flutter of her heart wag indi- cated by tha qnick swelling and sinking of her bosom. What was ing in the mind of the Princess Indora that eahe was thus hopeful and happy, and yet to a certain extent agitated with suspense? Was it that she thought of her love— that lang, faithful, impassioned, and trustful love of her’s—and that she had reason to believe it would shortly be crowned with. bliss? Presently the doar apened; and Sagoonah made her appearance. A mpid searching glance did the ayah fling upon her mistress aa she crossed the threshold—for one aingle moment too did the vin- dictive expression of a tigness pase over the fea- tures of the Hindoo wamen—and then,as her eyes instamtansoudy sank. again, abe before the Princess. with her wonted respectful deferenca of masno “ae ie it, Sagooneh &” inquired Indora hastily. “Is it———” She stopped short; and the colour heightened upon her cheeka—while the other evidences of her suspense were enbanced. “Two Commissioners from Inderabad have are rived in London, my lady,” answered Sagoonab; “and they crave an immediate audience.” “Two Oammiasioners ”’ ejaculated Indora, the colour suddenly vanishing from her checks. “What can this mean? Has anything bappened to my dear father? It was but the other day that his meseongers’ were here!———But speak, Sa- goonah !—what say they P’—and the Princesa was painfully excited. “They said nothing, my lady,” answered the ayah, “beyond inquiring in respect to your lady- ship's health and in soliciting an immediate auuience. But they are in mourning, my lad y 2 “In mourning P” echoed Indora, with a half- ehrick. “Oh, then I must anticipate the worst! But let them enter—introduce tham quick [” Sagoonah hastened to obey the mandate; and in a fuw moments the two commissioners from Inder. Her breath was SS (CO) LOAO©