The Mysteries of the Court of London Vol. 7 — page 73: what you’re looking at

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

shrined, and who will welcome with enthusiastic 60 THE MYSTERIES OF THE COURT. abad were ushered into the presence of the Princess. One was a venerable old mad, in whom Indora at once recognised a faithful and long-attached Mi- nister in her father’s service: the other was a per- sonage of middle age and wore a military uniform. Him also Indora knew full well: he Was one of her father’s equerries. Both were men of distinc- tien and of high rank; and, as Sagoonab had intimated, they wore the purple emblems of mourning which were customary when death had to be deplored in the kingdom of Inderabad. The two Commissionors prostrated themeelves at the feet of Indora: their hearts were evidently fall of emotion: and the Princess was seized with @ mingled consternation and dismay which forbade her from putting the que-iion that had risen up to her lips. At length the elder Commissioner mur- mured forth in a tremulous voice, “Gracious Queen, accept the allegtance which we offer for acclaime their Lady-Sovereign home.” Indora was profoundly affected, not only on ae- count of her father’s death, but likewise by the language which the Commissioner thus addressed to her. She w@pt for the memory of. her perished sire—she wept likewise to know herself a Queen. She wept for the lost one—and she Wept because a diadem had descended upon ‘her brows, And there —in that villa, which, sumptuows though it were, was a mere humble cottage in comparison with the gorgeous palaces of Inderabad,—there sate this lady, the Queen ot one of the mightiest indepen- dent nations of the East | The Chief Commissioner proceeded to give her Majesty certain details relative to her father’s — death, and also with reference to the arrange- ments that had been made for the government of | the kingdow until her return. ourselves and on the part of all your Majesty’s | only a couple of daysefter tho King of Inderabad faithful subjects.” had despatched those messenyers, who, as we have “Ah! then my beloved father is no mpre '*| already seen, waited upon Indora at her villa, he said Indore, in a deep voice: and covering | was seized with a sudden illness, which in a few her countenance with her hands, she burst into | hours préved fatal. But the instant his physicians tears. ° told him that the worst was to be apprehended, he The Commissioners rose from their suppliant | posture, and stood in attitudes of respect in the presence of her whom they had just hailed as their | that they might take the oath of allegiance to his Queen. Indora appeared to forget their presence: | dgughter who was absent. It wae scarcely neces- -—at that instant one idea was uppermost in her | sary to require this display of loyalty on their mind—that her father was no more, and that he ‘part: for the different regiments, on learning what had died while shs was far away in a foreign land. | the object was, marched to the great square pro- shalled in the great aquare in front of the palace, ordered all the troops of the capital to be mar- © Bitterly, bitterly lid the lady weep. could only have been there to close her father’s eyes and to receive his last injunctions! Oh, if the wings of a bird could have been given to her at the time, that she might have soared over seas and over lands to minister in the last hours of that beloved father—she would not have to reproach herself now! But she was stricken with remorse; for she felt as if she had been guilty of a crime in being absent<from that sire in his supreme mo- ments. At length she recollected that the Oom- missioners were present: she rajesed her looks—she wiped her eyes; but in « voice that was + as if clouded with inward weeping, she said, ‘““deil me, my friends, how spoke my poor father of his daughter in his last illness?" “His Majesty,” replied the senior OCommis- sioner, “commanded us to bear unto our future Queen the assurances of that paternal love which had never diminished—of that father’s fondness which endured until the end.” “My poor father!” murmured Indora, again weeping. “ But what else said he?” she inquired, after a few minutes’ pause, and again drying her eyes. ‘ “His Majesty commanded us,” responded the chief Commissioner, “to assure our future Queen that he left her a Kingdom in the highest state of prosperity—a well-filled treasury, and a popula- tion that has not to complain of oppressive taxes— a large and well-disciplined army that has cheer: fully sworn allegiance to your Majesty as ite Queen—thriving towns, the wealth and civilise- tion of whieh are not to be ontvied by even the cities of the English in other parts of India. In s word, your Majesty is now, by the will of Reeven, called apun to rule over a great and « ; mappy vation, in whose heart your image is en- Oh, if she | claiming Indura’s name, The dying King ordored his attendants to bear bim forth upon a baloony, whence by signs he expressed his gratitude to the troops and their commanders. In a few hours afterwards he had ceased to exist. For three days the inhabitants of Inderabad hung their hvuuses with black draperies in token of mourning for their deceased munarch; and then, the funeral being over, there was a brilliant illumination, for three days also, in honour of their Lady-Sovereign. The late King had -no near relatives with the ex- ception of Indora: and thie was so far fortunate, that there was no pretender to dispute her claim to the throne. A Regency was formed, consisting of a council of five of the highest dignitaries of the country, all of whom were devoted to the late monarch and his living daughter; and the two Commissioners who now waited upon Indora, were at once despatched off to England to communicate all these tidings. The new Queen listened with a profound interest to everything thus imparted to her; and in suit- able terms she expressed her acknowledgments to the Commissioners for the loving loyalty that had been shown her and for the wise measures that had been adopted. As a token of her gratitude, she bestuwed upon each a ring of immense valuc; and she dismissed them for the present, bidding them return to her upon the morrow. Indora was now once more alone: but not for many minutes was she left to her reflections, —for Sagoonah shortly reappeared, to announce the ‘arrival of Mr. Redoliffe. The Commissioners had said nothing to the ayah in respect to the object of their visit; but she suspected what it wae —yes, she suspected that her mistress was now a Queen! Indora would have informed her of the fact: but the annoupcement of the arrival of him whom she It appeared that | ECOMRniclacae SS (CO)