The Mysteries of the Court of London Vol. 4 — page 177: what you’re looking at

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

THE MYSTERIES OF THE COURT. d - ere Sas OM, man,, had occupied while recently sojourning in scanial—departed suddenty—left no debts un- Geneva. It being what would be called in Eng- | paid.” ' s land “ after office-hours,” our hero hai to pay} “And that is all,” said tho clerk, when he had double fees for the search, to which he of course | read these noteseover to our hero. did uot ‘ohject; aud ina few minutes the clerk in} Loftus then requested to be favoured with any charge of the reg stry gave him a slip of paper | private information that the book might afford re- containing the information which he required. | lative toa Mr, Smith who had also been recently But as he put the slip into Jocelyn’s hand, the} staying at Geneva: and having paid another fee official asked, “Is this a?l you desire to kuow con- | he was allowed to inspect the tollowing record :— cerning Mr. Thompson ?” “Came trom Italy, through Savoy—supposed to “] wish to asecrtain all I can concerning him,” | be keeping on the track of the English Princess repli-d Jocelyn; “and if you can give me any | and her retinue—is known to be av English noble additioval particulars, f shall most cheerfully and | man of high rank, the Karl of Curzon—traveiling liberally remunerate you for your trouble.” with passport made out in name of Smith—believed ‘Thus speaking, he laid two louis upon the table; | tohave no political aim or object—mere affair of gal- and the clerk, after cousigning them to his pocket, | lantry—plenty of money—lives in closest seclusion unlocked a cupboard—took out a bulky vuluine— | —seen loitering near the villa—frequent appoint- and opening it at the letter ‘T, searched for the | ments with some lady dwelling there—the police- name of Thompson. ° spy, set to watch, unable to discover who the lady “lt appears to be c very common name with | 1s—dared not' venture close enough—the Earl ob- your felluw-couutrymen, sir,” he remarked, with a| served to scale the garden-wall—passed whole smile: “for‘a large number of English visit- | uights at the villa—opiniun confirmed that it is a ing Geneva are called Thompson. I have observed, | mere intrigue of gallantry—uno uotice to be taken— too, it is the same with Smith, and Junes, and | not to beiuterfered with—departed without leaviug Brown, and Grren, and White: but I think that} any debts.” of all, the Smiths predominate.” Having ascertained these particulars,—which, “There is no doubt a great number of English- | we should observe, wero rendered as complete as meu beuring those names,” said Loftus: “but it | possible by means of specific dates,—Joceiyn Loftus must also be observed that whenever an Engish- | took his departure from the Town Hall; and re- nan, bo matter how fine a name his real one may | entering the hackney-coach, he ordered it to drive be, wishes to take a false one, he iS eure to fix on | to the ueighbourhood of tre lake. ; he commonest and ugliest.” While proceeding thither, he reflected on all the “Al! indeed—is it so?” said the clerk, who, | details he had just gleaned from the secret registry like all Genevese, was fund of a gossip. “ Well,| of police. The sclf-styled Mr. Thompsou was sometimes we find out that Englishmen visiting | Colonel Malpas; and Mr. Smith was the Earl of Geneva are travelling with false naines: but so | Corzon. It was the Earl of Curzon, then, who was long as our attention is not openly and officia!ly | the faithless lover of Mis. Roberts. But how com- directed to the matter, we wink at it. The Eng- | pletely identical appeared to be the objects which lish, you see, sir, spend a great deal of money at | those two individuals had in view while visiting the Geneva: their presence is good fur uur trade—and | Coutinent! Both were secretly following in the we like to encourage them here. They may,there- | track of the Princess of Wales: eack was intriguing fore take what names they like, so long as they do | with a Jadyin her household! That the Earl's pot violate the laws. At the same time, I must | affair of gallantry was with Julia Owen, Loftus was wnform you that all particulars we do succeed in j already aware, Considering, then, everything he gleaning eoncerningtthem, we place on record: or | knew concerning the Misses Owen, was it not else,” he added with a sly laugh, “we should not | natural to infer that another of the sisters was the have such a Police-book as this to refer to when | object of Malpas’s intrigue? And, in pursuance gccasion may require. But, Ah! here is the | of the detestable mizsiou which those girls had re- Thompson cuncerning whom you have been in- | ceived, was it not probable enough that while grae quiring, the last Eng.ishman of that nano who bas | tifying their pgssions on the one hand, they at the viziled Geneva: and you will perceive that there is | same time on the other hand artfully contrived to a pretty long note appended to Ais name.” throw all the scandal of their amours upon the Our hero looked at the place to which the official | Princess? Were not they guiity—and was uot the pomted, and observed that there was indeed a» Prineessinnovent and unsuspecting | . lengthy annotation, consisting of such curt,; Such were the conclusious to which: Jicelyn broken, but very significant sentences as the ful- | naturally came: and the reader does not require lowing :-— to be informed how correct those surmises were. “Came from Italy—had been seen at Milan—| But while thus pondering on tho details he had supposed to be secretly tullowing the English Prin- | gleaned from the secret registry of police and the cess’s rétinue—is wel) provided with money— | deductions he had thence drawn, he could not evidently has no political aim in view—has been ; help experiencing 8 sensation of disgust and loath- recognised @y au English traveller as a Colonel | ing to think that the actions of individuals should Malpas—said nut tu bear a very nigh character in | be so minutely watched, even to the compromise of hig own country—lives secluded and retired here— | female reputations, by the myrmidons of the Ge- shuns notice, avoids society, pays his way regu-} nevese law. He also remarked, in the course of larly—goes out at might—lurks about the English | his meditations, that the Police-book did pot seem Princess's villa—has been seen to scale the wall— | to have contained any memorandum of the hiring was watched on tio or three occasions—foun!! to | of Kubolt anddis gang to carry off the two females have passed the night within the villa—orders | trom the villa; and it was therefore tu be supposed given vot to molest him—no desire to create a/th@ the police had remainéd altogether in the nt A a ennai ne—innenaprvnarrusmanntaneraeareenteanee f re “we ee 1$4 " ECOMNIE OG cS) CO