The Mysteries of the Court of London Vol. 4 — page 184: what you’re looking at

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

Epes EL, es a, er ES ee nd eniednen ee ee ae Tee SE eG Np Sy ee eA es my cms Wn, ae A ED A IED ee EE or ee ey -—_ = == ey ee eee 4 ee eee - ene —. ara ge eee gE awe Q == «wee eee edt Ler ens or eee " SHE MYSTERIES OF THE COURT. 171 than sentimental—she° is a maudlins sickening spooney with her rigid ideas of virtue. But we have been*alking of J ocelyn Loftus—how is it that not once, during the present conversation, the names of Curgou and Malpas have been men- tioned ?” she asked, her beautiful countenance softening into ga arch smile. * What!” ejaculated Emma, “after the scanda- Jous trick they endeavoured to play us—plotting to earry us off to Lausaune by means of such dreadful villains as that Kobolt and his gang, whom, a5 we have since heard, rumour declares to be nothing less than resurrection-men-——Ah! if I were old Mrs. Ranger, I shoufd never fancy myse/f agaia, after having been in cuntact with those ruffians! I should always suspect my very clothes smelt of dead bodies. And old Mrs. Hubbard too——” “Treally cannot help laughing,” said Agatha, when I think of those two antiquated heroines of éhe abduction scene !” * How astounded Malpas must have been !” said smma. “Served hin right too! I am very glad of it.” : “Poor Curzon,” murmured the sentimental Julia: “JI really think the punishment was foo severe, seeing that he meant to carry me off rouvh love.” “I dare say if you were to mee him avain, Julia,” said Agatha, “you would furzive him.” “ She might!” exclaimed Emma: “ but I declare F would vever forgive Malpas.” “Nor would | forgive Curzon,” recorted Julia, raising. her head proudly. “You both seem to think I am weak-mioded and foolish: I tell you that 1 am as strong in purpose as either of you; and therefore, once for ail, let me beg that I may be believed when I declare that whenever L meet Curzon again I will tell him frankiy and ca@fodidly that everything is at anend &tween us. As for you, Emma,” she continued, flinging a somewhat angry but also areh look upon her sister, “it is very easy of you to talk so slightingly of Malpas since you have already formed a new attachment. Ah! don’t think that I am blind to the amorous guks which you have lately flung upon the good- looking “querry——” “What! Baron Bergami?” ejaculated Agatha: then, evidently struck by something, she imihe- diately added, “ And now that [ recollect, you have so managed, Emma, for some dayé past that be shal! sit next to you at breakfast and give you his arm from the drawing-room to the dining-room. Yes, and also last evening and the evening befure, when we all walked out along the shore——Ah! Emma, how the blood is rising t your cheek!" exclaimed Agatha, laughing, as she held her snowy hand against her sister’s face which had indeed become of the richest carnation, How it burna!”' ‘ Come, I will make 4 confession,” said Emma, now endeavouring to eséape from her confusidn in a merry laugh; “ and I know not why I should have attempted to conceal this new feeling even for a single day, inasmuch as We do not usually have any secrets from each other. The truth is, [ have been playing Bgron Bergami so long and to such effect, that T have faiten in love With him myself, Now, my dear girls, you trast dGiérve that when I am dressed up for that particular parpose, with my bair all gatheréd eo as to appeat to flow just down as ts the nape of the neck, like Bergami’s—with that elegant frock-coat too, imprisoning me in the ad- mirable symmetry of ita shapely cut—then, with those trousers with their great pluits at the hips and round the front, gradually diminishing unul they terminate in a gracefal arch over the boots—yes, and ae a RT, then those loves of boots themselves, so exquisitely - shaped, with such high heels, making me at leaat two inches taller than I am, and giving such a hol- low to the shape of my foot that as I stand you might roil a half-crown upright underneath,— when I see myself thus attired, the snowy shirt-feill arranged in such a manner as to cénceal the swell of my busom—-and Jast, though not least, those false whiskers and that elegant moustacne,— When I contemplate myself, [ say, thus attred, in the full length mirror, I really fancy that I am Bergami—and—and——dow’t you think that the Baron is very, very handsoine ?” The manner in which Euyna asked this question, suidenly gave such a droll turn to the graphic and picturesque portraiture she had been drawing o, herself, that Agatha und Julia cou'd not help bursting out laughing. Einma also laughed; anu a delightful sp*ctac'e was it, the mirth of those three lovely girls—a mirth that displayed teeth eee ee eee) eee - =‘: =a white as ivory between lips of wet cural—teeth | which*were pure and perfect as pearls themselve coald be, and lips which seemed so fresh in their dewy moisture that it were hard indeed to believe that the hot kisses of burnins lust hai over been : pressed upon them. But, Oh! who that observes the rose wnen drooping at eve with the diamond dew-drops sparkling dpun every modestly closing leaf, would imagine that this flower seeminy'!y +o pure, so chaste, so delic ite, had been boldly ba-k- ingt in the gorgeous sunlight during the wheule day, and had druuk in the impassioued glow withuut parchiog or scorching ? “Then are we to anderstand,” said Agatha, when her own and her sisters’ mirth had somewhaz subsided, “that you love Bergami?” “ Yea—love him ag L loved Jucelyn,” answered Eituma,—‘* because he was handsome and I desired him: or love him as I have loved Malpas, because I cangot exiat without a lover.” “Qh! we can uudersiand why you love hin, exclaimed Agatha, still laughing. “ Bat remember, Emma,” she added more serivu-ly, “ these amours miphave their cou.equences, a> mine did—and it may not always be su cusy to get over them——” “ Well, my dear sister,” interrupted Emma, “it will be time enough to talk of that when the danger presents itselA Besides, you must not get on too fast in your ce‘ijectures. I am very far from having ensuared Bergami as yet—he eveo appears rather distant———not exactly distant, fur he is politeness itself, as you well know: but he will not see that I love him. If my hand lingers in his, he does not press it: if my looka fx themselves upon him, his are cast down: 1f my fuot happens to reat aww = wae ow — = ee eee ee, ee -_ was Sewell avainst his under the table, he begs my pardon as | if he himse!f had accidentaily kickéd me.” “Why, this is as bad a9 Loftus in the post- chaise,” exciaimed A “when we first tra- velled with him, and before wo knew who he reilly was. And yet the Baron does not logk as if bs would prove another Jocelyn: nor d> I bcliavé that there can be moré tétan one man of Jocelyn stoic disposition i the world—and that man Jocelyn himself.” Sigs? wipers sn Pe air. pope kee eR Pe sinner we hee ee es GR oe ECOMNIE OG O) cS) CO