The Mysteries of the Court of London Vol. 4 — page 201: what you’re looking at

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

s oe ae, Lee ee ee ee ee eee | - ac Ae i, AT, eg <ememeemmes cD MAB en ce f lee aD oe Eo ow = ae eee = eee ee oe — a a e ee age 188 “Then you have seen Lady l'rescott again ?—or you have seen Mr. Loftus?” she immediately ex- claithed in a hurried manner, and scarcely knowing what she said, so tumultuous were the feelings which had suddenly arisen up in her soul. “Yes, madam,’ responded Bergami, who all ina momeut had regained his wonted presence of wind: for he saw the precipice upon which they both stood and hastened by the ceremonial courtesy of his manner to raise up again the barricr of eti- quette which had been for an instant borne down by the strong gush of feeling fresh from the heart's fountains. ‘“ Yes, madam, I have seen Mr. Loftus; el | Qe... ot THE MYSTERIES OF THE COURT. three weeks .back, was through love of ths Prine cess, whose honour she wished to save ! Thereupon Bergami bade her rise—mad» her re- sume her seat—amd ordered her to tell him allshe knew. She fell to cgying and sobbing, and saying that if she had watched at her door at different times and seen Aim stealing along the passage at night, it was only because Mrs. Rauger had teld her | what was going on and had put it into her head thus to play the apy. It was now Bergami’s turn to be astonished s for he knew fall weil that it was not himself who had been seen creeping ste.lthily along the pas- and perinit me at once to inform your Moyal High- | sage in the manner described, On questioning ness that a more chivalrous, high-minded young ud oross-questioning Mrs. Hubbard, he found that man than he breathes not the air of this world. | she adhered to her story without cuntradiction or As for the aspersions thrown out against his cha- racter, they are naught but the vilest calum- nies———” a “Then the Owens have deccived me—and Mrs. Ranger has deceived me?” cried the Princess, with mingled anger and amazement. “You have been deceived, madam—and duped in many, many way:,” respunded Bergawi. “ But the crisis is now come; and thanks to this much maligned but really virtuous and admirable Jocelyn Loftus, your enemies will succumb and you shall achieve a proud tiiumph. Nore than this I would rather not say at present; and it were also well if your Royal Highness would assume your usual de- meanour, and not alluw those around you to per- ceive that anything extraordimary is tahiny place.” © 1 will follow your counsel, Baron, in all things,” she answered. Bergami then bowed, and at once quitted the apartment without raising his eyes towards the Princess. Ascending the stairs, he reached the second storey aud made straight for Mrs. Hubbard’s room, where he found ber solacing herself with a . little drop of bggudy after the fatigues of ironing : aud starching all the moruing up in the laundry. ees, te On observing the royal equerry, she sprang from her seat, curtsied, and made a rush at the bottle, to hurry it off to the cupboard which stuod oyen behind her: but Bergami, closmg the door at once, assuined a stera air, saying, “Put yourself tu vo trouble, Woman, on my accuunt; but auswer me the quc+tious J am abvut to address you.” Mrs. Hubbard was sadly frightened at these words, accompanied by s0 peremptory and even menacing a wauner on the part of Bergami, and siuking back in her scat, she gazed up‘at him with a stolid amazement that would have been ludiciuus enough if he were in any humour to enjoy it. But it is not our intention to give at length and in detail all that passed between the Baron and Mrs. Hubbard ou the present occasion. Suffice it to say, that'he opened his business with her by the assurance that if she told him the trath iu respect to certain matters that had travspired, he would hold her barmiess; but if she acted with dupli- city or falsehood, he would punish her most severely. Having already suspected from the very first moment Bergami began speaking, that his visit was in some way connected with reoeut ecourrences, she grew terribly alarmed, and fell upon her knees, declaring that whatever part ahe took in the affar of the meuiorable nigh: l oe ge ne Ee eure wh =s 5 = ome a SE a a I a TED a oa. = —_—- prévarication; and he now began to comprehend that the cunspiracy must have had a phase of which he aud Jocelyn Lofius had hitherto little dreamt. In plain terme, he saw that somebody must have personated hin, in order the more effectually to werk out the detestable purpose of involving the Princess’s reputation in irretsievable ruin. That he had been so personated by some one, was a suspicion speedily confirmed by several little circumstances which he elicited from Mrs. Hubbard. For iustance, Mrs. Ranger had never allowed her to peep forth long euough to satisy herseif that the individual personating him really entered the roum of the Princess; and morevuver tae personator was invariably dressed in a frocke coat—never in an even costume—although it was at night time when the said personator was wont to appear, Mrs. Hubbard likewise men- tioned that, nuw she came to think seriously upon the matter, she had more than once fancied at the time‘that the person whom she took for Baron Bergawi always lovuked shorter than he really was. But now there was another phase in the tre- mendous conspiracy which Mrs. Hubbard revealed to the Baron; and this was that on two occasious when she had becy induced by Mrs. Rauger to peep forth from her room, she iad seen the Princess hei self introducing a paramour along the passage! Astunishmeut tur-a winute prevented Berga:ni from utteriug a word: but when he was enablgd to question her, he found that she con- sistently aud positively pledged herself to having seen her Royal ‘dlighness on wo consecuuive oceae sions approaching up the passage, iu company each time wilh a male stranger. When asked how she knew it was the Princess, Mrs. Hubbard replied that it was because ste wore the satin cloak bore dered with ermiue and the green silk hood which she was wont to put on of an evening, and which it was impuasible to mistake. " The Baron could scarcely restrain his indigna- tion on hearing these details, which gave him so rouch wore profound an insight into the ramuifica- tions of the fearful conspiracy. That he and the Princess had alike been personatec on different occasions was beyond all question: Lecause not for an instant did he believe that her Royal High- ness had been guilty of the thing imputed to her, Indeed, so furious was the rage whicn boiled up in the breast of Bergami, that he could scarosly pre- vent himself frdém rushing forth and a& once sur-~ rendering thy three sisters, together with Mra, Rau- er, to the authorities uf Geneva. But :eeollect ee tl Ee ee go En ee bad | eee ee ee ee EE a a =o Pe SE Oe == lin ( O) LDOC cS) CO