The Mysteries of the Court of London, Vol. 5 — page 171: what you’re looking at

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ee 168 catrumity of the apartment; and scating herself on a sofa, fell into a profoynd reveric. By a certain arrangement of drapery in tho room, that ‘sofa where - Lady.Saxondalo had seated herself, was concealed : from tho view of Juliana; and for the samo reason tho latter, at the place whoro sho lay half-reclined, . was hidden from the eyes of her motber. e Tho young lady went on reading her book—ten minutes or « quarter of an hour elapsed—and as the love-passages of the tale grew more interesting, her attention became all the more completely absorbed in the perusal, The cunsequence was she altogether forgot the presence of her mother in the room— forgot it indeod as completely as if hor ladyship wore not thers af all, * Presontly the door “openod agnin, and this time it was Frank Paton who cnterod. Thu bosutiful youth appeared moro beautiful than ever to tho eyes of Juliana, inflamed as her-imagination was at tho moment, and thas keenly pronosto enhance every detail of attraction and lineamont of Beauty. - @ TITR MYSTERIES OF THE COURT. passion which hor daughtor rivetted on the hund- some youth, did Lady Saxondale behold! But if thore were any doubt in her mind—if for a mgment shé fancied there gould be any mistake- upon the subjéct—all yncertainty was cleared up by that long kiss of deliciousness and fervour in which tho lips of Juliana.and Francis were joined. Lady Saxon- dale snt perfoct¥} aghast. It was impossible to dis- believe her eyes—and yet ghe still disbelieved tho interpretation which she put upon what she saw. She believed and ¢ho disbeliaved: uncertainty “was cleared up, and yet she dared BM scttlo hor mind upon the conviction thus established. But when the page had retired—when" Juliana had re- sumed her book—when Lady Saxondale was com- pelled to adinit to herself that what she had seen was true, and what had taken place was unmistak- able, she felt such an awlul fecling come over her that she sat like one petrified—turned i into slone, wit all éhe marble’s terriblo chill at her heart! Good heavens! what a blow for the pride of the An olectric thrill shot quiveringly’through her—the haughty Lady Saxondale! She who plumed her- colour heightened upon her cheeks—and fixing upon him as he approached a look brimful of pas- ¢ion, sho half murmured, “ Adorable boy, how I lov. self so highly upon having prolonge:! the race into which she had raarried—the time-honoured race of Saxundale; sho who regardod that name as one of the prouddt chronicled in the pages of British you— bow L low you.” ur Ugnow id closo up to hor, handing her @ history; she who had hoped that era long so:ne letter which bad just arrived. . excellent match must present itself for ber eldest “ Brank, dear rank,” she said in o low soft daughter; sho it was who now bocame compplled to voice, as his eyes looked tenderly do wn into: hor’s: and she patted his face with her hand. Ho bent down toward¢ her, ifvited by her gase and her caresses tu do #0; and then their lips mot in along delicious kiss. At that iuatant the recol- lection flashed to-Juliana’s mind that Lady Saxon- dale was in the room; and full of affright was the glance which she threw towards the farthor cx- tremity. But the drapery hid hor mother from her sight, and she experioncod a fouling of indescribablo relief at the reflection that she must in the same manner be conccaled from her parent’a viow. Frank admit to hersclf that this daughter had descended to amorous dalliance with a page. And in such a case it was no wonder if her ladyship abandoned herself to a belief in the worst: namely, that Ju- liana had been more cu!pable than she really was. At this thought the sense of petrifaction passed quickly away, and was instantaneously succeeded by a feeling as if molten Jead had suddenly taken the place of blood in her veins—or as if that blvod which a nsment before seemed stagnant, had all in an instant been made to boil by the presence o some subtle but all-potent Promethean fire. There had noticed that suddch start—that quick glance of was a tingling sensation all over her; and lor first uneasiness—and tho sudden disappearance of the carnation hue from her cheeks of delicately-tinted bistres and instantaneotusly comprehending what all this meant, be likewise grew pale with affright. But Juliana gnvo him a roassuring tap on tho cheek with her hand; so that the young pago glidod from the room more than ever in love if possible with tho handsome Juliana. This young lady then renumved her book; but instegaP@F reailing it, gavé way to all the rapturous | “eeoughts whicls the little scone just described had conjured up in her mind. But every dotail of that scone had bean witnossed by Lady Saxondalo—and jn a very simple mannor tov: namely, the refffcting of the mirrors.-whioh embellished the walls of the apartment, snd some uf which, between: the windows, descended. to the floog. Yes—every dotail of that scené had been witnessed by Julana’s mother! Nut that ihe was watching medium of ¢he téll-tale mirrors: she was not even thinking of her: but it was in a mpod of the most perfect abstraction that the eyes of Lady Saxondale were fixed upon the looking- glass opposite to ber. Conceive her astonialiment when she beheld the page bending over Juliana—the lattor carcasing his cheek with her: hand,—yes, oven to the looks of pet datighter at tho timo through the i inipulse wag fo spring from her soat, rush for ward, and tax Juana with her aupposod frailty and shame. But a second. thought held hereback. Sho remem- bered the increasing rebelliousncss of her elder daughter's ‘pirit; and she apprehended a scene which might lead to exposure before the houschold. Besides,4sf the evil were done it could not be re- . paired; aud all the angry words in tho world would not restore « lust virtue. Ibady Saxondalo there- fore curbed her rage, hridled her indignation, and resolved to take no rash nor inconsiderate step. . She must separate hor daughter from the page: but even this she felt that it wero impolitic to do all in a moment, lest Juliana in her’ wilfulness should leave the house with him, thus abandons herself altogether to thia passion of her's! Terrible was the atate of mind. into. which the tinhappy. wortian- was plunged. Calamities and cates of al kinds. emed. gathering around her; ahe appoare involved. in the. tanglod - web of atet terminate in ruin. Hut not. yehip give way to these gloomy re- 9 wasloo strong-minded to become des- ‘Or despaifing.om 6 sudden. She felt that her engrgies in the various mat- tontion ; and she said to heraelf, essary that I should be equal tu tets engaging her “‘ It ie absolutely é EO NOG SS (CO)