The Mysteries of the Court of London, Vol. 5 — page 399: what you’re looking at

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

THE MYSTERIES jJ86 kindness of etranvzers. He assured me, with im- passioned vehemence, that so far frum being a bur- then, [ was the mast welcome of gusts; "and he added that circumstanees would compel tho band ty remain in that same sput fur anuther fortnizht, during whieh be besuusht me to tarry amongst them. Deeveiving that L was embarrassod how to answer, he addressed me gravely in the fullowing budriner ; * Tt would be ridiculous, Senora Chandos, to sup- posu that you dy nut suspect what we are. L must however, for iny uwa sake, give you some oxplana- tions, Luo me you behold a Spanish nublemaa, ogiring the rank ‘of Count, and descended from one of tue oldest families af Gatulonia. But wheo I luherited my Tathee’s Uile, the fumily estate was so impoverished that | found myscll a man of broken “ortunes. To sald all that was left, and J jored the cause uf Dou Carlos, with the rank of Captain } o his urmy. Whether L have conducted myself asa gaultant cavalier, is not for me to any: sullice it for wy Lps to proclaim, that where the figlt has ever been thickest, there was I to he fuund. The recont trenchery of Muarato, in signing a capitulatio£ with the Queen’s geueral Eapartero, aunihilated mye royal master 8 cause. Two alter ‘natives then became present to my contemplation —citlier to throw down my aruis and acknowled iv Qucen Isabella, of to ily into France. No—thcre wag ancther courso to bo | purstied ; and that was to associate mysclf with @ ~~ a> {vw len, a wild pr ok life such as you behold us leadiny. The world will doubtless e¢il us batidit!—and wo are so: bub on entering upon this a&.reer, solemn ; ouths were registered Hn p21 vst us, to Che efeet that | we shoul never plun-ler the poor, but onl ye ‘he rich =i that on no ocea ion should wo us¢ unaeces- sary violenze, much less spill hi:maa blued. Those ) Were our oaths; and they have become our laws. You nuw know, Senora, who en what wo aro, if Indeed you were nut previously aware of it. Per- haps you tremblo lest we five in a constant state of dunger: but this is not so. The Queen's truups are atill too much occ upicd in making bhedd against Cabrern, to over-run the wilds of Catalonia for the exterming: lon of such bands as that of which [ um the chief: fur there are many sueh bands at present | scattered abou? the mountainous regions of this | Principality. For years to come may we sufely continus our present pursuits. .And now, Serhups, you will wonder wherclore instegl of adupting this ' course of Jife, I have not joined the furees still ; united under: thy command of General Cabrera ? | _ The explanation can be given in a fow word, An! ‘ Insult [ received at his hands, aad whieh as a junior | ollicver I could not at the time resent, has enzen-. dered go strong a feeling of personal dislike towards that cleft; thav I eould nut serve under him,’ “. Count Curistoval evasoll spotkinzg; and I re- ‘mulned wrapped up*in deep meditation. iis nar- rative had touched me profuundly: 1 could not fiad it in my heart to blamo hiu—seareclysthink the worse of him —for having adopted this mode of life, “dadeed it was impossible to wonder that he had duue sv; and I knew, inoreover, that these cireum- stunces were invested in the cyes of Spaniards with much less moral degradation and dishonouring taints than in other countries. It was likewise a source _ vf satisfaction aod ao infinite relief to my mind to Tr 5e@ = a ee Oe eee ain - "mip@ee ae = 2 (with his band , fur noother OF THE COURT. learn that 1 was not the associate of bload-stained murderers—but that these men ontertained, after their own fashion, certain notions of a correet-and proper‘pature. I bad roccived so much generous attention and delicate kindnegs at their hands, as well as on tho part of the women, that I could nof - pussibly insist upun quitting thom at once without arpearing ungrateful fur ali that hospitable treat. aout. Therefore, when my melifation was ovor, 1 lntiyaated to Don Disvo my willingness to abide fortnight ; but I was suinewhat troubled when I bebeld the glow of fervid delizht nd onthusiastic joy whic suddgnly ani- mated his countenuncy: for I feared that ho enlertained towards we a sentiment which [ could uot possibly reciprocate. He saw that I was thus troubled; and again did the melancholy cloud settle upun his features. Tien ho hastened to change the conversation, and broke.of into a lively strain of a | discoyrye, miocled with ancedotes of the late Carlist warture. “ ¥ ‘ CHAPTER LXXXII. e CONTINUATION Of LADY DRaS’S MISTORY. “ Tue fortaight pagdd away ; and during this inter- val L avvided as mach as possible finding myself alono with Dun Diego Christoval, Ho saw that rallant and desperite as 1 am, and udupt} suci. was my endeavour; gnd with a delicacy which I could not help appreciatin » be no fonger asked me to join him in his evoning ramble, though at meal. ima Op atte attentions towards ine were most a;- siduous. When thoso two additional weeks had expired, I waited dirziously for some word or sizn indicative ofa removal; and I was well pleased when I heatd Don Diego givo orilers one evening that on the following day we wers to set oul. Ac. cordingly, gt an carly huur inthe nung, tho en- campment was broken up: tho horses which be- longed to the band, and which were kept in an linimense cave serving the purpose of a stable, were brought furth, Thog were steeds enough for us all, woinen included; and even then there re- mainod a couple to serve as pack-horses for the conveyance of the tently and the bagyase. We proceeded slowly, in couseq uence of the difficult nature of tho ground which we had to traverse. 1 | Fode at the heud, in company with Don Diego; and (he time pudsed rapidly away, thus beguiled by his ‘ngreoable conversation. J could ‘sce that he loved i mo—that he entertained, indeed, a profuund and ' acoring passion for me: but I reciprocated it not in tia slightest dovree. If ever there were a man | cupable of making an impresyion ‘on my heart, it iwas Count Diego Christoval: but I expericneed no toader fecling towards him. Even at the time 1 somewhat wondered at this, making it a sub- ject of solf-congratulation ; and I thought mine was a heart alloguther inaccessible to love—or elso that I had never as yet encountered the in- dividual who was to win my affections. Most women, when the term of girlhood is past, form in their own minds the beau ideal that they hope to encounter in, the course of time, and whom they fo.1 that they can love: but I never indulged in such a dream--LI had never thought upon the subjct—I had never felt the slightest want to love ¢ ELOOO SS (CO)