The Mysteries of the Court of London, Vol. 7 — page 198: what you’re looking at

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

ee ee oe ce ee ee ae 2 ie oe eee Oe eee Cae Bip et eg Sa a PE a. EG e— ee — ee eee ee Oe Seg He OE eT, ey TE eT Ot EO OEE Es re EN ee A OE SEER EG ee oes Ee EE oe oe eee oe ee eee eee ee, ~_— ~« EE pee, THE WYSTERIES OF THR COTRT. See Oe 2 eee: ~ e t e eee -~ eRe and is making ite way as fast as steam-ingins and electric tilligrafa.” “] dere say Mr. Ashtbn is very glad to have an opportunity of seeing the school,” said Mra. Chubb; “but he didn’t come for thet all the same, He's tuok our lodgings: so yen'll just write him out a receipt for the fust week, which ke has paid in ‘ * ¥ “Amen!” said Mr. Chubb : ard roseating hiw- motel of self at the desk, he nibbed & pen--hald. it Up to the light to aesyre,hivuedlf that it was, properly mended—end in a true achealusaster fashion wrate the receipt in round hand, oo all the spare part of the elip of paper with the most extracrdi. nery flourishes, and winding up the achievement with some curiqus illustration under his own name, —which snid illustration might either be taken for the feather end of.a quilt, or elec as an inganivite repreeentation of that very cat’s tail along which the electricity had been deseribad aa jnesihg. Having leant back in bis seat fora few inoments, to admire the general effect of the reosipt, Mr. Chubb gravely dried i¢ on his blotting-payer, and handed it to Christian. “That’s the way,” he eaid, pointing with his pen to the writing, “that I teach the boys to make their up-strokes and their down-strokes. But yor shall ser :”—-then raising his voios, he exolaimed, “‘ Now then, firat oleae, with your copy-hooke !” This command was followed by a bustling about on the part of éome dozer of the scholars; and then ensued # rush of the same interesting youths in corduroys and pivafores, up to the deak. Mz. Chubb examined the eopy-books one efter another, passing them as he did eg to Christien, and lucking very hard in his face to observe the effeet pro- duced by these elegant specimens of juvenile cali. graphy. Of couree Christinn- admired everything thus submitted to hitn, and. expressed himeelf 60 well pleased with Mr. Chubb's sebolere that he begyed to be allowed to place five ahilljnizs in the -choulinaster's banda, to ba expended on whatepover refreshments the juveniles might fancy and which the nearest pastrycock eould supply. Lt must bo ngain cupfessed that there was a little artifice in all this—though venial and natural enough: for, as we have before said, the youth wae desiroys to ubtain Mre. Chubb’s guod opinion, in the hope that it would facilitate the realization of hiv desire to see Maas Vincent. Nor waa he disappuinted: fur Mrs. Chubb requeated the pleasure of bis com- pany to tea in the evening. | : He was speedily installed in his lodgings; aud baying drawn up an advertisement fur the situation of private sectetery to a nobleman, member of par- liament, or any other persun requiring sack a functionary, he sallied forth to take i¢ to the offiga of the Times. ® Returning hume again, he dined; aud with some books whiled away the hours until six in the evemng,—when, having studied his toilet with an unusual degree of nicety, he re- paired to Mrs. Chubb’s parlour. As Christian apened the door, be could svatcely conceal the joy whieh thrilled through him, on belwiding the luvely creature.who bad inspired bim with so deep bn intereat , e « Isabella Vincent was, as we have previously said, sateen years of age; and it was no wonder that Jer exquisite beauty alould have made an impres. sion upon the heart of Christian Ashton... She was ee OO 187 Rage” 2 ee og eee Eke tall and slender. with 9 sylphid armnuetry of ehape that. was at once gracile and clegine: foe bev'e was that eseet age, when, with porhape @ eight prococity, the delicate outlines of pirthood’s, fagim werd softly rounding and gently dcvaloping. inte. the snore flowing ones of approaching womanhoed. Ad; theen qutlines indicated a juatnesa of proper tisns which, while constituting her form the rareat beauty, seemed to faltil the iden whieh tho eqilptors of old sadight to express ‘and workout in their Parian efizies. Its wil. lowy elaaticity.and youthful graco—ita qlenderness | of waind anit actly hadding contouts of bust ~—its sloping shoulders and guotly arching neck --its rounded, xeme. ond, its straightness of litnba ~- ita exquisitely modelled heatle and scalptured por- fevtion of wales and, of faet,—all combined to renter Leabolia's form the.vers incarnation of those rules of art which awayed the. objsel.or. the pencil of the greatest master when seeking to pourtray woman, in her loveljest form, through the medium of the marble or of the canvass. As for her countenance, —to gave thereon, it was bot ¢0 much: the perfeot oval of shat sweet. face— nor the faultless regularity of thy features ~ nor the deep blue ecyts, so large and olepr, with their thiokly fringed lide—gor the classically pencilled brows, set upbu the opals of the stainless forehead nor the wall-out lips of gural redyeas--nor the teeth of oriont pearls which shone, between ~-uur the transparency of the complexion, with the softest tint of the rose ypam the aheeks -nor the righ abundance of glosay dark brown baiz, shower. ing in ringlets upon her shoulders,—it.waa not all this assemblage of charms whieh would migat ravish and enchayt the mini of the absercer, . But there was something in the sweat peneivedges and the holy melanchuly, ao ta speak, of Lakbelle’s copnte- nance which eonatituted the pure.¥irginal charm that appealed to the sentiment aud net to the sense, and which had to da with the soul as much as with tho heart of the beholder,—a charm which no oye cold fail 0 poroeive, the influence of which no mind could-help acknowledsing, and sot wih only the imagination could comprehend inasmuch as no pep can descrihe it. Indeed, it was what the Perfume is.to the rowe,—an essence apart from the beauty which attralts the eye: if was what the halo,te to the angel,—a light distinct from the heavenly beeuty of the form itself. It was the in- expressible charm whieh mukre one think, while gazing on sagh a face, that the soul itself is un- veiling ite own loveliness and lovking out in & sutt sweet poveivences, leet fe . Christian Aghton— with his yollned intelligence, and with his feelings of unwarped, dalicacy—was the very one to appreciate the-beauty of auch a being as Isabella Vincent, To mere physical charms he would perhaps have remained long in- sensible: but here was mental and moral beauty— the beauty of the eeul—moingling with loveliness cf form and features in s nvenner Which he had uover seen befure, save in respect to his own sweet eister Christina. The love with which Jesbelia bad al- trendy inspired him—though heaven koows how unconsciously on Aer part and how as yet locouy pletely comprehended on his own~-was not the mere every-day passion tu which the name i ee erroncously applied, er which of its own accord usurps the denomination: but 1) wus that jove 4 GEN ORERELD, hha, eee a cote semen yrnarninntammainmaageign ECONnNIG OOOkKS.COnnr