The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 312: what you’re looking at

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

THR MYSTERIES OF THE COURT. experiencing. His eyes sank beneath the looks of the old steward : a profound sigh—or perhaps more correctly epesking, a low a moan expressive of deepest inward agony, issyed from his lips. “But what was this dream, my Jord ?” Purvis. The Duke did not immediately answer’ he was evidently uncertain whether to give an explana tion or not—until at length yielding to some irre- sistible impulse, he said, “ Listen—and J will tell “Shall I procure your Grace some wine? or will your lordship take @ glass of water?” in- quired the old steward: for Marchmont ap- as if ho were about to suffocate. . “T will help myself,” was his response: and rising from his seat, he moyed to where there was Filling a tumbler with hends which trembled so that the “Jeeanter and the glaes jarred against other, he rajsed the refreshing beverage to lips; and it is soarcely 8 figure wn his, parched say that the water wen$ hissing down throat as if it were pouring over hot iron, Pte he resumed the chair whence he had risen: but Purvis noticed that his countenance was almost as ghastly pale, though perhaps less conyulsed than at first. “Sleep was stealing upon mé,” he thus com- menced his explanation in the same low deep voice as before,—“ when I felt as if gradually awaken- ing for some reason that I could not comprehend. T cannot remember now-——1i I knew not at the time whether it was a sound in the room, or whether a hand touched me, or whether a voice addressed me—but oertain it is that I was thus unaeeountably awakened from my slumber—— And yet,” ejaculated the Duke, suddenly inter- rupting himself, at the same time that he started up from the chair, “it could only have been mere fancy—and nothing else! It is useless thug to enter upon the tion of an idle dream !’ “ You—useloga, my lord,” remarked Purvis, “if the subject be painful,” “ ‘Why did you say that?’ demanded the Duke, turning abruptly towards the old man as he site up in his bed, “My lord—my lord,” stammered Purvis, who really had meant nothing more than his words had conveyed; “ 1—I—beg your Grace’s pardon— but—but—I really——— “ Well, well,” ‘ntarrapted the Duke; “ you see that all these things naturally render me nervous and excited-----] mean that those mysterious in- cidents which cocurred ere we went to bed—-—” “They naturally made 9 certain impression, my lord,” replied the steward. “For myself, I candidly confess that I was thinking of them until the. very moment that sleep came upon my eyes.” “You said nothing about it to the servants, Purvis?” asked the Duke quickly, “ Certainly not, my lord: it was your Grace's order to the contrary.” “To be sure! It were noodles to frighten them :”’—and the Duke. lingered in the steward’s chamber with every appearance of ono who was afraid to return to his own. “ About this dream of ming!” he continued, after a pause, during which he first sate down—thqn rose up—aend 299 then sate down again, in a nervous rastless manner: “about this dream of mine, Purvis I have a great mind to go on telling you what if was. 99 But Maxchmont once more stopped short: he evidently did not want to continue on the same topio—and yot his mind was irresistibly led by some strong influence to hover around if, painful thot h it were. when something awoke me. The night-lamp was burning as usual in the room—and I looked about me, but I aaw nothing. The lamp was visibly grow- ing fainter and fainter—there was a wax-candle on the night-table upon one side of the bed—and I lighted it : but as I turned round, I beheld on the other side what seemed to me to be the tall form of a man enveloped in a cloak, and holding the cloak in such a way up to his countenance as to veil i¢ completely from my view.” ‘ Here the Duke again stopped short,—leaving Purvis in a species of awful suspense. “ And what did your Grace do?’ he at length asked as the Duke continued silent. ‘‘To confess the truth, Purvis,”’ was the response, “ I wae seised—or rather fancied I was——for of ‘course it was all @ dream-———but it appeared to me in this dream that I was seized with so sudden a terror I lay like one paralyzed. It was thas sort of petrifaction of the frame, though the senses were all keenly alive, which takes possession of one when under the influence of a nightmare. Then that dark sabape seemed to bend down over me-———Is it not extraordinary, Purvis? But if I were to tell you all, you would agree with me that if cannot be anything else than mere fancy P” But the Duke of Marchmont wes still in such a state of trembling nervousness that his condition, both physical and mental, proved how impossible it was to beguile himself into the belief that it was a dream: for again he rose from his seat— again he to end fro in an agitated manper— and then he sate down once more. “A form bent, [ say,” he continued, stil] irre- sistibly impalled to bover around the subject, like a moth fluttering about a candle,—“ it bent over me-———-of course in my dream, you understand 7 and it spoke a few words in such a deep un- earthly yoice that the blood ran cold jin my veins ~——No matter what it ssid—I forget—I did not hear—I could not for worlds repeat it !|——Par- dition agise upon me! I am losing my senses !”’ The Duke stamped his foot violently upon the floor as he gave vent to thet imprecation: and again springing up from the ehsir, he paced ner- vously to and frp. ‘The old steward was seriously alarmed: for he began to suspeet that his master’s intellects had received a shock and were somewhat deranged. He had not failed to noticg the extra- ordinary and inoopgruous expressions which had fallen from his lips in regard to the words breathed in big oar by the tal) sloaked form that either in imagination or in reality had bent over him. And now too Marehmont’s face was ghastly pale and as convuleed es it was when he firat entered the obamber; and the old steward tremblingly asked whether he should arouse the household and send off for medical assistance ? * Not for worlds!” ejaculated the Duke, with strange vehemence: then he immediately added, was telling you that I had fallen asleep, — | | | 3 q (GO) an (C DOO Col