The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 349: what you’re looking at

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RS THE MYSTERIES. events which had thus come to her knowledye. For, although she might unbosom the sentiments and the secrets of her own soul,—yet everything reyarding her sire she looked upon as solemn an:! sacred: and thus the Princess Sophia remained in complete ignorance of those circumstances of which the Princess Amelia had become cognizant, and which proved that some tremendous secret was associated with the destiny of Eugland’s King. Ris:ng from the window recess where they had remained for some time seated, and where the con- fidential outpourinys of their hearts’ mysteries had taken place, the royal sisters looked forth from the casement upun the vast range of park and pleasure-ground stretching before them. “It is now mid-d: y,” observed the Princess Sophia, after a long silerce: and, bending her eyes siguificantly on the blushing ccuntenance of her sister, she said, “ Do not remain here, Amelia, only for the purpose of keeping me company. | know frum all you have told. me this morning, that the hour is now at hand when some one will be ex- pecting to meet you yoader.” “Such ts inleed the ¢ ath, dearest sister,” mur- mared the younver Jady, a-:sigh of pleasure escap ing from her lips. “Bat you, my beloved Suphia,” she exciaimed, a sadden thoughts strikiny her,— “have yeu no hope of-woon bekolding again the object uf your affeetion ?” “Yes,” answered the.elder Princess: “3 letter which I received yesterday tells me that General Barth will ce in Loudon in the course of next week —and [ shall shen return to St. James's palace.” “Will he wot ask tu be allowed to embrace his child 2?” inquired the Prinoess Amelia, gasiuy ten- derly up intu her sister's. countewauce. “ Nu—tur tubat caild cau never be recognised bv either of ms parents,” wus the melamcholy re- RpuLse. Amelia pressed ‘Sophia's hand in. token of the sincerest sympathy — aud thru hurried from the evans tinent. CHAPTER XCVI. & BRITISH WORKING MAN AND HIS FAMILY. We must now return to Camilla Morton—or rather Rose Foster: for the reader is doubtless well aware that the orphan girl had entered Mrs. Brace’s esta blishinent unuer the former name, which sbe had as- gummed for the reasons set lorth in the letter that she had addressed to Tim Meazles. A week bad elapsed since we saw her hurrying madly along, in that vile ne ghbourhbood whicu lies in the immediate vicinity of Westminster Abuey: and it will be recollected tnat we leit ber at the mo- ment when, a vertizo se.Z:n2 upon her, she sauk de- prived of sense upon the uuur-step of a house. And where do we fi.q her now? Let us endea- vour to depict a scene wich, fui of harrowin, de- tails though it were, was but the type of thousands of such spectacles existing then, aud of m)riacs ex- sling at the present day ! Loa wretcuedt garret a small family was grouped Mm all those unstugivd but pasaiul attituues winca deuote imisery and derpair. A man, betunzinz to the industrious class, was ehted Upun a brekKen chiar; aud every in. aineat JE a eee en ial > Cn rei re -s 6— Re eT, ee, a countenance naturally good-looking, but awfully | on, __ Jee i i ET TT a a A TTT EE care-worn, evinéed the ravages of famine and the poignancy of a wte mental anzuish, His form, strongly built when in vigorous health, was so wasted that his poverty-stricken clothing hung loosely upog him—thus rendering him a ghastly object, piteous tndeed to contemplate: for it was a being mate io the image of God who was thus reduced by destitue tion, aud want, and sorrow to that lamentable condi tion in which he appeared to be dying by inches. b> ow In another part of the wretched room, a woman - was suckling a babe. Suckling !—no—no—tnat is not the term: for the fountain of her infant’s life was dried up in her boeom -and the child was pulling feedly at a withered breast. O Gud! what language Can convey an ides of the shocking appearance of . that poor mother and her innocent babe? Ema- ciated were they both—so emaciate.: that the woinan seeined but the:shadow of what her foriner sel. must have been—and the child lay with the lightness of a feather oh her thin, fleshless arm. Her cheeks were sunken and of. corpse-like puleness: her eyes were hollow, with large biue circies about them ;— the colour had even fled from her lips, leaving them | white as if Death bad imprtated upon them the cold kivs of the:tumb;-sand her entice appearance was $0 wan-—so woe-begone—so full of despair, that it seemed as if Misery had taken a hiaaman shape and had became persenified in her. The babe-—the poor-babe ever which she-bent, was about mine or¢ten moaths old: but it-aeaveely ap- peared to have nunrbered as many weeks. The hile being was ev emaciated as to be only skin anid bone, anu tostes.-4 of nawng chat roundiucss of lace which ususil: characterwses-even.the infant of tenderes' age, “us cleks were as sumken. as those of its moibes * here was-no vivacity in it—searcely any mut.on. Duil and guiet it kiy—-mot: tammy 2s bead round — every pow aad thes at.ileemuus uf vorc:s—and wever once expertencing the. sunlight of a sinile te ureak upon the frozen winter of its sad and cheerless infancy. Aud as the-starving mother sent over the famished babe, an expression of such rending despair would sweep from dine to time athwart her countenance that, although her lips were silent, it was easy to read upon her features the words of agony which she | kept repeating in the depths of her heart—~ Holy God! what will become of thee, poor helpless child 2” Near ber was a lite boy of about eight vears old, and with 3 countenance that was intended by nature to be round, ruddy, and laughing in expressiun. But, - mereiful heaven! how spirit-bronen—how thin— how tortured with bunger--and now wretched he lookea! Languid ~—eahuusted—with hollow eyes in woich starvauiun’s demon glared—anu shiveriug iQ the scanty clothes that hung louse:y on his wasted fame, the little fellow presented a spectacle tnat would have drawn tears trom a beiug of e en iron heart,-~aye, from the eyes of any one save a Kiny,a weheen, an Aristocrat, or a Poor Law Comunissiner! Upon the floor of this:wretch d garret, anotiuer boy—about thirteen years of age -was seate.:, ete Geavouring to sooth to the best of his abiils & yuun, sister Who was between six apd seven [ue interable girl was erving fur breac; and her brotust as faushed as herse.l, was whisvernge ls der eid ull the fundest assurances nd Ure bblgiitest avd uv fais taney cowid Comjure Up, DUE th. rea sauen a E© WOO AAG oO) SH oCO —-s @ a | | iin