The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 281: what you’re looking at

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

268 words—eh, Master Tim?” exclaimed the lady, her own hilarious tones now echoing the merriment of her friend. “Well, I sappose I must suffer you to have your own way in that respect, at all events. And now take yourself off without farther delay— so that you may return all the earlier to enjoy your supper———” “ And likewise the kiss at meeting again,” added Meagles, still laughing as he quitted the room. Then, having lighted his cigar in the hall, he sallied forth upon his evening ramble. CHAPTER CXC. A SCENE IN A DARKE AVENUS. Taxine the nearest cut to St. James’s Park, and enjoying his havannah with a more than ordinary zest,—for his spirits had risen almost to their former tone, now that he had adopted some settled proceeding with regard to the Prince,— Tim Meagles entered the long avenue shaded by trees and generally known as the Mall. He walked up and down three or four times in front of Carlton House, and looked wistfully up at the windows blazing with light, as if he would have given some of the best years of his existence to be enabled to catch a glimpse of what was passing within that palatial residence. Suddenly a man, of tall stature, enveloped in a cloak and with his hat drawn over his countenance, hurried past ;—and it instantaneously struck Mea-~- gies that the figure, just as it now appeared in its disguise, was not unknown to him. The light of s lamp in front of Carlton House had enabled him to observe how carefully the individual was wrapped up in that capacious mantle, and how studiously the face was concealed by the hat: a moment after- wards and the man had disappeared from his view, plunging as it were into the obscurity of the adja- cent avenue. So hurriedly had the individual passed that he had not appeared to notice Meagles at all. For a few moments Tim stopped short—took the cigar from his mouth—and murmured to himself, “ Where on earth have I seon that figure before ” Then, with the vividness of an inspiration, did it flash to his memory that he had beheld the in- dividual on board the Diana frigate. *'Yes—it is the same—Mr. Gustavus Wakefield, the merchant,” he said to himself, as the remem- brance struck him ;—“the individual who came on board from the pirate-ship, along with Joe Warren and Stephen Prico, and who is to be a witness against those fellows! ‘Well, I never once caught @ glimpse of his countenance all the time he was on board the Diana. There is something strange and mysterious about him ;—else wherefore should he have remained in such strict seclusion in his cabin at sea? and why, on @ warm evening like this, should he go about enveloped in that huge cloak? It is singular—very singular f° And having thus mused upon the matter, Tim Meagies replaced the cigar between his lips and struck into the avenue in the same direction which Philip Ramsey—for he indeed it lei Just taken. tering leisurely along—smoking his cigar— and allowing his thoughts to wander from the in- cident that had just occurred to other subjects, Meagles had soon ceased to devote any particular attention to the appearance of the disguised one ;— and he was pondering upon the generous character of the profligate Amazon and the winning beauty of the amiable Rose Foster, when the rapid advanos of footeteps struck upon his car. All that line of pathway which skirted the railings of the enclosure, was enveloped in total darkness—for the evening, though warm, was cloudy and stariess, and the few thinly scattered oil-lamps facing the house on the other side of the Mall reached not with their in- efficient beams even half across the several avenues of trees. On hearing the footsteps approach, their rapid tread instantaneously brought back the incident of the cloaked figure to the mind of Meagles ;—and concealing in his hand the lighted end of the cigar, he sat down upon a bench placed against the trunk of a tree, his person being thereby absorbed as it were in the deepest of the deep shades which ob- scured the avenue. For one of those vague and unaccountable impulses of curiosity which amount almost to a presentiment, had now seized upon him ; and his attention being re-awakened in respect to the individual whom he only knew by the name of Gustavus Wakofield, he resolved to take note of his proceedings. Scarcely had he stationed himself under the tree, when a form, darker than the darkness, passed rapidly by ;—and the shape of the figure was suffi- ciently discernible to enable Meagles to identify it with the one he had previously seen. In less than a minute the rapid footsteps suddenly ceased ; and the sounds of voices, low and murmering, reached the ears of Meagies. “The mysterious Mr. Wakefield has an appoint- ment, doubtless,” thought Tim within himself ; “and he has just encountered the person whom he came here to meet. But, Ah! theyare approaching this way ” Such was indeed the case, as the footsteps now announced: but the voices had altogether ceased. Meagles slipped behind the tree in order to keep watch with the greater certainty of being un- observed ;—and in a few moments the cloaked one, accompanied by the person who had just joined him, came and seated themselves upon the very bench which Meagiles had the instant before aban- doned. They now began to speak again—and Tim dis- covered that the pseudo Mr. Gustavus Wakefield's companion was a female. “ You received my note—and you have kept the appomtment which I gave you,” said Rameey, in a low whispering tone, but which was perfectly andible to the listener stationed behind the tree. “Yes-—-I received your note—and I have come to the appointment,” responded the Countess of Desborough—for she it was: and the voice in which she spoke was marked with the unnatural calmness that evinced a terrible inward struggle to subdue an outburst of painful—perhaps ago- nising emotions. “But wherefore have you sought to disturb my peace— you, for whom I have already suffered so much ” “Then am I to understand that everything is at an end between us,” demanded Ramsey,—“ and that you now hate as deeply as yon once loved me 7?” AOOLK (CO