The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 319: what you’re looking at

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

308 hither. But I must not remain in conversation here: the solemn proceedings of the tribunal must commence !"’ - Having thus spoken, Indora returned into the wast apartment bung with bleck; while Purvis hurried off in another direction to execute her Mujeaty'’s orders in respect to Christina Ashton. On re-entering the state-roon: which had been fitted up with so much awful solemaity, and which in some reapects resembled an inquisitorial scene of remoter and darker ages, Indora resumed her seat upon the throne. Nothing now remained changed in respect to the appearance of that apartment from what it was when we described it at the opening of the chapter. Upon the throne on the dais Queen Indora sat again—sa veiled female and a masked man on her right—two veiled women and one masked man on her left. There too were the sable draperies on the walle—the black pall upon the ceiling—the ghastly white covering upon the floor. And etill likewise was the strange mysterious light burning within that inner room the door of which stood partially open. About five minutes had elapsed after the retarn of Queen Indora from her interview with the Duchees of Marchmont; and again was the sable drapery agitated on one side of the room. The —and the Duke of Marchmont was conducted in by the two Hindoos who tad brought bim in their custody from London. These Hindoos were officers in the household uf the Royal Commis. siovers who a few weeks back hed arrived frum Inderabad to announce to Indora the death of her father and the intelligence that a throne awaited The two Hindoos were dressed in their gorgeous yniforms, the splendour of which contrasted strongly with the sombre gloom of that awful tribunal. The Duke of Marchmont was blind- folded; and his hands were held behind him by sis Hindoo guards. But as if nothing should be wanting to complete the solemnity of the whole and to render it as atrikingly terrible as ible to him whose eyes were about to be un- they might gase upon it, the two eclves were masked. One of them drawn in his hand, as an emblem maistrees wielded a power which it in for the captive criminal to dis- of Marchmont was conducted up to the throne,—at a distance of about yards from which his guards made a then unfastened the kerchief which is eyes. From the description already entire scene, the reader may possibly extent of the awe-inspiring terror ish it thus suddenly burst upon March- . Utterly unconsious was he before- epectacio that bie gaze was thus to ter; and when we consider what this epeo- wae, and likewise bear in mind that the Duke Marehmont’s conssience was stained with count- crimes, it wil] require but little effort of the imagivation for the reader to conceive the effect produced upon him. Having only within the last fow days risen from a bed of sickness—still suffer- ing pbysically, and incessantly tortured by all ths 5 ih E Hu 7 3 rs § P. be ne Duk of la! E fr halt. rf F s R i T g i gt! THB MYSTERIES OF THE COURT. wild apprehensions which had originally thrown him on the couch of fever—the Duke of March- mont was but the shadow of his former self. 8h emaciated was his form that his garments appeared to hang upon him ae if they had been made for another person: his countenance was thin, wan, and ghastly: his eyes were sunken in their sockets, the blueish tint of which enbanced the horrible aspect of their cavernous depths. Were it not that he was prepared for something dreadful, he could not possibly have sustained the ahock, which the appearance of the tribunal produced upon him as the bandage fell from his eyes. He etaggered, and would have fallen were it not that his guards sustained bim. He bebeld Queen Indora seated upon that throne; and it seemed to his appalled fancy that her’s was now a terrible beauty, and that there was the aspect of the avenging Nemesis in her majestic looks. He glanced to her right—he glanced to her left: who were those veiled and maskel figures? His gase wandered elsewhere: what meant that light streaming forth from the inner room? what mysteries or what horrors were concealed by thaf open door? He glanced upon his guards: they were now masked—although he had previously seen their countenances when they had appeared at his mansion in Belgrave Square to summon hie in Queen Indora’s name to Oaklands. Oh! well indeed had all her Majesty’s arrangements been combined to produce tke most awful effects on the Duke of Marchmont’s guilty soul ! It often happens that when a man who has for some time foreseen the wreck of fame, fortune, rank, and safety, is suddenly brought face to face with the tremendous convulsion itself, the courage of utter ion seizes upon him. And thus was it with the Duke of Marehmont. All ina moment the most powerful revulsion of feelings took place within him; and he clutched at the wild hope that he might yet eave himself by pre- senting a bold front to this tribunal in the pre- sence of which he stood. And then, too, perbaps the thought atruck him that the tribunal was only eo formed in order to terrify him into confessions and extort from him avowals without which no good case could be made ont against him. Per- haps likewise he fancied that there might be as inclination in another quarter to spare him as much as possible, and that his own brother was chivalrous enough to make the muvet fearful seif- sacrifice that man could possibly make for the purpose of avoiding a terrific exposure that should startle the whole world. Your if it were not s-—- and if these conjectures were not fraught with reasons for hope—why should all thoee proceedings be arrayed in myetery and darkness agsinet him ? why should not everything have been left to the regular course of human justice and to the de- velopment of legitimate process in the public tri- bunals? But whatever were the thoughts, the calculs- tions, the conjectures, or the hopes of the Duke of Marchmont,—certain it is that be suddenly as- sumed a different bearing from that which he hed at fires worn. He summoned all his effrontery te his aid: desperation’s eclf nerved him to play a neck-or-nothing game,—to listen to all that might be charged against him—to ascertain precisely in what circumstances he was placed —to envisage the COMME OOO SS} (CO