The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 32: what you’re looking at

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

THE MYSTERIRE OF TEE OOURS. luxuriant ebarms. There was an air of sensuous indolence about this girl which was different from that of the German: it was the waking dreaminess of a luxurious temperament that appeared to be softly abandoning iteelf to voluptuoug reveries. She was a native of England, and hed only re- cently passed from the keeping of a noblem an,— who first seduced her fram a genteel and bappy. home,—into Madame Angelique’s fashiqnable tem- ple of infamy. But no remorse had she on account of the home she had left—or at least, if such a feeling were really in her bosom, sha displayed it not: for blended with that air of senauous lasai- tude—an air which might be described ag luxurious wantonness af reat—was an expression of listless, placid contentment. Sha had light hair and blue eyes: milk and roses combined to form her com- plexion: sbe had full moist luscious lipe—beautiful teeth—end a form which without being ¢ exuberant to fatness, was full, fleshy, but of perfectly sym- metrical proportions. She answered to the Chrig- tian name of Marion. Upon the back of the chair in which Maxion thus negligently reclined—or rather, in which ahe reposed—leant a tall slender girl, of gylphid shepe, and with such exquisite elegance and grace in all her attitudes and movements, that in whe days of her virtue she must have heen a veritable afar in the midst of the brightest galaxy that ever thronged in a ball-room. She had brown hair, remarkably mxuriant 1 in its mass of silken softness, and with ich natural glosg upon it. Her featuree were petfectly faultless: het age did npt exceed geven- teen: she also was an English girl—and she bare the beautiful name of Eglantine. Alas, that one endowed with such lovelinves of form and with such mental accomplishments as she possessod—bearing too a name so sweet to be murmured by the lipe of pure, chaste, and honourable loye—alea, that she should have fallen from virtue’s pinnagle and gunk into this degradation, gilded though it were ! Linda, Armantine, Marion, and Eglantine were together in their sumptuous apartment, between nine and ten o'clock in the evening; and they were conv on various fopica, just as four ladies might do in their own drawing-room. Pre- sently the mirror-contrived door qpened: the four syrens turned their eyes slowly to see who was about to enter,—when an individual whq was a stranger to them all, made bia appearance. He was flashily dressed, but had a vulgar look; apd as he took off his hat, he made a moa$ ridiculous at- tempt at a bow to the young women; ao that Ar- mantine and Eglantine could not help laughing— while Linda and Marion so far exerted shemeclves in their luxurious indolence as to sit up and survey him with more attention. “Good evening, ladies,” said this individual, closing the mirror-door behind him, and advancing | with an impudent leering smirk towards those whom he thus addressed. “Don’t be alarmed. Perbaps you know me by name—end perhaps you don’t. So if the old lady ”—thus irreverently, as the girls thought, alluding to Madame Angelique— “hasn’t done me the honour of mentioning me to you before, I may as well announce mygelf as Mr. Teaac Shadbolt. Honest Ike, as my friende Sir Richard Mayne and Colonel Rowan call mo!” “Why, I do believe,” whispered Marion to her companions, “he alludes to the Commissioners of 19 ensuous | Police. When I lived with Jord Beltinge, I {re- quently heard those names mentiongd.”’ “Well, yea, Miss,” said Mr. Shadbolt, whose ears were wncommonly keen, and who had caught a portion of that whisper,—“ the gentlemen are the Commigsionars of Policg; and I have the ‘honour fo gerye under them. Mot ene of your common yulger policemen, you know—but a sort ot subaltern—What an Ensign of Lieutenant is in & regiment in pomperison with the Colonel.” It was tolerably easy to perceive that Mr. Shad- bolt had been drinking—not merely because his countenance was flushed, his speech wag rather thick, and his gait a trifle unsteady—but likewise because the hitherto delicately perfumed atmo- sphere of the apartment had become impregnated, on thig individual’s entrance, with an qdour of ram, a8 if he had dropped into ¢wo or three wine- vawite ip hia way, previous to making the present or And pray what do you want, gis f” jaquired Marion, now sbandoning her yoluptuous indolenca as much anit wag in her sqnsuously langyighing nsfure to throw it off ;——“ what do you want ?” she repeated: for haying recently qome from be- neath aristogfatic protection, she qas the first to regent the vulgar jntrysion. “ Did you ask me, Miss, what | would take to drink ?': ssid My. Shadholg, with police-qoyrt ease and station hoyse familiagjty. ‘“] have got a de. tective aya for whatever's good: trust honest Ike Shadbolt for that /’—and then he burst out into a loud guffayw at the witticien borrowed fyom his profesgiona} avocations, bu} the hymour of which was lost to the young ladies, who were noy all four fyll of ipdignation, surpriga, and disgust. Mr. Shadbolt however, nothing ubashed, ad- yanced towards the sideboard, and “deliberately filled a tumbler with claret—for it was the babit of this exceedingly independent gentleman grorn- fully to eschew gmall glasses; gpd having slowly poured the somewhat copious libation doyn his throat, he gaye @ long gigh of pleasure. Then, haying thus refreshed himgelf internally, he selieved his amiatory feelings by nodding with a familiar legx a} Marion—blowing 9 kiss from the tips of his fingers to Linda—smirking at Armantine—and — extending his arms invitingly towards Fglantine. The young ladies, howeyer, relished these panto- mimic displays as little as might be: and t ey ex- changed amongs} themselves fresh looks o indig- nation and disgust. Mr. Shadbolt only laughed ; and now with a hyge slice of cake in one band, anda quarter of a pijne- -apple ip the other, he leant against the side-board, feeding deliberately and still bestowing his glances of tender fami- liarity on the four houris. “This ip too disgusting !” eaid Marion. * Eglan- ‘tine dear, you aro negrest—ring fhe bell——bard | | hard {” “Do if you like,” said Mr. Shadbolt: “but de. - pend ypon it the old dowager”—thyg again irreve- rently alluding to Madame Angelique—* will give me a most welcome seception. Why, Lord Jove you all, you sweet creatures} how do xP think I could be here in apy possible way unless was ong of the privileged? And where is not honest nad Shadbolt welcome, I should just like for to we” Miss Hglantine,—thinking there mps} he more Goin G OOO SS} (CO