The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 323: what you’re looking at

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

$123 THR MYSTERIES OP CHB COURT held a spectacle which suddenly transfixed him with mingled awe, wonderment, and horror. Jt was a much emalier room than that which had been fitted up for the tribunal: but the walls were likewise bung with black draperies. Upon a conch the corpses of Sagoonah was laid out. She seemed as if she were only sleeping—so serene was her aspect, and so completely was the freshness of the body preserved. There was in the atmosphere a perfume of drugs, which at once indicated the embalming process that had been adopted to en- sure that preservation. Accap of snowy whiteness completely concealed the dead ayah’s coal-black hair: her naked arms, stretohed at her sidee—not stifiiy, but in a life-like manner—had rich bracelets upon them. Very beautiful appeared that corpee, —seeming as if the breath of life had only just paseed out of it, and as if it had been surrendered up without a straggio: for immediately after the cold hand of death had touched Sagoonab, her fea. tures had settled @own into that serenity which they now wore. Indeed, sie looked not as if she were dead—but only sleeping after a severe indis- position which had spread an uniform pallor upon _ the natural duskiness of her complexion. Four wax candles, as tall as those tapers which are sesn on Catholic altars, shed their light upon the corpee, and prodaced that effulgence which streamed forth from the half-open door into the room fitted up as the tribunal. Powerful was the lustre, and evlemnly grand was the effect thereof upon tho body. It brought out the form of the dead Sagoonah into the strongest relief: it gave the animation of life to the Sa and it played upon her features as if they themselves were slightly moving with the presence of existence. Amidst all the wildest conjectures which the Duke of Marchmont might bave hasarced relative to the contents of this room, no possible surmige could have led him to anticipate the spectacle which he thus bebeld. As we have said, therefore, he stood trausfixed with mingled awe, wonderment, and horror: for it seemed as if death iteelf were now invoked to bear some kind of evidenoa against him. For apwards of a minute did Queen Indora suffer the scene to produce its fullest effect upon the prisoner; and then in a tone of authority she bede him advance further into the room. He obeyed her : she closed the door; and he was now alone with that royal |.dy and with the corpse of Sagoonshb. “ My lord,” said the Queen, in a voice that was low and most solemniy impressive, “ you are not altogether innocent in respect to the causes which led to the premature death of the hapless Sa- goonab. I will not however deny that her mind was already m a morbid state when you employed the vile Frenchwoman to become her temptress, and instigate her to the foulest deeds. Had it not been for this conduct on your part, Sagoonah might have lived. But step by step was ahe led on to that fearful climax which was the accom- plishment of her doom. It was retribution that she met! The means which she had adopted to take my life at the instigation of your agent, be- came the source of her own death. The tragedy was a horrible one; and I do not hesitate to pru- elaim shat Sagoonah was one of your victimes. Oh ! if you hed never done aught but this, it were never in this life would be appeased! But greater still have been your crimes ; and, asI ere now pro- claimed, this is the hour in which they are all to be made known. Prisoner, look upon that corpee! It is the corpee of her who in the madness of feel- ings and passions which I sball not peuse to de- ecribe, gave up your own brother to the dungeon: cell which he now tenants.” “ My brother!” murmured the Duke of March- mont, staggering at the words, as if they touched a chord which vibrated most painfully to his heart's core. “ Yos—your brother !” continued Queen Indore and now she bent the look of an avenging Newesis upon the Duke of Marchmont. “Ob! think you that the proceedings of this night were ended when in the edjoining room I enumerated al) your minor crimes,— crimes which though great in themselves, were nevertheless nothing to that which has yet to be proclaimed! Aad yet even that too was darkly hinted at—but not so darkly @at it failed to touch your conscience! Dv you not perceive that the finger of beaven has mani- fested itself in all the incidents and oceurrences which have been hurrying you on towards the catastrophe? By the agent of your own villany were you stricken down, so that in the first mo- ments of returning consciousness you might be- tray to that vile Frenchwoman—another agent of your iniquities—the tremendous secret which for nearly twenty years must have sat like a hideous nightmare upon your soul!” I¢ would be impossible to describe the ghastlp horror which the countenance of the guilty March- mont displayed, while Queen Indora was thus ad- dressing him. He trembled from head to fuct with a series of visible shudderings: the perspire- tion burst forth cold and clammy upon his brow : all his features were convulsed: it seamed as if he were about to fall down and writhe in fearfullest agony like a stricken serpent. “But even without the testimony of that Frenchwoman,” continued andore, “was there a sufficiency of accumulated proofs to brand you with the full etigma of your enormous guilt. Do you doubt me? No!—you cannot! step shall you pase through this ordeal, Cume with me.” The Queen drew aside the sable drapery at the end of the room facing the door by which she and the Duke had entered from the tribunal; and another door enabled them to emerge upun the landing. This Indora traversed,—still folluwed by the Duke, who mechanically dragged himself along, but in a state of mind that it were impus- sible to describe. If ever a man felt that hell might be foretested upon earth, and that it was possible to pass through a series of worldly borrure sufficient to prepare the soul for the torments uf bereafter,—that man was the Duke of Marchmont. All his energies esemed now peralysed: he was obeying the Queen only as an automaton migh$ have acted: his faculties were growing so nuabed under the influence of intensest, most harruwing borror, that had she, being immortal or invuiner- able, led the way into a flery furnace, that wretched man would perforce have unconssioudy and mechapieally fullowed her. She opened a dour on the opposite side of the eufficient to fill your soul with a remorse that | landing, and ehe conducted him intoa little room Qe EE EeeEeEeEeEeEeEEeEeEEEeEee RRR REE aay Yet step by . Tew Oo « VE = eee a i ee i ae TT. « S———— 7 ere gaa ~ wo ov Qn =» o- =e es TEER e. agm@er quasp @=—sm & +’ eas @& 2=8=25 COMME OOO SS} (CO