The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 50: what you’re looking at

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

fu MYSTERIES OF THE COURT. } 34 she had brought with her those memorials of her with you over those memorials of the mother who long deceased mother, which, through Christian, | died in your infancy! You love and revere her he had expressed a wish to behold ? | Memory Ob ! never fail thus to cherish—thus ‘* Yes,” answered our heroine, with a tone and_ to cling to it!—for it is sweet to think of a de- look of tender sadness, as she produced a small parted parent who is now a saint in beaven !” casket of oriental workmanship, and which was; At the same moment the same idea strack the one of the numerous gifts she had received from | twins ;—simultaneously too were their looks bent the Princess of Inderabad. in eager anxious inquiry upon Mr. Redcliffe’s Mr. Redcliffe took the casket from her hand— | countenance: and their lips gave utterance at the and opened it with as reverential an air as the | same moment to precisely the same words. twins themselves could have displaved when pro-| “Our mother—did you know her ?” ceeding to the contemplation of memorials that so| Mr. Redcliffe turned aside—raised his hand to intimately concerned themeelves, First he drew | his brow—and for an instant seemed to stagger as forth a long tress of raven hair—a tress which we | if under the influence of a hurricane of memories have described in an earlier chapter of this narra- | eweeping through his brain. The orphans watched tive as one that must have constituted part of a | him with a still more earnest gaze—a still more luxuriant mass which might have formed the | anxious interest than before: for they felt as if glory of a queen—aye, or the envy of a queen !— | they stood upon the threshold of hitherto unanti- and while he surveyed it with a long and earnest | cipated revealings. attention, the brother and sister instinctively| ‘“Yes—I knew her,” slowly responded Mr. wound their arme about each other's neck, avd | Redcliffe, again tarning towards the brother and pressed each other’s hand, as they exchanged | sister: “I knew your poor mother! I¢ is this looks of unspeakable fondness. Then Mr. Red. | circumstance, my dear children, which inspires oliffe drew forth from the casket a beautiful gold ' me with so vivid an interest on your behalf -—— watch of delicate fashion and exquisite workman-| But you must ask me no questions at present—I ship; and as he contemplated if, the tears trickled | can tell you nothing more yet! The time may down his cheeks. shortly come when But do not press me now! ** He feels for ua,” whispered Christian to his | Above all things, breatho nota syllable eleewhere sister: “this excellent kind-hearted man—the|of what has taken place between us! Let it be most generous benefactor we have ever known— sufficient for you to know that in me you have feels for our orphan condition.” found one who will watch over your interests— “ Yes—Mr. Redcliffe can appreciate,” responded | who will etudy your welfare—and who will be Christina, “ the feelings with which you and I,dear{ unto you both as a friend, a guardian, and a brother, have been wont to gaze for hours and | father !” hours on the memorials of a mother who was| Mr. Redcliffe folded the twins in bis arms, and snatched from us ere we had intelligence to com- ! wept over them. They knelt at his feet, murmur- prehend her loss!’ ing forth in broken voices the expressions of their Clement Redoliffe now opened another little | gratitude: for it was sweet indeed—Ah, it was packet which he took from the casket; and this | sweet for this youthful brother and sister to pos- packet conthined two rings. One has been already | sess the friendship, the guardianship, and the love described as a wedding-ring: the other, likewise a | of one who had known their mother! Ho raised lady’s, was of no considerable value but of ex- {them up from their kneeling posture: again he quisite workmanship. And now Mr. Redcliffe | embraced them both; and then relocking the proceeded to the window with these two rings; and | casket, he said to Christina, “ Keep you these as he contemplated them, his back was turned to- | valuables, my dear girl, with the most sedulous wards the orphans. There he remained for at | care!—keep them, I say, not merely as the memo- least five minutes—motionless as a statue—with | rials of your deceased mother, but as objects his eyes evidently riveted upon the rings; and the | which may sooner or later prove of importance in orphans did not approach him. They still felt | another sense.” persuaded that in the goodness of his heart hewas| “Will you keep them for us?” asked both the deeply touched on their account, while surveying | twins, speaking as it were in the same breath. these relics of their lung dead mother. It was| Mr. Redcliffe reflected for a moment: and then altogether a scene of the most pathetic interest; | he said, “ Yes, I will keep them! —but I hope and and the tears were trickling down the beautifully | trust it will only be for a short while that I may handsome face of Christian and tho sweetly beau- | thus feel it safer to take charge of these valuables tiful countenance of Christina. —and then shall they be restored unto you. Ask Mr. Redcliffe at length turned slowly away from | me nothing more now—and let us turn the con- the window. His complexion, which has been | versation upon other subjects.” described as being made up of sallowness bronzed | Mr. Redcliffe hastened to lock up the casket in with the sun, now appeared of a dead white: his | a secure place; and the remainder of the day was face was indeed ghastly pale. Thatcold stern look | passed by himeelf and the orphans with that affec- which ho habitually wore, and which was almost | tionate and friendly intercourse which naturally saturnine, chilling the beholder who was unaccus- | followed the scenes that had taken place, and the tomed to it—bad totally disappeared, and was suc-| now light in which they respectively stood— eeeded by one of the deepest melancholy: bud it; nanely, he as their guardian and protectur, and was a mournfulness that had something awfully | they as the grateful recipients of his kindness and solemn in it. He advanced towards the twins; | his bounty. and taking their hands he said, in a voice that was evatcely audible, “My dear children—for as such — - ean to look upon you henceforth—I can weep (COLL G OOO SS} (COLL