The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 95: what you’re looking at

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84 THE MYSTERIES OF THE COURT. Having dressed herself, with the assistance of her; Soon after Lady Saxondale, Julians, end maid, in an elegant deshabillée, Juliana descended | Harold Staunton,—who, we should observe, to the breakfast-pariour, where Lady Saxondale and | appareiled with exquisite taste, and etal Lord Harold were already seated at table. Her | in that strange anuatural flow of epirite,— ladyship looked pale; and though ber demeanour | sembled in the drawing-room a6 half-past was calm and composed as usual, yet the quick eye | Mr. Denison’s carriage artived at the Oastle. © This of Juliana could discern that her mother’s coante- aecompanied by his wife, bis eldest som, nance was not a faithful reflex of the condition of and his daughter-in-law, alighted from the vehicle. her miod. Had Lady Saxondale any misgiving | Scarcely had they been escorted ap to the drawing. fluating there? or was she secretly chagrined at | room, when Lord Biackwaterand Sir John Kaightiey losing the independeace ef her widowed life by the | also arrived. A third carriage brought four young contemplated marriage into which she was more or | ladics who were to assist as bridomaids to Lady less forced? or was it, after all, the nataral excite- | Saxondale and Juliana. These were four sisters, ment only, which every woman must feel om the | and were the cousins of the yeungér Mra Denison. morning of a wedding-day ? No doubt all of these Shortly after their arrival, the clergyman who was had something to do with the inwatd fluttering | to officiate at the two-fold ‘ceremony, made his ap- whieh her ladyship in reality experienced—although | pearance; ard last of all—though not least of im perhaps the last-mentioned cause was the least po- | portance—came Myr. Hawkshaw. By a quarter tent or active of the three. | 3 to twelve the whole company were thus assembled And what of Lord Harold Staunton? His de-|in the drawing-room. The demeasour of Mr. Deo meanour had suddenly changed. Instead of being | nieon towards Juliana was precizely the same es if pale, absent, thoughtfal, and abstragted, as he had | he were totally ungcoquainted with anything to her for eome time past appeared-—he had a coloar upon | disparagement: bet whatever constraint he had thus his cheeks, and there was a strange, elmost a wild looks. He laughed—he told witty aneodotes—he uttered lively jeste—-he rubbed his hands gleefully— la and as he partook of the morning meal, he declared a dosen times that he never felt better in health or had a keener appetite in all his life. But here also the penetrating looks of Juliana discerned all that was unnatural and hollow in this mirth and in these boisterous spiriée on the pert of the young noble man; and it was indeed to her a matter of mystery and wonder wherefore he should in reality be de> pressed, and why he should deem is*necemary to as- | appo sume a happiness which he felt not. Surely he need not marry Lady Saxondale uniess he chose? At least so thought Juliana: and thus far she was right enough. But though she knew many things con- eerning her mother, she nevertheless entertained - ot the slightest suspicion of the existence of a cer tain terrible tie which buund as it were the destinies of that mother and of that young nobleman, the one to the other! The breakfast was over: it was an early one—for was there not a second, even the mazriage-feast | iteelf, tu be partaken of after the nuptial ceremo- | nies? It was now only haif-past nine o'clock; and at least two hours would elapse ere the arrival of the other bridegroom, the clergyman, and the few Hawkshaw soon appeared and became imn engrossed in the attentions which he had to pay to Though all were thus assembled & quarter of an hour before noon, the was not instante neously proceeded with, inasmuch as the clergyman thought it consistent with propriety and delicacy to wait for the precise moment that had been originally inted. And even if such had not been his view and feeling in the matter, another reason would have produced the same result; and this was ad- vanced by Mr. Hawkshaw. Addressing himself to Lady Saxondale as the hostess of the castle, he exid, “T have td apologise to your ladyship for a liberty which I have teken--a"” “Mr. Hawkshaw,” observed Lady Baxondale, with the blandest and most gracious smile, “is in- capable of taking's liberty; and whatever he may have done, needs not this apologetic preince, I presume, my dear sir, that yeu have imviled some friend to be present on thé occasion ?” ‘Your ladyship has divined the exact truth,” guests who had been invited. But then there were | for the urbanity of her speech. “I have indeed the wedding-garmente to pub on : and while Juliana | teken this liberty. My friend will be here at noon retired on the one hand to her own chamber, Lady | punctually; and it wil) afford me the utmost grati« Saxondale on the other withdrew to her’s—while | fication to introduce him to your ladyship and the Lord Harold went out to stroll for an hour ere he ' company assembled.” began the process of his own toilet. But at half-'. “Js will afford us equal pleasare to recesve kim,” pact eleven they were all three re-assembied in the - rejoined Lady Saxondale. drawing reom; and all three were apperelied ina, Again Mr. Hawkshaw bowed, and then retreated befitting manner for the nuptial ceremonies. ' to his chair by the side of Julianna’s. Donbtices many of our lady-readers would ke ws to | “And pray, my dear George,” she said in @ enter inte a mimute description of -+he wedding: tender whisper, ied too with a still more dresses: but we confess our inability. Suffice it to | tender look, “ who is this friend that you expect P”* say that they were of the richest, most tasteful, and | But before Mr. Hawkshaw coald give any en- most elegant kind; and thet both mother and swer, the clergyman,—who was 2 very important daughter looked grandly bandeome. But was it not ' personage in his own estimation—one of those fussy a hideous moekery for Juliana Farefield to appear kind of gentlemen who like to see everything done im thet virgin garb?—ehe whose purity had been in a regular busimess-like fashion, and who are as already sacrificed on the altar of lustful passion! =. averse to delays as they are slow to push on the aS EGOMGIOOKSHEO