The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 20: what you’re looking at

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THE MYSTERIES OF THE COURT. trreparably ; and he found himself in his old age, | they quitted the humble lodging to which they with ill-health and infirmities growing rapidly upon him, reduced to his half-pay—a mere scanty pittance. And this too would die with him. What was ta become of his daughter at his death Oh, what? There was yet another misfortune in store for the poor Captain and Eliza: for their faithful domestic, who had been with them so many years, was thrown upon a sick-bed through the shock occasioned by the fire; and in a few days she breathed her last. : There was a widow Jady in London named Mrs. Bailey, who was very distantly related to Captain Lacey, and with whom he had corresponded at distant intervals. She was rich—occupied a splen- did mansion at the West End of the metropolis— frequented the best socicty—and gave grand parties. <A thorough woman of the world, she had all the callousness, amounting almost to heart- Jeesnese, usually characteristic of one who makes fashionable appearances her whole and sole study. The only notice ashe had condescended to take of her humble and poor relations at Oxford, was the sending them a basket of game and a turkey at Christmas, accompanied by a brief note conveying the compliments of the season ; and the acknowledg- ment of the gift, together with an expression of simi- lar compliments, formed the extent of the Cap- tain’s periodical correspondence with Mrs. Bailey. But now that the poor Captain had such anxious cares relative to his daughter, he wrote a long letter to Mrs. Bailey, detailing the serious altera- tion of his circumstances in consequence of the fire. In this letter he spoke with a father’s pride of the exquisite beauty of Eliza, the amiability of her disposition, and her dutiful conduct as a daughter,—adding that his means had enabled him, though by dint of great sacrifices, to pive her an education not altogether apart from certain elegant accomplishments. Now, this letter arrived at a time when Mrs. Bailey felt the want of some new attraction to give zest to her entertainments, which the fashionable world began to consider rather “slow affairs,” the same faces being con- stantly met in Mrs. Bailoy’s drawing-rooms. The idea struck her that her requirement might be fulfilled in the person of Miss Lacey, if she were even only half as beautiful as the paternal pride had depicted her. She accordingly lost no time in writing back to Oxford, assuring Captain Lacey, with much seeming kindness in the wording of ber letter, that she sympathized deeply with him in his misfortunes ;°and inviting himself and Eliza to come and pase a few months with her in Grosvenor Square. She enclosed a bank-note for twenty pounds,— begging that the remittance might not be taken as an offence, but merely as a subsidy to defray the travelling expenses of those who were about to confer an obligation on herself by giving her their companionship. Captain Lacey was overjoyed at this really un- expected goodness, as he considered it, en the part of his relative. Eliza would fain have lingered a few weeks longer at Oxford, to compose her mind somewhat after so many recent and frightful cala- mities: but she saw that her father was now all anxiety to get to London—and with her wonted amiable submissiveness, she stifled the half-prayer, half-remonstrance which had risen to her lips. | The preparations they had to make were few; and rg a a ce re eo ge a TO ? had retired after the conflagration had deprived them of their home. During the journey, Captain Lacey implored and enjoined his daughter to ren- der herself as agreeable as possible to Mrs. Bailey, —by which, in plain terms, he meant that Eliza was to shake off her low spirits and her looks of sadness by all means in her power. Misfortunes as well as anxieties on his daughter's account, had rendered Captain Lacey worldly-minded and selfish: he hoped that in Mrs. Bailey’s gay saloons, Eliza would captivate some wealthy personage ;—and ever ready to jump at conclusions, the Captain regarded it as almost as good as settled that Eliza should form a brilliant alliance. He did not however impart his views to his daughter; and the poor maiden little suspected that he was dreaming of fresh matrimonial projects on her behalf, within only a few weeks after the receipt of the frightful intelligence which had given a death-blow to the former ones. Though inwardly full of sadness— though feeling that, the first affections of her heart being so cruelly blighted, she never again could love—indeed though considering it to be a sacred duty to cling to the image of her lost Bertram,— Eliza assumed as much external calmness as she could possibly call to her aid; while the natural vigour of her constitution had prevented the bit- terness of affliction from making any ravages upon her beauty, beyond chasing away the colour from her cheeks. Therefore when she arrived in Lon- don, and was introduced to her relative Mrs, Bailey, she appeared to be of a loveliness 0 ex- quisite and so interesting, with the expression of pensiveness upon her countenance, that the old lady, in the enthusiasm of joy, gave both herself and her father a welcome that seemed disinter- estedly cordial. It was the menth of September when the Laceys arrived in London ; and the greater portion of the fashionable world being out of town, it was not the season for Mrs. Bailey’s parties. She herself seldom went out of town: she disliked the country —hated tho sea-side—aad would not for worlde give up the amusements of shopping in Regent and Bond Streets. It was therefore fortunate for Eliza’s state of mind that she was not at once called upon to appear in the midst of crowded assemblies; and during the three months which now passed after her arrival in London, her grief for her lover’s loss settled itself into such a holy resignation that she was no longer agitated with paroxysms of Wild grief and convulsive weepings. But the expression of her eyes grew softer: a melancholy pensiveness settled upon her features, —relieved however by that half-sad half-sweet smile which resignation gives to the human coun- tenance, and which is so touchingly interesting when on the beautiful face of woman. The year 1827 was drawing towards its close, when the gaietics of the metropolis commenced. At first there were only small parties at Mra Bailey's house: but these grew larger and larger in proportion as the members of the fashionable world flocked back to their town-mansions. Thus Eliza was not precipitated all in a moment into the midst of brilliant assemblies: she was led on by degrees to become accustomed to the bustle, ani- mation, and gaisty cf West-End society ; and though she would infinitely rather have remained SN RE TO SED (COL (C DOO CS (COL