The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 343: what you’re looking at

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334 "HE MYSTERIES OF TIE COURT. and raising his voice to 4 higher key, he exclaimed, * You had ought to say what business you have— a ewindling scoundrel like you—coming to a re- spectable hotel, giving your orders like a prince, robbing everybody, and not so much as paying the poor devils of servants which hag run their legs off to wait upon you. & precious nice thing to get into the loca] papers amongst the Fashionable Intelligence ;—* Hon. Talbot Sycamare re- moved on Wednesday last from the Royal Hotel at Ramsgate to his town house of Newgate, Desh my wig, sych an Honourable !”—and the waiter in order to yent his indignant feelings upon something, dashed hig white napkin frantically down upon the unoffending carpet. Comforted by this procedure, he took yp the two young gentlemen’s hate, and stalked aut of the room, leaying the door wide open, “Let’s go at once,” seid Sycamore; “or the whole hotel will be up in arms.” “I think you have a servant, sir?” said My. Shadbolt. “ Perdition take the servant!” rejoined Byca- more sharply. “Let him shift for himself.” The waiter was holding forth to the two young gentlemen in the adjacent apartment, on the im- propriety of scoundrels in general and Mr, Sycamore in particular, taking up their quarters at first-rate hotels,—so that the culprit was enabled to slip out of the establishment, closely accompanied however by the two detectives, In the street thoy met the dapper groom; and he at once comprehended that something was the matter. It was impossible to avoid giving him a suitable explanation : whereupon he darted away, —thinking perhaps that it was impolitic for him to re-enter the hotel, as he might stand a chance of being given into qustody as an aider and abettor of his master in the process of swindling which had been carried on. Neither did he deem it ex- pédient to accompany his master fo London; and thus he did indeed fulfil Mr. Sycamore’s recom- mendation—that he should sbift for himeelf. Barely five minutes had elapsed after Sycamore’s departure with the two detectives—and while the | waiter was acquasinting the barmaid and all the other domestics with the details of the explosion that had just occurred—when a telegraphic de- spatch was hurriedly brought into the hotel from the railway station. It contained simply these words :—“ Give Sycamore and the groom into cus- tody. eave Mr. Ashton unmolested: he is inno- cent. I shall be down by the next train.” This was from the landlord of the hotel, who had gone up to London, where he had instituted inquiries with such rapidity and effect, as to be en- abled to arrive at the conclusions contained in that telegraphic despatch. It was however too late te act upon it—for the hand of justice had already laid its grasp upon one of the scoundrels, and the other had decamped. Christian Ashton entered the hotel at this con- juncture. He was speedily made acquainted with what had occurred; and the telegraphic despatch was shown to him. He was infinitely delighted thus to discover that his own reputation remained perfectly undamaged; and he proceeded to explain the circumstances under which he had withdrawn himeelf in the forenoon from Mr. Sycamore’s em: 1 ployment, and how he had overheard at the tavern the intention on the part of Messrs. Shadbolt and Withers to arresé that individual. The bar-maid now understood wherefore our young hero had asked for bia bill separately from Sycamore’s account; gnd this circumstance, together with the promptitude exhibited by Christian in settling it, confirmed the favourable intimatian forwarded by the landlord from London, CHAPTER LXIV. VEEXER HQVASR. Wuew he had retired to his own chamber af night, after tha exciting eventa of the stirring day through which he had passed, Christian Ashton reflected upon all those occurrences—and not the least on the mysterious adventure of which he had obtained an initiative glimpse in the neighbour- hood of Sir John Steward’s residence. As the reader ig aware, our young hero’s heart wag en- gaged with an unalterable devotion to the charm- Isabella Vincent; and therefore it was merely with a genuine compassion and a pure sympathy thaf he thought of the beauteous and afflicted Laura. He trembled on her behalf for more rea- sons than one: the character he had heard of Sir John Steward, and which seemed fully justified by the old libertine’s gloating looks, was alone sufli- cient to fill him with such apprehensions: but in addition thereto, he by no means liked the appear- ance of Mrs. Oxenden. That she was exceedingly handsome, we have already said: but she hed a certain bold and resolute look, fully indicating the firmness and perseverance with which she woald prosecute any enterprise, even though a bed one. he had the thickly pencilled ebon brows and the fiery eyes which denote strong passions: the configura- tion of her countenance was essentially voluptuous. Bhe was not a woman to inspire love by her beauty—only to excite passion: nor did she hereelf appear susceptible of tho former in ita chastest and purest sense—though on the other hand, she seomed fully capable of experiengpg the latter with a glowjng and devouring ardour. Between that old man of libertine character, and this woman of sternest purpose, the hapless Laura appeared in the eyes of Christian to be as helpless as a lamb between two wolves bent on ite destruction. The reader may have already gleaned a suffi- ciency of our hero’s character, te be aware that it was marked by chivalrous imity. Lis experiences of life were wondrously enlarged since we first beheld him seated with his amiable sister in the lodging at Mrs. Macauley’s house in London. He had seen enough of the villanies of the world to fill him with a generous longing to baffle and frustrate them whensoever the opportunity should present itself’; and apart from his own naturally noble impulses, he had not failed to profit by the example of Mr. Redcliffe. It is not therefore astonishing if Christian lay awake a considerable time, pondering all he seen in the close vici- nage of Verner House—and that he should also rack his brain for the means of affording Laura that assistance which he felt convinced she re- quired. But sleep came over him ere his mind was settled to any positive course; and when he COMMUC DOO CS (COL