The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 16: what you’re looking at

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

: Ee THE MYSTERIES OF THE COURT. 3 ali that I dc—all that I menace, must be taken as evidences of that devoted love on my part. Listen to me—I beseech you te listen! ‘You have promised to accord me a few smemmaatitines I will endeavour to be calm.” “« Proceed,” said Elisabeth, withdrawing her hand, which he had pressed teaderly and fervidiy between both his own. “Let us not linger near this road whore passers-by might chance to observe us! we will walk through that shady avenue, where we shall be unperecived from the mansion. You see, Count Christoval, that I am compelled to take pre- eautions,—that I am fearful of being compromised ; and I hope therefore you will have some considera- tion for ma” — * Will you have any for me, Elizabeth PF” he asked, gasing upon her countenance with a rapture sub- dued by mournful suspense. “Bat let me avail myself of the little leisure you are affording me. ¥ will go back to that time when you fied from the (ower in Catalonia. On discovering your flight, a frensy ectzed upon my brain; for several hours I was like ome demented. It appeared te meas if the world contained naught left that was worth living fur: and yet, as heaven is my witness, I took mo measures to pursue you, or to bring you back. a if } 4 oe eiates were placed, reealled me to immediate astivity. I was reminded that the hour had come when I Would rogais, T might yot suoceed in making ea ta | couch: and thus some more weeks passed, while I lay stretched prostrate and powerless there. One |. morning a party of soldiers entered the village; and their commanding officer billetted them upon the inhabitants. This officer was tho Captain-General’s eon, whom I had taken prisoner, and whom you saw at the tower. On going his rounds to see thas bis men were properly cared for, he came to the cottage where I lay. I was recognised: the three naathe of cafety guaranteed by his father, had more than elapeed—-and I was accordingly arrested as a Carlist traitor and as a guerille bandit. But the young man possessed certain generous feelings; and he did not send me out to be shot like a dog, ae he ' might have done, and as most other of the Christino officers would have done in his place. Ho forwarded me as 4 prisoner to Bapselona,—at the samo time despatehing a letter to his father, the Captaia- General, besceching that my life t be spared. This entreaty was not without ite effect: but I was sent along with several other Carlist captives to the prison of Oadis —there to remain until a ship should be in readiness to bear us as felon-exiles to the Phillipine Islands. But it happened that the Go. vernor of Oadis wae a relation of mine: he took compassion on me—and though [ myself would ask no favour from the government of Queen Christina’a Regency, he adopted measiires secretly to procure @ mitigation of my sentence. He auc cceded—and I was ordered to be retained a prisoner at Cadis. The same favour was shown to other officers of the Oarlist army, who were my fellow. captives. We were treated with much indulgence; ‘and being allowed books, I obtained the means of acquiring the English language. Amongst my fellow-prisoners was an English officer who had served in the Oarlist army; and after a while he became my tutor in the etady of your native tongue Vor, Oh! I was not without the hope of sconer or later recovering my liberty ; and I ven y grant that the iden was not vaini—I thought, Klisabeth, that if I could address to you the lan- guage of love in those tones end words most familiar to your ear, an impression would be more easily made upen your heert. Am I doomed to be mie teken f”’ “Proceed with your narrative, Don Diego,” said pression upon your heart. I thought that when you | Elisabeth, in a tone which was slightly tremulous, were free, and no longer regarded me in the light of a gaoler, you would forget whateoever injustice you had sustained at my hands: while, on the “‘ Remember that the minutes are speeding by.” “ Ah! cruel to remind me that you have limited cur present interview to so short a space!” ex- ether band, you would remember the many proofs ‘claimed Count Christoval,—“I who for years have of devoted love that I had given you. I took leave ' sustasned life by dwelling upon your image | Bat I of my comrades—I abandoned to them the greater: will continue. Three years clapsed—end I continued share of the spoils which we bad amassed ; and they a prisoner at Oadis. M. My assiduities in soquiring wept as they gave me the farewell embrace. I set brought on by the anguish I had suffered on aceount "It stensk me like a thunderbolt. ' fell from my horse, and lay senseless in the depth of 0 ravines There I might have perishod, had it beens for the kindness of some peasants who ebanced to pass that way. They touk me to their ecttage in the neighbouring hamlet; and there I lay, raving in the delirium of fever for many weoks. When I regained complete consciousness, 1 was so enfevbigd—ee alten rated, that I cuuld not leave my ' the English language were unremitting; I had an able tutor—and you may judge whether I made the most of my time, and whether I profited by his les- sons. In the sammer of 1848 all Spain was con- vuleed by the civil war raised by Queen Christina’s adherents against the Regent Eapartero) end in « battle which cook plese, at uncle of mine -a devoted adherent of Christina-~~was alain. He died, leaving behind him immense wealth, to which I should have been the heir, were it not that all [ pos- segaed devolved to the Oxown, as I was a condemned traitor and an outlaw, Then was it that the kind feeling of the Governor of Cadis again made iteelf apparent; aed when Spain ones mose became comp (COL (C DOO CS (COL