The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 233: what you’re looking at

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

a -» - thing ng in the circumstance of het husband having given such an invitation, yet the fact that the Prisice had accepted it—nay, she felt assnred, must have thrown out some hint which elicited it—was too signifreant not to be understood by the Jady: Then—Oh! then, how violent was the struggle which had taken place between her virtue and her inclinations: how tamultdous was the agitation which filled‘her heart,-as:her physical and her moral nature watred together;—how dire was the conflict between the fiesh and the spirit! There wap a woman imploring heaven to keep her chesté—clasping: her hands‘and beseeching her God to preservé her in the- path of duty—-exerting every energy to muintain her footing in the ways of reetitudée,—-but yielding —bend- ing~-sucoumbing beneath'the weight of indomitable: patdione—burning with the fiercest desires!) The battle was maddening—the strife was exorucigting. Oh! how'she prayed for streagth—for succour: ant get her strength failed her fast—and succour'canie: mot: She resolved to retreat te her owh chamber=-to send by a servantan apology for her ubsence with a plea of. indispotition : but scareely had she thus: de termamed, whea-voices on the landing without met- her eate--and: she had‘ barely time to seat hervelf or the sofa before: the Prince and her husband made their appearance. No wonder, then, that her cliseks were flushéd— that hereyes shone with a brillianty that was wild and feverish: no wonder that her-heast: palpitated vio-~ lently and she gave a sudden convulsive 'statt; ae the hen-eppareat placed ‘himeelf by her side upord the sofa, : And he noticed her emotions, but divined net the true cause: his heentious, prefiigatd,and demorulised natore led him té mistake the results of that: severe internal wrestling for the evidences of a passion as |’ heated, as inflamed, and dsiongitg as-‘hie own. The Ear, beving thrown one rapid glance apon ‘his wife; examined some new Chis -omarients whith: had that day been ‘placed ‘uport the mantel pidde = it wal therefore clear to Eleanor that he either did not ‘per- cerve anything strange'in her appeafaticé, or that if he did f¢ engendered no unplessatit suspicion in his min Retieved and consoled ‘by the circamstance that her excitement had thus again eseaped the observa- tion of her hasband,—and summoning all het forti- tude to her aid;~the Countess-.of Desboréugh 29- sumed @ coh posure, alnost verging to a gaiety, which: she did not entirely feel; and in the endeavour to sedm ‘chéerful, contented, and free from any cause of annoyance of é:nbarvasement, she evemplayed her past. The consequence: was' thet her manna ap- peared so supremely happy—her discourse sparkled willy puch gems of wit and flashes of ‘inteltect— her laught was so:melodiously hearty—and ‘her ‘smit-s were so enchamiltgly radiant, that it was inrpessidie: for-her to prove more The coffee was handed round —the Prince ani: the Earl each took « small glass of exquisite liyweer— and the conversition was p : in the sante: brifliaine style as befote, when his Royal Higimess,in quetimig-a line of poetry, attributed it to the wrong author: Eleanor corrected him: buat he declared that he was figit.: Thereupon the Earl, starting from his seat, volunteered to fetch from the hbraty a velume which would set the matter at rest; aud ‘he left ‘the oom. But ecarcely had the door closed behidd him, 2. auuEweEEee@ «owe eee — drive the no to TRE MYSTERIES.’ when the Prince, scising the‘hands of the Coudsttem. pressed them to hits ‘lips, coveriig thei witly kientd, “Oh! you are Getefminefl to rttin' me, body asd soul!” murmured ‘Eleandr, allowing ‘her head te droop upon his shovtilder,'so that her hait with hid and her:soft watm chebk lay ‘agaihet his own. “ Ruin you, my angel f” cried the Prinée; thréwing hig artns abot her neek and straining her to his bosem : “I world die to promote your fieppiness? O Eleanordearest Eleanor—I° love—I adore you: ig And; inwindittg his arme, he raised her head with his hantd: and imprinted‘ thousand kisses upon her lips, —burning kisses: which she returtied—-yeb, she —for she was now borne headlong on the torrent: of voluptuous feelings into whiolt' her. fase appeared to plunge her. ' “ Dearest'‘~— dearest’ Eleanor?” whtiispeted the Prinée; “ you ‘cannot’ fail: to suspeet wherefore I have remained here tonighh: Again, thereford, I aay—dv fidt drive me to despair Mutrmer in my eaté a singte:word—an’ instructidn te guide- mete your thambéer——” And onée more he strained he? to his bréam: ence more he covered: her charming, ‘blashing, berning countenaites: with kisees ;}~-anil, in the delivium of the momeritin the intoxication of ihefikbis feelings: —in the whirl of all ‘the tenderest emetions whiek woman's heatt can knéw; the yidding Kieaner did: tourmer the few words of instrustion which: her daring compathon craved. Then, tearing - heteelf from- his: etabrace, : aled smoothed her hair arid ber dreas, and strove 4 tran-~ quillive- hersersations and eompése herfeateres ere her husband retumed tothe room. Fortunately on her acecoant, severnd neimates yet elapued before he niade his appekrance : othetwite he could rot have failed to observe the: thrilishe: ex- citement whieh pessessed: hie wif and-wkeabe she: found it so drfivalt to recover. Apologising' for his prdlonged: absened: on: the ground that he could'not immediately find the-boek which. he ‘sought, the Earl ef Desboredgh:o the -volame ‘he ‘catried in‘hts hand; and thd Prthes of Wales was conrpelidd to acknowledge that he'was wrong’ in his opinion: aud ‘that the' Ceumtess was This point being settled, the conversation was: putseed ‘until near twelte; when Eleakor rove 10 withdraws ‘The Prince ‘took ber haid;: and; as he: pressed it warnhiy but rapidly, he dartdd upot her a glance se full of meming that she wis fereod to turn away' immediately ia érdér-to corztesal : the burwing: blash ‘which that lool éalled tip te her feathres. The moment the Countess had quidled the reor; 3 deep aad‘ sudden ‘sadness ‘fell npon -the- Eari—e sadness so profuund, so strange, so irtesistible, that the hteit-apparent ‘could not itelp observing t. ‘The vobleman complained thet indisposition had thus: abruptly scized on' him; and; endédvedridg to snviie, ‘he declared it to be nothing-a mere trifle ad alréealy passing away. Bat that bmie— oh | it was so ‘ghastly — so death-like so positively hideous, that the ‘Prince wap: alarmed; aud, ims- gining that <he Earl was about te fal, he rushed towards the bell. Lord Desborough started up~-cétght the hand of his Royal Highness: just as it towehed the bell -= -- —_ — - » a -— on ° — ane > COMME MOO SS a aan A a A a a a ce ec SL, eee a ee co —E———_