The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 167: what you’re looking at

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teen tt SS LS 138 THE MYSTERIES. hour ;—and he arrived at home a few minutes be- fore the vehicle containing Lord Florime! stopped at the door. But, to return to that nobleman, we should ob- serve that so soon as the lady had conducted hin to the garden gate, she made him pause while she hurriedly repeated to him that condition upon which she was prepared to succour him in crush- ing his enemies ;—and she likewise rejterated the means he was to adopt in order to convey to her his desire to see her again, should ke sooner or later resolve upon agreeing to that condition and throwing himself entirely into her arms. Thus up- wards of five minutes elapsed while the Unknown Lady was breathing her farewell words in Florimel’s ears; and thus also was an opportunity uncon- sciously afforded to the black page to achieve his successful escape from the mansion and its neigh- bourhood. The mysterious syren now preesed Florimel’s hands with impassioned fervour to her lips: then, opening the gate, she murmuringly bade him fare. well. At the same instant he was raised in the strong arms of the tall footman ard thrust into the carriage : the door was banged—and the yehicle started off at a gallop. Florimel removed the handkerchief from _ his eyes; and when he tried the windows, he found, as he had expected, that the wooden blinds were drawn up and that they were immoveable. He then threw himself back in the luxurious barouche and gave way to his meditations,—the joyous re- collections of the past few hours’ pleasure now rapidly mingling with feelings of bitter compunc- tion and poignant remorse as the image of Pauline rose before his mental vision. At length the barouche stopped—the door was opened—he leapt out—and the equipage was whirled away again with all the rapidity which two superb steeds were capable of exerting. Florimel paused for a few moments to follow it with his eyes as it rushed glancingly along the rows of lamps which marked, as with a tracery of light, the descending and then ascending thorough- fare stretching away along the margin of one park and towards the entrance of another ;—and as the young nobleman stood gazing until the din of its wheels and its horses’ hoofs were lost in the distance, he heaved a profounc sigh as he thought of the temptations — the irresistible temptations — into which that departing carriage bad this night borne him } . | Tue door of his mansion stood open—and Rao was there to receive him ¢ What } not in bed, my boy?” exclaimed Flori- mel, surprised to observe that his page was still up and dressed at that late hour—or rather, early hour un the morning. <5 fancied that your lordship might perhaps need my attendance,; aaid the sable youth, in hig wonled quiet manner and without the least em- harrassment or confusion in his looks. “ Xou are g good ang grateful boy, Rao,” said Lord Fjorimel, pagsing his hand with a caressing air of approval over the silken jetty hair of the page. #nd Bao's slender form trembled in every Abre —quivered in every nerve, at bis master's tuach ;— and beneath the darkness of his skin, the blood ‘ glowed in deepest crimson in the flesh of his cheeks, while it boiled in his veins with the fury of some passion profoundly stirred. “ You tremble, Rao—you shiver,” said Florimel, in a tone of commiseration. “ You are evidently very cold—and this is all through sitting up to wait for me. Poor boy! Another time let the hall- porter pertorm his duty—nor should you undertake to do it for him.” “Oh! my lord, it has given me a heartfelt plea- sure to sit up to-night!” exclaimed the boy, in a thrilling toue. “You are a good and grateful youth,” repeated Florimel; “and Iam more thaa ever rejoiced to think that I received you into my service.” “And cach day, my lord, am I more rejoiced to think that I have entered it,” retarned Rao: but the strange significancy and ominous meaning which formed as it were an under-current in- his tone, escaped the notice of Florimel. “ Well—give me my candle—1 will dispense with your services to-night—or as I should say, this morniug,” observed the nobleman. “And now :@. take yourself to rest, Rao—and another time don’t sit up for ine uuless you like, my boy.” Thus speaking, Lord Florimel hastened to his own chamber, to dream of the Unknown Lady aod Pauline—the joys of the mysterious boudoir and his own deep infidelity towards the virgin-objeot of his purer and holier adoration. CHAPTER CLXIII. THE BUCCANEERS. A monta had elapsed since Philip Ramsey, the resuscitated criminal, embarked at Liverpool oa board a small vessel bound for New York lie had quitted England only through dread of the threats which the outraged Earl of Desburough had levelled against him on that tremendous ocea- sion when the incident of the portrait revea ed the identity of Gustavus Wakefield the sham West- Indian with Philip Ramsey the resuscitated of ithe gallows. On that occasion, as the reader will re- member, the almost heart-broken Earl of Des- borough had addressed himself ia these terms to Ramsey :—“ Here are five hundred pounds for your use ; and, by the living God! if you venture to re- main in England—if you do not proceed in my carriage direct to Liverpool and thenee depart with- out delay for America—I will show you no more mercy, but proclaim the fact of your existeuve to the world and set the blood-houndsof justice to hunt you to that destruction which you have escaped once.” These words rang in the ears of the wretched cri- minal throughout the journey from London to Liver- pool. They seemed to pursue him like an anathema, —and although be had many and cogent reasons to induce him to remain in England—yes, to remain in the land where he was every instant fearful of being recognised—he nevertheless felt aa if a spell were urging him on to the fulfilment of the condi- tions imposed upon him by the Earl. And thus was it that his terrors ruled him uatil he stood upon the deck of the fire-Fly schooner at Liverpool ;—and it was only when the vessel was putting out to sea that he began to reflect that he perhaps had yielded too much to hisalarm in thus suffering the Eari’s menaces to drive him into exile ! ain G-~ af ene ep - wee ate 2 eT gp . ae, (COU aoe ao Me NT eee cn A cn a el (C DOO (CO