The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 263: what you’re looking at

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hues of health : slightly sunken, they were pale and colourless, alike with the canker of care and the olight of sickness. Her eyes,—no longer rolling in a voluptuous languor, nor lighting up with the flame of fervid passion and joyous emotion,;—were fixed in look, and full of a deep, deep melancholy, varied at intervals by a certain vacaney which in- dicated that recently unsettled condition of the mind whence she had net recovened, The rich contours of her foxm still retained their Jowed them with so velupsnous-» eharm end whieh |. elevated the softness of feminine beauty inte the eplendoor of a magnificent womanhood. She had grown thinner, to speak in common terms;--and yet, any admirer of the sex whe had never seen her before, would not hesitate evem now to pro- | nounee her a most lovely creature, alike in face -and form. We have already observed that she was in the ~way to become a mother: but her condition in this respect wae not as yebhegparent. At the same time ‘the truth_-iie tewtlt—was, apamatter of course, Acnown unto Resself, aad te VFaniine,—known also} esas?” ‘to Mr. and Mim Page, who hed discovered the -secret inthe way alseady explained by the former in his conversation with the Prince of Wales. Te’, his Royal Highness tietesesehhad been eomaneni- -cated by Pauline i: o bri but tenching letter; fer ‘the maiden considwed is te be hep duty to male that announcement te-the fiehen of the babe whid: Octavia bore in her Besem. ‘Bist letter wer bow- | that m vever dated from ho -cheerfally diepensed with by the Honourable: Miss Pauline Cilarseadon: but, as we have ere now etetad, they had exhibited so much asighbourly friendship ‘towards the sisters, that ft was to receive “them otherwise than with due courtesy. Although she had gained so much bitter experience in the ‘ceading of the world’s lessons, and although the manifold dark phases of the human character had -been forced upon her contemplation by sucha series -of infelicitous circumstances, yet her confidence in ‘fier species was not so utterly destroyed as to render her suspicious without a cause. She therefore saw no selfish, sinister, nor interested motive in the kind- ness which Page and his spoese appeared to de- monstrate towards her sister and herself: she ‘ooked upon him as a well meaning, bustling man, asomewhat eccentric and prying withal—and upon his wife as a good-natured woman, excessively igno- rantand supremely voigar ;—but she would have ‘Deen startled with surprise indeed, had any body whispered in her ears a single word calcniated to throw a proper light upon the character and -isposition of that mean, unprincipled, intriguing, Sypocritical couple. And thus, upon the occasion speocfficd at the opening of this chapter, we find Mr. and Mrs. Page comfortably enscenced in the handsomely- urnished pariour of the villa occapied by Octavia and Pauline Clarendon. “Might I inquire, witout being deemed imper- Ainent,” said Mr. Page, after a brief lapse in the dis- course, “ whether you have seen your noble father lately, Miss Pauline ?” “ No—lI have not seen him for some time,” an- swered the young lady: then, in an abstracted mood, she added, “ Not since the day of his mar- riage with Miss Ayimer.” “ And dues he not know where you are residing” demanded @e ex-bagman. “Does he not also know——.” Aad he gianesed significantly towards Octavia, who eat that moment was gazing vacantly upon the enryat. “Bo—no,” repiied Pauline, with something like mingled imgutionce amd bitterness in her tone: then, in a.Jow and hursied whisper, she observed, “Do not, E impleme yon, speak upon any topic which meg touck ® painfal chord in the heart of my poor sister.” “Nestor workds [" ejaculated Mr. Page, but in a similarly sebduea voice. “1 should be sorry in- deed to distarb a mind which within the last few days has made such marvellous progress towards the recovery of its equilibrium. But is it posible,” he asked in. awhisper, “that Lord Holderness is unscgueinted with bis. daugitter's afflictinn—and its “My father Rnows that Gotavis. became the vic- love far the Prince of Wales,” Pasaline, in tone that wes soncuely au- ible and with a loci: fail of emation >—“and he knows Hhewies that her reuse wes affected. But he is igngrent——BR God ! thes I com even sustain my feelings et the ilen!——he is ignorant, I say my is in. a way calenatod to afd | living evidanes. of her dishonoar!” ind the ware rolled down Pasiiacs chests as | she thes apoke. “Come, come, mp dear young lady, clear seid: Mis. Page, new taking upon herself the parte comscise. “Te is not 20 enay to cheer up, Julia,” ork ber husband, “when one Aas many causes of ' affiintion to contemplate and experience. Is your | father happy and comfortable in this alliance which he has formed ?” asked the ex-bagman, once more giving free vent to his curiosity. “I cannot say—I know nothing of the matter, Mr. Page,” answered Pauline, speaking in a tone which plainly declared that the subject was dis- agreeable to ler. “Well, Miss—I will not utter another word upon the topic,” said the ex-bagman. “By the bye, I believe that unhappy young gentleman, the Hon. Arthur Eaton, is a relation of yours—is he net?” Pauline replied in the affirmative. * But do you believe him guilty of the frightful deed impated to him” asked Mr. Page. * Assurediy not [” exclaimed the generous-hearted maiden, her eheeks flushing with indignation at the bare suspicion which the query implied against a young man whose soul, she felt assured, was fail of the loftiest and noblest feelings. “Depend upen it,” she continued, with a marked emphasis, “ that my cousin Arthur is as innocent of that foul crime as Tam myself,—and his guiltlessness will become apparent when the judicial investigation takes place. At least, I should hope that the strasge and mysterious circumstances which have combined to make him a victim, will be fally and completely . ——_ a_i ee (COU (C DOO (CO