The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 58: what you’re looking at

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

a, Aa gee Taya a a aS ra ace a ct ra I TT TTT TT THE MYVPERTES. her with its dufl, glasey, ‘lustretess eyes. Shen the abruptly removed ‘her hands ‘from‘her countenance; antl her looks, will with apprehansion, were cast owihly roand the room—setlling irresistibly at leugth upon the corpse that lay stretched on ibe floor. The murdereas started to her feet. Was she fhe sport of some horrible ‘vision—the victim .of some hideous night-mare ?—or was it really true that she had killed ahuman being—and that the corpse was there—at her feet? Once more she carried her hands to her head—but it was not this time to cover her face: no—it was to press her flogers to her throbbing brows and thereby steady her thoughts, if possible. For ber brain — Oh! it reeled —it reeled ;--and those thoyghts—Oh! they whirled— they whirled;—and it seemed.as if her ecalp had been torn off and same demon was pouring molten lead upon the palpitating, seething, quivering cerebral mass! Just beaven! her punishment had already degun on earth—and the red right arm of God was already stretched out to avenge that foul and atrocious musder! Alone with the corpse of her victim! Oh!—this was the conviction that hemmed her in with an adamantine wal], and imbued with its own harrow- ing influence all the thoughts which swept through ber brain and all the emotions which rolled their tidal fury through her breast. Was it possible that she could have been so mad—-so insane—-so rabid— 80 foolish, as to perpetrate a deed which thus con. qured up a myriad perils to environ her, as if with a host of insatiate demons panting for her destruction —her ruin—her -blood! But, hark!—vwhat souud was that which made her start so eonvulsively ? Was it a guttural moan from the throatof the corpse at her feet ?—was it the wail of the restless spirit which had only been parted a (uw minutes from its mortal tenement ?—or was it the-voice of some un- earthly being responding in mockery or in sympathy, to.that tremendous eloguesec of silent anguish and noiseless despair which filled the haart of the mur- deress? She listened—all was still—a profound tranquillity reigned throughout the hause;—and in her own chamber it was indeed ibe stupendous silence of death / Her imagination, then, had deceived her—and no eound had in reality reached her eara. But this stillness—this sileuce—oh! it was now becoming in- tolerable: it was something which began to we'gh upon her heart like lead—it was not a mere absence of sound—it -was the presence of an iafluence too mysterious to describe and too tremendous to endure. Ou! it asemed as if everything were pow sepulchzl that met her eyes in the yellow lustre of the night- lamp! She looked towards the bed: its snowy whiteness appalled her—for it appeared as if she were gazing on her own winding-sbeet! She turned her eyes towards the windows—the drapery seemed to have a dark, funereal gloom! Her lepks dwelt for an inetant ou a tall narrow clethes~prees of dark mahogany—-and her fevered fancy represented it as an upright case coutaining skeletons! Once more her eyes turned wildly towards the casement—und, there were they rivetted with dread ‘horzor: for it appeared to the appalled imagination of the unhappy woman that between the opening of the wiadow- curtains she beheld the marble couutepauce df a corpse looking in ypon her! For nearly .a minute: did Mra. Brace maintain her eyes fixed, in awful consternation, upon that phantom of her brain's ‘credtiog: and ali the while ber‘tongue was lacked as if‘by pardlysis—and her limibe were deprived of ‘Motion—and she was like a statue that could feel / But at length her terror reached that point when she must either scream out or avert her eyes—and it was this latter species of relief which she was enabled to grant unto her own aganisisg sail. And then—O horror !—as she suddenly and shudderingly withdrew her loolew from the ddeal face-6f the dend at the win- dow, they fell upon the real one which seamed to. -gaze up at her with its fixed and stony eyes as the corpsc lay stretched upon ‘the carpet! ; A moan of indescribable anguish now burst from: ‘the lips of the wretchcd woman; and once more: did she cover her countenance with her hands to shut oat the appalling object from her view. Bat ; during the few moments that she thus veiled her | ‘physica! vision, her feverish fancy acquired ten: thousand times mure activity than ever—and her’ imagination conjured up myriads of frightful shapes | and terrific forms to harrow her with all‘the dread | phantasmagoria of the grave! Then, unable to eudure this exgaisite refinement of torture, she opened her eyes again—and again did they irre- sistibly settle upon the face of that corpse with which she was thus alone ! : Goaded almost to madness — feeling that her sensés were abanduniny her—aud yet not-dariag to ‘fly from the room nor to summon assistance, the miserable wonian once more caught eagerly at the idea of suicide which flashed Sack tuto her : heated brain ;—and, rushing to the copboardl she was about to seize upon the phial of Prussle acid, when her unquiet conscience mate ‘her ‘fling a, atartied glance to her right and to her I¢ft'as she | was about to commit this new crime, And then— | with an ineffable aggravation of dil-the horror ! which previously filled her soul —did she suddenly , become transfixed to the spot, while her entire | frame grew all in a moment paralysed and petrified : for the furtive look which she had thrown around was arrested ouce again by the phautum face that : her disordered imagination depicted as gazing in | upon her through the wiodow ! So strang was the delusion that during eel minate which elapsed while Alcs. Brace was thus held in statue-like thraldom, unable to stir.a limb | —unable to give utterauce to a sound — unable also to withdraw her eyes from that object of ter- rible attraction—duriog this minute of an appalling | fascination, we say, her mind exercised an activity and an iaventiveness which only added to the horrors of her thoughts and eohanced the poig. | nancy of bér mental excruciation. For toe fave | which thas seemed to be looking in upon her, took | ail the ghastly lincaments of the grave: its flesh : was-ot that yellowish white which matks the corpse —its eyes were fixed with stouy, lustreless, and yet not altogether inexpressive glare—its black brows were strongly pencilled. above the dcep cavernous sockets wherein the glassy orbs were set—and the | lips were thin and of a blueish pallor. All these characteristics did the borror.strieken woman be~- boli—er rather fancy that she beheld: fur the eutire postraiture, with its supernal vividness, was nothing wore than the offspring of her own dis- ordered fancy. But at length unable any longer to endure.the contemplation of au object which to her had all the appearance and produced all the effects of the sternest reality, she burst as it were (COU (C DOO (CO