The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 181: what you’re looking at

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

ee: Se a aaa 170 THR MYSTERIES OF THE COURT. ? been dreaming of: but she could not remember thas - . aroused in the solomn silence and semi-checurity 0” | she had been dreaming af all. She lay perfectly | ‘the night, Henrietta was by no means inclined to 7 atill, unable to move a limb, and with all the sensa- | pat faith in apparitions now that the sun was tions of having experienced some alarm, either in a | shining, the birds were singing, and nature seemed vision or by the unknown circumstance thas had | so gay and cheerful without. She never had be- thus startlingly awakened her. lieved in spirite—she could not new: but if it were Perhaps five minutes might have dapeed while not 4 spirit, it could scarcely have been a living she was in this state of consternation; and then she figure, because there was not the slightest indication heard a strange rustling of elothes in the room. | of how it could have obtained ingress to the room, Yes—ehe distinctly heard is; and the ficsh crept ‘or have effected ite egress. The door was locked, upon her bonee—her hair stood up by the roote— | and there seemed no other door eave those of the , cupboards in the chamber. Henrietts passed into the drawing-room, and the door—it was shut; end a closer examination bread-and-butter were all the sustenance she could showed her that it was locked as she had left it. Now | take. She longed to communicate to Susan the ehe began to suspect that what she hed beheld was incident of the past night: she not.only telt that merely in a dream; and yet she was alow and hesi- | would be a relief to unbosom herself in that respect, tating in her progress to such @ conclusion, inas- but she likewise experienced a secret anxiety to much as every detail of the occurrence was so escertain whether the woman could help her in ae- vividly impressed upon her.mind. She remembered counting for the occurrence in a natural way, having been swakened—semembered also the terror ‘ wise than by attributing it to a dream—in short, if she had then experienced, as if from the instinctive , it were possible that any one could, have intruded knowledge that there was something dreadful in the imto her chamber. But when she looked at the for- room even before it had looked in upon her between bidding countenance of the servant, and remarked the curtains. She remembered likewise its shape, the decisive compression of her lips, her entire air and that sad pale face which had bent forward repelling any advances towards friendly or familiar cowards her. intercourse,—the poor girl was constrained to hold But was it not possible that though she might her peace and ponder the matter in her own mind. neve awakened in terror under the influence of After breakfast Mrs. Martin ascended to Hen- cone unplocsant dream, she had gone to sleep again rietta’s rooms. The young dameel recoiled with an and had then in another dream, or in continuation , ill-concealed aversion from the presence of this of the former one, seen the figure which was eo im- woman, whom, although she knew nothing of her, pressed upon her memory? This was indeed the she could not help associating with everything vile valy rational solution of the mystery: for however and depraved. Indeed, such was the impression deeply her superstitious terrors might have been that Mrs. Martin’s looks were but too well calou- Hi : | | | | | nothing to revive her terrors. She glanced towards thus served up: but a cup of tea and a piece of | ECOMICOOolKKS. conn