The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 305: what you’re looking at

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294 THE MYSTERIES OF THE COURT. upon the hopes which Mrs. Oxenden bad lately been throwing out, relative to her intention of making herself Duchess of Marchmont. For a few days this idea had seemed to be reduced to hopelessnees by the Duke's illness, which it was fearcd would terminate fatally: but Alexis Oliver had this afternoon been informed of the turn which had taken place in favour of Marchmont’s recovery. It was therefore with additional gusto that he was now enjoying his claret,—having dined alone at that West End hotel where we find him. Several other gentlemen hed been dining at the same place: but one by one they had taken their departure; and Alexis was now alone in that coffee-room. He had not however been left a quarter of an hour by himself, when the door opened, and two new-comers made their appear- ance. One was Captain Stanley, who, as the reader will recollect, was a young man of about four-and-twenty, exceedingly handsome—and what was better still, of remarkably honourable charac- ter. His companion was our young hero Chris- tian Ashton. Christian had met Stanley after he left Mr. Coleman’s office; and in the course of conversa- tion it transpired that Stanley had some alight acquaintance with Alexis Oliver. Christian told him enough to make him comprehend that it was of vital importance to Lord Clandon’s ultimate in- terest that certain measures should be carried out in reference to Alexis; and Stanley—who was himeelf a firm believer in the innocence of him whom he had known as Mr. Redcliffe, and who had saved his father’s life in India—readily as. sented to succour our hero in his present enter- prise. He entertained a thorough contempt and aversion for the character of Oliver: but he had no difficulty in temporarily crushing his scruples in order to further the interests of that imprisoned and accused nobleman to whom his father was in- .debted for his life. He and Christian had with little difficulty succeeded in tracing Alexis to this West End hotel which was one of the dissipated young man’s favourite haunts; and the two now lounged in together, as if totally unconscious of whom they were to meet in that coffee-room. “Ah, Captain Stanley!” exclaimed Oliver, starting up from his seat: “I am delighted to see you! Come to dine here, I suppose? Well, you could not do better. The turtle is first-rate —the venison excellent. As for the iced punch— commend me to it !” Captain Stanley shook Mr. Oliver’s hand with far more cordiality—or at least the appearance thereof—than he had ever before displayed; and presenting Christian, he said, “ Allow me to in- troduce my friend Mr. Craven.” The introduction was accordingly effected ; and then Captain Stanley said, “ Had we known of the excellencies of the turtle.and venison at this house, we would assuredly have proved them. But we have dined; and it was at a place where they gave us dreadful bad wine: so we determined upon coming hither to take just one bottle of claret.” “By all means join me!” exclaimed Alexis Oliver, who was charmed with Captain Stanley’s urbanity of manner. “TI shall be delighted, Mr. Craven, to make your better acquaintance.” Our young hero bowed in acknowledgment of this compliment; he and Stanley sat down at the same table with Alexis Oliver; and more claret was Called for. After a little conversation on the light floating topics of the day, Christien rose from his seat— ostensibly to glance at an evening paper which lay upon an adjacent table—but in reality to afford Captain Stanley an opportunity of whispering a few words, according to previous understanding, in the ear of Alexis Oliver. “Who is this young Craven ?” inquired Alexis, in a subdued tone, when Christian had left his seat in the manner just described. “He is quite a youth—he must be at least two years younger than I am—but exceedingly handsome——what the ladies would call a perfect specimen of masca- line beauty.” “ He is a desperate wild young fellow,” reptied Stanley; “with plenty of money—for his guar- dians make him a splendid allowance until he comes of age. He gambles and drinks—and, ia short, my dear Oliver, he is twenty times wilder than you yourself are.” “The deuce!” ejaculated Alexis: “he must in- deed be a precious young blade! So you have taken him in tow, Stanley—and are showing hia, I suppose, a little of London lifeP But bow the devil is this? I thought you were the very pat- tern of steadiness——” “To fell you the trath, my dear Oliver,” re- sponded Stanley, with a significant smile, “I am heartily sick and tired of what the world calle a steady life; and perhaps too the atillest water sometimes runs the deepest. You see, my gover- nor is rather strict and severe; and therefore what with partially being under terrorism, and what with having hitherto felt no inclination to be par- ticularly wild, I have got the reputation of being altogether steady.” “And now you mean to break out at last ?” ex- claimed Oliver, laughing merriy. “ Well, this is capital; and I hike you ten thousand times better than ever I did before. Indeed, I do not know that I ever liked you a¢ all until the present oc- casion ” “Oh! if you only like wild people,” responded Captain Stanley, smiling, “you will henceforth like me well enough, I can tell you! I mean to break out thoroughly and completely. In fact, I have begun. This young Craven and I are now constantly together———” “You must let me be one of the party,” inter- rupted Alexis. “The truth is, I want to get into a new set. All my old acquaintances have fallen off somehow or another—or disappeared, I ecarcely know by what means. One isin the Bench—another has gone abroad with his regiment—a third has died—a fourth has married—a fifth has taken holy orders—and what the devil has become of the rest, I can’t tell. Ruined and turned billiard-markers, perhaps P” “Why, you really speak, Oliver,” exclaimed Stanley, laughing, “like a man of sixty who had outlived all his acquaintances ;—and yet you are not more than one-and-twenty !” “ Something of that sort,” replied Alexis: and then he added with a half-affected, half-dissipated yawn, “ When one knocks about town for two or three y you know, one does begin to feel cursed old. But I say, Mr. Craven—or plain iin <S i i i i i gg eg te = EE SASS SA aurea Scag an | ns i hs eS ey (CO LDOO