The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 335: what you’re looking at

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324 THE MYSTERIES OF THE COURT. whom I first became acquainted at Oxford. We plighted our faith to each other: we were sepe- rated—and I went abroad. During my absence it wae reported that I had perished; and she was prevailed upon to accompany my uncle the Duko of Marchmont to the altar. Subsequently she Jearnt that I was alive: bat into all these details of a sad, sad history it is not my purpose to enter. Suffice it to eay that I deemed her faithless; and on arriving in England, I repaired to Oaklands that I might have an opportunity of upbraiding her for the supposed perfidy. That opportunity presented iteelf: but, alas! I found that she was to be pitied and not blamed. Our mental agony was immense—excruciating—ineffable. But she wasawife! Had she been the wife of a stranger, her position would have rendered her not the less sacred in my eyes: but as the wife of my own uncle——Oh! I was incapable of a deed of in- famy! It was arranged that I was to depart speedily from Oaklands and set out for the Court of Florence, to which I had been appointed Envoy Plenipotentiary. The moment for bidding farewell drew nigh: my adieux were said to the Duchess Elisa; and yielding to the anguish of my feelings, I clasped her in my arms. The Duke beheld the scene—-as you have already been informed by the confession ere now read,—that confession of my guilty brother! I fied to the village tavern; and some while afterwards my brother joined me, with the intelligence that the Duchess Eliza had disap- peared from Oaklands. She had gone forth as a wanderer on the faco of the earth,—ebe who was innocent! Maddened by the tidings, I sped in search of the unhappy lady. For hours I wan- dered ; and at length I overtook her. I¢ was then midnight ;—and in a lonely spot by the side of a stream was she seated, weeping bitterly. This spot was miles away from Oaklands. She reproached me not as the author of the frightful calamities which had falion upon her head; and though she gave way to the most passionate lamentations, she mentioned not my name with upbraiding. She vowed that she would retire into some complete seclusion where she would linger out the rest of her unhappy days; and this seclusion she was de- termined should be far remote from the scones where she had suffered so much misery. My con- duct was full of respect and sympathy and gricf; and I did not even so much as take hor hand: I felt that any demonstration of tenderness on my part would be an iasult in such circumstances. I persuaded her to proceed to an adjacent village where she might repose herself for a few hours. She accompanied me: we walked side by side— she did not even take my arm, though she was sinking with fatigue—and I[ dared not offer it. As we entered the village, in the middle of that mo- mentous night, a return post-chaise was passing through. The unheppy Duchess abruptly pro- claimed her intontion of taking it. She entered the vehicle: I sat upon the box;—I was resolved that whatecever might subsequently transpire, there should be nothing in my conduct to justify or to enhanoe the suspicions already pressing so fatally against her. On reaching the town to which the chaise belonged, the Duchess bade me ensuro her the means of rapid conveyance to one of the remotest counties of England, it mattered not which. An equipage with four horses was ace cordingly obtained ; and I resolved to see the un- fortunate lady to some place of safety before I bade her farewell for ever: for I was afraid lest in her despair she should commit suicide! In- deed,” added Lord Clandon, with a voice fall of emotion, “I believe she meditated self-destruction at the moment when I found her weeping eo bit- terly by-the side of that etream.” He again paused for a few minutes; and then continued his narrative in the ensuing manner :— “The Duchess travelled inside the chaise: I con- tinued to ride outside, acting as her guardian and her friend. We travelled on and on for many long, long hours without ceasing; and frequently did I ask the Dachess whether she would now stop and find a home in some nei ing seclusion ? But when she asked where we were, and the answer was first ‘In Warwickshire’ —then ‘In Derbyshire’--then ‘In Yorkshire’—she still re- plied with passionate vehemence that she would go further still. And thus, without stopping ex- cept for a few minutes at a time, we reached Cum- berland. Then the Duchess said that she would halt there; and indeed, thoroughly exhausted mentally and physically as she wae, it would have been impossible for her to proceed farther. At a village near the Scottish Border did we thus stop at last; and the Duchess besought that [ would continue to conceal her name and rank, es both had been concealed throughout that long, long journey. With the least possible delay the un- happy Duchess procured for herself a lodging in a cottage situated about a mile from the village, and the mistress of which was a widow between thirty and forty years of age. I then bade adieu to the Duchess. There was one clasp of the hand--there was one kiss imprinted upon her brow—aad [ rashed away, not daring to remain another mi- nute |” , Again did Lord Clandon pause; and so fall of pathos had been his voice as he told this affecting tale, that there was scarcely an unmoistened eye in the Court. ‘Yes, I fled precipitately,” he a& length re- sumed, “anguish and remorse in my heart—for I felt that I had been the cause of this wrecked happiness and ruined reputation which had over- taken one so innocent, so young, so beautifal! I sped to the nearest seaport on the eastern coast: I embarked on board the first ship which I found ready to bear me away from a country that I re- solved nover to revisit. I pictured to myeelf « terrific exposure at Oaklands—the direst accuss- tions fulminating against my character—my ropu- tation gone—my prospects blighted—and the name of Bertram Vivian handed over to universal exe- cration as that of the seducer of his own uncle's wife! It was a Dutch ship in which I embarked; and I arrived at Rotterdam. At the very moment of entering the port, a large ship was clearing out for the Indian Seas. Unhesitatingly I took my passage on board of her; and favoured by pro- perous winds, the voyage was made in an exceed- ingly short space of time to Java. Thonce I re- paired to Calcutta, with the determination of offering my services to the Anglo-Indian Govern- ment; for the fands which I had in my posscssivn when leaving Eogland, were now noarly exhausted. I had assumed the name of Cloment Redcliffe; and I should add that my arrival at Caloutte had out- GOnMIGOOOKS