The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 123: what you’re looking at

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

' 106 eee, Fe ee THE MY8TERIRBS. Marriage Act to the winds and proclaim Mrs. Fitzherbert his wife and his Queen. In such &: case, would it be of no avail to us that the hanour of the lady exists in our keeping? But, under any circumstances, when we have obtained as much as we can get from the Prince, we sha then demand ' more through the influence and agenty of Mrs. ' Fitzherbert.” . | “You are right, Tim,” said the Ammason? * We will secure the possession of the Marquis of Beflois’ papers. And now, when are we to reneW our nego- | tiations with Joseph Warren, Wre ‘edetbtable ' Magsman ?” “You and I will pay that Worthy a Visit this / very evening, my beauty,” ‘ansfered Meagles, ' © Only fancy what a glorious thing ®% would be for . us if we should succeed in obtaining the other hatf | of the certificate, and if, when pat together, the ' entire document proved that the present King was | really married to Hannah Lightfoot! Why—not ‘ only would the honour of the Sovereign be com- pletely in our hands—but ifkewise te validity of his alliance with the Queen and tte Mgitimacy of all his children.” | | “ To be sure!” ejacutated the Nantress, “But I am afraid, from certain txpressions—mangled and fragmentary thoach trey bé—i Ure wrotety of the document which Wwe woW possess, VAAL wo real mar. riage evet took place.” } “The whote terour of that Molety, 90 far as we can nderstawd &” sald * admits of two interpretation’s,—one for, ard the other a belief in wech a marriage. Tt % Fmpossible te decide between them until We Galt etiesé the doeu- ment as a whole; and this eventige We Will endea- vour te lay a train for the purchase uf the fragment in old Lightfoot’s possession,” ad@ed Tim: for the old man’s death was unknown W Bim and the Amazon. | «“ T dare say we shall succeed,” observed the fat- ter, rising from her seat. “We Shafi Work with more energy now that it is for ourselves, than we did when the Prince commissioned you to negotiate privately in his behalf. But it is noW mid-day, Tim—and the weather is elearing up. I must hasten home—change my Amazonian garb for a silk gown, gipsy-bonnct, and warm furs—and ap- pear in a dress which, as the common phrase goes, is suitable to my sex,” she added, laughing. “ And pray whom are you bent spon captivating to-day ?” demanded Tim, bestowing upon the splen- did creature 2 caress which she reccived in a man- ner indicating that, however profligate she might be, and however lavish of her favours she noto- riously was, she nevertheless entertained something ‘ like a sincere affection for Meagles. “ So far from having any such idea as you impute to me, Tim,” she said, in answer to the question | which he had jocularly put to her, “ I mean to play the amiable towards old Sir Sohn, and take him out for an airing in the carriage. He will be so ' delighted that nothing I may ask will be refused; | and I shall pave the way to obtain the few thou- ' sands that you and I are likely to require for our | purposes in the course of the week. Adieu for the | present, my dear Tim: J shall call for you at about | eight this evening—and we will then proceed to- ' gether to the classic region of Horslydown,” | Adieu, my charmer,” returned Meagles, press- | ing his lips to her rich red mouth; and the Amazon ee ann aac took her departure from the lodgings of her para- nro. We cantrot close this chapter without directin:: the attention of tire reader to the fact that Mr. Meazles had maintained towards Lady Letitia Lade the sarré secrecy and silence relative to the orphan Rose which he had observed on the preceding sevenmg With the Prince of Wales. CHAPTER XXX. WR PAGE AND RIS WIFE. We néWw igo back to Mr. Page and his wife, whom we shall Rint proceeding arm-in-arm from the Borough rewards old London Bridge. The corinrercial traveller, flattering himself that he was & Wratt Worth six thousand pounds in ready money and pdsiessing papers calculated to produce as mich asin, walked with his head ercctand an air of sich aseafance that one wonld have thought the entire metropolis belonged to him. In this respect he was Well nrftched by Julia, who, fancying that her | unting shawl were sufficient ite the lady,” marched along with an assumption of vulgar pride which made her seem ah W she fancied the street was not half wide enough for Wer. ‘The little boys stared at the singular-look- ing couple—sober-minded people experienced a sen- timent of pity for their vanity—and when the poor shivering Geswars touched their hats or curtsied, as the casé of yex might be, Page held his head up higher will; for & stimck him titat he wes all of a sudden very much respected. Tn this manttér they ¢ctossed the bridge, and pro- ceeded straight to Wood Street, where they entered the warehouse of Messrs. Hodson and Morley. The senior partner happened to be there at the rnoment, superintending the unpacking of some bales of goods which had just arrived; and, on hearing the door open, fe raised his eyes and beheld the com- mercial travéiter with a bold-looking woman hanging to his arm. Mr. Hodson was astonished; and, putting on his spectacles, he indulged in another long stare at the newly-married couple. Yes—it was really Page,— Page with his hat cocked jauntily on one side of his head, and with such a smirking familiarity expressed alike in his countenance and manner, that the sedate merchant knew not whether to consider him drank or demented. But how different from the Mr. Page who used to take off his beaver the instant he the threshold, and who was wont to glide noiseleasly through the warehouse direct into the private office as if he were treading upon eggs! And then that woman, too—with the flaunting dress of a vulgat upstart and the bold looks of a courtezan! What could it all mean? Mr. Hodson knew not: he was bewildered—and, turning towards the porter who stood gazing open-mouthed upon the pair, he said in a hollow tone, ‘‘ Ask Mr. Morley to step this way.” “I hope I don’t intrude, Hodson,” exclaimed Page, caressing his chin and speaking ina sort of blandly patronising tone: “ but I thought that as I was in the neighbourhood I night just as well drop in to ask you how you got on, and likewise to tell you, my bey, to look out for another country-tra- veller—as I’ve cut the thing dead. D’ye hear, Hod- son ?” COMIGBOOKS Gon