The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 286: what you’re looking at

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THE MYSTERIES. dation; and, resuming his own seat, he waited with no inconsiderable degree of curiosity for the first words that should fall from her lips. “Scarcely knowing how to introduce the object of my visit, Mr, Clarendon,” said the veiled lady, in a voice rich with all the soft melody and beau- tifal with all the harmonious freshness of youth,— “I must commence by apologising for this intru- sion. But you will pardon me if I neither reveal my name nor raise my veil upon the present ooca- sion, Indeed, my business with you is full of mys- tery——-” “ Bat of what nature is that business, Miss—or Madam—for I know not by which distinction to address you,” interrupted Mr. Clarendon, not al- logether liking the opening scene in this strange interview. “Call me Miss, if you will,” said the lady. “ And do not,” she immediately exclaimed, “imbibe any hasty notion to my prejadice, on account of the mystery with which it at present suits me to enve- lope myself. It may be that we shall become far more intimately connected: on the other hand it may be that we shal] part presently—nerver to meet “And on what do theee alternatives depend?” inquired Mr. Clarendon, a strange and unao- countable feeling coming over him,—a feeling made up of something more than mingled surprise, cu- riosity, and suspense,—one of those mystic and su- perhaman sensations, in fine, which visit us but once or twice daring our lives, but which, when they do shed their influence over us, seem to warn as that we have reached some point or crisis in our destiny which will decide the whole current and channel of the fature flow of existence. “You ask on what those alternatives depend ?” repeated the veiled lady : and Mr. Clarendon knew by her attitude and manner fnat she was fixing ber eyes upon him searchingly through her veil. “They depend solely on yourself,” she added, after & pause of nearly a minute. “Madam, allow me to tell you frankly that the mystery which you are adopting begins to be irk. some and embarrassing to me,” said Mr. Clarendon. “ If you wish to speak to me on some private matter, I will pledge my word most sacredly and my honour most solemnly to look upon the commanication as confidential and secret.” “And if that communication were of a startling eheracter ?” said the lady, in a tone of inquiry. “These are times when it requires a great deal to startle anybody,” responded Mr. Clarendon. “Am I to understand that your experience of the world is such as to render it difficult either to startle or shock you?” demanded the mysterious unknown. “I need not hesitate to answer you in the affir- mative,” said Mr. Clarendon, who failed not to comprehend that his visitress was seeking for en- couragement to proceed. “ Yas—my acquaintance with the world is not of the most pleasant descrip- tion; and I have seen enough to convince me that heartlessness and selfishness thrive the best, while generosity and honour fall lamentably into the background. I liken Generosity to a man who commits slow suicide by means of infinitesimal doses of poison, which however must prove eventually fatal: for Generosity ruins and destroys itself, to Feap nothing but ingratitude. As for Honour— ‘tis a mere word,” added Mr. Clarendon, with in- tense bitterness, “ which every man and every class of men interpret differently.” “Ah! now I begin to understand you better— and I am glad that you have made these observa- tions,” said the lady. “You have evidently been taught by experience to look upon the world as the arena in which selfish interests wage a more terrible conflict than that of the Roman gladiators. dnd you are right, Mr. Clarendon. But, having adopted these views, you would doubtless feel grateful to any one who might point out the means of ameliorating your own condition ?” “ By heaven! I would worship such a friend as if it were an angel sent from heaven !” ejaculated Mr. Clarendon : then, almost repenting of the en- thusiasm into which his feelings had at the moment betrayed him, he said in a different and colder tone, “But wherefore do you put such strange questions to me? If you know aught of my cir- cumetanoes-———” “I know everything interrupted the veiled visitrees. “I am well acquainted with all the de- tails of your position—and I am convinced, after the admissions you have already made, that it is painful and intolerable to a degree.” “But it may be dangerous for me to make farther admissions to you, lady !” suddenly exclaimed Mr. Clarendon, fearful that he had been guilty of some imprudence in expressing with such freedom his ideas of the world and the views resulting from his experience of it. “Before we continue a discourse which has taken so strange a turn, permit me to inquire who you are ?” “I have already warned you that it will neither suit my purposes to reveal my name or raise my veil upon the present occasion,” said the lady, in a firm and decisive tone. “Indeed, our interview may as well end here,” she added, rising abruptly from her seat: then, again appearing to scan Mr. Clarendon’s features with an earnest attention through her closely folded veil, she observed ina low, solemn, and mysterious tone, “That you are discontented, I perceive: but whether you have the courage to undertake the work which can alone place you on that eminence to which your ambition aspires, I am unable at present to judge. If you do indeed possess that courage, I am willing to aid you upon certain conditions. Therefore, whether wo snall meet again must depend upon yourself. For the remainder of this week and throughout the next shall [ each morning look into the Zimes newspaper : if no communication be made to me through ite edvertising columns, 1 shall conclude that you are a mere grumbler who dares not act—a poltroon who can complain but who lacks the energy necessary to improve his condi- tion and accomplish his desires. On the other hand, if a communication should appear in thag journal, addressed to the ‘ Veiled Lady,’ it will in- stantaneously be attended to. Farewell.” And, with this abrupt peroration, the mysterious visitress quitted the room, leaving Mr. Clarendon so completely a prey to the profoundest amaze- ment that he remained fixed as it were in his chair, unable to rise and perform the usual courteous ceremony of opening the door of the apartment or ringing the bell for a domestic to attend upon her egress from the house. By degrees Mr. Clarendon recovered from the 269 é CORIMNGEDOO S COMM