The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 375: what you’re looking at

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

rrr cr errr ea cece eran ener arg ge a a a i a I I SE ET ST a Sg) il emg SP EE A ARs SG: ASSASINS 360 We must now observe that the remainder of the week in which the visit was paid by this veiled lady to Mr. Clarendon, passed away—and no advertisement of the nature specified appeared in the Zimes news- paper. On the following Sunday night was it that the Magsman kept his appaintment with the masked nobleman in Hyde Park: on the ensuing Wednes- day morning was it that the Prince of Wales had the party of dancing-girls at Carlton House, and re- cvived a visit from his royal father ;—and on the ‘livursday night it was that the incidents related in the preceding chapter occurred at Stamford Manor. The reader will thus perceive that although the in- cidents which have occupied the last twenty-seven ~bapters, have been varied and numerous, yet that ihe time occupied in the action of this portion of our drama has only been ten days: and therefore the time prescribed by the veiled lady in ber farewell speech to Mr. Clarendon, had not yet quite expired. Bat it was now Friday morning—and Mr. Claren- don had but this one day to decide whether he should seek an interview with the veiled lady or not: for if he determined in the affirmative, it was necessary to send the advertisement for publication ia the Zimes of the next morning. Again, therefore, do we find him in his study, pon- dering upon the position of his affairs: and, as he pressed his hand to his throbbing brows, it was thus that his musings ran :— “ Why co I vacillate thus ?—why have I hesitated to sammon that mysterious lady to my presence by the means of communication which she pointed ont f Octavia refused the proposal of marriage which Ar- thur Eaton made to her; and she was wrong— foolish—insensate! Such an alliance would have been moet advantageous to her—most beneficial to me. It would have given her a position as good as that which Pauline will shortly attain when she be- comes Lady Florimel: and it would have ensured the continuation of a handsome independence to my- self. But she refused — refused to espouse her cousin, simply because she did not lovehim! At least such was the reason she gave: yet I almost begin to imagine that there is some truth in the sus- picions which Arthur expressed to me ere he made her the offer of his hand. Yes—it is probable that she loves another. But who can the object of her affections be? I cannot even conjecture. And now, since Wednesday morning she has been staying with the Duchess of Devonshire, whose acquaintance she formed I scarcely know how. There must be some- thing very fascinating in the girl that she should have thus made herself so influential and valuable a friend: and it would be heart-breaking indeed, were she to throw herself away upon any penniless or un- titled individual, merely in obedience to the sickly sen- timentalism which young maidens denominate love. But how am J to act ?—for that is the question. This veiled lady who paid me so mysterious a visit last Tuesday week, is evidently well acquainted with all my affairs. She emphatically observed that she knew my position to be painful and intolerable to a degree; and she hinted—nay, more than hinted, at the possibility of placing me on that eminence to which my ambition aspires. Can she read, then, the secret of my heart?—has she penetrated with eagle glance into my soul and beheld the cravings that rack me—the anxious longings which I cherish for those honours that at one time seemed almost within my grasp Yes—and should I not obey that un- TNE MYSTERIES. accountable and mysterious presentiment which her visit excited in my brain,—a prescntiment teaching me that I had reached some point or crisis in my destiny which would give a eolour to all the rest of my existence! Oh! assuredly I must see this veiled lady once more. [I can but hear her proposals and listen to the conditions upon which she has offered toaid me. If they be agreeable, I can accept them: . they be repugnant to my feelings, I can reject em.” Having thus made up his mind how to act, Mr Clarendon wrote a single line upon a slip of paper, which he forthwith took to the office of the Times newspaper. Reader, have you not frequently observed the atrange, mysterious, and often deeply affecting ad- vertisements whivh appear at the top of the second colamn on the front page of the Zimes? The death-bed has known no anguish and the church- yard no misery greater than the affliction which so often prompts the insertion of a few lines in that place. By those means, the deserted wife implores her husband to retarn to the home which his ab- sence has left desolate, and to the children whom his flight has made beggars: or else it is the hus- band who beseeches a guilty wife to go back for her innocent offspring’s sake, and all shall be for- given! And by those means, also, does the criminal who is playing at hide-and-seek with the officers of justice, communicate to his friends that intelligence which he dares not entrust to the post- office; or the bailiff-hunted debtor adopts this medium to acknowledge the receipt of some peca- niary assistance which ao indulgent relative had forwarded to an address specified, that address being not however the recipient's home. That small space in the Zimes newspaper —that nook of a couple of square inches—often contains a whole world of wild and harrowed feelings. It is the modern Temple of Delphi to which the heart flies to seek for those oracles of hope which are lost elsewhere: but, alas! how often does it prove the Morgue where appalling suspense becomes changed into the conviction of overwhelming sorrow! And it was in this place in the Zimes newspaper that the following brief advertisement appeared upon the Saturday morning :— TO THE VEILED LADY.—<Another and immediaw iuterview is requested by C. Mr. Clarendon rose at an earlier hour than usual on this morning, which he felt was destined to be a memorable one in the history of his life. An unnatural excitement imparted a hectic flash to his usually sallow cheeks; and a wild gleaming light shone ia his restless eyes. At any other time Pauline would have noticed her father’s altered appearance, and would hare affectionately inquired the cause: but on the pre- sent occasion she also was absorbed in her own reflections, which were not of a pleasurable natare. And, like her father too, did she endeavoar to conceal the pre-occupation of her mind : thas were parent and daughter to a certain extent practising duplicity towards each other. Few observations were exchanged at the breakfast table; and the moment he had partaken of a cup of chocolate— for the more substantial food remained untasted by him,—Mr. Clarendon repaired to his study. a ee —< GCOMNGDOOKS —_— ci eee I COMM