The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 363: what you’re looking at

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

THE INTRIGUING MOTHER 337 she expected some signal reward for having honoured me with her favours. Now, let me tell you, my dear madam,”’ continued his Royal Highness, ironically, “that young ladies generally conceive they are honoured by the circum- stance of winning my favour, and if I were to shower rewards upon all the sweet creatures who received me to their arms I should have quite enough to do. Perhaps your daughter fancied that I ought to make her a peeress in her own right, of give her a pension of a thousand a year. God bless you, ma’am, if all my mistresses were similarly ambitious and mercenary, the world would be perfectly astonished at the number of peeresses [ should have to create, and the House of Commons, obedient and ductile as it is, would stand aghast at the frightful increase of the pension list.’ Mrs. Arbuthnot remained silent for upwards of a minute, not knowing exactly whether to continue arguing the point peaceably, or whether at once to have recourse to harsher and sterner means. The prince, fancying that he had ad- vanced an argument which had put her to confusion, and indeed confounded her altogether, rose from his seat, bowed stifly, and was advancing to pull the bell as an intimation that the interview was over, when Mrs. Arbuthnot said, in a somewhat determined voice, “‘ Then your Royal Highness is resolved to do nothing for my daughter? ”’ “What can I do?” he ejaculated, impatiently. ‘‘ The bare idea that she abandoned herself to me from the mer- cenary motives which have since transpired is but too well calculated to fill me with disgust, and as I never entertained a very high opinion of the mother, I am sorry to say that I am now led to think with equal indifference of the daugh- ter,’ and again he advanced toward the bell. ‘“‘ Stay, sir, one moment,” cried Mrs. Arbuthnot, suddenly throwing off all the fawning servility of the hypocritical toad-eater, and putting on a dogged air of resoluteness, ‘¢ our interview is not quite ended yet.”’ ‘“‘Madam,”’ said the prince, turning upon her a look of the loftiest disdain, ‘‘ if you were a man, I should ring to order my lackeys to expel you unceremoniously, but as you are a woman, I cannot treat you with that ignominy. At the same time, permit me to request that you immediately leave the room.” “And were I a man,” cried Mrs. Arbuthnot, ‘ I should —_ (C(O) nn) GDoOo <Si nin