The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 154: what you’re looking at

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ee THE MYSTERIES. affected by the young man’s language—while the Countess sought not to restrain nor to conceal her tears ;—“and your present conduct,” added the no- bleman, “ deserves our commendation — yes, even our gratitude. Believe me, therefore, that nothing shall be omitted by Lady Desborough or myself—nothing unessayed—in order to induce Fernanda to per- m that which now becomes a duty.” “And if persuasion be required to move her, my lord,” said Arthur, “think you that if I were to present myself to her in the retirement where she has been placed—exhibit to her the wretched, wasted being that I am--bid her gaze upon my colourless cheeks and my fire-fevered eyes,—oh! if I were to do this—and even fall upon my knees before her, demanding that pardon which a man upon his death- bed has a right to entreat and expect at the hands of even his bitterest enemy,—were LC to do all this, she never could refuse to grant my prayer and suffer me to lead her to the altaz.” The Countess exchanged a rapid glance with her husband, whose look conveyed anafiirmative sym- pathetically responsive to her own thoughts; and, turning towards the Hon. Mr. Eaton, she said, “This evening at eight o’clock you shall ac- company me to the place where Fernanda is re- siding. But as the visit must be strictly private, and it would be asinconvenient for me to go with you in your carriage as for you to occupy a seat in mine,—in a word, as this proceeding on our part must not be known to any of our dependants,— I will proceed with the Earl at seven o'clock to make a call at St. James’s Palace—and at eight we will meet you, Mr. Eaton, in Pall Mall. You will have a hackney-coach in attendance; and I will then accompany you to Fernanda’s present abode.” The Earl signified his approval of this project; —and Mr. Eatun took a temporary leave of the noble pair. CHAPTER XL. ELEANOR AND THE PRINCE, HAt¥F-AN-HOUR had elapsed since the departure of Lord Marchmont’s afflicted son—and the Countess of Desborough was now once more alone, her hus- band having left her until dinner-time. Reclining upon the sofa, Eleanor gave way to the reflections which the main incident of the after- noon had excited within her :—we allude to that singular and painful interview which she had with the Earl. She revolved in her mind everything he had said to her: she repeated to herself, as nearly as she could recollect, all the glowing words in which he had described his loye—the pathetic terms in which he had depicted his remorse—and the noble Jan- guage which he had uttered in drawing a distine- tion between an etherial and cesthetic sentiment on the one hand, and a gross, sensual passion on the other. But her meditations brought her at length to the termination of the whole scene,—when he imprinted chaste kisses on her lips, and when she felt as if lightning circulated in her veins, so power- ful were the longings of her desires. Again did those sensations steal upon her ;—and she blushed, although alone, at the sway which her ardent temperament exercised’oyerher. She was — _—__ Se 139 ashamed and humiliated at the idea of being unable to wrestle against the voluptuous eravings that caused her bosom to pant, and her cheeks to glow, and her pulse to thrill. Invoking the aid of her virtue against the prompting of her nature—striv- ing to assist the intellectual and spiritual to assert their triumph over the gross and the material— artuing herself with all the pride and dignity of her sex to combat against that sex’s mysterious long- ings,—the noble lady’s very soul was rent with con- flicting emotions; and the struggle irresistibly led her on into repinings against the destiny -which thus made her the victim of so fierce a conflict be- tween the spirit and the flesh. Tt was at the moment when the heightened colour of her cheeks—the subdued lustre of her magnificent eyes, now swimming in a soft languor— and the rapid heavings of her bosom, gave an in- describable charm to her entire appearance, that the door of the apartment was thrown open, and the lace-bedizened domestic announced his Royal Hiehness the Prince of Wales. Composing herself as well as she was able, the Countess of Desborough advanced to meet the heir-apparent, who, after the usual compliments, handed her back to the sofa whence she had risen, and took aseat by her side. “There is no chance, I hope, of interruption on the part of the Earl?” said the Prince: then, in- stantly perceiving that the observation had excited the surprise of the Countess, he hastened to add, “Because I wish to speak to your ladyship on a subject of no ordinary importance.” “The Earl will not return until six o’clock,” answered Eleanor; “and it is now half-past four,” she remarked, glancing at the time-piece on the mantel. “Your ladyship is doubtiess astonished at the announcement I have already made, respecting the importance of the matter which has brought me hither this afternoon,” continued the Prince, scarcely knowing how to open the subject that was uppermost in his mind. “ But Lam sure—I feel convinced,” he exclaimed, with some degree of ab- ruptness, “that your ladyship will meet my in- quiries with candour and frankness.” Had not the Countess been conscious of one incident which by its importance afforded a clue to the meaning of the Prince’s allusion, she might have thought that his Royal Highness was about to address her in the language of love: but there was a certain excitement in his voice as well as an embarrassment in his manner that engendered in her bosom the worst fears on behalf of a lady to whom she was deeply attached. “It is consistent with my nature and also with my duty to behave frankly towards your Royal Highness,” she observed, after a few moments’ re- flection. “You already divine the object of my visit!” exclaimed the Prince: then, glancing hastily around the apartment, he said ina more subdued tone, “Is it possible that our discourse may be overheard ?” “ Not the slichtest apprehension need be enter- tained on that head,” was the immediate response given by the Countess. “Your ladyship is the depositress of a secret—a terrible secret—involving the honour of one of the Royal Family of England,” resumed the Prince of — ClOOOKKS. 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