The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 92: what you’re looking at

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

i TES SS IE, THE MYSTERIES. ee instance. Foras Mrs. Brace held her breath to listen, her auricular sense acquired a remarkable vividness; and she distinctly heard the sounds of two rough voices whispering together in a very subdued tone. A few words that she caught—such as “saw,” “ crow-bar,” and “skeleton-keys,”’—con- vinced her beyond all possibility of doubt that thieves had obtained an entry into the house ; and it was the dining-room door which they were thus deliberating how to force open, it being invariably locked every night by Mrs. Brace herself ere she retired to rest. All her plate was kept in the side-board in that apartment: and she was suddenly seized withamortal apprehension lest the robbers should possess them- selves of so valuable a prize ere she could summon the necessary assistance. For, on second thoughts, she dared not call Mr. Harley to her aid: there were reasons why he must not stand the chance of being recognised in that house, even by thieves ;— and she would have to descend the staircase and pass into the dwelling looking on St. James's Square in order to arouse her footmen. What, then, was to be done? Moments—nay, minutes were flying ;—and every one was precious ! Bending her head over the bannisters, she lis- tened again. The men had succeeded in forcing cpen the door of the dining-room; and there was not an instant to lose. It would be useless to awaken the young ladies and the female servants: such a proceeding might alarm the robbers, it was true—but would not per- haps prevent them from making off at once with the booty already in their reach. The only wise expedient was to summon the footmen;—and on this alternative she resolved, at any risk. Descending the stairs as noiselessly as possible in the dark, Mrs. Brace had gained the ground floor, and was on the point of entering the passage lead- ing into the other house, when a light suddenly ap- peared upon the threshold of the dining-room— and as villanous a countenance as the imagina- tion could ever associate with the name of “ bur- zlar” was simultaneously revealed to her eyes. A scream rose to her lips: but it was stifled at ‘he moment that it was bursting forth,—stifled, too, 10t by any abrupt violence on the part of the rob- ber—but by a sudden consternation which seized upon the lady. A spell appeared to have been thrown around her all in an instant: a tremendous stupefaction —a mental paralysis, had struck her dumb—motionless—powerless. At the same moment a faint exclamation of inef- fable surprise escaped the lips of the burglar ;—and he also appeared to be rivetted to the spot with a bewilderment that defies all attempt at description. For nearly a minute did Mrs. Brace and the burglar stand gazing fixedly upon each other,—he still holding a candle in his hand—she leaning against the wall to which she had staggered when the man’s countenance first met her view,—he half doubting whether his eyes were not deceiving him— she every instant acquiring a deeper conviction that the features on which her looks were rivetted, were indeed familiar to her! But the ejaculation which dropt from the tongue of the burglar, had caught the ear of hiscompanion, who was inside the dining-room; and Mrs. Brace, therefore, speedily beheld another countenance ap- pear in the door-way. This second face was red, 77 bloated, and sinister—indeed, almost as vile and re- pulsive as the first: but it was totally unknown to the milliner. The stupefaction which had seized upon her, now rapidly yielded to a sense of the very painful position in which she was placed. She no longer even thought of summoning assistance ;—and, as to utter- ing a cry—her lips were sealed! Instead of hoping to have the burglars handed over to the grasp of justice, she felt that she herself was completely in the power of one—consequently of both ! Suddenly mustering up all her presence of mind and calling all her courage to her aid, Mrs. Brace advanced a few paces, motioning to the men to enter the room. Perceiving that she was about to follow them, they fell back; and then, the instant they had disappeared from the door-way, a pang shot through the brain of the milliner—and, pressing her hand to her brow, she felt for a moment as if her reason were deserting her. But this terrible sensation almost immediately passed away ;— and, with a ghastly pallor of countenance, trembling limbs, and a heart palpitating violently, she crossed the threshold, closing the door behind her. For nearly half-an-hour did Mrs. Brace remain in the company of the two burglars: but of the nature of their interview we can at present form no conjecture. That painful reminiscences had been revived and feelings of intense anguish excited on her part, we can however affirm: for when the door again opened and she came forth, it was with features even more ghastly and corpse-like than when she had entered that room. Whether the robbers went away empty-handed, or not, we cannot state: but for one fact we can vouch —namely, that the plate remained untouched on the side-board, and that no valuables of any kind were plundered from the dining-room. Mrs. Brace herself conducted them to the shop door, which they had forced open in the first instance by means of skeleton keys and a crow-bar; and when they had quitted the house, she sank down upon a chair—covered her face with her hands—and burst into a flood of convulsive weeping. These tears relieved her;—and hurrying away from the shop, she stole cautiously back to her own bed-chamber, which she gained w !hout disturbing a soul. Sleep visited not her eyes for the remainder of that night. Painful thoughts racked her imagination and banished slumber: but as the hours passed slowly—slowly away, her excitement subsided, and she grew much calmer. It is often easy to conjure back hope where its presence is indispensable ;—and thus was it that Mrs. Brace succeeded in persuading herself that she should not again be molested by the dreaded individual who had paid her dwelling so ominous a visit during the night. She rose shortly after five o’clock, and entered her bath-room, where she plunged into the ice-cold water. Alike in winter and in summer, did Mrs. Brace bathe her entire person in this manner: hence the well-preserved condition of her charms and the plumpness of her form’s voluptuous contours. But never had the luxury of the cold bath ap- peared so truly refreshing as on this occasion. It cooled her heated brain—invigorated her entire frame, rendered languid by want of rest—and raised her de- pressed spirits almost to their usual tone. But if her cheeks still retained somewhat of the pallor that the — —— ee =p ee Com GbooksSreoimn