The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 301: what you’re looking at

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

266 THE COURT OF LONDON would only have served to bring into stronger relief the desert-like desolation of that future on which those whom he loved so well were about to enter. Mastering, however, his emotions as well as he was able, Foster described the failure of his visit to Carlton House. Then came from his wife’s lips the tremulous, hesitating question whether Hodson and Morley would not accord him a further delay. ‘No, not an hour, not a minute! ”’ answered the merchant, almost distracted; and he dashed his open palm violently against his brow. ‘““My dearest husband,”’ said Mrs. Foster, ‘‘ there is One above who hears our words and watches our ways; and if it should please Him to rescue us from ruin, penury, and want, even at the last instant will succour and salvation come.” But the afflicted man shook his head despairingly; his sorrow was too great for the consolations of religion. His daughter, a lovely girl of sixteen, and to whom her fond parents had given the sweet name of Rose, as if in her earliest infancy they foresaw the beauty into which the then delicate flower was destined to expand, — this charming creature, we say, now exerted all the influence of the ten- derest endearments and all the power of language to solace her distressed father. But suddenly his countenance grew strange and fearful; then a wild laughter wavered upon his lips, and, springing from his seat, he began to toss his arms about and rave as if in the fever of a delirium. His wife and daughter threw themselves on their knees before him, and besought him to be calm. This touching spectacle and still more earnest appeal produced an almost instantaneous effect upon him; the wild laughter and the indistinct ravings were speedily lost in profound sobbings and suffocating sighs, and these were in their turn subdued by copious weeping and quenched by floods of tears. Considerably tranquillized, Mr. Foster at length suffered himself to be conducted to his chamber. Sleep fell upon him; but his misfortunes pursued him in his dreams, and he awoke at an early hour unrefreshed. He raised his heavy eyelids, and the first objects his languid looks encountered were his wife and daughter. They had not retired to rest all night; their patient, holy, and affectionate vigil had been wakefully kept. CORNICLAO®