The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 97: what you’re looking at

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

76 THE COURT OF LONDON justice to myself, as well as from respect to you, explain the reasons of my precipitate disappearance. But first per- mit me to ask whether those ladies happened to mention to you who they were — ”’ ‘“ One was a Mrs. Mordaunt, and the other a Mrs. Smith,” answered Pauline; ‘‘ but Octavia and I had our suspicions on that head,” she added, archly. ‘Indeed!’ ejaculated Mr. Harley, darting a keen and searching look upon the younger sister; ‘‘ and what might those suspicions be, Miss Pauline? ” “Oh, we thought it very probable that they might be great ladies travelling incognito,” returned the laughing girl, as she desisted for a moment from her occupation of pouring out the tea. “ Not unlikely,’ observed Mr. Harley, with a peculiar dryness of manner which might have been even taken for covert satire had the sisters been experienced enough thus to comprehend it. Then, instantly resuming his usual bland, affable, and peculiarly gentlemanly tone and deportment, he said, ‘“‘ I presume that Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Mordaunt did not make any allusion to me?” ‘““ None,” replied Pauline. ‘‘ But did you happen to know those ladies, then? I should scarcely think so — or else you would not have run away so ungallantly,”’ added the young maiden, in a playful manner. ‘‘ Ah! now you remind me that I have yet to give you a certain explanation,” said Mr. Harley, “ and I will delay it no longer. The truth is, then, that in those ladies belong- ing to the broken chariot I recognized near relatives of the ungrateful friend who had placed me in a temporary em- barrassment; and so irritated became my feelings at the time that I knew not what I did. Acting without the least forethought, and only in obedience to the impulse of the moment, I hurried away in order to avoid the necessity of even exchanging a word with those whose presence awoke such painful reminiscences.”’ ‘Then you were acquainted with the two ladies?” said Octavia; ‘“‘ and you can inform us whether they gave their real names, or whether the romantic notion of my sister Pauline be correct? ”’ ‘Yes, dear Miss Clarendon, they did not deceive you in respect to their names,” answered Mr. Harley, — “‘ as who Gomicbooksr