The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 110: what you’re looking at

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

88 THE COURT OF LONDON but believe me, my dear friend, when I assure you that you yourself are as mad as any person in the whole world.” Thus speaking, Octavia turned lightly away; and picking up her paper crown, she proceeded to put it straight, singing the while a plaintive air in a low tone and musing manner. Several minutes elapsed, during which the unhappy young lady appeared to forget that any one was present in the room; but all this time her sister, with feelings stretched to almost the extreme power of their tension, was standing by and contemplating her. Presently the door opened gently, and the Duchess of Devonshire made her appearance. Then Octavia, placing the crown upon her head and erasping the paper sceptre, seated herself on the table once more; and, after surveying her sister and the duchess with a mingled dignity and sternness for nearly a minute, she commanded them to quit her presence. Pauline would have lingered to converse with Octavia again, to weep over her, to embrace her, and to endeavour to resuscitate fond memories in her mind; but Georgiana, well knowing how terrific were the paroxysms of excitement which seized upon the unfortunate young lady when con- tradicted or thwarted, dragged rather than led the distressed and weeping Pauline away from the apartment. And Octavia was left to that solitude which her disordered imagination filled with a thousand phantasms; but though alone in that chamber, she was not friendless nor deserted in the villa, for there had Pauline now taken up her abode, by the consent of the really kind and generous-hearted Duchess of Devonshire. CONnIiCcooolks (C(O)