The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 84: what you’re looking at

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

62 THE COURT OF LONDON The motive of the Prince of Wales in directing this step to be taken may be explained in a few words. It was not that he suspected for a moment that Meagles had purloined from him the papers proving his marriage with Mrs. Fitzherbert, and the half of the Lightfoot certificate; but it was because he himself had on many occasions written notes to Meagles upon private affairs, which he was loth to have published to the world, and he thought it probable that Tim might have preserved those letters, in which case it was only prudent to regain possession of them. We shall now follow Germain and ascertain the result of his mission. : On arriving at Mrs. Piggleberry’s house in Jermyn Street, the French valet was informed (as indeed he had been led to expect) that Mr. Meagles was not at home. He accordingly: declared that he wished to see him very particularly, and would walk in and await his return. The polite landlady, who knew that he was in the service of the prince, showed him up-stairs to Meagles’s sitting apartment, where she of course left him. The instant that he was alone, Germain began to inspect the place, and a writing-desk on a side-table immediately attracted his notice. It was locked; but before he broke it open, Germain took the precaution of trying all the keys that were upon a bunch in his own pocket, and one of them happened to fit the desk. A hasty glance over the papers which it contained enabled him to separate the letters and correspondence from the usless documents, such as trades- men’s bills, sporting memoranda, betting records, etc.; and having completed his research in respect to the desk, the valet proceeded to examine the cupboards and drawers in the adjoining bedroom. He, however, discovered no more papers, and pocketing those which were set aside to be taken away, he descended the stairs, observed to Wasp, whom he encountered in the hall, that he could not wait any longer, and returned to Carlton House. The packet of documents which he had thus stolen from Meagles’s lodgings was now delivered into the hands of the Prince of Wales, who was impelled by motives of curiosity to inspect them forthwith. But how great was his surprise, how profound his amaze- ment, when he discovered amongst them the very correspond- ComicloolkkS.