The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 359: what you’re looking at

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

344 carefully noted by the authorities—and the ma- gistrate then decided upon having the corpses Some hurdles were procured; and upon these the bodies were placed. I'he procession then set out along the bank of the river, through the deluging rain, towards. the conveyed to Gainsborough. town. CHAPTER LXXII. THE CHAPEL. We left Lady Saxondale and her guests seated to- gether in conversation in one of the magnificent drawing-rooms of the castle, after a visit had been paid to Lord Harold’s chamber. Lady Saxondale herself had retired for ten minutes or a quarter of an hour to the library, as she stated, to write a letter or two; and on her return to the drawing-room she jomed in the conversation which was progressing at Mr. Hawkshaw sat with Juliana a little the time. apart from the rest; and though they both mingled in the general discourse, yet he found an opportu- nity of manifesting these little attentions and paying those assiduities which belong to the pleasing cere- mony of courtship. Florina was, alone of all the party, desponding and abstracted. She was pre- viously in low spirits before the accident occurred to her brother; and that circumstance had naturally tended to depress her still more. Lady Macdonald, satisfied that there was nothing alarm- ing in her nephew’s position, had regained the wonted equanimity of her disposition: Lady Saxon- dale studied to render herself as agreeable as she could—and such an attempt on her part was never made in vain. Towards Mr. Hawkshaw she was particularly courteous and affable—although there was nothing in her manner to show that she played the part of a mancuvring mother endea- vouring to secure an eligible husband for her daughter. Nor indeed was it at all necessary for her to lend her aid in the matter: as Juliana had played her cards so well that Mr. Hawkshaw was ensnared, to, all appearances, beyond the possibility of self-emancipation from the thraldom of love. At about ten o’clock supper was served up; and Florina suggested that as her brother had taken but little refreshment since the accident of the morning, he might possibly require some now. She accord- ingly intimated her intention of ascending to his chamber to make the inquiry. “TJ will accompany you, Flo,” said her ladyship, displaying all the concern of a generous hostess with regard to an invalid guest. The two ladies thereupon quitted the room, and ascended to Lord Harold’s chamber. On reaching the door, Lady Saxondale said in a whispering voice, “If he sleeps, Flo, it will be a pity to disturb him. Let. us enter very carefully indeed.” Lady Saxondale accordingly opened the door with the utmost caution, and listened upon the threshold. The wax-lights were burning upon the mantel; and her ladyship, motioning with her hand for Florina to remain where she was, ad- vanced on tiptoe towards the couch: then having peeped between the curtains, she retreated in the same noiseless manner towards Florina, to whom she whispered, “ He is sleeping soundly.” [ne THE MYSTERIES OF THE COURT. ere Ee A The young lady was pleased by this announce- ment—because the circumstance appeared to indicate an absence of pain on her brother’s part, and there- fore that he had in reality received no serious injury. Lady Saxondale closed the door again with the sams caution she had displayed on opening it; and, ac- companied by Florina, she retraced her way to the apartment where the supper was served up. “ What news?” inquired Mr. Hawkshaw, who throughout had shown the most generous interest on Lord Harold’s behalf. “ Our patient is sleeping soundly,” replied Lady Saxondale with an air of great satisfaction. “ So much the better,” observed Mr. Hawkshaw. “ You may depend upon it that in a day or two he will be all right again. If he suffered much pain he would not be sleeping in that manner.” Florina was well pleased to hear an opinion which thus confirmed her own hope; and she felt somewhat more cheerful. It was nearly eleven o'clock before Mr. Hawkshaw took his departure ; and ere he withdrew, he asked Lady Saxondale to be allowed to ride over in the morning and make personal in- quiries relative to the invalid. This permission was of course accorded ; and the Squire’s horse having been gotten in readiness, he left the castle. Immediately after he had thus taken his leave, the ladies withdrew to their respective chambers. It was now eleven o’clock: and Lady Saxondale, on reaching her own room dismissed her maids for the night, with the intimation that she intended to sit up reading a little while ere she sought her couch. In about a quarter of an hour—When she thought the household was quiet—she stole farth from that chamber, and proceeded to Lord Harold’s. There she remained only a few minutes, mn convere sation with the young nobleman; and on issuing forth again—instead of returning at once to her own room—she proceeded along the galleries leading to the western side of the castle. She extinguished the candle which she carried in her hand, and felt her way through the gloom of those corridors to the chapel—on entering which, she closed the door and then re-lighted the candle, having brought matches with her for the purpose. This pre- caution she adopted to prevent auy of the in- mates of the castle perceiving, from the opposite side of the court-yard, a light moving along the galleries of the uninhabited portion of the building. Scareely had she thus obtained a light again, when the sounds of footsteps reached her ears ; and forth from the place of tombs emerged the unmis- takable form of Chiffin the Cannibal. “ Ah! youhave come at last ?” said Lady Saxon- dale. “ Yes,” was his growling response: “ but I hada deuced great mind not to venture here at all to-night —for there’s a precious rum thing took place ata little distance, about two or three mile away towards Gainsborough.” “ And what is that ?” demanded Lady Saxondale, fixing her eyes upon the ruffian in a penetrating manner. “Why, nothing more nor less than a double murder,” responded Chiflin. “A double murder?” echoed her ladyship. “ What do you mean? Hava you——” “No, not I: and it’s a procious lucky thing for . im ECOMMICOoOoOlKs (€©)