The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 76: what you’re looking at

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

THE MYSTERIES OF TILE COURT. up to Hornsey Wood Tavern; but recollecting that _ he had not a farthing in his pocket, he dared not bend his steps thither to knock the people up. He accordingly walked on, and in another quarter of an hour arrived opposite Evergreen Villa, which he could not help regarding as the origin, so to speak, of all his manifold adventures and misfor- tunes of this night. Indeed, so thoroughly sick- ened, dispirited, depressed, and humiliated did he feel—so thoroughly wretched too in every sense of the word—that as he stood gazing upon Ever- green Villa for a few moments, he was almost inclined to make a vow that he would abandon his previously enthusiastic designs in that quarter. But while he thus paused opposite Evergreen Villa, he suddenly observed through the some- what thick screen of trees in the front garden, a light glimmering from one of the windows on the ground-floor, To the best of his calculations (for he had no watch to refer to) it was now nearly two o’clock in the morning. ‘ Monday night,” he said to himself, thus mus- ingly refreshing his memory; “and Angela Vivaldi was not advertised to dance: so they can- not be sitting up for her to return from the Opera. Besides, she would be home before this. And yet why should she not have been out at some party 2?” —and as these reflections swept through his brain, he suddenly experienced some little revival of his’ passion for the fair danseuse. As he still lingered hesitatingly in front of the villa, he heard a door open: and then a much stronger light suddenly shone from behind the screen of trees. He advanced up to the gate open- ing from the footpath, and perceived a female de- scending the steps of the front-door, which stood wide open and whence the light of the hall-lamp was streaming forth. The female had the appear- ance of being a lady’s-maid, or domestic of a simi- larly superior grade; and as she came slowly along the gravel-walk leading towards the gate, Saxondale had an opportunity of observing that she was young, rather good-looking, dressed with a coquettish gaiety, and having the arch mischie- vious look of a confidential soubrette. Here suddenly seemed to be an opportunity of doing for himself all that the old woman had un- dertaken to perform, but in which she had so grossly and unaccountably deceived him; and feeling his spirits somewhat revive by the hope- fulness of the occurrence which was thus trans- piring, he waited in the shade of the trees near the gate until the lady’s-maid, as he presumed her to be, came near enough for him to address her. Then she stopped, and seemed to listen as if in expectation of some one’s appreach. “ Well, my pretty maid,” said Lord Saxondale, suddenly showing himself, “ you are taking a late walk in the garden here.” “Oh, dear! how you have startled me,” ex- claimed the abigail, with a half-suppressed shriek : but as she immediately perceived that the cause of her more than half-affected alarm was evidently a gentleman by his dress, the self-sufficiency of his speech, and the diamond studs which gleamed in the starlight, she did not see any necessity for hurrying away from the spot; on the contrary, advancing close up to the gate, she rather ap- peared to eowt the little chat which accident thus threw in her way. 59 “What are you doing out here so late?” asked Lord Saxondale. ‘* Well, it’s like your impudence to question me in this manner!” said the young woman with an arch toss of her head, though evidently being very far from offended. ‘ And suppose I was to ask how it is you are out so late ?” “ Well, then, I should at once tell you,” returned Saxondale. “I have been dining up at the tavern yonder, with a parcel of friends of mine; and we have swallowed no small quantity of wine. Then we had cards and dice; and if I had not lost a matter of three or four hundred guineas, I should at once slip a ten-pound note inte your hand as an earnest of future rewards if you lend me your aid in a certain euterprise I have in view.” “Oh! T am sure you must indeed have been drinking a great deal of wine to talk to me tu this way,” said the lady’s-maid, with an affected giggle, which showed that if Lord Saxondale were really earnest in what he said he was at perfect liberty to go on and explain himself with- out the fear of giving offence. “ T can assure you that I speak the truth,” he immediately rejoined. “ But though I have lost all my money at cards, as I tell you, there is no- thing to~prevent me from coming up to this neigh- bourhood to-morrow and making it twenty euineas instead of ten, that I design as a little present for your acceptance.” “Oh, yes—I dare say! Itisallvery pretty to talk in this manner,” cried the maid, with another laugh, as if she pretended to regard his behaviour only as a mere pleasantry. ‘ But I should like to know in the first place who you are, that you speak so fine and make such magnificent promises ?” The young nobleman had not been despoffed of his card-case by the female highwayman: lhe accordingly took it forth from his pocket, and producing cne of its pasteboard contents, handed the same to the lady’s-maid, who was enabled by the clearness of the night to read the name upou it. “Well, my lord,” she said, with a somewhat more respectful tone —though all alohg her man- ner had been affably familiar and flippantly gra- cious enough—*‘ I of course begin to believe that you are serious in what you have said ; for of course a gentleman never breaks a promise—and a lord is more than a gentleman.” ‘“‘ Now tell me who youu are waiting for?” said the young nobleman. ‘For my mistress, whom I expect home every minute,” was the reply. ‘I gotsotired of waiting that I came out hoping to hear the sounds of the carriage-wheels. And, by the bye, the moment we do catch them, your lordship must hasten away.” ‘Would your mistress chide you for speekirg to me ?” asked Saxondale. “T don’t exactly know that she would—for she is indulgent enough,” was the response: “but at the same time if any one came home with her, it would look so odd for me to be seen talking to a gentleman at the gate. Besides ‘‘ Besides, what ?” inquired Saxondale, as the soubrette suddenly stopped short. “ ‘J’ell me, what were you about to say ?” “Qh, nothing!” rejoined the young woman, with an arch smile through the bars of the gate. “Only Me COMIC OOO© S (CO)